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Spring 2026: “I AM: God’s holy name and promise” video supplement
Watch the video. (April) Session two—Gate and shepherd: Guiding and protecting us (John 10) Session two builds on the theme of God’s abiding love as we explore another dimension of I AM, God’s holy name and promise: God’s...
Calla lillies and crosses
By Dave Daubert Just as my wife, Marlene, and I were about to travel to Ireland for a sabbatical, my father-in-law was nearing the end of his life. At 89 years old, struggling with a blood disorder and the side effects of the prednisone that had kept him alive, his...
Celebrating festival days with children
by Lisa Smith My kids never met a holiday they didn’t like. For them, holidays involve some combination of vacation days from school, extra time with friends and special foods. Once, shortly after Easter, my kids ran up to me, asking, “When is the NEXT holiday?” Our...
Spiritual decluttering
by Becca Ehrlich Spring is a time when the hours of daylight become longer, the weather begins to grow warmer, and we tend to have a bit more energy. Having more daylight can help us feel more hopeful and energized as we look to the future. At the start of spring,...
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) crisis: Get tools for use in your congregation or community
In 2021, the ELCA Church council adopted a Declaration to American Indian and Alaska Native People by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. That document reads, in part: "We commit to advocacy for and being in solidarity with Tribal Nations, MMIWGR...
Spring 2026: “I AM: God’s holy name and promise” video supplement
Watch the video. (March) Session one—Bread, vine and light: Abiding with us (John 6, 8 and 15) We begin this session by rooting and grounding ourselves in the story of Moses at the Burning Bush, learning about God’s holy name, I AM—a name that holds all of time and...
Journey? Lent is more of a holy meander.
by Susan K. Olson I have always loved a good journey. I like planning trips and figuring out the best way from point A to point B. While GPS mostly does that work these days, I do love looking things up on a map, to include side quests for the best donuts in...
Trade winds
by Elise Seyfried “If you become a sailboat and sail away from me,” said his mother, “I will become the wind and blow you where I want you to go.” —Margaret Wise Brown, The Runaway Bunny “Head southeast!” chirps the cheery, optimistic voice of my GPS as I pull out of...
We lament.
A response from Women of the ELCA about the ongoing situation in Minneapolis “You will keep them in perfect peace whose mind is set on you.” (Isaiah 26:3) Peace be to you in these difficult times, so that through you peace may grow and expand. The U.S. Conference of...
What are Christians to think about poverty and policy?
by Laura Alexander When Jesus says, “The poor you will always have with you” (John 12:8), he is, among other things, quoting from Deuteronomy 15: “Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I [God] therefore command you, ‘Open your hand to the poor...
Tanzania: A WELCA-supported mentoring and scholarship program for girls
As part of Women of the ELCA’s global engagement trip to Arusha and Meru, Tanzania, Valora Starr, director of discipleship; Eva Yeo, director of membership; and Nola Smith, a WELCA participant; join women and girls from the African Girls Scholarship & Mentorship...
Behold, I am doing a new thing
It’s my fifth winter in Wichita, Kansas. Five years ago, before traveling 1,322 miles (about 20 hours by car and in a different time zone) away from my family and friends, I never saw myself standing in this space for my first call as a pastor. Back then, the world...
December 2025: “Practicing Advent imagination” video supplement
Watch the video. Download Advent devotional. We cannot build a new future that we cannot imagine. The long nights of Advent gift us with time to dream. This study will offer us ways of imagining God’s future for us and all creation through the dreams of Joseph, the...
Works cited: Poverty and policy column, Winter 2025-26 issue
Askarinam, Leah and Linley Sanders. “Most US adults think the GOP tax bill will help the wealthy and harm the poor, AP-NORC poll finds.” Associated Press, July 18, 2025....
Anything to declare?
At any given moment, we are carrying around at least six different varieties of seeds. Yes, seeds. Biologists observe that our bodies—being part of the ecosystems in which we live— participate in the dispersion of local plant life by unknowingly harboring and...
Greed and the Christian life
by Laura Alexander When the “Varsity Blues” scandal came to light in 2019, I wrote about the problem of greed in human life. The Varsity Blues scandal involved wealthy parents of high schoolers who hired a “consultant” to help their children cheat their way into elite...
Gather’s “Advent words” coloring book devotional – $7
Gather’s “Advent words” devotional coloring booklet makes a great gift for a friend—or for yourself! Featuring 25 daily devotionals—one for each day of Advent—each page contains an image for coloring, a passage from Scripture, a brief reflection and a prayer. This...
November 2025: “Money, Stewardship and Generosity” video supplement 3
Watch the video. (November) Session Three: Generosity – A wideness in God’s mercy God loves a cheerful giver, because our cheer in giving reflects God’s own cheerful mercies. Can the biblical practice of gleaning be considered a class in Generosity 101? We will...