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Go-to places for sacred spaces

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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...

All in good time

All in good time

What I love about Ecclesiastes by Anne Basye MY MOM KEEPS A TO-DO LIST. It shows everything she is going to do the rest of her life. When my son wrote these words in a long-ago grade school essay, I was pleased... and uneasy. His assignment was to recommend me for a...

Dandelions

Dandelions

The miraculous in the common by Jennifer Grant THE GROUNDSKEEPERS have just mowed the park. Walking across the meadow, I kick at thick, matted clumps of grass. Then I spy, a few feet ahead of me, a lone dandelion standing up straight. About six or seven inches tall,...

Clinging and letting go

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...

Rocking chair prayers

Rocking chair prayers

Sacred time at the back of the sanctuary by Kimberly Knowle-Zeller Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. —1 Thessalonians 5:16‑18 Excerpted from The Beauty of Motherhood:...