By Johan Baumeister One of my favorite hymns goes "Let all things now living a song of thanksgiving to God the Creator triumphantly raise." I like the soaring and majestic tune. I find beauty in the imagery of a pillar of fire, of traveling "from light into light," and of the stars wheeling about the nighttime [...]
By Pastor Wondimu Sonessa As part of the DEM office and the Mission Table’s “Year of Partnership” project, we are glad to highlight our Amazing Grace Ministry (AGM) and invite your congregation to start partnership conversations with Pastor Nhiabee Vang. AGM started in 2018 with 13 families and is in the sixth year of being [...]
By Pastor John Hulden I started out as a half-time solo pastor at church on the lower Eastside of Saint Paul. Fresh out of seminary, I kept asking, “What are the advantages to our small size? There must be some!” I tried many things. (God bless those wonderful Eastsiders who put up with me and [...]
By Pastor Wondimu Sonessa In December of 2023, leaders of our Synodically Authorized Worshipping Communities and our Strategic Ministry congregations gathered for their quarterly meeting with the chair of the synod’s Mission Table, Pastor Deanna Kim Bassett, and the Director of Evangelical Mission (DEM) – me. Tapestry Ministry, a bi-lingual ministry in Richfield, hosted the [...]
By Mercy Zou Taithul In remembrance of the death of India’s highest recognized civilian, Ratan Naval Tata, who passed away on October 9, 2024, I would like to share one of his beautiful stories called “Four Stages of Happiness.” A little bit about Ratanji (Ratan's nickname): He was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist, serving as [...]
By Bishop Jen Nagel A week ago today we finished up this year’s Minneapolis Area Synod Bishop’s Theological Conference (a gathering of our synod’s pastors and deacons) with its theme “Living and Leading Faithfully in Tense Times.” As the conference ended and I walked to my car to begin the trip home to Minneapolis, the [...]
By Pastor John Hulden Fair Hills, Cragun’s, Madden’s, Grand View Lodge, Heartwood, Arrowwood. If you have driven to the lakes country north of the Twin Cities, some of these names might be familiar. This is a list of the resorts that have hosted Bishop’s Theological Conferences for the three Minnesota synods where I’ve served. What, [...]
By Nicholas Tangen I discovered Centering Prayer almost a decade ago from a Spiritual Director who invited me to explore the contemplative dimensions of the Christian tradition and embrace meditation as a counterbalance to the busyness of full-time work and school. Centering Prayer is a practice that invites us to rest in God, to set [...]
By Pastor Wondimu Sonessa Last week, September 11 in particular, marks one year since I received the call to serve as an interim director of evangelical mission for the Minneapolis Area Synod. One privilege of being a DEM is that I am able to work closely with mission developers and pastors of strategic congregations. In [...]
By Bob Hulteen I’m a communications director. I’ve previously been employed by faith-based nonprofits, and now I work on messaging for the synod – telling the synod’s story in a light that is accessible and relatable. Often it involves discerning the optimal angle from which to view a situation. I’m fully aware that most people [...]
