Staff Blogs

By Pastor Ryan Fletcher

How dear to me is your dwelling, O LORD of hosts!

Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest
where she may lay her young, by the side of your altars,
O LORD of hosts, my King and my God.

                                                                                        Psalm 84: 1, 3

In early December, I sat with Pastor Nhiabee Vang in a very full and vibrant fellowship hall for a New Year Celebration at Amazing Grace Hmong Lutheran (one of the three MAS New Ministries). The jingle of thousands of silver coins stitched to vests, blouses, and belts transformed communal energy into audible sound. The bright colors and intricate designs were reminiscent of a field of wildflowers in bloom against the backdrop of the celebration’s theme, Golden Harvest. Children danced. Traditional music was shared. Pastor Nhiabee welcomed community members and invited faith in the abundance of God for the year ahead.

Pastor Nhiabee Vang

Returning to our table, I leaned closer to Pastor Nhiabee, as he generously explained the significance of New Year in Hmong culture. In a word, he said Hmong New Year is about “homecoming.” It is rooted in the traditional belief that a soul that wanders from home needs to return at least once per year. The golden harvest is a spiritual harvest. It is the ingathering of our wandering spiritual selves that need to be reconnected with family members both living and dead.

In practice, Hmong New Year also gave dispersed people opportunity to share news, to find life partners, and simply enjoy the gifts of community. In symbolic games and dances, these rich traditions live on. And as Pastor Nhiabee explains, beneath these festivities lives a cornerstone of Hmong culture expressed now in Christian faith: the community calls our wandering souls back home.

Listening to Pastor Nhiabee speak of a living thing expressed in sights and sounds and smells all around me, I felt the ancient truth that he so clearly proclaimed. The Bible is filled with stories of wandering souls called back home. It is the story of Abraham and Sarah. It is the story of Joseph and his brothers. It is the story of Moses and the whole people of God. It is the story of every prophet. It is the story of Naomi and Ruth. It is the story of Jesus and his disciples. As the psalmist proclaims, “even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest.”

At Amazing Grace, Hmong New Year is an ingathering where weary souls find a home by the altars of the LORD. Members remain faithful to this homecoming despite the disruptions that have forced them to rebuild nearly eight thousand miles away from the place their ancestors called home. As Pastor Nhiabee proclaims, the golden harvest of New Year is abundant. In our connection to community, God provides all that we need for the year ahead.

I am deeply thankful for the witness and wisdom of Amazing Grace Hmong Lutheran, and I invite you to receive the good news that Christ proclaims in and through their community. Our wandering souls must return. In the LORD, even the sparrow has found a home!

By Pastor Jen Collins

Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. (Isaiah 40:1)

What’s your word right now? Mine is OVERWHELMED.

As I spend time with people in various communities, the number one word that I’ve heard over these last couple of weeks is “OVERWHELMED.” A close second was the word, “TIRED.”  Marriam-Webster Dictionary defines Overwhelmed (Adj.) as “completely overcome or overpowered by thought or feeling.” I imagine people everywhere are striving to navigate all the ways we want transformation from the current place we are in and move beyond it. We’ve wanted to endure a world that feels more connected, safer, and not as hostile or lonely. I don’t know if we have found it, yet.

We are coming to a close on Advent – a season that is intended for us to find solace and calm. A time for awaiting the celebration of Jesus’ birth. However, in my experience, it has been anything but silent nights.

As I listen to seminary students, pastoral and organizational leaders, and everyday folks in grocery stores, mechanic shops, assembly lines, and postal services – people are feeling overwhelmed.

I can recount those moments when it truly feels like we are drowning – like we are trying to get out of the pits we are in only to have more heaped upon us. I can just feel the tension in the space between my shoulder blades pulling tighter, the aches in my temples, and the desire to crawl under the sheets into darkness. I also have experienced the nauseated feeling, reminding me that I haven’t eaten or slept enough.

Why do we do it? How do we escape the grind?  Why do we afflict one another and ourselves? This is certainly not good. Not for me and not for those I am to care for.

Through practice in therapy, spiritual direction, and a cohort of women leaders, I have been able to understand that “self-care is community care.” I often cling to this wisdom, especially during times where things feel so overwhelming. I use this guiding wisdom that brings me comfort amidst anxiety, busyness, and overwhelming moments.

