Weekly Blog Posts
The following blog posts are written by Bishop Jen Nagel, Synod staff members, and leaders from the Minneapolis Area Synod.
Remembering is what we do
By Bob Hulteen His name was Hailu Degaga. A black, snaking bicycle cable secures a ghost bike to a stop sign kitty corner from my house. It’s where the 73-year-old Mr. Degaga was the casualty [...]
Adept at adapting
By Pastor Craig Pederson Two months ago the first of our two children was confirmed in the Lutheran faith. Our son Evan had successfully navigated three years of large-group classes, small-group gatherings, service projects, and [...]
Steps toward forgiveness
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen The year our son was born, a friend asked if I would co-lead what we came to call a “Shalom Group.” Using the 12 Steps of Alcoholic Anonymous (AA) and Al-Anon [...]
A spirit of change
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen Did you feel the winds shift this month? Maybe it was the same wind that inspired Peter’s Pentecost sermon, “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh. Your sons and [...]
Poolside prophecy
By Meghan Olsen Biebighauser Here we are! This is the week when we transition from our school year schedules and routines to our summer lives. For families like mine, with two kids in school and [...]
More family
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen “I need more family.” These are the words of Jira, an adopted African-American teenager, spoken after her father is killed. “I need more family,” she says, to support her newfound desire [...]
Ruined for life
By Bob Hulteen Since moving to Minnesota in 1991, it has become my mid-May annual ritual to watch the last moments of the legislative session right up until the gavel is pounded at midnight. (Thank [...]
A 2020 vision for synod assembly
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen Under the wonderful theme “In this Together: What the World Needs takes all of Us,” we gathered for our 2019 synod assembly, now visible in the “rearview mirror.” “It’s an ‘all [...]
Holding on to New Life
By Deb Stehlin In the last two months, if you’ve asked me, “What’s new?,” I’ve exclaimed, “I’m a grandma!” And then, I probably whisked out my phone to show you a photo. Last weekend, we [...]