Opening doors and overcoming hate
Faith in Action

Opening doors and overcoming hate

Less than a week before Dan Roschke started his call as pastor of Bethlehem Lutheran in Fairfax, Va., the church was vandalized in a June 26 hate crime. He arrived…

Pastors of transition
Faith in Action

Pastors of transition

“Interims want to help people through the transition period, understanding clearly their accountability to their baptismal covenant and whatever future their congregation may have.” Your pastor has retired after 25…

Mission Support: The lifeblood of the ELCA
Faith in Action

Mission Support: The lifeblood of the ELCA

After a string of financially challenging years, Mission Support giving at Elvira Zion Lutheran Church in Clinton, Iowa, dropped to 10 percent of its budget. That’s higher than the ELCA…

ELCA Conference of Bishops issues statement on East Jerusalem hospitals
Faith in Action

ELCA Conference of Bishops issues statement on East Jerusalem hospitals

Members of the ELCA Conference of Bishops have issued a statement on reports that the U.S. government is planning to discontinue financial assistance to Augusta Victoria Hospital and five other…

Creativity and identity at Halloween
Faith in Action

Creativity and identity at Halloween

This fall, most parents or caretakers will be asked: What will your children be for Halloween?  As a mother of two elementary-aged children, I like to focus on the humor…

Proposed funding cuts endanger life-saving care at LWF hospital
Faith in Action

Proposed funding cuts endanger life-saving care at LWF hospital

Life-saving medical treatments at The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) owned and operated Augusta Victoria Hospital in Jerusalem have been put in jeopardy by U.S. budgetary cuts to East Jerusalem hospitals…

An ancient journey, rediscovered
Faith in Action

An ancient journey, rediscovered

A young woman came to my church, Messiah Lutheran in Wauconda, Ill., seeking to be confirmed before her wedding to a Roman Catholic man. Ours was not the first parish…

ELCA school builds culture of peace
Faith in Action

ELCA school builds culture of peace

Editor’s note: With global migration on the rise and cultural polarization increasing, there is a pressing need for peace among neighbors and nations. This article is part of the “Lutheran…

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Faith in Action

Gathered together, changed forever

“Here is the wonderful news. When it looks impossible, remember most of all that Jesus has changed everything.” On the final night of the 2018 ELCA Youth Gathering, a hush…