Culturally it’s easy to treat Advent as a countdown to Christmas—a swirl of parties, sparkle and lights. But liturgically it’s a season of anguished waiting. For many years, it seemed…
Christmas pageants rank high among iconic traditions of the holy season of Jesus’ birth—Advent candles, Moravian stars, crèche (nativity) scenes and Chrismons on the tree. But unlike those other symbols…
“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…
A guard opens the door to the nondescript room and about 40 men file in. Most are wearing blue jumpsuits; some wear orange. Their expressions vary widely, but nearly all…
There is a tragic irony to having a national conversation about sexual misconduct during the feast of Advent. We are waiting for the coming of Jesus, an impossibility first witnessed…
Well, it’s almost here. The signs of it are everywhere: It’s in the stores; it’s on TV; it’s online. This is a time of anticipation and waiting and hope. Countless…
Three years ago when Seth Nelson began his call at Faith Lutheran Church in Ronan, Mont., his parishioners repeatedly asked him: “Why aren’t people your age coming to church?” Nelson,…
Elizabeth Eaton, presiding bishop of the ELCA, has issued the following statement in response to President Donald Trump’s decision to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem….
On Oct. 31, ELCA leaders and members gathered at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation in Washington, D.C., for a daylong program of worship and commemoration of the 500th anniversary…
Editor’s note: The following collection of stories is a response to a reader call for funny Christmas pageant bloopers. This is a companion to the article “Pillow fights, wild hogs and…
My mother, Ruth, died this past summer. I miss her terribly. She was a fourth-grade teacher and passed on an ardent love for books and reading. Growing up in Tennessee,…
Dec. 1 is World AIDS Day, a time to raise awareness of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), which often culminates in AIDS, (acquired immune deficiency syndrome). On this day, the ELCA…
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