Blog Grid Layout
For a full width blog, use the full-width blog module.
Tell us: How do you help others identify and use their spiritual gifts?
Does your Women of the ELCA unit or congregation help people (youth too!) identify – and use – their spiritual gifts? Have you recently discovered your spiritual gifts and found a way to use them in your congregation and community? If so, we would love to hear from...
Fall 2024 “Receiving grace: A study of Ephesians” Bible study video supplement Session 3
Session three: Living as children of the Light Watch the video What concrete advice can Ephesians give us on how to live a fuller, happier life? What poetic inspiration can it offer us for living as Christians?
Register for the digital issue
Please note: You will need to have an email address associated with your subscription account to access Gather’s digital issues. Check your account here. On the right side of the page, under “Log into your account,” enter your account number and zip code in the top...
Tell us: How do you support those with developmental disabilities and their families?
Does your congregation provide a welcoming environment for those living with developmental disabilities and their families? Do you offer sensory-friendly worship services, provide respite care for family caregivers or have those with developmental disabilities help...
Fall 2024 “Receiving grace: A study of Ephesians” Bible study video supplement Session 2
Session two: Grace-filled living—ancient and new What did the writer of Ephesians imagine grace would look like in Christian life and relationships? How can we live from grace in our own time, reading this letter through our cultural lenses and experiences? Watch the...
Trenches and flowers
The power of hope in Kharkiv, Ukraine People were planting flowers next to trenches along the main road leading into Kharkiv, a city in eastern Ukraine, when our Lutheran World Federation (LWF) delegation visited in May 2024. Checkpoints, concrete blocks and...
Getting it right (or not) with kids’ faith questions
“Will God and Jesus ever die?” “When will Jesus come back to earth?” “Why did God make flowers?” “Is everyone in heaven a grown-up?” “Why can’t people come back from heaven?” Eight years ago, I opened a Word document to record the questions my kids asked me about God...
The gift of grace
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God…” (Ephesians 2:8) This was one of the scripture readings at our wedding. This was one of the Scripture readings at our wedding. We didn’t exactly choose it. We were...
Holding to God’s promise
When my husband, Joe, and I moved into our first house In May 2014, we spied squash vines growing along a wooden fence next to our driveway. Being new homeowners—and not exactly avid gardeners—we decided to let the vines grow and see what would result. That June, to...
Winter/Spring 2025: “Faithfulness” by Denise Rector
(January) Session One: Faith where you are: Ruth and Naomi Ruth chooses to remain part of Naomi’s family, even after Naomi has lost everything – including her husband and sons. This intergenerational story of faithfulness during emptiness and sorrow helps us learn how...
May 2025 – Receiving the Spirit’s flame: Spiritual gifts in the life of the church, by Cara Strickland
As we begin to dig into Scripture and talk about our spiritual gifts, it’s important to remind ourselves that these gifts are given to us by Someone who knows us intimately. A spiritual gift is nothing we can ever earn, and usually not something we’d think to ask for,...
Summer 2025: “Where two or more are gathered: Flourishing in relationships” by the Rev. Dr. Brooke Petersen
(June) Session One: Relationships that form us: All in the family Some of our most beloved Bible stories involve siblings and the trials and tribulations of relationships within families. We’ll examine the stories of Jacob and Esau, as well as Mary and Martha, while...
Fall 2025: “Money, Stewardship and Generosity” by the Rev. Christa von Zychlin
(September) Session One: Money – What do we treasure? From Genesis through Revelation, gold, silver and jewels serve as icons of God’s goodness. And yet, the love of money is a powerful source of argument, lies and literal enslavement. King Solomon, famously, chose...
Grow in faith
Explore Women of the ELCA resources Women of the ELCA offers a wide range of free downloadable resources in English and Spanish to help you grow in faith, deepen your spiritual life and engage in ministry and action. For example: “Called to be political” can help you...
December 2025: “Practicing Advent imagination: Matthew’s dreamers and Isaiah’s visions” by the Rev. Sara Olson-Smith
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 Three Wise Men and Isaiah. ...
Winter/Spring 2024: “Scripture and nature: Teachers of faith” by the Rev. Sara Olson-Smith
Jesus regularly invokes nature in his teaching, drawing us into deeper relationship with the created world. But it’s not just Jesus inviting us to see creation as teacher and kin. The scriptures themselves help us see the important role of the created world in God’s...
May 2024 Devotional on Mental Health and Wellness by Elise Seyfried
As long as humans have existed, there has been mental illness. By some estimates, as many as 20% of all adults live with a mental health issue. In biblical times, mental illness was often misunderstood and thought to be caused by demonic possession. In modern times,...
Summer 2024 “After certainty: A biblical guide” by the Rev. Dr. Meghan Johnston Aelabouni
A global pandemic, political upheaval, a changing climate… these days, the future is more uncertain than it has ever been. Or is it? For the people of the Bible, life was often shaped by deep uncertainty. Encounters with God sparked awe, confusion or courage, but...