One technique that I learned from the book, “My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies,” by Resmaa Menakem (Central Recovery Press) involves releasing trauma from the body. This body-based meditation exercise called “the body scan” helps to lessen feelings of overwhelm in the body. The practice involves sitting down and focusing on what your body reveals about emotions and interactions with others – it’s about paying attention and listening to your body. We have millions of interactions daily, and our bodies speak to us – we just might not be listening. We must remember that we are embodied beings who live not just with our spirit and mind, but with our bodies as well.

I have found that this “Body Scan” practice helps build my capacity for awareness, understanding, and compassion for others. Over time, I believe we can learn to tell when we are open or closed off from ourselves and each other. This can be a healing tool as we encounter overwhelming things. It takes time to learn how to lean into the world of being human together – of being beloved together.

The writer of Isaiah begins with this word: COMFORT. The comfort the Prophet shares is the reassurance that God does not leave God’s people. God is with us. God affirms that we are not garbage, we all are worthy. God with us, Emmanuel, Christ reminds us that we serve a God who brings COMFORT, a God who desires for us to care for ourselves and one another. Redemption began with a baby, love came to be with us, now and always.

———————————-

A Christmas Devotional

Prayer:

God hear our prayer, when we are overwhelmed, help us pause, breathe, and reflect. When it feels too much to carry, may we lean more on you. When darkness seems to have blurred our path, may your light guide our next step. God, we are so grateful to know you never leave and we are not alone. May we be reminded of your love for us all. Bring us peace. Bring us hope. Amen.

Discussion questions to journal or talk through with family or friends:

1. Can you think of a time someone extended care for you? What did they do and how did it make you feel?
2. Think about a time you needed help but didn’t ask for it. What do you wish you could have changed about that experience?
3. How do you care for yourself? Do you reach out for help and support to heal (mentally, physically, or spiritually)?
4. What type of practices help you find comfort and peace? (i.e. The Body Scan meditation)

By Pastor John Hulden

Our synod’s annual Power and Boundaries Workshops have just concluded. This year they were led by my colleague from the Southeastern Minnesota Synod, Pastor Emily Carson. Karen Alexander, our synod’s Administrator for Roster and Call Process, made sure there were invitations/reminders/gracious demands sent to deacons and pastors who have not attended these workshops in the last three to five years. All rostered leaders, in their letter of call, are required to attend to their professional and personal boundaries. So, every year we host these workshops. Lo and behold, Karen let me know that I was on the list of “need to attend again.” I guess all these years I’ve been hosting and attending these workshops, I failed to register. : )

Teaching 7^th graders the Ten Commandments always reminds me of a mini workshop on power and boundaries. I would advise those young people that when you work at following these ten rules, you’ll have a good life, deep friendships, and you’ll only miss out on a few parties. If you think about it, the two tablets of stone given to Moses are the OG of lessons in Power and Boundaries.

With all the legislation flying around many states ordering the public display of the 10 Commandments, rarely is it acknowledged that we Lutherans number them differently than many other denominations. Also, in our church art, we only put the first three commandments on one tablet (our relationship with God) and the last seven on the second tablet (our relationship with each other).

I would remind those 7^th Graders that our God isn’t stupid. The second tablet of rules aligns with our lives as we grow older. #4 commandment: honor the first people you meet, your parents.  #5 might be about the next people you meet: don’t kill your siblings, remembering Cain and Abel. #6: As you get older, you may be attracted to someone else, if so, have an honorable relationship. #7: Should I get a job or just steal stuff? #8: Should I gossip in the break room at work or speak well of others? #9 & 10: Be happy with the gifts given you—don’t covet other people’s stuff or other people’s relationships.

It’s always a pleasant surprise when scientific studies back up what we teach. Thanks to a recent blog  from Leaderwise.org, I read about the study of two playgrounds:

The project was simple: Ask a couple teachers to bring their classes to two specific playgrounds and watch what happens. Both playgrounds had similar attractions, and both were in safe places; the main difference was that one of them had a fence around the park. [The researcher] noted that on the playground with no fence, “the children remained huddled around their teacher, fearful of leaving out of her sight.” In contrast, the space with a clear and distinct boundary “exhibited drastically different results, with the children feeling free to explore within the given boundaries.”

by Laura Beth Buchleiter https://www.leaderwise.org/blog/boundaries-hold-us-free

Boundaries Training with Rev. Emily Carson on November 14, 2025

How about that? Fences and boundaries are good and help us flourish.

