Weekly Blog Posts
The following blog posts are written by Bishop Jen Nagel, Synod staff members, and leaders from the Minneapolis Area Synod.
Do Churches Need a Strategy?
By Pastor Craig Pederson “Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to [the eunuch] the good news about Jesus. As they were going along the road, they came to some water; [...]
Don’t you just ‘love’ Caesar?
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen Did you get your taxes done? Perhaps, the storm gave you time needed to finish. Perhaps, you just got your Form 4868 done early (and if you’re not familiar with Form [...]
A Cheeseburger Justice Story, 1968
By Pr. John Hulden I love cheeseburgers. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always loved cheeseburgers When I was 8 years old or so, my family stopped in a small town in Oregon [...]
What letting go looks like
By Rev. Deb Stehlin Have you recovered from your Holy-Week-into-Easter observance? If you’re leader in a congregation, you’ve probably preached, sang in the choir, and made sure there’s enough toilet paper in the restroom. Today, [...]
From a Distance
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen When I was serving a congregation, I often felt that the pace of Holy Week was similar to that of college finals. Three research papers were due (read: sermons) as well [...]
Daring to lead when tragedy befalls
By Pastor Kelly Chatman I read a recent headline that stated, “Florida teens staged a walkout to protest gun violence in solidarity with their peers, and these future voters are going to change the world.” [...]
‘Leading us forth’
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen During our March 5 plenary of the Spring Conference of Bishops, those gathered issued a statement in solidarity with surviving students of the Florida school shooting and supportive of the March for our [...]
For the love of Earth Day
By Emilie Bouvier Several months worth of large-sheet calendar pages decorate my office wall; if you’ve been by, you’ve seen them. I like how the sheets motivate me to plan ahead and see the momentum [...]
A conversation for Lent
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen My father liked to hunt pheasant in Montana. My son-in-law grew up hunting deer in northern Minnesota. Though I can’t imagine shooting a gun, I can imagine the suspense and even [...]
I like you just the way you are
By Pastor Deb Stehlin Yesterday, a friend and I went to see the In the Heart of the Beast Puppet Theater production of “Make Believe Neighborhood.” It’s a masterful mash-up of the story of the [...]