Seasonal
Resources for an election season
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...
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...
Tell us
Gather magazine is asking women from across the ELCA for true, brief reflections about their holiday traditions. Do you (or your family, congregation or community) participate in a special tradition/activity that makes the Advent or Christmas season more meaningful?...
10 ways to manage your mental health
Felicia Houston, mental health specialist with ELCA-affiliated Advocate Health Care, Chicago, offers tips on how to manage your mental health. “Taking care of your mind is just as important as taking care of your body,” she says. “Protect your mental and emotional...
Gather offers Lenten devotional
As we approach the Lenten season, you may be looking for a devotional to carry you through the 40-day season. Gather magazine offers “An outward-facing Lent” with daily readings that allow us to explore our vocations and lift up the vocations of others. Download the...
The winter storm
The rain is loudly pounding on the old metal roof of the refurbished farmhouse I call home. Sitting beside new double-pane windows, I watch torrents of water wash the leaves from the walkway leading to my front door. In the days before these tight-fitting windows were...
Hide and seek: What Advent taught me about grief
By Emily Wiles WHEN I WAS YOUNG, I was a champion seeker in the game of hide and seek. I had an uncanny ability to uncover even the most elusive hiding spots with precision. However, when it was my turn to hide, impatience would get the better of me. I would often aid...
December 2023 Advent devotional: “Topsy-turvy” by the Rev. Hannah Hawkinson
In her song, Mary, the mother of Jesus, praises God for turning the world upside down--or perhaps, turning the world right-side-up! Gather's annual Advent devotional focuses on the Magnificat song of Mary (see Luke 1:46b-55), as well as parallel topsy-turvy stories of...
Worthy, grateful, healing
by Dorothy Probst READING THROUGH THE BIBLE, with a guided plan last year, I was struck by the book of Leviticus. Prior to this, I’d quickly skimmed the pages of this Old Testament book, bored with Israel’s detailed sacrifices to God, as I understood God to be “back...
Sharing our gifts
by Linda Post Bushkofsky MY FATHER WAS A WELL-LOVED rural letter carrier, so when it came to Christmas, people on his route would remember him with all kinds of gifts. Throughout December, Dad would receive homemade fudge and fruitcake, bottles of aftershave, boxes of...
The meaning of “Hosanna!”
by Julie Seymour— When I see a painting of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on the colt, sometimes it looks to me as if he has indigestion. It’s a strange look for someone who is receiving a parade in his honor. Or maybe it’s not so strange, if we think about the message...
Into the wilderness for Lent
by Sarah Carson— It's 4:30 in the morning, and I am Googling, “What does it mean that Jesus was led into the Spirit by the wilderness?” Oops. I take a sip of coffee and hit the “back” button on my browser. “What does it mean that Jesus was led into the wilderness by...
“This was not on my list.”
by Susan Sparks— Growing up in the south, I learned many important lessons: The word “hey” has a minimum of 19 syllables. Okra can be a side dish, an entree or a dessert. And you must always, always write a thank-you note. No matter what the gift. My first year out of...
Our vocation: It’s about learning to sing
by Mihee Kim-Kort— When my kids were a little younger they said all kinds of things in response to the question “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Today my sons will still say things like play for the Steelers or the Golden State Warriors or be an engineer....
The road to Bethlehem
by Audrey Novak Riley— There are likely thousands of pieces of art—from greeting cards to Renaissance masterpieces— depicting the holy family on the way to Bethlehem for Jesus’ birth. Gentle Joseph leads a sweet little donkey with meditative Mary on its back. A...
Advent ache
by Julia Seymour— Christmas—the stretch of holy days, not the holiday—is the shortest church season we have. The twelve days of Christmas make for a season shorter than even the briefest time after Epiphany, no matter how early Lent begins. Lent itself is 40 days. The...
Save a seed to save yourself
by Venice R. Williams— It's that time of year when it feels like time is running out. So much remains in the ground, longing to be harvested. The collards and kale, standing strong and sturdy, can wait. Acorn squash and Harvest Moon pumpkins have stolen the spotlight...
Change is the breath of life
by Elizabeth Hunter— Lately I've been thinking about an old Irish proverb: Change is the breath of life. I remember learning in grade school how a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly or moth. After hatching from a butterfly egg, the caterpillar eats and eats,...