For years I’ve been explaining my weird pastor job serving this synod by saying I get invited by congregational leaders to parties and problems. A party, for example, can come in the form of a spirit-filled call process that crescendos towards the installation of a new pastor or deacon. A problem? Every season there seems to be one that I haven’t seen before. Yes, problems seem novel on the surface, but many stem from a boundary crossing or an abuse of power.

So, hey church workers, keep showing up every three years to those workshops. It’ll do you good. It’ll do the whole church good. And you’ll only miss a few parties.

By Pastor Jen Collins

Since God chose you to be the holy people God loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. ¹³ Make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. ¹⁴ Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵ And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.By P

(Colossians 3: 12-15, New Living Translation)

In October and November, I’ve had the opportunity to engage in many 1:1 conversations, building relationships in a variety of ways, from congregants to churchwide staff leaders, to local leaders and folks along the way. This is part of my role as a pastor and as a Synod staff member. The deep investment in relationships allows me to continue to find support, to learn and grow, and to uplift our value of being Church Together. These conversations with our Minneapolis communities and beyond show me that I need the support, continued learning, and growth so that I can too support, teach, and grow with others! In the prophetic and truth telling words of Maya Angelou, “Do the best you can until you know better, then when you know better, do better.”

In a specific 1:1 conversation recently, scaffolding was used as a metaphor to speak about the continued support, learning, and growth for us as people. Scaffolding by definition is defined as a temporary structure used while building, repairing, or cleaning a building. I really appreciate this imagery as I think of our faith formation journeys and commitments to building a sense of community and collective work for common good.

Pastor Jen Collins at the ELCA Churchwide Synod Racial Justice Leaders Gathering in October

I attended the first ELCA Churchwide Synod Racial Justice Leader Gathering the last weekend of October. Racial Justice work in the Minneapolis Area Synod is a part of the portfolio I hold as Assistant to the Bishop for Congregational Vitality. At the gathering, we centered our time on relationships, rest, and reforming! The tagline for the weekend was: “Braver conversations, bolder witness…for such a time as THIS!” This time spent was so valuable. It was scaffolding for me.

This time at the gathering provided support to help one another learn new skills and be renewed and empowered for this lifetime journey. I acknowledged that we’d gradually be removing the supports, heading home, and coming back from Chicago to our home synods in order to walk with our communities, to be Church Together, and to flourish as we practice entering braver conversations and becoming bolder witnesses. I give thanks to all our leaders that weekend: ELCA Director of Racial Justice in the office of Presiding Bishop, Jennifer De Leon, and Racial Justice Manager Rev. Christina Montgomery (ELCA Racial Justice Ministries). Our keynote speakers were Robert Smith and Aja Martinez (authors of The Origins of Critical Race Theory: The people and ideas that created a movement), Kyle Williams and Kamal Carter (A Long Talk), and Rev. Lucille “CeCee” Mills (the newly-elected Secretary of the ELCA).

This concept of scaffolding applies in so many areas of faith formation. It is my hope for you — in your places and space and as followers of Jesus — you are encouraged. Whether you are a person who needs the scaffolding or you are the one putting up the scaffolding in order to guide another. May we strive wholeheartedly to continuously be learners, teachers, and mentors, where we help one another develop resilience. This takes time…

I love the space to wonder about scaffolding in this upcoming season of Advent. We have time individually and collectively to imagine the work that needs to be built, repaired, or renewed. We can enter these new days as reformer — strong, bold, committed to building a sense of community, and an active a part of the collective work for common good. “God chose you to be the holy people God loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”

I will end with this blessing for rest and renewal from Black Liturgies by Cole Arthur Riley

Go in courage to lie down, in sacred defiance of a world that would rather own your body than protect it. May you say, “no” and “I’m leaving” and “I’m not saving this,” your boundaries never predicated on apology. In a time of frenzied activity, may you choose stillness, and this breath, and this silence… and sleep, that you might dream. Amen.

