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Gather, the magazine of Women of the ELCA, offers a mix of articles, theological reflections, devotions and stories of comfort and challenge that help readers grow in faith and engage in ministry and action.
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December 2024 “In God’s garden: What fig trees teach us about Advent” by Hannah Hawkinson
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 period—a time when they do...
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...
War impacts a Lutheran-run hospital in the Holy Land
The war in Gaza had been going on for six months. It was the week before Easter, and the third week of Ramadan. The Old City of Jerusalem, normally packed with pilgrims, seemed deserted. “Look around you; this is not like Easter,” Bishop Sani Ibrahim Azar of the...
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Who dies by suicide?
By Elise Seyfried Statistics indicate that a person who dies by suicide is most likely to be a white or Native American male, aged 55 to 75. Men are three times more likely than women to die by suicide. But statistics don’t tell a complete story. Deaths of despair...
Radical hospitality
I recently returned from a remote village in rural northwest Alaska. I’d been attending a regional Lutheran conference there. The highlight—aside from hours of singing gospel hymns and participating in business meetings—was visiting people in their homes and accepting...
December 2024 “In God’s garden: What fig trees teach us about Advent” by Hannah Hawkinson
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 period—a time when they do...
Listening to loneliness
I didn’t grow up deprived of opportunities to make friends. I had a loving family. I enjoyed playing with my little brother. Still, I always felt like I was missing something. Whenever a house went up for sale on our block, I would pray that a little girl would move...