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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...
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. ...
December 2024 “In God’s garden: What fig trees teach us about Advent” by Hannah Hawkinson
View the video supplement. This Advent, we'll learn from some surprising teachers: fig trees. Astonishingly vibrant, fig trees have a zest for life. Their roots have even been known to bust through plumbing and climb walls like ivy! Yet fig trees also have a dormant...
Fall 2024 “Receiving grace: A study of Ephesians” Bible study video supplement Session 1
Session one: Is grace real? We often focus on how we fall short and deserve God’s judgment. What if, instead, we remember God’s continual gift of grace? God invites us to lead lives of love and wholeness. What is grace, exactly? Grace does not take away the sin and...
Winter 2026: “Embodied prayer” by the Rev. Liv Larson Andrews
Prayer is an important part of our relationship with God, and one of the ways we respond to God speaking in our lives. At the same time, we may carry all kinds of baggage or heavy questions about prayer: Am I doing it “right?” Do I pray enough? Is prayer always done...
Called to heal: The journey of Clara Maass
Late-nineteenth century New Jersey could be a difficult place for a young woman from a poor German-immigrant household to gain a foothold. Clara Maass was the eldest daughter of a large, economically struggling family. She needed to work hard from an early age....
Fall 2024 “Receiving grace: A study of Ephesians” by the Rev. Heidi Haverkamp
Session one: Is grace real? We often focus on how we fall short and deserve God's judgment. What if, instead, we remember God's continual gift of grace? God invites us to lead lives of love and wholeness. What is grace, exactly? Grace does not take away the sin and...
Spring 2026: “I AM: God’s holy name and promise,” a three-part Bible study by the Rev. Hannah Hawkinson
(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 space, all that was...
Summer 2024 “After certainty: A biblical guide” Bible study video supplement Session 3
August 2024 After certainty: Compassion When certainty becomes judgmentalism, it contributes to divisions between people and within communities. The teachings of Jesus and the pastoral writings of the apostle Paul sometimes urge people to choose compassion over...
Summer 2024 “After certainty: A biblical guide” Bible study video supplement Session 2
July 2024 After certainty: Community When certainty in faith becomes the responsibility of the individual, this can isolate us from God and from community. The reformer Martin Luther’s own failures of certainty led him to return to passages in the gospels and epistles...
Summer 2024 “After certainty: A biblical guide” Bible study video supplement Session 1
After certainty: Curiosity Jesus’ ministry, during the uncertainty of the first century Roman occupation, often challenged the “certainties” of the status quo when it came to faith, power and relationships—both the relationships between people and God, and between...
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...
May 2024 Devotional on Mental Health and Wellness video supplement
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,...