Holding on
Faith in Action

Holding on

About five years ago, I was asked to help people at our small Lutheran church manage the steps to the altar rail for communion. There are only two steps, but…
A century of community through faith
Faith in Action

A century of community through faith

At the turn of the 20th century, life looked a lot different in San Juan, Texas. A strict divide existed between the area’s white residents and their Mexican American neighbors,…
Lasting connections made at Youth Gathering
Faith in Action

Lasting connections made at Youth Gathering

Hayden Gruenberg never expected that attending the ELCA Youth Gathering would give her a clearer sense of her career path. But after making connections there, she’s pursuing a vocation in…
Grants help children’s ministries “realize their dreams”
Faith in Action

Grants help children’s ministries “realize their dreams”

For a congregation in Wisconsin, a grant helped transform a school into a community center focused on children. In Colorado, seed money allowed a congregation to expand their weekly family…
Serving our neighbors 
Faith in Action

Serving our neighbors 

Collecting. Preparing. Assembling. Packing. Donating. Signing. These are just a few words that describe how congregations served and loved their neighbors on “God’s work. Our hands” Sunday, the ELCA’s day…
“This has allowed us to go back to church”
Faith in Action

“This has allowed us to go back to church”

Sara Seifried and her husband were Sunday regulars at their church in St. Petersburg, Fla., but stopped attending for a reason many couples can likely relate to: After becoming parents,…
Light and hope
Faith in Action

Light and hope

What started as an Epiphany project became a light that is now shining across the country and into Ukraine. Project organizers like to think of it as a faith link….
From closure to welcome
Faith in Action

From closure to welcome

“Here is the church. Here is the steeple. Open the doors and see all the people.” Many may remember acting out this rhyme by opening their thumbs and wiggling their…
Three as one
Faith in Action

Three as one

Decades before “teams” were popular in the workplace, a highly unusual one comprising three co-pastors was going strong at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Olympia, Wash. Between 1977…