Weekly Blog Posts
The following blog posts are written by Bishop Jen Nagel, Synod staff members, and leaders from the Minneapolis Area Synod.
Grab your duct tape
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen Growing up at St. Luke’s Lutheran, my friends and I always knew which adults were “in our corner.” Alice who laughed at our silly antics. Dave who listened to our stories, [...]
Putting it into practice
By Nick Tangen Can I just share with you that I really love my job? One of the great benefits of working on a Lilly-funded project is the immense community of people who are engaging [...]
The care and feeding of pastors
By Bob Hulteen Soon after arriving at Concordia College as a student, I declared my certainty that God was calling me into ordained ministry. So sure was I that I left my anticipated math major [...]
The scope of equity
By Eric Howard When I was a kid, I used to love playing with kaleidoscopes. The shapes, colors, and movement could transform everyday objects into infinite complexity and beauty. As an adult, kaleidoscopes still inspire me to [...]
Rummaging through the narthex
By Emilie Bouvier Last summer, I wrote in awe and gratitude how “being church” in Calvary’s narthex looked different than it ever had before in the wake of the uprising following the murder of George [...]
Looking for our prayer partner
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen Parker Palmer calls himself a “contemplative by catastrophe,” writing “I’m most likely to go deep only when I slam into a wall or fall off a cliff.” I might speak about [...]
A Lesson from Powwow: “Feed Your Enemy”
By Brenda Blackhawk I’ve just returned home from the 155th annual Homecoming Powwow in Winnebago, Nebraska. I knew when my family packed up the campers and vehicles 10 days ago that I would be writing a [...]
What gets you up in the morning?
By Pastor Craig Pederson My 17-year-old son Evan sometimes finds it a challenge to get going in the mornings. (Can I get a witness?) On school and work days, thankfully, he gets up to speed [...]
Created for relationship
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen Sitting by a Minnesota lake over the Fourth of July, I marveled watching my daughters with their friends. College friends had flown from Philadelphia and Indianapolis with their babies to be [...]
The thin, fragile pages of power
By Pastor Norma Malfatti My grandmother was a night owl. From the time I was old enough to stay up past an 8:30 bedtime, I learned that my grandmother never went to bed before midnight [...]