Stories of God’s people putting their faith into tangible action in their communities.
The ELCA Advocacy podcast Here I Pod has released a six-part series on the ELCA social statement “Faith and Civic Life: Seeking the Well-being of All,” adopted by the 2025 churchwide assembly….
Editor’s note: The ELCA has a long and meaningful history of ministry in rural areas. This story is part of a series highlighting innovative rural ministries in ELCA congregations and communities today. In…
Focal verse “But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled…
Walk into Augustana Lutheran Church in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood on any day of the week and you might mistake it for the neighborhood community center. Seniors attend a memory…
While many people traditionally observe Lent through acts of self-denial, this year we are shifting the way we think. Rather than giving something up, we encourage you to join us in making room for something…
The ELCA set sail into the 2020s on the winds of a fresh priority announced by then-presiding bishop Elizabeth Eaton: to become an “innovation denomination.” Two months into the first…
While many people traditionally observe Lent through acts of self-denial, this year we are shifting the way we think. Rather than giving something up, we encourage you to join us in making room for something…
Bethel Lutheran, like many churches, was built for a membership much larger than today’s. Decades ago, more than 1,500 members filled the building’s halls and classrooms. But the Willmar, Minn.,…
Focal verse Let your eyes look directly forward and your gaze be straight before you (Proverbs 4:25). Reflection Some days, doing one thing at a time might be the holiest…
While many people traditionally observe Lent through acts of self-denial, this year we are shifting the way we think. Rather than giving something up, we encourage you to join us in making room for something…
For travel writer and TV host Rick Steves, it matters that his community is cared for. Last December, after Steves learned through a local newsletter that the Lynnwood Hygiene Center—located…
Today we are sharing prompts to inspire you during your personal spiritual time so you can set your intentions for the weekend ahead. Take a moment to reflect on the…
Walking into the 2023 Rostered Ministers Gathering in the middle of a sweltering summer in Phoenix, Jealaine Marple wasn’t quite sure what to expect. “I was hemming and hawing about…
Focal verse “Little children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth” (1 John 3:18). Reflection There’s an unwritten rule in rural America—at least in…
With the trend in lay ministry only expected to grow, the ELCA’s synod-authorized minister (SAM) program is quickly becoming more important to congregations. A SAM is a layperson who isn’t ordained…
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