By Bishop Ann Svennungsen At the end of Sunday school one day, 12-year-old Tom Zarth was stopped by his teacher who said, “I think you would make a good pastor someday. Have you ever thought about it?” Tom hadn’t. But he never forgot the conversation. Last Sunday, Pastor Zarth retired after 40 years of ministry [...]
By Pastor Wondimu Sonnesa For our prayer life to be a peaceful journey with God, it is crucial to recognize and maintain the divine-human boundaries. No matter what our position is or which part of the world we are bringing our prayer concern to God, we need to respect God’s freedom of acting as God [...]
By Pastor John Hulden Can our congregations work like an Amtrak dining car? I’ve travelled on Amtrak’s Empire Builder between Minnesota and Montana since my college days and again last week. What a ride it is: lakes country of Minnesota, prairies and oil fields of North Dakota, prairies and wind turbines of Montana! Half the [...]
By Bob Hulteen Each week when I kneel at the altar for communion, I not only see my beloved fellow congregants gathered near me, I think of those saints who have shared that sanctuary and many others for thousands of years. I also imagine the saints that will follow, perhaps kneeling at altars very different [...]
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen In fewer than six months, the Minneapolis Area Synod will elect a new bishop. (Simply writing those words evokes so many deep feelings: gratitude, grief, uncertainty, wonder.) Our synod constitution limits a bishop’s ministry to two six-year terms. Having begun this call in 2012, I will complete my two terms July [...]
By Johan Baumeister In front of an ancient, timbered house in Eisenach stands an apple tree. I’ve never seen it in person, but it can be viewed as it looked when Google last drove by in October 2020. Below the tree you’ll see a plaque. On that plaque is written a quote often attributed to [...]
By Mercy Zou Taithul While I was in college, I couldn’t wait to get out of college and start my adult life. And then, within a blink of an eye, I am in my senior year at Augsburg University, wondering what the future held. My senior year had both challenges and joys; it was a [...]
By Nicholas Tangen This year, my wife and I accidentally adopted a puppy named Wendell. Friends of ours, overwhelmed with the attention a puppy requires, asked if we could help find a new home for the little guy and, … well, you know how it goes. Wendell is a doodle of some kind, which means [...]
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen A Bishop, an Archbishop, and a District Superintendent walk into a museum. Though it sounds like the lead-in to a joke, it was really the start of an incredible journey. Archbishop Musa Filibus, Superintendent Sebastian Feydt, and I visited the GRASSI Museum of Ethnology in Leipzig on September 21; one stop [...]
By Manny Lewis In our fast-paced and interconnected world, it is easy to get caught up in our own needs and desires. However, the concept of service reminds us of the importance of looking beyond ourselves and extending a helping hand to others. But what exactly does it mean to be of service? There is [...]
