From the Bishop’s Desk: Horrible symptom
I have been hesitant to write about what happened in Charlottesville last weekend. So much has been written and said already. And already the events of last weekend have been absorbed into the larger political narrative floating around us. It’s...
Live in the freedom of Christ
A MONTHLY MESSAGE FROM THE ELCA PRESIDING BISHOP Recently I discovered Google Earth. I know, I’m a little late to the dance. But this is fascinating. You type in an address and up pops a photo. You can zoom in...
From the Bishop’s desk: Deepening Lutheran-Jewish relationships
Dear friends*, In my report to the Synod Assembly this year, I mentioned the opportunities and responsibilities that come to us in 2017: the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. Among these opportunities and responsibilities, I said,...
Serving the neighbor in charged times
A MONTHLY MESSAGE FROM THE ELCA PRESIDING BISHOP Across this church I’ve heard stories of parishioners disturbed by the Gospel read on Sundays, believing the pastor chose the passage as a critique of the current administration. The Beatitudes seemed to...
Spiritual calling of SDGs
by the Rev. Dr. Michael Kuchinsky Increased chances of living in peace, with human dignity and at ease with our environments - taken together, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are 17 interconnected goals that have been taken up...
Prepared to be the renewal
"I think that we are being prepared to have some fun, and to suffer, and to find out again what the power of God can do." This is among the kernels shared by Bishop Richard Graham when he greeted the...
Call to fast on 21st monthly
Which are the hungriest days of the month? The 21st forward. Because 90% of SNAP benefits run out then for the most vulnerable families in the U.S. So on the 21st monthly while the 115th Congress is active, participate in...
From the Bishop’s Desk: What’s local on the 500th anniversary?
Maybe you’ve heard. This year is the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation! All over the world, Dr. Luther’s release of the 95 Theses is being observed, celebrated, commemorated (and mourned, I suppose) as a central event...
I wonder …
A MONTHLY MESSAGE FROM THE ELCA PRESIDING BISHOP Recently, I heard the Bach cantata O heilges Geist und Wasserbad. The cantata’s text is based on John 3:1-15, which was the Gospel lesson at the service where the cantata was first...
Falling and not afraid
A MONTHLY MESSAGE FROM THE ELCA PRESIDING BISHOP Our living and our dying are great mysteries. Not long ago a young reporter contacted me wanting to talk about death. She had suddenly come to the realization that she would one...