Weekly Blog Posts
The following blog posts are written by Bishop Jen Nagel, Synod staff members, and leaders from the Minneapolis Area Synod.
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 [...]
Seeing Through a Glass, Clearly
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen When my father started his optometric practice, he borrowed $2,000 from a local farmer to purchase equipment. When I asked how far $2,000 went in 1952, he said, “Not far. We [...]
A Tribute to Chaplains
By Pastor Craig Pederson Immersed in the major existential questions and day-to-day minutia of congregational life, it is easy for church leaders to forget about some of our most valuable colleagues who are not under the same roof as us. I’m talking [...]
Showing Up
By Bishop Ann Svennungsen Every Memorial Day, my mother made her way to the cemetery to place flowers on her parents’ graves. For me, All Saints’ is the day I feel a similar need. Our [...]
An Opportunity for Resurrection: A Reformation Sermon
Bishop Ann Svennungsen offered this sermon during the Reformation worship of the Ministerium gathering of the Minneapolis Area Synod and the Saint Paul Area Synod at Christ the King Lutheran Church in New Brighton, Minnesota, [...]
There is a Christian Welcome Here
By Pr. Kelly Chatman As a Black kid growing up in Detroit, I had no idea what a Lutheran was, let alone some German guy named Martin Luther. I was in 7th grade and I [...]