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Voices of Faith

A new sense of purpose

The Rev.  Jackie Utley of Ascension Lutheran Church in Columbia, S.C.—the first African American to be ordained in the ELCA in South Carolina—came away from the recent Women of the…
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Voices of Faith

How to confess what we have left undone

Editor’s note: This article is the third in a four-part series exploring the relevance of Martin Luther’s catechism for our lives today. “Here reflect on your walk of life in…
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Voices of Faith

Transformation in Mexico

I walked into my Mexican home and collapsed on the couch. Through tears, I exclaimed to my host dad, “I wish I had never come to Mexico. This was a…
The sacrament of the altar versus the sacrament of culture
Voices of Faith

The sacrament of the altar versus the sacrament of culture

Editor’s note: This article is the second in a four-part series exploring the relevance of Martin Luther’s catechism for our lives today. “What is the benefit of such eating and…
I’m a Lutheran: Kathryn (Kate) Koob
Voices of Faith

I’m a Lutheran: Kathryn (Kate) Koob

“I’m a Lutheran” is a monthly profile featuring ELCA members around the country. The profiles showcase ELCA members in all their diversity, connecting one another through individual faith stories as…
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Voices of Faith

Hyper nike

We’ve all seen freeway construction featuring bridges and ramps that lead to nowhere. You look up and see half a bridge—a bridge incomplete. In March 2017 a section of the…
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Voices of Faith

Headlines and holiness

I see them standing in the emergency room, almost blocking my way—a brother, a friend, an aunt. Grieving to be sure, but their eyes tell me more: anger. “So tell…
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Voices of Faith

Perspective: Pride

I entered Epiphany Lutheran Church in Milwaukee on a Pentecost Sunday in the late ’60s. As a curious young man reared and baptized Baptist, it was strange to hear someone…
Perspective: Confronting my biases
Voices of Faith

Perspective: Confronting my biases

Editor’s note: We’re sharing a reflection by Diane Hochhalter about attending her recent synod assembly that originally ran on her website, Storied Treasures. Last weekend my husband and I attended the Eastern North…
What Lutherans mean when we talk about daily bread
Voices of Faith

What Lutherans mean when we talk about daily bread

Editor’s note: “Give us this day our daily bread,” Jesus teaches us to pray (Matthew 6:11). This rich metaphor of “daily bread” can be lost on us as we are…
Loved and limping
Voices of Faith

Loved and limping

I recall reading somewhere that summer reunions are the bread and butter for many working therapists. Much of the pain we inflict upon each other occurs within the human family….