By Bishop Ann Svennungsen Though I’ve been to over twenty Conference of Bishops meetings, last month was the first meeting where I made it to breakfast every day before 7am. I couldn’t wait to see my colleagues. I couldn’t wait to meet the 20 bishops who’d been elected since our last in-person meeting, held two [...]
By Emilie Bouvier “Eight… Nine… Ten.” I finish the count with a strain and glance up, squinting at fluorescent lights. Another set down. I put down the dumbbells and move over to the kettlebell for deadlifts, next in the circuit. Two years ago, I would have never imagined that I’d relish this – the sweat [...]
By Rev. Norma Malfatti One of the joys I have in my call as our synod’s Director for Evangelical Mission is spending time with our new start and strategic ministry communities and their leaders. These communities also happen to include our synod’s ethnic specific, culturally specific and multi-cultural congregations. Last week in a renewed practice [...]
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen Friend and former bishop, Peter Rogness, now serving as interim pastor in Berlin, surprised me with an email last week. Since our synod’s companion churches are in Nigeria and Germany, he knew the email would mean a lot. Last Wednesday, three young men arrived in Berlin asking for assistance from [...]
By Jack Hurbanis As we enter the season of Lent, Lutherans all over ask ourselves the same question: “Should I give something up for Lent, and if yes, what do I eliminate from my life for these next 40 days?” Growing up, this practice of “giving up” seemed much more like a punishment to me [...]
By Brenda Blackhawk It was about three Lents ago now, that my congregation last had a Lenten soup supper. I used to love coming to Salem, sharing a hot meal with my church family, and then singing along to Holden Evening Prayer. The Blackhawk family used to volunteer to make the soups for one [...]
By Rev. Craig Pederson “I called to the Lord in my distress; the Lord answered by setting me free . . . It is better to rely on the Lord than to put any trust in flesh. It is better to rely on the Lord than to put any trust in rulers.” Psalm 118:5, 8-9 [...]
By John Hulden On April 30th I’ll attend, oh, maybe my 34th Synod Assembly. I look forward to meeting in-person with the church-y folks of the Minneapolis Area Synod as we safely spread out at spacious Central Lutheran Church for a shortened assembly. Almost like old, pre-pandemic, times. Hey, we are even promised “Gourmet Box Lunches”! [...]
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me...” As many congregations make their way through Year C and the Gospel of Luke, these verses from chapter 4 are foundational. They are Jesus’ mission statement: “The Spirit is upon me … to bring good news to the poor; proclaim release to the [...]
By Nicholas Tangen My spouse, Kristin, had often joked (or so I thought) that when we finally had to say goodbye to our elderly cat, Wallace, that she would need two kittens to compensate for the loss. It turns out she was not joking, and in early January we adopted two orange kittens named Alfie [...]
