Weekly Blog Posts
The following blog posts are written by Bishop Jen Nagel, Synod staff members, and leaders from the Minneapolis Area Synod.
When the dead stump flowers
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen “The mark of ashes is one of the few honest words in a culture of illusion.” So began an Ash Wednesday sermon I preached in the early 1990s. Perhaps, the words [...]
No More Politics in the Pulpit, … Perhaps
By Bob Hulteen My funny bone praises God for the dry (and sometimes not-so-dry) humor provided by The Onion, a news source that has its fingers on the pulse of American culture. Staff writers take [...]
Linked with Our Muslim Neighbors
By Rev. Craig Pederson I have a LinkedIn account, as many people do. I can’t remember when and why I set it up, but there must have been an invitation of some kind, or an [...]
A Moral Example
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen “It was during a time of personal prayer and fasting that I received the news I would play the part of King in the movie Selma,” David Oyelowo told the crowd [...]
A Teachable Moment
A colleague stirred her coffee and mused, “I wonder how the new tax law will impact how my people give to the church next year?” She is curious, because the standard deduction has roughly doubled [...]
Enough with the Waiting
By Emilie Bouvier Okay, so I love waiting, I really do. There’s something about the practice and ritual of waiting that feeds the soul. But I’m also really anxious to dig into the reality that [...]
Prepare Ye the Way of Justice
By Bob Hulteen “Wait. Just wait.” The luminous blaze bouncing off the shiny red ornaments on a Christmas tree adorned with spray-can snow was too enticing. Homemade bows encircled the boxes adorned in green, red, [...]
The Magnificat and the Blues
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen The garment I will choose for Mary will be deep blue – blue like the ocean, like the endless night sky. Enough of this pale blue – as if the only [...]
December 24 lands on a Sunday; now what?
By Pastor John Hulden Aren’t we as Minnesotans blessed with the beauty of the changing of the seasons? Thursday was Thanksgiving. Friday was, well, Black. Yesterday was Christ the King Reign of Christ Sunday. That [...]