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Mission & Ministry

Abundance for stomachs and souls

Most pastors and leaders pray that people involved in their ministry will be spiritually fed. But The Abundant Table ministry in Ventura County, Calif., has taken that goal a step…

To serve and love the neighbor
Faith in Action

To serve and love the neighbor

You know them if you’ve seen them—the bright yellow shirts emblazoned with the message “God’s work. Our hands.” They first appeared in 2013 when “God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday, a…

Care package connections
Mission & Ministry

Care package connections

At a remote outpost, a military chaplain reads from an ELCA prayer book. Outside a Turkish orphanage, a boy plays with a new soccer ball. In a Wisconsin veterans center,…

The enduring role of the cantor
Mission & Ministry

The enduring role of the cantor

Editor’s note: Martin Luther famously said, “Next to the Word of God, music deserves the highest praise” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 53). The ELCA still holds tightly to Luther’s understanding. In…

Lutheran witness, global reach
Mission & Ministry

Lutheran witness, global reach

The ELCA is a church of three expressions: the churchwide organization, synods and congregations. But Rafael Malpica Padilla, executive director of ELCA Global Mission, maintains there is another relationship that…

Opening doors and overcoming hate
Faith in Action

Opening doors and overcoming hate

Less than a week before Dan Roschke started his call as pastor of Bethlehem Lutheran in Fairfax, Va., the church was vandalized in a June 26 hate crime. He arrived…

Legacy ministry creates space for all abilities
Mission & Ministry

Legacy ministry creates space for all abilities

The  legacy of a 12-year-old girl lives on in a disability ministry at Central Lutheran Church in Mondovi, Wis.  In 2015, a couple who worships at Central introduced the possibility…

“The exodus of the people of God”
Mission & Ministry

“The exodus of the people of God”

Editor’s note: Despite the danger, droves of Central American children and families continue migrating to the United States in search of a better life. Living Lutheran spoke with Medardo Ernesto…

Pastors of transition
Faith in Action

Pastors of transition

“Interims want to help people through the transition period, understanding clearly their accountability to their baptismal covenant and whatever future their congregation may have.” Your pastor has retired after 25…