To learn more about Minneapolis Area Synod Racial Justice work, visit the Racial Justice page on our website. You will find information about the MAS Racial Justice Team, resources, and dates for upcoming gatherings.

By Nicholas Tangen

Last month, we received word that the Minneapolis Area Synod would receive a “scaling grant” from the Lilly Endowment to continue and expand the work of Faith & Neighboring Practices. We are so grateful for the possibilities that this grant affords us and are looking forward to growing our team and imagining new pathways for accompanying churches as they embed themselves in the places where God has called them.

Over the past months, I’ve been struck again and again by the power and necessity of connected communities – those networks of gifts, strengths, and capacities that build resilient neighborhoods. I’m curious and committed to discovering ways that our Synod can be part of supporting those networks in churches and neighborhoods across the region, learning from neighbors across the country and right next door.

In September, I attended the World Hunger Leaders Retreat in Columbus, Ohio, for a few days of community-building and learning alongside hunger leaders from across the country. We spent one of our days visiting ministry and hunger sites across the city, connecting with neighbors, church members, and clergy committed to the common good.

I was especially inspired by the Church for All People on the South Side of Columbus – a community grounded in Asset-Based Community Development and the power of relational transformation. We spent the afternoon with Deacon Katelin Hansen who introduced us to the South Side and talked about Church for All People’s core values — a divine economy of abundance, a front porch for all people, the glass is half full, hospitality is radical, start small but start, and grace is touchable.

Grounded in these commitments, Church for All People has created an incredible network of ministries and communities contributing to the common good in Columbus. Their church began with a free store, where neighbors can shop for clothing and household goods. They run the Fresh Market, one of the largest distributors of free food in the city. And through their community, housing development organizations have contributed to the creation of more than 350 units of affordable housing. I was blown away by the incredible reach of this one faith community in their neighborhood.

It was hard to not feel overwhelmed by the scale of Church for All People’s ministry – and at points I found myself thinking, “How does one community do all this?”. But Deacon Katelin reminded us that every single bit of their work started with small steps rooted in relationship. They didn’t just suddenly open a free store, but built relationships with neighbors, institutions, and organizations that over time made the free store a possibility. They didn’t just open Fresh Market, but tended relationships with neighbors, food shelves, and non-profits, and took advantage of a liquor store going out of business to invest in property that could serve a unique and needed purpose. And they didn’t open 350 affordable housing units at once but began with one property rehabbed by church members and neighbors. Start small, but start.

I was so grateful for the reminder that so much possibility exists in neighborhoods across our country – so much possibility exists in the neighborhoods across the Minneapolis Area Synod. And it’s easy for churches to feel like they need to launch massive initiatives from scratch to be successful. But Church for All People, and hundreds of ministries like them, remind us that it all begins by taking the relationships in our neighborhoods seriously and by taking the time to build deep and mutual connections with our neighbors, especially those who don’t often get invited to the table.

Faith & Neighboring Practices is one effort in the Minneapolis Area Synod to tend to these kinds of relationships. Our niche is accompanying congregations as they take those first faithful steps out into the community. The scaling grant from the Lilly Endowment will allow us to continue and expand this ministry in our Synod, and my prayer is that we can continue learning from partners and neighbors like Church for All People, — to start small, but to start – and to trust that God’s abundance is greater than the story of scarcity that so dominates our world. Imagine what might be possible!

By Mercy Zou Taithul

What is your favorite season? I want to believe that a lot of people will say “Fall,” and I agree, I love Fall – the color of the trees/leaves, sweater weather, harvesting seasons for farmers and gardeners, and many more things that I’m sure you already named in your head. I personally enjoy hiking and long drives during this time of the year, time to appreciate this short period of beauty.

Although, it makes me wonder why Fall? Because to be honest, all seasons are beautiful. Some love summer and soaking under the sun and enjoying the lake or beach. While some love winter, being cozy inside drinking hot cocoa. Spring boasts beautiful cherry blossoms, new leaves and buds – a sense of new beginnings!

Out of all the seasons, fall is the shortest. I think that’s one of the reasons I like it so much. Because it begins and ends so quickly, I want to enjoy every moment of it. When I think of this, it makes me consider our seasons of life. Humans could live for more than one hundred years, which might sound like a very long time. But, if we compare that with those in the Old Testament, where some people lived thousands of years, it’s extremely short. I asked God sometimes, why not 200 or 300 years? Because I have fear of losing someone in my life. However, I do know deep down that the decrease in years also makes me appreciate my life, my family and friends, and love them even more.

