Monday, March 20, 2023
Pastor Stavenhagen baptized me back in 1987 in the Ithaca Seventh-day Adventist Church. I remember his thoughtful sermons which often drew from his love of nature. He was a wonderful mentor to me as I learned more about God. On Friday nights he led out a vespers service at Cornell, reaching out to the college students there. I appreciated his wry sense of humor and his great care over the church members. It was clear that he loved reading God’s word, and he loved to look deeply into small passages to find new meaning and understanding of God’s character. His words of wisdom still stay with me today. My heart goes out to his family.