Beautiful dust
Voices of Faith

Beautiful dust

You make beautiful things out of the dust / You make beautiful things out of us —Gungor. My dad knew the beauty of dust. Even before he was sick and…
Celebrating diversity
Living Faithfully

Celebrating diversity

How can we teach children to celebrate diversity? Years ago, as I dropped my daughter off at preschool one day, I noticed a girl point to a boy and ask…
The gift of godparents
Living Faithfully

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…
A joy-filled service just for them
Living Faithfully

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…
Placeholder image
Living Faithfully

God’s heartbeat

Have you ever cried so hard, been so upset, that you couldn’t catch your breath? Have you been so overwhelmed by life—violence … inequality … death … brokenness—that you couldn’t…
Lessons in gratitude
Living Faithfully

Lessons in gratitude

Now that I’m a parent I get it. Or at least now I laugh at myself more because I think I get it—I have some semblance of how God feels…
Placeholder image
Living Faithfully

Axis of stability

Change is constant: seasons come and go; people are born, people die; jobs drift; cars break down. The news changes daily—some new horror to try to explain to kids. Their…
Placeholder image
Living Faithfully

Walking toward one another, cultivating understanding

The small village where I served with the Peace Corps had never hosted a volunteer. Nestled beside one of the two roads in the country, an eight-hour bus ride from…
Placeholder image
Living Faithfully

Holy trek to college

As my daughter Junie prepares to go to college this fall, I think of our journey over the last year as a sort of spiritual pilgrimage. By naming the college…
Placeholder image
Living Faithfully

Tablets for tots

Tech-savvy youth and the latest in tablet technology have connected Trinity Lutheran Church in Tullahoma, Tenn., and the children of the Tullahoma Day Care Center. The congregation’s “Mentoring Ministry” project …
Placeholder image
Living Faithfully

Reformation Lutheran Church in Orlando remembers victims of Orlando shooting

Joan Brown Williams, a member of Reformation Lutheran Church in Orlando shares her reflections in the aftermath of the June 12 shooting at the Pulse nightclub. Williams is also editor…