When I first moved here, I was not used to expressing my love or feelings to my dear ones because we didn’t do that much in my culture. It felt uncomfortable and cringe sometimes. For instance, I started saying “I love you” to my family like “Goodnight mom/dad/sis/brother, love you” and their responses would be, “Ok Bye.” Even though they didn’t say it, I could still feel them saying I love you too.

In the world that we live in – the unpredictable, the jealousy, the violence, and unexpected death, I find it essential to express our love and care towards one another as we don’t know when it might be our last time to say or hear it.

I invite you to take a pause for a minute:

As you inhale, think about the world that we live in, your loved ones, people or community that you care deeply about.
Now as you exhale, ask yourself what action you could take to make this world a better place.
Inhale again, and ask yourself, why that matters to you.
Exhale and invite the Holy Spirit to guide you.  

It is tempting to react with anger when children of God are treated with inhumanity, disrespect, power, indignity from their own siblings, and it hurts, I know, it hurts. But with all these uneasy feelings, I want to remind you that YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD and we have work to do – to serve and to live our Baptism life daily (as Rev. Leila Ortiz reminded many of us at the BTC). At the Bishop’s Theological Conference in September, Bishop Jen said, “baptism – it’s not always gentle!” As we walk, live, and serve our God, the path will not always be gentle, but the Holy Spirit will always be present with us.

So again, I invite you take some deep breaths, lift up your heavy burden to God, and exhale. Then, inhale love, kindness, compassion, and patience, then exhale with a smile believing that it will get better and you will be a part of that change one step at a time.

God bless you!

By Pastor John Hulden

I’ve been blessed to work with dozens of first call pastors. I’ve also visited with many call committees pondering calling a new seminary graduate. To get a congregation in the mindset of bringing someone new on board, I often ask: “Who helped you in your first, major, full-time job?”

My hands down favorite answer to that question came from a soon-to-be-retired science teacher in North Dakota. His first teaching job right out of college was forty years earlier in a small town in far northwestern North Dakota. This was back in the day when male teachers were expected to wear a suit coat and tie.

“The first day I showed up,” this teacher recalled, “the custodian at the school took a look at me, pulled me aside and said, ‘Buddy, let me help you tie that tie.’.” What a gracious gesture to a rookie teacher! I can picture this new teacher walking into school with a badly tied tie and that deer-in-the-headlights look of a first day on the job. The custodian to the rescue.

Every new job has its unique challenges, and starting work at a church is no different.

Years ago, when I was a seminary student, somehow, someway there was talk of an unwritten rule that the out-going pastor and the in-coming pastor shouldn’t talk to each other—ever. I went along with that advice, until … after talking to pastor friends and my two older brothers (both are pastors) … we started asking “Why?”.

Why not encourage a handoff of important things to know at a congregation. Wouldn’t it be nice to know that Minnie is deaf in one ear when you bring her Holy Communion, and that you always knock on the back door when you visit Ralph? I mean, even an outgoing US President writes a letter to the incoming President and puts it in on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.

Pastor Chris (left) and Pastor Ashley (right)

I saw a great example of two pastors having a healthy relationship and boundaries when I was at a congregational visit a few weeks back. Not so much about the hand off from one pastor to another, but how we as rostered leaders can show we are really on the same team.

Several years ago, Pastor Chris Bellefeuille served in our synod at Valley of Peace in Golden Valley. She grieved leaving Valley of Peace when she accepted a call to serve a congregation in the Saint Paul Area Synod. Pastor Bellefeuille did what is expected after a pastor leaves, she didn’t say yes when her previous parishioners reached out about baptisms and weddings and funerals. She let the new pastor, Pastor Ashley Osborn, be the pastor at Valley of Peace and form all those important relationships.

Pastor Chris retired a few months ago, so Pastor Ashley invited Pastor Chris to worship at Valley of Peace. At the end of worship, Pastor Chris was invited up front for a blessing and to share a few words so her former congregation could celebrate her ministry at Valley of Peace. Lovely.

Same Team. Church Together.