By Bishop Ann Svennungsen I’ve blogged before about my family reunions – the Rev. David and Kari Svennungsen Memorial Golf Tournament and Potluck held every year on the last Saturday of July in Montana. I don’t think I have mentioned the tradition of the family worship service held the next day. Early Sunday morning, a [...]
By Pr. Deb Stehlin Yesterday I spent time with one of our synod’s pastors, who’s dealing with brain cancer. The level of her suffering is difficult for me to describe. Each time I visit, I read her the gospel for the upcoming Sunday. Almost before I get to the end, she responds, “Here’s how I’d [...]
By Pr. John Hulden OK, so Matthew 18:20 is that oft quoted, much beloved verse: For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them. (NRSV) It’s beautiful, right? (Caution: I’m going to get a little grumpy here.) Nine times out of ten, I really can’t stand when someone quotes [...]
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 [...]
