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Feed your spirit with these stories and reflections about living in relationship.
May 2024 Devotional on Mental Health and Wellness video supplement
As long as humans have existed, there has been mental illness. By some estimates, as many as 20% of all adults live with a mental health issue. In biblical times, mental illness was often misunderstood and thought to be caused by demonic possession. In modern times,...
Women of the ELCA triennial logos continue to inspire
Logos and themes from past Women of the ELCA triennial gatherings can inspire and challenge us today. For example, the 1990 theme, “Celebrate God’s Creation” reminds us of our call to live as stewards of God’s creation and to work toward healing and restoration in our...
Faithful eating
By Ryan Cumming THE QUESTION IN MY EMAIL inbox was one of the oddest I had received as a food systems educator: “How did a plastic box of Brussels sprouts destined for a grocery store in the northeastern U.S. end up on a discount table at a farmer’s market in the Bay...
Women of the ELCA triennial logos continue to inspire
1990 First Triennial Convention, Anaheim, California “Celebrate God’s Creation” reminds us of our call to live as stewards of God’s creation. When we care for God’s creation, we work toward healing and restoration in our lives, relationships and the world.1993 Second...
Of monkeys, tears and the Wisdom of God
I was terrified. And I cried. I was living and working at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Hong Kong at the time. I’m not weepy or alarmist by nature. I’d weathered a ginormous flying cockroach in my shower. Swatted it hard and disposed of it. I wasn’t crying...
What critters teach us about faith
God wants us to take care of our world. My young son Richard showed me that years ago when he found a wounded bird, a Robin, in our backyard. He named it “John”. Richard ran in and said we had to save him. His dad and I realized that this Robin was one of God’s...
Blue Christmas: Surviving the holiday hype
Not everyone enjoys the holidays. For some of us, this time of year dredges up fresh waves of grief over our loved ones who are no longer with us. Some worry about pulling off a picture-perfect celebration or the effect seasonal shopping marathons have on their...
Feeling homesick
Moving in, moving on By Susan K. Olson BY THE TIME THE MIDDLE of September hits, the college campus where I work settles into a rhythm of sorts. We’ve made it through the orientations, the adding and dropping of classes, the meeting of roommates. The new notebooks...
Hide and seek: What Advent taught me about grief
By Emily Wiles WHEN I WAS YOUNG, I was a champion seeker in the game of hide and seek. I had an uncanny ability to uncover even the most elusive hiding spots with precision. However, when it was my turn to hide, impatience would get the better of me. I would often aid...
How I found peace
By Claire Garcia - I HAD BEEN UNCHURCHED since my confirmation day in 1969. I’d drifted away from church (but not from faith), leaving Minnesota at age 20. I went into the Navy, and became a hospital corpsman stationed in Memphis, Tennessee. After my discharge from...
Go-to places for sacred spaces
By Kathryn Haueisen— I’m embarrassed about how many times I’ve changed my address. Sometimes I’ve moved within the same zip code or to a nearby one. Many times, I have moved far enough that I’ve had to change pretty much every detail of daily life. Whenever that...
Just Generosity
By Mihee Kim-Kort— Across the U.S., day laborers line up outside job sites, waiting and hoping to be hired for the day. Work is not guaranteed. It may not be enough to live on. Sometimes it is dangerous. Recently, as summer temperatures soared above 105 degrees,...
What makes home holy
By Erin Strybis— When I think of home, I imagine my childhood bedroom. With sky blue walls and matching sheer curtains, it was my oasis. As a shy, introverted child, I relished my alone time. Sometimes I’d lie on my queen bed and pretend the pastel ceiling was a...
I’m a Martha. My kitchen is my holy place.
By Elise Seyfried I AM NO STRANGER TO SACRED SPACES. For 20 years I worked at a church where, several times each week, I’d leave my office, slip into the sanctuary, and sit in welcome, peaceful silence for a few minutes. On frantic Sundays, I had a hard time feeling...
At home in the Holy Land
By Cetera Jacobs MARHABA (HELLO) FROM PALESTINE! This past year, I was one of seven ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) volunteers who served in Jerusalem and The West Bank this past year—a beautiful, eye-opening experience. Palestinians are the most hospitable...
Sing out loud
By Karen Wright Marsh THE REFORMER MARTIN LUTHER (1483-1546) gave out a great deal of advice, much of it documented in his 3,000 letters to parishioners, friends and family members, princes and commoners. Topping the pastor’s “Don’t” list: lying late abed, gluttony,...
The blessings of a nap
By Elise Seyfried WHEN I WAS YOUNG, I spent a lot of time with my dad’s mom, my beloved Nana. Nana would rent a cottage at the New Jersey shore for the whole summer and invite our family down for weeks at a time. It was a welcome respite from the brutal New York City...
Clinging and letting go
by Lisa A. Smith I’VE BEEN A MOTHER since the week of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. I was on a work-related training trip out of state, my heart already full of emotion, when I first heard about the shooting. My husband and I had been trying to start a...