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From The Presiding Bishop
Redeemed, reconciled and united
Twice in the Gospels there is a story about a woman anointing Jesus with pure nard, one in Mark and one in John. In Mark, an unnamed woman comes to…
From The Presiding Bishop
God will transform this church
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. That’s our name. At least two parts of our name, “Evangelical” and “Church,” are either misunderstood or an outright stumbling block for a significant…
From The Presiding Bishop
Connected, generous, free to serve
Dear church, We have been living with this pandemic for nearly a year. So much has changed. Bubbles, personal protective equipment, social distancing and one-way grocery aisles are part of…
From The Presiding Bishop
We are never alone
The room was spare and dimly lit. We sat on folding chairs in a circle—young Honduran women and some of us from the ELCA. We had come to Honduras to…
From The Presiding Bishop
At the table together
Editor’s note: In keeping with this month’s theme issue, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton is sharing her favorite food and faith story, which originally appeared in her September 2017 column. Old…
From The Presiding Bishop
Set free
A colleague of mine once pointed out that Martin Luther wrote far more about freedom than he did about reform or reformation. Liberation in Christ through faith was the freedom…
From The Presiding Bishop
Uncertain times
Between 1527 and 1529, Martin Luther wrote and composed his famous hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” He based the text of this hymn on Psalm 46: “God is…
From The Presiding Bishop
God’s beautiful dark works
Perhaps one of the best-known verses in the New Testament is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes…
From The Presiding Bishop
Witnesses to the transcendent
An amazing thing happened in March. Churches were closed but more people came to church. Millions of us were complying with shelter-in-place and physical distancing recommendations from the Centers for…
From The Presiding Bishop
United in baptism
There is an Irish saying: “It is in the shelter of each other that the people live.” I am writing this at the end of March. I don’t know what…
From The Presiding Bishop
Freed to serve
Lutherans have an appreciation for the complexity of life. It’s a certain willingness to meet the world and then go deeper into what is immediately present. It is the ability…
From The Presiding Bishop
Take and eat
At the end of the book of Acts there is the story of Paul’s journey to Rome. Paul had taken many journeys that were arduous and dangerous, but this last…