As I opened the over-sized cardboard box, I first noticed an ancient-looking coloring book page with pastel markings of a bunny and an egg. But the next level of excavation in this container my aunt had dutifully kept for decades yielded an advertisement carefully cut out of a magazine when I was likely still in [...]
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen What happens after an election -- especially one as divisive as this? What is the role of the church? The synod? The congregation? As in all elections, there are winners and losers. Most of us learned as children about the appropriate responses to such events. After losing the state basketball championship [...]
By Bob Hulteen, Director of Communications and Stewardship Since I am now an ardent advocate of nonviolence, many readers who know me might be surprised to find out that I was often in fist fights during the three-block walk home from my elementary school. (It might be more accurate to say that I often lost [...]
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen Last week I was privileged to travel to the encampment at Standing Rock Reservation with Pastor Marlene Whiterabbit Helgemo, an ELCA pastor serving All Nations Church in Minneapolis. People from around the world are there, prayerfully hoping to prevent the Dakota Access Pipeline’s (DAPL) construction beneath the Missouri River. It is [...]
By Rev. Craig Pederson, Assistant to the Bishop By this time of the fall, church councils and committees are in full swing – implementing the ministry plans laid months ago, and looking forward to the New Year and the opportunities that lie ahead. No matter the size of the church, I continuously marvel at the [...]
By Rev. Deb Stehlin, Director for Evangelical Mission I’m still a little bit surprised that a) I am Lutheran, and b) I’m a pastor. When I was planning out my life as a young adult, my goal was to climb the corporate ladder as high as I could as a woman. An office on executive [...]
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen How do we speak faithfully of God – the creator of all things, the author of life, the giver of love beyond our wildest dreams? Throughout history we have tried to bear witness to the mystery of God – the Holy One beyond all comprehension. Anselm is credited with defining theology [...]
By Bob Hulteen, Director of Communications and Stewardship Running out the door of my house to catch the bus, I overheard a rather intimate conversation between a father and daughter as he accompanied her to the school just two blocks east. “That’s what being homeless means, honey,” he said. “We don’t have a house.” A [...]
By Rev. John Hulden, Assistant to the Bishop Way back in 1987, I was brand new at this “pastor” thing. My first call was to Bethany Lutheran on the lower Eastside of Saint Paul. Thankfully, the faithful people at that little church helped teach me about ministry. To learn about ministry at and around Bethany, [...]
By Bob Hulteen, Director of Communications and Stewardship Just call me “the truth teller.” My colleagues all write blogs "bragging" about the wonderful activities of the synod. Yes, we are hosting tool kit workshops for lay leaders and theological conferences for rostered leaders. Yes, we are engaging congregations on critical issues related to the environmental [...]
