What would you like to know about St. Joan of Arc? Do you have a story about our parish or of general interest that you think others would like to hear? For story ideas, contact Jeff Rholl, jeff@stjoan.com.

Steve, his wife Pam Oleson-Kremer, and daughters Leah and Kristen, have contributed much to SJA. In fact, Pam is the evening receptionist at SJA, providing great support to the many evening programs. Kristen, their oldest daughter, has taught Sunday school. With fine voices perhaps inherited from their father, watch for Leah and Kristen during group sings and seasonal events at SJA.

Steve was born and raised in St. Paul. Musical inspiration was mostly from his musically gifted mother. She has a fine musical ear and Steve was lucky to inherit this gift. Coincidently, his grandfather introduced Steve to the harmonica at age 6. Tucked amidst his grandfather's pipes and tobacco in a favorite drawer were several harmonicas. Steve picked one out and learned to play it. Later stints, sometimes called lessons, with the ukulele (the Arthur Godfrey type), then accordion and then piano followed. Eventually he self-taught himself the guitar to accompany his singing. Steve says, "Singing is what I still enjoy the most."

Steve performing at Cabaret 2002. No, the shirt is not his normal attire

His musical mentors include the Kingston Trio, Chad Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot and John Denver. This is quite an impressive list of stars from which Steve borrows musical techniques. Steve has sung professionally around the country at coffee houses, colleges, clubs and ski resorts. He has written and recorded commercials, participated in fundraisers for PBS, and performed at many school programs. Some Twin City venues for Steve include the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre and the Radisson South.

The relevant, thought provoking, searching style of SJA suits Steve and his family well. As Steve says, "You want to go to mass because it has so much to offer. It isn't just an accident that people find their way to SJA. I believe that God has a plan for each attendee that will be best fulfilled by being inspired at SJA."

Now Steve splits his time between the "family mass" and the "big room" at SJA on Sunday mornings. He says, "When I'm not playing on Sunday morning I feel a little lost. It seems like I should bounce up to the altar and begin to sing and play." In addition, as time permits he does local gigs. Contact him if you have a musical gig for which you'd like his music.

As an avocation, Steve has been an amateur radio operator since age 9. You can join him on the airwaves every week talking to people around the world. And for 19 years you could find Steve on a softball field behind home plate as an umpire. He works fast-pitch games in metro Minneapolis and has been on the crew of a major national fast-pitch tournament. In fact, Steve is now on the Board of Directors for Minneapolis umpires. A few years ago, Jim Cassidy recruited Steve to the AIDS ride to Chicago. Last summer was his 4th AIDS ride, serving on the water crew.

To support his avocations and provide for his family, Steve sells electronic components to many Twin City area companies. A bit of a techie, Steve knows the local manufacturing scene very well.

During the Christmas season when you attend certain liturgies at SJA, watch for Steve to do some of his favorite songs. One is especially meaningful. He will introduce and sing the song Christmas in the Trenches. This is a song about WW I when the British and German soldiers celebrated together for one night before resuming war. In the song, the soldiers are described as leaving their trenches to sing and celebrate Christmas together. After the night is over the soldiers sadly return to their trenches to resume their war. (Read more about this song).

I have found Steve's music to be relevant, very pleasant and easy to sing. Maybe it's because I, as well as others at SJA, identify well with Steve's style. It's just a treat to have Steve share his music at our Sunday liturgies. Thank you, Steve.

Jerry Hartlaub commutes from New Brighton with his wife, Trish, to be refreshed and challenged at the "SJA spiritual oasis". He's a Sunday mass slide jockey and often waiter at SJA events. For fun he's jogged over 35,000 miles, written a bunch of poetry, just printed his first book and invented lots of stuff in a 30-year bioengineering career. These days he teaches cardiac physiology and pacemakers as a consultant (ya, he's mostly retired), serves on non-profit boards and does Junior Achievement gigs. But most rewarding is providing some regular child-care for 2 of the world's smartest, cutest grandchildren.