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...
From the Bishop’s Desk: Driven by hope
AN EASTER MESSAGE FROM BISHOP GRAHAM “In your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting of the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness...
Laborers into the harvest
A CALL TO PRAYER FROM THE CONFERENCE OF BISHOPS OF THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH IN AMERICA Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his...
St. Dysmas impacts women’s lives with caring volunteers
by the Rev. Gerry Rickel Community of St. Dysmas Lutheran Church is a unique congregation of the ELCA. It currently meets inside five different state prisons in Maryland, and all its members are incarcerated. With her permission, here's a story...