Recovery and the church
Mission & Ministry

Recovery and the church

Suzanna Hayes says she was broken four years ago. She’d been sober for 14 years but felt stagnant in her recovery. Around that time she saw a flier for Common…
Seminary status check
Mission & Ministry

Seminary status check

For nearly 200 years, Lutheran seminaries in the United States have been educating pastors, missionaries and other church workers for service in congregations, social service agencies and other countries. Thousands…
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Mission & Ministry

A new kind of pastor

As seminaries rework the ways they train new pastors, congregations may have to alter their “image” of a pastor. “We look at the world around us, and the church, as…
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Theology & Beliefs

Reformation stories: Christmas tree decorations from Martin Luther’s seal

Editor’s note: Throughout 2017, we’re highlighting reader submissions of ways they’re observing the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Submit your story by sending 300 words or less, plus photos, to livinglutheran@elca.org,…
Holistic healing
Mission & Ministry

Holistic healing

For most of the past two centuries, healing and faith were as intertwined as the serpent encircling the rod in the symbol for medicine. Jesus and his disciples healed not…
A ‘Youth Gathering’—for adults
Faith in Action

A ‘Youth Gathering’—for adults

Three years ago, when Stephen Zeller began his call as pastor at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Cole Camp, Mo., a member came to him interested in planning an event like…
The gift of godparents
Faith in Action

The gift of godparents

My daughter gets a package from her godmother every June near the anniversary of her baptism. When she was little, it was usually a book. As she grew older the…
Small congregations share strengths, struggles
Faith in Action

Small congregations share strengths, struggles

When Thomas Batterman retired from full-time parish ministry, he began serving as a supply pastor in the Dayton, Ohio, area. The call often takes him to serve small congregations in…
In pursuit of peace
Mission & Ministry

In pursuit of peace

The smiley teen, dressed in a stark white collared shirt embossed with Talitha Kumi Evangelical Lutheran School’s emblem, corrects me when I ask him and the director of the Lutheran…
A joy-filled service just for them
Faith in Action

A joy-filled service just for them

It starts with a parachute in the sanctuary. Children and adults of all abilities hold its edges and lift multicolored sheets up and down while singing “Jesus Loves Me.” Jayden…