STEVE’S YEAR-END UPDATE 2025
Greetings Dear Friends and Supporters!
Breaking News!
By the time you read this I will have turned 65 years old, and I can finally join in on that ancient prayer, “Lord have mercy on me… a senior.”
I have to admit to feeling a little senior-y these days. My wife Nanci had her second knee replacement surgery (on the same knee…long story) in August. And then, just the other week, I was cleaning the eavestroughs on my house when the ladder slipped out from under me, and I came down in a tangle and broke my heel along with multiple bruises and lacerations. When my friend Glen Soderholm heard about it, he teasingly texted: “The old man falling while cleaning out the gutter is such a common trope. You could have been more creative in your injury!”
Old man indeed! But it is what it is. I’m now in one of those awkward boots for the next six weeks. I’ve already done a couple of performances since (sponsored by Band Aid and T3’s) and I have a full month of concerts yet before Christmas. I’m so glad I can still perform. It’s just that my poor manager, Dave, must do so much more work to get me there and get me set up.
Looking Back on 2025…
In many ways, 2025 was typical. I performed a steady stream of concerts and conferences across Canada and the US. I’ve been focusing still on getting the songs from my latest album, The Glad Surprise, in front of people. But new songs are beginning to come which means I’m starting to turn, creatively, toward the next album. The highlight of the year for me was a trip to Berlin in June where I took an intensive course on the life and theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer with a small group of pastors and lay people. My interest in Bonhoeffer has grown significantly in the last few years, and this trip threw fuel on the fire. I’m sure that what I learned, and am learning, will show up in one way or another in songs over the next years. I’m very grateful for some dear friends that underwrote the cost of the trip so I could go.
Looking Ahead to 2026… New album and book: “The Bell and the Bard”
2026 will continue with concerts and conferences, much like this past year. But we are also planning the release of a new album in the fall that will collect all the songs I’ve written over the years with the English poet, Malcolm Guite. I met Malcolm at a CS Lewis conference in England back in 2011, and that friendship has grown into a rather fruitful collaboration. Together we’ve written over a dozen songs (i.e. Keening for the Dawn, Descent, The Glad Surprise etc.) that have been scattered across several albums. So, we’ll put them all together with a couple of new, previously unreleased songs, on an album called “The Bell and the Bard.” Coupled with that release will be a book written by author/ theologian Brian Walsh who will be reflecting theologically on our body of work.
So Very Grateful…
One cannot hit the 65-year mark without a bit of sober reflection, and in my case, deep gratitude. I’ve been doing this work since 1989 when my first solo album, Comfort My People came out (on cassette). That album kickstarted a vocation that has taken me around the globe and put me in front of audiences large (Massey Hall with the Toronto Symphony in 2011) and small (countless rural communities across the Canadian prairies). I’ve been blessed to record and perform with some of the greatest musicians on the planet, and I’ve been able to use this platform to lift up and advocate for several important causes.
I hope to continue for several years yet, and I ask you to pray that amidst the anxious cacophony and chaos of these days, my heart will remain quiet and receptive to the Spirit’s promptings so that the songs that come, may reflect the character and good will of the One who sings us into being.
Please also remember my work as you consider your year-end giving. I could write pages about how increasingly difficult it is to make money in the music business. I would have folded years ago without the support of so many of you. An extra year-end gift would go a long way to enable the next year’s work for me and my staff.
Thank you all so very much. I do feel your prayers and love.
Steve Bell
To Donate
All donations for Steve Bell are processed by and receipts issued by IncarNATION Ministries a registered Canadian charity No. 88728 3208 RR0001.
Mail Cheques
Please make all cheques payable to Incarnation Ministries (memo line – Steve Bell) and send to:
Incarnation Ministries
Box 16, Station L
Winnipeg MB
R3H 0Z4
Monthly Chequing Debit
To enable a monthly chequing debit, mail or email a voided cheque to the above address or email to faye@stevebell.com.
Online Donations
Are you an existing user?
You can log in to view & edit your donations here→
Choose Monthly or One-time (Canada)
US Donations
To make a custom donation by phone, please call Faye Hall at:
E-Transfers Now Accepted (Canadians only)
Send to: Faye@stevebell.com
In the “Message” area for the transfer, please state that the amount is meant for Incarnation Ministries, and leave your name, address and phone number so that we can send you a tax receipt.
In accordance with Canadian charitable regulations, Incarnation Ministries reminds each donor to Incarnation Ministries that while she or he has requested that Incarnation Ministries apply her or his gift to the work of Steve Bell’s ministry, Incarnation Ministries is required by law to have complete discretion on how it uses its resources and will not return the gift to the donor even if it does not use the gift in the manner the donor requests. Historically, Incarnation Ministries has consistently since its inception in 2003 in Canada has directed 100% of all gifts (other than from its principal benefactor, who pays for all administration costs) to the artists, theologians and projects chosen by Incarnation Ministries.