When Thomas Batterman retired from full-time parish ministry, he began serving as a supply pastor in the Dayton, Ohio, area. The call often takes him to serve small congregations in…
Many of our congregations are struggling with the same three interrelated difficulties: a smaller pool of members, a shrinking financial base, and fixed costs from an older building that may…
Pastors, bishops, congregations and other leaders across our country are adapting and innovating to keep up with a shifting religious landscape. Fewer people are coming to church, and a rising…
The communion bread my wife Kathy brought home from the Easter Vigil at Abiding Hope Lutheran Church in Erie, Pa., was the late Milton Sontheimer’s recipe. It was light, slightly…
Music is central to Lutheran worship. For centuries the pipe organ has been the instrument of choice to lead choirs and congregations in praising God through music. How does the…
As the ELCA prepares to spend the next year observing the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, several ELCA congregations can celebrate their individual rich histories. Ten churches, mostly on the…
Sunday school classes in Cameroon and the Central African Republic (CAR) are bursting at the seams. As many as 150 students turn up each week in the 500 congregations of…
Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Duluth, Minn., suffered a fire Feb. 18 that destroyed much of its furnishings, including the organ, piano, altar and stained-glass windows. The 110-year-old Gothic-style building and…
Every day, Living Lutheran offers a prayer for the day from the ELCA resource Prayer Ventures, which can be downloaded here. These petitions are offered as a guide for your…
Of the many visitors to bring greetings to the Churchwide Assembly, arguably the most poignant came from Rabbi David Sandmel, director of interfaith affairs for the Anti-Defamation League, and Sayyid…
Embracing what many called a special moment in ecumenical history, the Churchwide Assembly endorsed a document listing 32 points of agreement with the Roman Catholic Church, declaring that some issues…
Every day, Living Lutheran offers a prayer for the day from the ELCA resource Prayer Ventures, which can be downloaded here. These petitions are offered as a guide for your…
You have attempted to access a feature of this website that is only available to members of livinglutheran.org.
A free membership gives you a customized dashboard for curated content based on your interest, the ability to like and save articles, an optional subscription to a weekly email digest “LL Stories”, and more.
Already have an account? log in
If you are a subscriber to the LL Stories email digest from before the introduction of the new website in December 2025, your account is intact, but your password will need to be reset unless you have a login for another ELCA website.
If you have a login for another ELCA website like community.elca.org, directory.elca.org or others you can use the password associated with that login.
Logout