By Bishop Ann Svennungsen Theologian Douglas John Hall writes, “I wouldn’t have become a theologian (perhaps I wouldn’t have remained a Christian) had I not been introduced to Martin Luther.” I might say I wouldn’t have remained a Christian had it not been for Luther’s Theology of the Cross. Martin Luther said that the theology [...]
By Pastor Craig Pederson One of my best friends was born on April 1. We were classmates for our entire K – 12th grade experience and I went to all of his birthday parties. We still stay in touch today. His responses to his fateful date of birth evolved as we moved through those growing-up [...]
By Pastor Norma Malfatti Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? Isaiah 43:18-19a NRSV I’ve been thinking a lot about death and resurrection lately. It’s probably no surprise, given that we’re just weeks away from [...]
By Jack Hurbanis Even having grown up at St. John’s Lutheran in south Minneapolis, if you would have asked me how many churches were in the Minneapolis Area Synod or who the bishop was, my response would have been, “I thought bishops had to be Catholic.” My church knowledge didn’t extend past the few in [...]
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen When my mother died in 2012, we received several sympathy cards from women we didn’t know. They were all members with mom in Bible Study “circles.” Mom rarely missed her ALC/ELCA Bible study each month, and she joined a new circle whenever she moved to a new town. In the article [...]
By Pastor Norma Malfatti Pastor Norma painting an icon Each Lent I spend time with a new icon. Growing up, icons weren't things we talked about in my church. They were images that my Roman Catholic friends, not my Protestant ones, had in their homes. So I assumed that meant it wasn’t something “we” did. [...]
By Pastor Craig Pederson One of the gifts of Christian liturgies is that they incorporate words and phrases we are not likely to hear in everyday conversation. This week in the liturgical year, Ash Wednesday provides us one of those phrases that always sinks in deeply with me: “Remember that you are dust, and to [...]
By Pastor John Hulden Council members from Bread of Life Deaf Lutheran Church (BOLD) and Woodlake Lutheran Church discuss what good meetings look like during the synod's Tool Kit event. I was in the LA area* the weekend of the biggest musical award ceremony of the year (the one where super-fans rage on [...]
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen Grace and Vocation. Two words. And, yet, if you know them well, you’re probably a Lutheran. Much of Lutheran theology can be captured in these two words. (Though, if you were Martin Luther, you would explain them with at least two million more words.) Think about the baptismal service. It’s all [...]
By Nicholas Tangen Two Sundays ago, I preached at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in East Bethel, one of the congregations participating in the Faith Practices & Neighboring Practices learning community. I’ve really enjoyed visiting the congregations in our Synod, and I’m always honored when I am invited to preach. This time, I was doubly honored, [...]
