Voices of Faith

Voices of Faith

Interrupting ordinary time

Here we are, in the season after Pentecost that we sometimes refer to simply as “ordinary time.” It’s a long season, welcomed by the long days of summer. We might…

Voices of Faith

I’m a Lutheran: Rick Steves

“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…

Voices of Faith

Touch

I went to see her with a baby strapped to my chest. She was the oldest member of the congregation at the time, some 98 years old. My son was…

Voices of Faith

A lexicon of faith: Salvation

Nonreligious uses of the verb “to save” are easy to comprehend. A relief pitcher saves a baseball game. A medic saves the life of a heart attack victim. When we…

Voices of Faith

Winds of change, fire of passion

At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit showed up with sound and force like the wind. Those present saw what seemed to be tongues like fire. In this powerful way, the Spirit…

Voices of Faith

Beware of the Lutherans: Darrow and the danger of labeling

Clarence Darrow, arguably one of the most famous attorneys in the 20th century, wrote an article for Esquire titled “How to pick a jury.” Here’s my favorite quote: “Beware of…

Voices of Faith

I’m a Lutheran: Kylie Oversen

Christus Rex Lutheran Campus Center, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks Law student, state representative and chair of the North Dakota Democratic-Nonpartisan League Party I found my faith when I…

Voices of Faith

Here between Easter and Pentecost

Here between Easter and Pentecost, our church finds itself in something of an interim time. It is, as poet and philosopher John O’Donohue reminds us, a time when the old…

Voices of Faith

The waters of baptism

Series editor’s note: Most who write for “Deeper understandings” are full-time professors at our seminaries, colleges and universities. The majority of the church’s “resident theologians,” of course, are parish pastors…

Voices of Faith

Dog loves you

(This is not the start of a mindless joke about dyslexia; I am totally serious about what follows.) One of life’s most perplexing matters is this: How can someone love…

Voices of Faith

A lexicon of faith: Fear

Most of us do not live with so much fear that we expect to die the next time we open our front door or climb into a car. That degree…

Voices of Faith

Reflection

As we began our Lenten journey this year, I invited Faith in Place, a faith-based nonprofit, to come talk to my congregation about caring for creation ministry and advocacy as…