When Peter Friberg was 5 years old, he began attending the Augustana School in Kiomboi, Tanzania. Friberg was born in Tanzania to American missionaries from the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church…
When my children were young, I spent way too much money on far too many playthings. With my grandchildren, I had a chance to pull back on the gifting (with…
When an ELCA pastor or deacon is installed, the congregation promises to pray for, help and honor its leader and “in all things strive to live together in the peace…
A half-dozen years ago, the members of Good Shepherd Lutheran in Wilmington, Del., asked themselves: “If our congregation were gone tomorrow, who would miss it?” “We could not think of…
Harold “Dutch” Rinker’s ordination as an ELCA pastor on April 9 culminated a 20-year journey that began when he signed up for lay minister training in the Upper Susquehanna Synod….
COVID-19 has meant many changes for many people: online school and worship, families balancing work with child care and, in too many instances, saying goodbye to loved ones. For one…
Young people in the church today know what they want from faith-based institutions. If a church offers relationships, mentors, authenticity and political engagement, they’ll stay, often becoming leaders who will…
Focal verse “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another” (John 13:34). Reflection Last fall…
After the closure of St. James Evangelical Lutheran in Coral Gables, Fla., the Florida-Bahamas Synod found itself with nearly $10 million from the sale of the congregation’s property. Without skipping…
In the world’s northernmost settlement of Longyearbyen, Norway, in the Svalbard archipelago, Siv Limstrand serves as pastor of Svalbard Church—a congregation in the Church of Norway, a Lutheran World Federation…
With nearly 9,000 congregations across the United States and in the Caribbean, the ELCA’s ministry encompasses the geographic diversity of the country. For some congregations, their distinct location plays a…
An ELCA school is working to strengthen its ties to a local Indigenous community in an effort to find healing by building relationships. In January and February, California Lutheran University…
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