Weekly Blog Posts
The following blog posts are written by Bishop Jen Nagel, Synod staff members, and leaders from the Minneapolis Area Synod.
Resorting to learn
By Pastor John Hulden Fair Hills, Cragun’s, Madden’s, Grand View Lodge, Heartwood, Arrowwood. If you have driven to the lakes country north of the Twin Cities, some of these names might be familiar. This is [...]
The cult of busyness
By Nicholas Tangen I discovered Centering Prayer almost a decade ago from a Spiritual Director who invited me to explore the contemplative dimensions of the Christian tradition and embrace meditation as a counterbalance to the [...]
Gathering as a family of God
By Pastor Wondimu Sonessa Last week, September 11 in particular, marks one year since I received the call to serve as an interim director of evangelical mission for the Minneapolis Area Synod. One privilege of [...]
Spinning out of control
By Bob Hulteen I’m a communications director. I’ve previously been employed by faith-based nonprofits, and now I work on messaging for the synod – telling the synod’s story in a light that is accessible and [...]
‘Crowded table’
By Bishop Jen Nagel The song that’s been tumbling through my head these last few days is called “Crowded Table” by The Highwomen. “I want a house with a crowded table, and a place by [...]
‘Kindle a fire’
By Pastor Wondimu Sonessa While recently thinking about the value of partnerships, I reflected on the experience of the apostle Paul and his companions as they were sailing for Rome. During the several days of [...]
Love for (synod) neighbors
By Pastor John Hulden My siblings and I all graduated from our very own high school in our very own time zone. Growing up, we moved about every five years following our pastor-Dad to his [...]
Tempered by the flames
By Bob Hulteen During my morning devotion time a couple months ago, I heard a story on Minnesota Public Radio (don’t judge me for listening to the radio during my devotions) about a car fire [...]
Showing up
By Bishop Jen Nagel This summer our family spent a week at Holden Village, deep in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State. One evening as we gathered for worship the lights were turned down and [...]
Free to give
By Mercy Zou Taithul The ELCA Multicultural Youth Leadership Events (MYLE) and Young Adult Gathering (YAG) was held in New Orleans July 13-19. Although I’d never attended this event before, I was glad that I [...]