By Bishop Ann Svennungsen The signs were weight loss, shortness of breath, a cough. Given the symptoms, my husband, Bill, met with his doctor. She prescribed a battery of tests – looking for causes. Through a chest x-ray, a cat scan, and a biopsy, new signs were found: a 12- by 13-centimeter mass, malignant cells, [...]
By Pastor Wondimu Sonessa Life is sometimes like a pendulum. It swings back and forth between our past experiences and new encounters in our daily life. Once a force is exerted on it and sets the pendulum in motion, it continues to move back and forth with a constant time interval. Both friction and the [...]
By Pastor Craig Pederson Peter began to speak to [the people]: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. … All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his [...]
By Pastor John Hulden I got out voted. Again. First it was a golden retriever named Addey. All four of our kids, along with my wife Becky, used democracy to their advantage for a dog to enter our family home. It was fine. She was “a good dog” and very laid back. Then, after Addey [...]
By Manny Lewis In our quest for justice and order, we've implemented systems that, while intended to protect the community, can sometimes wreak havoc on the lives of the very individuals they are meant to serve. The cash bail system is a glaring example of such an unintended consequence, particularly for underprivileged families. In this [...]
By Nicholas Tangen Of soup and love, the first is best. – Spanish Proverb Lent is for me, the most wonderful time of the year. It’s the part of the church year where we don’t avoid the minor keys, where we face the reality of our own mortality and the power of the cross, and [...]
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen Ten days ago in Demsa, Nigeria, I joined eleven bishops for the laying on of hands, ordaining 72 new pastors to serve in the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria (LCCN). It was a profound experience, made moreso by the 50,000 worshipers gathering with us in this outdoor setting. An ancient [...]
By Pastor Wondimu Sonessa At the age of 12, I had to travel on foot with my dad to our zonal capital called Mettu to get to a photo studio. This tiresome whole day commute was mandatory to submit four 3x4 photos required to register for sixth grade national exam. I still remember mixed feelings [...]
By Pastor Craig Pederson “Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’, into the future ...” From the song, “Fly Like An Eagle,” Steve Miller Band, 1976 In the synod office these days, we are living a kind of dual existence: We staff members are fully immersed in the ministry areas to which we have been [...]
By Johan Baumeister I am fond of spending time in canoes and on paddleboards, floating on the crisp waters of Minnesota. These waters reflect the natural beauty of our state and have long been gathering places. For countless generations, the waters of Mni Sota have been at the center of Dakota and Ojibwe lives, families, [...]
