By Bishop Ann Svennungsen Grace is something you can never get but can only be given. There's no way to earn it or deserve it or bring it about any more than you can deserve the taste of raspberries and cream or earn good looks or bring about your own birth. A good sleep is [...]
By Pastor John Hulden Pastor Rusty Halaas (white suit jacket) on the stage of the youth gathering in Madison Square Garden in New York City in 1970. Imagine you were given the task of dreaming up themes for a five-day event for 15,000 teenagers at a triennial ELCA Youth Gathering. Where would you [...]
By Mercy Zou Taithul I grew up in a small town called Lamka, Churachandpur in the northeast of India. To be specific my street is call P. Kamdou Veng. (P stands for Phiamphu, the Chief of the street surname; Kamdou is his name; and Veng means street.) I was surrounded by my close family, with [...]
By Manny Lewis In today's society, cash bail has become a glaring example of systemic racism and inequality. It is a disgrace that people of color bear the burden of this unjust system, perpetuating a cycle of poverty and injustice. Interestingly, there are biblical parallels that shed light on the problematic nature of the bail [...]
By Bishop Ann Svennugsen Duke professor Ellen Davis shares a story about a neighbor’s conversation with his young grandson. The boy says, “Grandpa, the two biggest fears I have are that I won’t make the baseball team and that climate change will ruin my life.” The child’s question haunts me. And challenges me. Am I [...]
By Bob Hulteen Saturday is Epiphany – January 6, the twelfth day of Christmas fulfilled. I don’t know about you, but for me it has usually been the day when the tree comes down and the decorations are put away (at least in theory). Epiphany is the celebration of light. While it has always been [...]
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen "Where Shepherds Lately Knelt" is a hymn from All Creations Sings (#909, with text by Jaroslav J. Vajda and music by Carl F. Schalk). I invite you to listen to and reflect on the lyrics. Where shepherds lately knelt and kept the angel's word; I come in half-belief, a pilgrim strangely [...]
By Jeni Huff I’ve been working at the synod office for more than ten years and I’ve been on staff at my home congregation for two-and-a-half years. While I worked only at the synod office, I understood that it was quiet around the office in the summer and around Christmastime and Lent because church staff [...]
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 [...]
