Having served as director for evangelical mission and assistant to the bishop in the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod since 2017, Melissa L. Stoller sees the Spirit calling the church to reimagine…
Elected bishop of the North/West Lower Michigan Synod on May 20, Julie E. Schneider-Thomas credits the small congregations she has served for her appreciation of resourcefulness and her reliance on…
Reading today’s headlines, one might easily sense the gulf between faith and science widening. Polls show that many Americans feel science and religion are in conflict, and culture wars continue…
Series editor’s note: In 2025, “Deeper understandings” is focusing on the ELCA social statements. We hope to reintroduce them to readers as a means of provoking fruitful, enriching conversation between Christians…
At Messiah Lutheran Church in Ashtabula, Ohio, where I grew up, there was a drinking fountain. It was old. It was ordinary. It barely worked. But just after midnight on…
Even in the days of GPS, I still sometimes get lost. I miss the cue from my phone’s directional app; I look for a sign that isn’t there. Suddenly, I’ve…
Sitting in her office on the top floor of the Lutheran Center in Chicago, Sue Rothmeyer, a deacon and the secretary of the ELCA, looks out the big windows at…
Elected May 31 as bishop of the Montana Synod, Benjamin Quanbeck calls for putting the needs of congregational leadership and communities first and enabling them to do effective ministry in…
Elected on May 31 as the first woman bishop of the North Carolina Synod, Emily Hartner sees countless opportunities for the expressions of the ELCA to share their gifts with…
As current ELCA executive director for Christian Community and Leadership, Philip Hirsch sees the Spirit calling the church in a new direction that simultaneously harks back to its roots. Hirsch,…
I love to pray. Whether for daily meals or special gatherings, at the close of intense phone conversations or in the face of distressing news, Spirit-led words arise within and…
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