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Voices of Faith

Burial ground: Rest in peace, 2020

Here lies 2020, and good riddance! This year has finally been laid to rest and 2020’s obituary is replete with tragedy and challenge. Nearly everyone was forced into a new…
I’m a Lutheran: Matuor Dot Alier
Voices of Faith

I’m a Lutheran: Matuor Dot Alier

South Sudan Lutheran Church, Fargo, N.D. Social worker, Cass County Economic Assistance Division; chair of the Fargo Human Relations Commission; Bush Foundation fellow; and member of the Eastern North Dakota…
What does “the reason for the season” really mean?
Voices of Faith

What does “the reason for the season” really mean?

When I worked at a department store over my winter breaks in college, I was often assigned to the holiday goods department: a swath of shelves and floor displays of…
Living in Mary’s time
Voices of Faith

Living in Mary’s time

“My soul magnifies the Lord” (Luke 1:46) Timing is everything, but often the truth of this adage is seen only in hindsight. While we’re in the moment, the purpose of…
Staying centered as caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic
Voices of Faith

Staying centered as caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic

I vividly remember a day shortly into my first pastoral call when I went home and told my husband I hadn’t had a chance to go to the bathroom for…
The beginning of good news
Voices of Faith

The beginning of good news

She was born full-term, 5 pounds. Her jaundiced head was too big, her eyes too wide, her appetite too small. Her mother knew something was wrong. After two weeks in…
Klepto Christ
Voices of Faith

Klepto Christ

Thornton Wilder’s classic play Our Town, first performed in 1938, casts a young woman, Emily, who dies unexpectedly. From the grave’s other side, she asks permission from the narrator to…