Weekly Blog Posts
The following blog posts are written by Bishop Jen Nagel, Synod staff members, and leaders from the Minneapolis Area Synod.
With One Voice
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen Raised in a Lutheran home, I sensed that the biggest stumbling block in Lutheran-Catholic relations was the requirement that, if a Lutheran married a Catholic, all the children had to be [...]
And scream till we ignore/All we held dear before
By Emilie Bouvier An unlikely group of people gathered at a Catholic retreat center last month in rural Michigan. We were a combination of faith leaders from institutions around the Midwest and frontline activists from [...]
Where do we find ourselves?
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen What does one say after the events of the past 10 days? What does one write when events have affected you more deeply than you could have imagined? To watch the [...]
What else can hold all this?
By Pastor Deb Stehlin I had one of the most remarkable Sundays of my ministry not long ago. In the morning, I practiced the ministry of showing up, and joined the people of Edina Community [...]
The ministry of consolation
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen It continues to amaze me how clearly I remember the people who attended our son’s funeral in 2015: My brothers’ families from California and Montana who’d just gotten back from their [...]
Decisions are made by those that show up
By Bob Hulteen Two of my colleagues jokingly challenged me to work a clip from The West Wing into my next staff devotions. I would say that they know me so well but, in all [...]
Let’s Rally, … Really!
By Pr. Craig Pederson One of the joys of ministry is discovering insights into the ways of God through vehicles I never expected. This week, the ways of God have been revealed to me through [...]
Tap, tap, tap
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen In the past seven days, I presided at three ordinations. I’m pretty sure that’s a record for me as bishop. Two men and a woman; two full-time and one half-time; two [...]
Finding Center
By Emilie Bouvier “FWAP.” There’s something so gratifying about feeling the weight and hard slap of clay against the wedging stone in my kitchen. This is the first step in the process of pottery throwing [...]