Messages and reflections from the ELCA presiding bishop for guidance and inspiration.
Is “Lutheran spirituality” an oxymoron? When we consider Martin Luther and the early reformers, we think of great theologians, prolific writers and musicians. We are well aware of Luther’s earthy…
What is to be done? Our congregations are growing older and smaller. At least 40 percent of our congregations have an average weekly worship attendance of 50 or less. ELCA…
Editor’s note: This is a reprint of the January 2017 column from the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Ah, a new year! It opens up before…
Christmas comes at a descending time. The old year is coming to an end, the new year is not yet here. It is too late to accomplish goals set on…
In the Hebrew Bible the book of Numbers is called “In the Wilderness.” It starts with great hope. God delivered God’s people from Egypt, from bitter slavery, grinding toil and…
This month marks the 501st anniversary of the Reformation. Last year it was all Reformation all the time. It was our year! News, media and the public paid attention. Hundreds…
This month marks the 501st anniversary of the Reformation. Last year it was all Reformation all the time. It was our year! News, media and the public paid attention. Hundreds…
I’m leaving for my first trip to Holden Village, a retreat center near Chelan, Wash. I’ve heard about this Lutheran Shangri-La for years. I have sung and played the Holden…
Is it possible to be Lutheran and an ecumenist? Of course, the answer is yes. The ELCA has continued the work of our predecessor churches—the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches,…
Editor’s note: This is a reprint of the June 2017 column from the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. These are politically charged times. This very sentence…
During a recent chapel service at the Lutheran Center, Rafael Malpica Padilla, executive director for Global Mission, shared his favorite Bible verse with us: “Now before the festival of the…
It all started with such promise: The angel announcing to Mary that the child she would bear would be called Son of the Most High; Mary’s conviction that this child…
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