“Sanctuary” means different things to different people. Perhaps that is a strength that can be brought to the ELCA’s self-designation as a “sanctuary church.” Individuals, congregations and synods are able…
Like many Lutheran programs, ELCA outdoor ministries have faced challenges in determining the most effective way to serve, and be led by, people who are often marginalized, said Don Johnson,…
By the time asylum-seekers reach the Welcome and Respite center in Phoenix, they’ve migrated hundreds or thousands of miles to safety. The majority come from Central America, with a growing…
For nearly six years, St. Mark Lutheran Church in Fargo, N.D., could find only temporary spaces to gather for worship. Now the congregation has found a place that could be…
Savannah (last name withheld) and her two brothers entered foster care as young children. When they were adopted by a prominent South Carolina couple, they expected a stable and loving…
For years Marsha Harris worked at various congregations—first as a layperson and then while waiting for her first call—before a class attended by only a handful of people made her…
Born in Jerusalem, Rodny Saïd felt called to serve the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL). “I felt my call was specifically to one geographical point…
Often risking life and limb to come to the United States for safety and a new life, asylum-seeking families arrive only to find that their long hard journey is not…
“I was—I am—an alcoholic,” said Melody Gulbrantson. “On my own, I entered an AA recovery program. My sister cared for my children, but my son gave her trouble. I took…
It can be difficult to disseminate information throughout Nepal, which is monetarily poor, geographically diverse, educationally unsound yet multilingual. To distribute life lessons there, one innovative social organization is using…
It was a distressing situation: a family divided by more than 2,000 miles and facing dire health situations on both ends. In Tucson, Ariz., John (last name withheld), a father…
Erin Magoon, a junior at St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn., said that before May 2019, she knew little about the history of women’s ordination in the Lutheran church. Determined to…
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