When I tell my colleague bishops about our plan for the synod to host “God in your Mercy, Hear our Prayer: An Election Year Worship Service," they have two immediate responses: “What a great idea. What an impossible task.” The consensus is that, yes, we should pray for elections and governmental leaders AND, no, it [...]
By Rev. Craig Pederson, Assistant to the Bishop In a blog post earlier this summer, I talked about the joys of working with congregations to identify their sources of vitality. But, for some congregations, vitality is more of a fading memory than a present reality. The members of these congregations still faithfully attend worship and [...]
By Rev. Deb Stehlin, Director for Evangelical Mission At the end of Luke 12, Jesus challenges the crowds: “You know how to tell a change in the weather, so don’t tell me you can’t tell a change in the season, the God-season we’re in right now. You don’t have to be a genius to understand [...]
By Pastor John Hulden, Assistant to the Bishop I hated assigned seats. Especially in seventh grade. My first experience with a different teacher for every subject was at Ramsey Junior High in south Minneapolis. Some teachers would let us sit where we wanted; others, … no way. I always wanted to sit by the window, [...]
By Emilie Bouvier, Congregational Organizer for Environmental Justice “Knock and the door shall be opened unto you.” As an emerging environmental organizer, I have many hours of stories about “on door” exchanges – comical moments, connections of surprising depth, harsh words, encouraging support, and a wide variety of snacks shared with me in moments of grace. [...]
By Bob Hulteen, Director of Communications and Stewardship Is stewardship more about outcome or process? I mean, budgets must be met, right? Buildings must be heated in the long, cold winter months. Professional staff must be compensated for the ministry they offer. But, if we only look at paying bills, do we ever really get [...]
This blog post is an excerpt from the “charge to action” shared by Bishop Ann Svennungsen at the “Service of Prayer and Lament Honoring the Life of Philando Castile” held on July 9, 2016, at the Chapel of the Incarnation at Luther Seminary in St. Paul. Philando Castile was killed during a traffic stop at [...]
Email newsletters can be such a blessing – and such a curse! They are a great way to keep up with a church, an online resource, or a writer of interest without doing a deep-dive into new material... but WOW, can they fill up your inbox in a hurry! At the risk of inducing “inbox [...]
When I was a young adult, I opted out of church. I still believed in God; and I still prayed. But for many reasons, the imperfect institution got in the way. You’ve heard the statistics that more and more people are voting with their feet when it comes to church. They’re opting out … or [...]
Although I have a Norwegian surname, I come from a long line of both German and Scandinavian Lutherans. I am grateful for the faith my ancestors brought when they immigrated to the United States. Now I live in Minnesota, a land that is a bastion of Lutheran strength. But things are changing. Yes, some churches [...]
