New approaches, extended services
Mission & Ministry

New approaches, extended services

The Results Innovation Lab from Lutheran Services in America (LSA) is equipping leaders to improve health, safety, stability and education for 20,000 at-risk youth by 2024. The lab employs a…

Living stones
Mission & Ministry

Living stones

When Tuhina Verma Rasche returned to the Aida refugee camp near Bethlehem in spring 2019, she was welcomed with open arms and a warm meal. During her first trip there…

“Being Jesus”
Living Faithfully

“Being Jesus”

A few years ago, members of St. Matthew Lutheran Church, North Hollywood, Calif., began passing out sandwiches to food-insecure people at a nearby park. That small effort to address the…

A blessing for the new year and each day
Living Faithfully

A blessing for the new year and each day

Recently, it was my son’s baptismal anniversary. As a pastor, you may expect that we light the baptismal candle every year and make a big deal of marking this occasion….

For the sake of the neighborhood
Living Faithfully

For the sake of the neighborhood

Dave Greenlund has a reputation in Lauderdale, Minn., a little town surrounded by Minneapolis, St. Paul, Roseville and Falcon Heights. He didn’t think he would get a reputation. He just…

Satisfying spiritual hunger
Mission & Ministry

Satisfying spiritual hunger

One Sunday evening a month, Alex Mrakovich takes a break from the hustle and bustle of life to relax in a candlelit, music-filled space where he puts aside his worries….

Dinner is served
Living Faithfully

Dinner is served

Editor’s note: Every Christmas, many ELCA congregations share the spirit of the holiday by hosting and serving community Christmas dinners. The stories below were submitted by congregations that have long-standing…

The search for baby Jesus
Living Faithfully

The search for baby Jesus

And the Word became flesh and lived among us … (John 1:14) When I took my church job in 2002, I was tasked with organizing the annual Christmas Eve family…

Wooden toys & Christmas joy
Living Faithfully

Wooden toys & Christmas joy

Handcrafting trains, doll cradles, vehicles, jewelry boxes, pull toys and more is the faithful work of the Happy Joes, a carpentry ministry started by men from Mount Morris Holden Lutheran…