Weekly Blog Posts
The following blog posts are written by Bishop Jen Nagel, Synod staff members, and leaders from the Minneapolis Area Synod.
In their own words
By Bob Hulteen I woke up this morning planning to write a great blog about how fortunate I feel, as a lay synod staff person, to be able to attend the Bishop’s Theological Conference (BTC) [...]
Church fun?
By Pastor John Hulden A day or two before my first class at pastor-school many, many years ago, a classmate I had just met asked: “What is your mission statement?” During those first days at [...]
Let’s get real
By Nicholas Tangen Last week I joined a number of other Minneapolis Area Synod representatives at the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Columbus, Ohio under the theme “Embody the Word.” Churchwide Assemblies are the highest legislative [...]
With hearts invested
By Pastor Norma Malfatti “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Luke 12:34 NRSV) This past week I had the great joy of being the pre-school leader at Vacation Bible School [...]
Diagnosis: FOMO
By Brenda Blackhawk I have a six-year-old sister, Camille. She is the youngest of nine siblings, so she is the cutest, the whiniest, and the most picked-on (which makes her the toughest, too). She also [...]
Simple miracles
By Nicholas Tangen I’ve often joked that my large appetite is my greatest intercultural and community engagement tool. It’s not often that I meet a food I’m unwilling to try and, if it’s really tasty, [...]
“Here’s the church, here’s the steeple, …”
In early May, I attended a conference that was simultaneously shocking, challenging, and inspiring. It was called “Neighborhood Economics” and was hosted at a variety of sites in and around Indianapolis. The purpose of the [...]
Have you walked that road?
By Bob Hulteen With apologies to those who use the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), I am writing this week’s blog the week after this text (the parable of the “The Good Samaritan”) appears. You can [...]
The meaning of ‘life’
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen In 1991, the ELCA approved “A Social Statement on Abortion” that provides for our church one of the finest articulations of ethical discernment on an issue that is, once again, [...]
A prayer for a job lol
By Kayla Zopfi With less than a month until my Lutheran Volunteer Corps year of service concludes, I cannot seem to go more than 12 hours without being asked the question, “So, what’s next for [...]