Beautiful dust
Voices of Faith

Beautiful dust

You make beautiful things out of the dust / You make beautiful things out of us —Gungor. My dad knew the beauty of dust. Even before he was sick and…
Deeper understandings: To what end?
Voices of Faith

Deeper understandings: To what end?

Since the dawn of time, humans have asked these age-old questions: Who are we? Why are we here? In what can we hope? The Scriptures, as well as Christian theology,…
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Voices of Faith

Why are young adults leaving the church? Maybe that’s the wrong question

There’s an interesting article going around the internet about the absence of young adults in the church. The headline reads “59 percent of millennials raised in a church have dropped…
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Voices of Faith

Crosswalk encounter

He was in his wheelchair, in the crosswalk, struggling mightily to cross the busy street before the traffic light turned to red. It was obvious he wouldn’t make it. The…
Grounded in grace
Voices of Faith

Grounded in grace

Ann was hard to love. The confirmation class outcast, she suffered with a whole host of behavioral disorders. She fluctuated between making precocious and endearing observations, and having an outburst…
Her needs unseen
Voices of Faith

Her needs unseen

Being a compassionate person, you usually respond to the pleas of the needy around you with a generous heart. But are you and others somehow missing the obvious? Chances are,…
Deeper understandings: Hermeneutics
Voices of Faith

Deeper understandings: Hermeneutics

“Hermeneutics” is one of those words that you might have heard your pastor use. The English word comes from the Greek ermēneuein, meaning simply to translate or interpret. In short,…
Why infant baptism?
Voices of Faith

Why infant baptism?

If you were to Google the references to infant baptism in the New Testament, you would perhaps be disappointed, maybe even a little shocked. Though Jesus took children in his…
I’m a Lutheran: Khadijah Islam
Voices of Faith

I’m a Lutheran: Khadijah Islam

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

The revelation of Epiphany

We in the church often depict Epiphany as the season of light—a thunderous congratulations to the divine revelation of the Son (or Sun) of Righteousness. The entire journey of Christmastide,…
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Voices of Faith

Directionally challenged

Remember the last time you lost your way? Writer Natalie Angier told this story in an article she wrote for The New York Times, perhaps one we can all relate…