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Feed your spirit with these stories and reflections about living in relationship.
Creating for Christmas: Lutheran artists bring their gifts.
Symbolic of the first gifts the wise men brought to the baby Jesus—gold, myrrh and frankincense— the tradition of gift-giving has long been associated with the seasons of Advent and Christmas. While we know Christmas isn’t about the tangible things, many of us hope to...
Circles of friendship
by Sonia C. Solomonson— What are your plans for National Women’s Friendship Day (Sunday, September 20)? Oh, you didn’t know? I didn’t know either until I was asked to write this article. Created by the Kappa Delta Sorority in 1999, National Women’s Friendship Day...
God of grace
by Catherine Malotky— God of grace, in Jesus’ interaction with Zacchaeus, we see you at work. Zacchaeus was likely not a scoundrel to begin with, though as a tax collector he certainly had to compromise over time to meet the requirements of his job. I wonder: What...
We are called to reconciliation, not quiet.
by Tiffany C. Chaney— The peace of Christ be with you always.And also with you.Please share a sign of peace with those around you. Typically this exchange of peace in Lutheran worship results in a time of sharing enthusiastic hugs and handshakes with neighbors in the...
“Those people are nothing but drunks and addicts…”
by Susie Gamelin— We had just settled into our circle of chairs for a discussion about homelessness when the woman on my left decided to set the agenda for our conversation. “Those people are nothing but drunks and addicts who sleep on the sidewalks in broad daylight...
Safety is not always the better way
by Michelle DeRusha— Recently I re-read Matthew 4, where Jesus calls fishermen Peter, Andrew, James and John to follow him and become his disciples. “Come,” Jesus says. “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Matthew tells us that all four men immediately...
How we moved from debating prayer to engaging in it
by Julie A. Kanarr— I was leading a new small group class on prayer, and—truth be told—it wasn’t going well. Two of the participants were turning the discussion about types of prayer into a debate about the effectiveness of prayer. The disagreement escalated into an...
An eye toward belonging
by Elizabeth Hunter—A few years ago an artist known as JR created a one day art installation in the most unlikely of places—the U.S.-Mexico border. The artwork, a huge table illustrated with a human gaze—one life-like eye on each side of the border—brought...
Lament goes beyond words
by Nicolette Peñaranda— Before my first call as a pastor, I served as a pastoral intern at a Lutheran congregation and school in Argentina. My supervisor there spoke as much English as I did Spanish (not much). Transcending the language barrier would be key. It’s hard...
Let’s make time to celebrate
by Linda Post Bushkofsky— 2020 is quite the year of celebration! ELCA congregations are commemorating 50 years of Lutheran women being ordained in the U.S., 40 years of Lutheran women of color being ordained and 10 years of LGBTQIA+ individuals being able to serve...
Walking with neighbors is a Lenten practice
by Christa von Zychlin—It's the season of Lent which means I’m trying to listen to the Lord a bit more.Sometimes I catch myself thinking: You want me to love WHO, Lord? And serve them too? Lord, if working with your people weren’t so hard to do, I could be...
Changing tables
by Elizabeth Hunter—She sat alone at a cafeteria table. Taller than anyone else in our third-grade class, the new girl peered out from behind thick glasses. Some of the boys at our parochial school had already poked fun at those glasses and her...
What kinds of encouragement can we offer one another?
by Linda Post Bushkofsky—Last fall, in the days leading up to the beginning of school, some moms in my community hatched a brilliant plan. Nearly every child in our town’s elementary schools walks to school, so the moms encouraged residents to...
Here I am, God
by Catherine Malotky—Here I am, God, coming before you, trusting in your love for me, your acceptance, your welcome. I am your child, claimed by you in my creation, named by you in my baptism, shaped by you in my forming.I come from a long line of faithful...
Against the current: Finding a place where I belong
by Liz Colver—I got married two weeks before I turned 21 years old. I had my first child when I was 25 and began seminary at 27. I’m certainly not the youngest to do any of these things, so I was surprised one morning when, as I was dropping off my oldest...
May our hearts be homes where Christ lives every day
by Helen Hollingsworth—It has been rightly said that everyone must be someplace because there really is no such thing as no place. There are all kinds of wonderful places to be. Maybe you aspire to be in some of them. Or some of you may be in those places...
Keeping the struggling flame lit
by Julie A. Kanarr—It was Sunday morning, and I was preparing to lead worship. This Sunday marked the festival of the Baptism of Our Lord, the first Sunday after Epiphany. During the service, we would be affirming the promises God makes to us in baptism....
From playing church to leading it: Fifty years of ordaining Lutheran women
by Anne Basye—Some girls play house. In the 1960s, Joan* played church. She would line her friends up on the sofa, set little glasses of cranberry juice in front of them and repeat the words she heard every week: “This is my body, given for you. This is my...