By Grace Corbin It was 6:45 in the morning. I was standing in the bathroom of my house, straightening my hair and getting ready for another day of classes during my junior year of high school. This is, for many people, a time when they start asking themselves: “What’s next?” Now, I had been asking [...]
By Bob Hulteen Last Sunday I walked downstairs to retrieve the StarTribune from my front porch. Now, I hadn’t yet had coffee, which friends will acknowledge makes me potentially homicidal. Add to that a forecast for another day above 90 degrees and you will appreciate my mood. As I unwrapped the rubber band from the [...]
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen Our son had little fear of danger. John would see something interesting and wander off, unaware of the risks of getting separated from his parents. I have vivid memories of searching for him after fireworks in a crowded city park and wondering how far he’d gotten in the wilderness outside Camp [...]
By Pastor Craig Pederson If you were asked to describe your faith in one word, what would it be? “That’s impossible!” you might say; faith is too broad and meaningful to be summed up in just one word. And yet, this is exactly the exercise that was required for a course I took in seminary [...]
By Bob Hulteen Indulge me a proud dad moment, if you will. My older daughter Korla Masters (who is getting ready to do her seminary internship in St. Paul this fall) related a story from last week, as we drove up to the Twin Cities from St. Louis this weekend. Last week, the Presbyterian Church [...]
By Pastor John Hulden My siblings and I grew up on a three-year summer schedule. Every third summer, some (or all) of us were off to the next National Lutheran Youth Gathering. We all can name off the gathering cities from the ’60s and ’70s into the ’80s – Miami, Detroit, Seattle, New York City, [...]
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen After I was called as senior pastor at Trinity in Moorhead, Minnesota, I received an invitation from the ELCA to attend the “New Heads of Staff” Conference, led by Peter Steinke. For me, the learning curve of senior pastor was significant. Hoping for encouragement at the conference, I found Steinke’s long [...]
By Pr. Kelly Chatman It’s time to have the talk in the church. I have been in the Lutheran Church for a long time. (I actually graduated from Lutheran high school, college, and seminary.) I learned early that if a preacher was preaching to the choir, she wasn’t preaching to me. If we are only [...]
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen What words would best capture my feelings three Saturdays ago when our Synod Assembly elected me to a second term? I was truly overwhelmed with joy and gratitude. Any call process is full of mystery. And the process for electing a bishop is particularly so – as a call committee of [...]
By Emilie Bouvier O Holy One, stirring Spirit of Pentecost, we give thanks for the gentle breeze, the rushing wind of storms, the wind that carries seeds, and the wind that powers electricity. Help us to steward these gifts of wind and air, and all your good creation. Lord in your mercy, ... hear our [...]
