About
Gather, the magazine of Women of the ELCA, offers a mix of articles, theological reflections, devotions and stories of comfort and challenge that help readers grow in faith and engage in ministry and action.
Dear subscribers,
Our printing vendor has informed us of a slight delay in mailing the Fall 2026 issue of Gather. Unexpected challenges related to the wildfires and extreme heat affected the printer’s equipment and production operations.
Subscribers will begin receiving the issue as early as August 10-15, but some may experience a slightly later delivery date. You can view the Fall issue on our website here. Learn more about creating login credentials to our digital issue here.
Thank you for your understanding.
Join for free!
Sign-up for Gather’s free monthly e-newsletter and receive thought-provoking articles, online exclusives and bonus offers in your inbox!
Summer 2026: “I am worthy,” by the Rev. Sara Olson-Smith
Download all three sessions of the study. This summer, Women of the ELCA participants will gather in Des Moines, Iowa, under the theme “I am worthy.” When Nobel Peace Prize winner Leymah Gbowee spoke in 2017, she invited WELCA participants to reclaim space for women...
Summer 2026: “I am worthy” video supplement 3
Watch video. (August 2026) “I am because you are: We need one another.” Our individual identities are always bound up in community. Jesus describes this vision using a vine and branches. Paul talks about a body with many parts. The prophets describe communities of...
Getting to know Mary Magdalene
By Cara Strickland Years ago, I spoke to a pastor friend as Easter approached. She hadn’t decided on the theme of her sermon, but at least one point was clear. “I’m going to make sure people know that Mary Magdalene wasn’t a prostitute,” she said. Did these words...
Planting seeds in their lives
By Venice Williams I hadn’t yet checked the ride-sharing app on my cellphone to see who had accepted my request for transportation. That is normally my practice. But that evening, I was tired, irritable and hungry. I simply wanted to leave a community culinary event...
I am worthy
By Elyssa Salinas-Lazarski When I heard the phrase “I am worthy,” I thought about how I use the concept of worth in my daily life. I go to the store, pick out a shirt and consider whether the price makes it worth buying. Looking at the clock, I consider whether an...
When the music stopped
By Zarah van Dyk That Monday afternoon in my junior year felt like any other. I was majoring in music, and halfway through the second semester, still clinging to the dream I’d carried since childhood. Music had always been the plan—the only plan I’d ever really...