Mission Support Memos

As the writer of Ecclesiastes expresses, there is a time to be born and a time to die. In a world of change and challenges, congregations across the ELCA are wondering about their future and whether they will close.

How often have you heard folks in congregations lament that they just don’t have the resources or learning opportunities they need to be strong leaders and vital congregations?

Do you wonder if God is calling you into ministry? Are others sure ministry is your call, still, you are not personally sure? Candidacy committees have walked alongside leaders for generations, exploring these questions, yet many wonder if more is needed to facilitate deep holy discernment.

The Holy Spirit was at work in 2017 when Parkside Lutheran Church, in the heart of North Buffalo, N.Y., was seeking a new pastor.

Do you feel a deeper connection to God when you're outdoors? People in the town of Marquette, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, have been inspired by the stunning nature that surrounds them to create U.P. Wild Church, an exciting movement of “wild” outdoor worship communities.

Many of us have had that time in our lives when we looked around and wondered what we could do with all our accumulated treasures, junk to some but precious and essential to others.

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend my first ever ELCA Youth Gathering. I've never experienced more vibrancy and joy in this church than I experienced at the Gathering.

When Rahim Brown was hired as a youth minister at Abiding Presence Lutheran Church in Fuquay-Varina, N.C., in 2021, he was finishing up a Master of Divinity degree at St. Paul School of Theology in Leawood, Kan.