Editor’s note: This collection of reflections is an online addition to our December 2018 cover story, “Uplifting Christmas gifts.” Ingredients for love Our daughter, Kristen, and her friends spent several growing-up…
Earlier this year, Living Lutheran invited readers and writers to submit personal stories of gifts that illuminated the true meaning of Christmas for them. From a kind note to beloved…
Advent and Christmas are filled with traditions that bring us together and help tell the story of our faith. For many of us, one such tradition is watching popular films…
And the cows said, “Moo!” The sheep said, “Baa!” The chickens said, “Cluck!” My daughter, Charlotte, could have chimed in with the cows shouting, “Moo!” But that’s where her animal…
Lectionary blog for Dec. 23 The Fourth Sunday of Advent Micah 5:2-5a; Psalm 80:1-7; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-55 The world’s celebration of Advent and Christmas is surrounded by song. Almost…
Greg Tvrdik fondly recalls playing a magi as a teen in the living nativity at First Lutheran Church, Alexandria, Minn. Now, 25 years later, as the church’s director of church…
At 15 and 13 years old, my children still wait and expect the gifts they requested for Christmas. With each passing year, they are almost sure they’ll get what they…
Editor’s note: Martin Luther famously said, “Next to the Word of God, music deserves the highest praise” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 53). The ELCA still holds tightly to Luther’s understanding. In this series, we’re exploring…
Now that our son Jack is nearly 2 and communicating using words and phrases, my husband and I have been pondering how we’ll teach him about Advent and Christmas. Last…
Among the first Christmas hymns learned by children is the 19th-century text “Away in a Manger.” Whether one knows the earlier melody or prefers (as I do) a later arrangement…
One of my favorite parts of Advent and Christmas are the songs. I especially like “We Three Kings” because it describes Jesus’ life, death and resurrection from the point of…
I was dreading Christmas. As a pastoral intern serving across the country from my family, I didn’t have the money or time to make it home for the holiday. My…
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