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Money memories
by Lisa A. Smith WHAT IS YOUR EARLIEST MEMORY OF MONEY? My earliest memory of money was trying to earn it. My brother and I would collect empty aluminum cans from parks or along roadsides and take them to the redemption center. After lining up sticky, smelly cans in...
Pray for me. Pray for the earth.
by Venice Williams I’LL BE THE FIRST TO ADMIT that I can be a bit obsessive when it comes to this. I am not in denial. I know I get on some folks’ nerves. Okay, maybe a lot of folks! I really just cannot reel myself back in. Maybe everyone reading this should just...
Sarah’s table
by Dorothy Probst I MET SARAH, MY THEOLOGY PROFESSOR’S WIFE, in a YMCA water aerobics class. Upon learning that I was her husband’s student at the seminary, Sarah befriended me. I was often invited to their home for lively barbeque parties. My family had all passed...
Building a new quilt
by Catherine Malotky GRACIOUS GOD, YOU CREATED US. We are all figments of your imagination, come to life. Sometimes we reflect well on you. Sometimes not so much. But we are your creation, and we stand humbly in your presence, grateful for the gift of life and your...
Time for pruning
Jesus talked about this. by Cara Strickland I’M NOT MUCH OF A GARDENER. In my time, I’ve tended a pathetically small group of corn stalks and a modest group of green bean plants. I’ve killed every basil plant I’ve ever bought at the grocery store and every potted...
Support 2122 and Katie’s Fund
by Linda Post Bushkofsky EARLIER THIS SUMMER WOMEN OF THE ELCA launched a major campaign to raise $1 million for the Katharina von Bora Luther Endowment Fund, lovingly known as Katie’s Fund. The churchwide executive board, as financial stewards of Women of the ELCA,...
Piecing resilience
LWR quilts wrap the world in God’s love. by Anne Basye IS THERE ANY MORE POWERFUL symbol for resilience than a quilt? Patched together from scraps of worn clothing and linen, quilts blend beauty with thrift. Stitched with love by their creators, they strengthen their...
Small dragons, deep prayers
by Lisa A. Smith BEDTIME THEOLOGY WITH MY 3-YEAR-OLD: 3-year-old: Are dragons real? Me: No, honey, they’re not real. 3-year-old: (Yelling toward ceiling) God, can you make dragons? (Pause). He said no. They’re too big. Me: Well, there are some lizards that are like...
A purse that won’t wear out
Peggy found the real treasure. By Jennifer M. Ginn WHILE I’M PUTTING IN my customary few hours at the church yard sale, talking with shoppers and cruising the tables for my own bargains, along comes Peggy, an older church member whose adult daughter lives with her....
Lessons from the forge
by Laura Brix Newbury A SMALL FORGE in a church parking lot may seem like an unusual place to heal wounded hearts, but that's what happened at an event our congregation hosted this past spring. We were fortunate to be one of the stops on a nationwide book tour for...