Entrusting a half-million-dollar renovation investment to a construction team made up of a retired pastor, a farmer, an administrative assistant, an engineer and a salesman may seem like a risky…
“If your church closed its doors tomorrow, would the surrounding community notice?” I imagine many of us have heard this line. It’s meant to encourage a congregation to be an…
In 30 years the nation’s increased racial and ethnic diversity hasn’t changed ELCA demographics, according to statistics. Since the 1980s, the U.S. Census Bureau shows the total number of African-American,…
When a church closes and sells its building, it doesn’t have to mean the end of its ministry. Many of these congregations have left a legacy by donating their buildings…
In any organization, archives play an important role. Although the ELCA is only a few decades old, its archives house more than two centuries’ worth of information from the denomination…
Editor’s note: This story is a part of The Lutheran World Federation’s Her-stories global Lutheran storytelling project. If you have a story of how women have reformed the church or…
The words “college students” and “free food” often go together, but two ELCA colleges—Augsburg in Minneapolis and Augustana in Rock Island, Ill.—are putting a twist on the stereotype. Both campuses have…
“Our Lutheran Life” invites and encourages ELCA members to tell contemporary stories inspired by the Reformation about how the power of God’s grace plays out in the complexities of daily…
At a time when Christian-Muslim relations can seem fraught, a West African organization supported through designated ELCA World Hunger funds and congregational offerings continues to work in harmony with people…
When you pull into the church parking lot on a Sunday morning, you see remnants of the scuffle on the car bumpers: “I’m With Her” alongside “Make America Great Again,”…
The idea that climate change is a political issue or a matter of debate makes no sense, said Thomas Richter, pastor of Shishmaref Lutheran, the only congregation in the Alaskan…
The four “grandmas” playing pinochle grinned when Elson Daniels ran to their card table. Seated in a cozy living room overlooking a snow-covered courtyard in Billings, Mont., they greeted the…
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