Weekly Blog Posts
The following blog posts are written by Bishop Jen Nagel, Synod staff members, and leaders from the Minneapolis Area Synod.
Faith seeking hope
Faith seeking hope By Craig Pederson “What gives you hope as you do this work?” That was the question we reflected upon to begin the most recent meeting of our synod’s Muslim Solidarity Task Force. [...]
Checking in
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen It didn’t take long before tears came to his eyes. We were sitting at the pre-game lunch last Saturday before Homecoming at Concordia College in Moorhead. My table mate had come [...]
Reflections on sanctuary
By Eric Howard I was four years old when I became an American citizen. Those first few months were a lot to take in; I remember navigating feelings of confusion, fear, and doubt. I was [...]
And the youth shall lead them
By Meghan Olsen Biebighauser This past August, 25 elementary-aged students from three Minneapolis congregations came together to spend a week building community. Literally. Equipped with stacks of cardboard boxes, duct tape, markers, paper, and anything else [...]
Baptisms from Jordan to Minnehaha Creek
By Bob Hulteen As Jim Rice, my friend visiting from Washington D.C., and I crossed the parking lot at Mary Gibbs Mississippi Headwaters Center, seeking the path down to the rocks that mark the source [...]
Inspired by scripture
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen From the beginning of my Reformation, I have asked God to send me neither dreams, nor visions, nor angels, but to give me the right understanding of God’s Word, the Holy [...]
Between a Rock and a Healing Place
By Emilie Bouvier Early in the 20th century, photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson complained, “The world is going to pieces and people like [Ansel] Adams and [Edward] Weston are photographing rocks!” In a desperate retort, Adams replied [...]
Bread vs. wine and other church conflicts
By Pastor John Hulden It was 1970. The national convention for the American Lutheran Church (ALC) was in Minneapolis. (The ALC was one of the predecessor church bodies that formed the ELCA in 1988.) It [...]
Safe at home! How about at church?
By Kris Bjorke We’ve hit the point in the baseball season where it’s getting really interesting. To say I’m a fan wouldn’t be totally true, but I do love to go to games, to hang [...]