Messages and reflections from the ELCA presiding bishop for guidance and inspiration.
A dear friend gave me a plaque inscribed with the words “Vocatus atque non vocatus Deus aderit.” Bidden or not bidden, God is present. It’s an intriguing proverb, thought to…
Recently the Louisiana Legislature passed a law mandating that all state-funded schools and universities prominently display the Ten Commandments in classrooms and cafeterias. Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah are considering…
The airwaves are filled with contentious political discourse. And, as we get closer to the November election, it will undoubtedly get louder and coarser. Each side seeks to catch the…
As I write this it is early May. The leaves on the trees are still that new green that comes with spring. The lilacs are blooming with their intoxicating scent….
“So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone for they were afraid.” That’s where the Gospel…
There is a curse of unknown provenance that says, “May you live in interesting times.” In November we celebrate Thanksgiving Day, counting our blessings and giving thanks for the bounty…
As I write this the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) is preparing to gather in Kraków, Poland, for its 13th assembly. Delegates, observers, guests and staff from the 149 member churches…
My husband and I live in Skokie, Ill., a diverse community. Our neighbors to the west are an octogenarian Taiwanese Evangelical couple who regularly order meals from Kosher to Go….
At the 2022 Churchwide Assembly, the decision was taken to establish a Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church to “reconsider the statements of purpose for each of the expressions of…
They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. Now there was a garden in the…
Martin Luther once said, “I felt that I had been born anew and that the gates of heaven had been opened. The whole of Scripture gained a new meaning. And…
Sometimes the world just seems so solid. Reality is uncompromising and immutable. Literally, what you see is what you get, and our sight, our perception, is limited. So we forge…
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