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Planting seeds in their lives
By Venice Williams I hadn’t yet checked the ride-sharing app on my cellphone to see who had accepted my request for transportation. That is normally my practice. But that evening, I was tired, irritable and hungry. I simply wanted to leave a community culinary event...
When the music stopped
By Zarah van Dyk That Monday afternoon in my junior year felt like any other. I was majoring in music, and halfway through the second semester, still clinging to the dream I’d carried since childhood. Music had always been the plan—the only plan I’d ever really...
Women of the ELCA staff received a total of 26 awards from two religion communicator organizations
Women of the ELCA staff received a total of 26 awards from two religion communicator organizations, including four Best in Class, three Category Winner and 10 Award of Excellence awards. The Religion Communicators Council and Associated Church Press honored Women of...
Mary and Martha and the right to rest: Sources
Giles Constable. Three Studies in Medieval Religious and Social Thought: The Interpretation of Mary and Martha. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Bernadette Escaffre. “Martha,” in Gospels: Narrative and History, ed. Mercedes Navarro Puerto and Marinella...
Women of the ELCA parenting curriculum resources
Session one It Starts with You, Nicole Schwartz (Broadleaf: Minneapolis, 2022). The Search Institute’s Developmental Assets (https://searchinstitute.org/resources-hub/developmental-assets-framework). Parenting from the Inside Out, Daniel J. Siegel and Mary Hartzell...
Summer 2026: “I am worthy,” video supplement 1
Watch the video. (June 2026) “I am created in God’s image. No matter what anyone else says.” We’ll begin with the story of God’s creation and the “very goodness” that is spoken over every human being. The study will then turn to various scripture texts that have been...
Summer 2026: “I am worthy,” by the Rev. Sara Olson-Smith
Download all three sessions of the study. This summer, Women of the ELCA participants will gather in Des Moines, Iowa, under the theme “I am worthy.” When Nobel Peace Prize winner Leymah Gbowee spoke in 2017, she invited WELCA participants to reclaim space for women...
How we stand for her
Raising awareness, taking action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women By Christine Lafave Grace The statistics are startling: More than 4 in 5 American Indian and Native Alaskan women—a staggering 84.3 percent—have experienced violence in their lifetime,...
May 2026: “Paul’s letters and yours” video supplement
Watch the video. Our world often moves at a head-spinning pace. Regardless of where you find yourself, the responsibilities of daily living may sometimes feel overwhelming. In this one-session Bible study/devotional, we will look at some of the ways Paul’s letters...
Spring 2026: “I AM: God’s holy name and promise,” video supplement 3
Watch the video (May) Session three: Resurrection and life: Leading us into abundant life (John 11 and 14) This final session revolves around the third dimension of I AM: God’s promise to lead God’s people into abundant life. From before creation to the time of Moses...
Patterns of war: Tracing the ways women and children are most affected
By Laura Gifford Chin trudged wearily along the wilderness trail. She was hungry, cold and terribly alone. Chin thought she had experienced the worst when the white settlers came and took her family’s home. Chin, her husband, and her three young children had set off...
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 2
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 guidance and protection. Guidance and protection...
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,...
Spring 2026: “I AM: God’s holy name and promise” video supplement 1
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...