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Check out the latest from Gather magazine.
Katie Hines-Shah leads Gather’s June 2022 Bible study
Welcome to the June 2022 video supplement to the Gather Bible study, “Crafted in Christ,” by the Rev. Katie Hines-Shah. This video session focuses on the rest and renewal sabbaticals can offer clergy and congregations. The video presenters touch on why sabbaticals are...
God bless you, Mom.
by Lindsay Hardin Freeman MY MOTHER-IN-LAW, GERTRUDE, was one of the kindest people I’ve known. When she stayed with us, she swept the patio every morning. She wiped down the counters and sink every night after dinner. She said she couldn’t do a lot, but she could do...
Tell me…
by Sarah Carson— As an "elder Millennial" (that is, a Millennial born between 1980 and 1985), I have mixed feelings about the wave of ’90s nostalgia that is currently hitting popular culture. As I’m sure was also true for children who grew up in the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s...
Sarah Carson and Violet Little lead Gather’s May 2022 devotional
Gather is excited to share that two of the authors of the Gather’s May 2022 devotional, Sarah Carson and Violet Little, have created a video to accompany the study. Gather is glad to be able to offer these videos to help subscribers continue to connect in Bible study...
The meaning of “Hosanna!”
by Julie Seymour— When I see a painting of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on the colt, sometimes it looks to me as if he has indigestion. It’s a strange look for someone who is receiving a parade in his honor. Or maybe it’s not so strange, if we think about the message...
Kingdom calm
by Lindsay Hardin Freeman— What does God's kingdom mean? We hear this phrase often: in the Bible, at church, in the Lord’s Prayer and all around us. I’ll be the first to admit: I take the reign of God for granted, like an old, cozy sweater. I refer to it without...
Changing your focus
by Sonia C. Solomonson— The past two years have been so unusual. We faced fear and anxiety. We dipped our toes, bit by bit, into returning to more normal existence. Then surges of the Delta and Omicron variants of COVID- 19 hit. Add in more extreme weather—tornadoes...
Mark Allan Powell leads session four of Gather’s winter 2022 Bible study
The Rev. Dr. Mark Allan Powell, the author of Gather’s four-part Bible study on “The kingdom of heaven,” has responded to questions about session 4. Thank you for sharing your concerns and questions. Gather is excited to share that Mark Allan Powell, author of...
Help us believe
by Catherine Malotky Gracious God, human voices have been calling to you since you first breathed into our nostrils the breath of life. I believe that, as my creator, you have also animated me with your holy breath, and that I spring from your imagination. I believe...
Here and now
by Elizabeth Hunter— For me the words "Here and Now" are forever connected with a 30-year-old song by the late Luther Vandross. He won a Grammy for soulfully singing: “Here and now, I promise to love faithfully. …Your love is all I need.” His song is also known as an...
Mark Allan Powell leads session three of Gather’s winter 2022 Bible study
Gather is excited to share that Mark Allan Powell, author of the Gather’s winter 2020 Bible study, “The kingdom of God,” has created a video to accompany the study. Those readers who provided what Powell calls "not altogether favorable" reviews of the blanket backdrop...
The seed power on our doorsteps
by Venice Williams— I find mustard seeds annoying. Now I may be wrong in assuming this, but I would guess that the average gardener who has planted mustard greens from seed (and not seedlings) probably shares my irritation. No matter the variety, the seeds are so...
Into the wilderness for Lent
by Sarah Carson— It's 4:30 in the morning, and I am Googling, “What does it mean that Jesus was led into the Spirit by the wilderness?” Oops. I take a sip of coffee and hit the “back” button on my browser. “What does it mean that Jesus was led into the wilderness by...
Signs of the kingdom: In Jesus’ stories we recognize our own
by Jennifer Ginn— Teresa's eyes sparkle from her little Zoom square, as she describes finding her new home. After 30 years in New York working in banking, she’d been ready to move closer to family. She’d downsized several times previously but did so once again—this...
Wrapped in prayer
by Linda Post Bushkofsky— Lutheran women might not have originally conceived of the prayer shawl, but we were early adopters. Across the church, for at least two decades, women have been knitting and crocheting prayer shawls, working their prayers into the stitches,...
Mark Allan Powell leads session two of Gather’s winter 2022 Bible study
Gather is excited to share that Mark Allan Powell, author of the Gather’s winter 2020 Bible study, “The kingdom of God,” has created a video to accompany the study. Gather is glad to be able to offer these videos to help subscribers continue to connect in Bible study...
Mark Allan Powell leads session one of Gather’s winter 2022 Bible study
Gather is excited to share that Mark Allan Powell, author of the Gather's winter 2020 Bible study, “The kingdom of God,” has created a video to accompany the study. Gather is glad to be able to offer these videos to help subscribers continue to connect in Bible study...
Sticky stories
by Elizabeth Hunter— I used to write my favorite funny or encouraging quotes on sticky notes. I’d clip cartoons and inspiring images from newspapers and magazines. Magnets, tape and pins were corralled in a drawer so that I could daily see—and share—food for thought...