Series editor’s note: Throughout 2021, “Deeper understandings” will continue to engage the ELCA’s commitment to authentic diversity. Abraham Allende will carry on this theme next month. —Kathryn A. Kleinhans, dean…
It’s a sunny day in the Wind River Range of Wyoming. A group of Indigenous people and I form a circle to burn tobacco and offer a prayer of thanks…
Each morning I face a choice. Do I go for a long walk, knowing that it might plunge me into the depths of some unsettling symptoms? A walk reduces my…
Rachel Held Evans, author of a popular blog and many best-selling books, died in May 2019. While her family and close friends grieved, Evans’ reach and legacy meant that many…
The month of November in the church year calls to mind deeply meaningful aspects of what it means to be people of faith. On All Saints Day, we remember in…
Some of my earliest memories of church are infused with song: “Amazing Grace,” “A Mighty Fortress,” “Lamb of God.” Bright melodies and full, rich chords—the sound of my mom playing…
You have been cooped up in this place for far too long, and it’s starting to show. Rough stubble has started to grow where before you kept your skin smooth…
In my home office, directly behind my writing desk, you’ll find a massive Bible that holds much more than Scripture. Inside are the handwritten notes, quips and quick thoughts of…
Like a one-wish genie, Jesus asks the loud man in the crowd, “What do you want me to do for you?” The man who was blind replies, “My teacher, let…
In one of my oldest memories, my little hand is held firmly in my mother’s as we climb a long, wide staircase. We are dressed in our finest shoes and…
On a Monday afternoon in late July, James Colver and Shepherd, 9, were kicking back and relaxing at a hotel. James said he was tired—but a “good kind of tired”—as…
Faith Lutheran Church, Leavenworth, Wash. Mayor of Leavenworth and manager of Cornerstone Community, a home for adults with learning disabilities Growing up, my faith was always important to me. I…
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