Hurricanes and Tornadoes Flooding and Wildfires Earthquakes and Explosions Diseases and Pandemics Refugees fleeing War and Violence Drought and Famine From flooding in the Midwest, to a cyclone in Mozambique, to earthquakes in Mexico, to wildfires in California, to refugee crises in Syria, Myanmar and several other nations – Lutheran Disaster Response is at work […]
“Uncertain Times” Between 1527 and 1529, Martin Luther wrote and composed his famous hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” He based the text of this hymn on Psalm 46: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (verse 1). Luther knew about trouble. He had been excommunicated by the church […]
“Midnight Stillness” On Christmas Eve, there always comes a time when everything is finally still. Once all the preparations and decorations, extra choir rehearsals and Christmas pageants, shopping and holiday parties have been completed, peace descends. For me, that time always came after the 11 p.m. candlelight service. After the congregation went home, after I […]
“Season of Doubt” When serving as a parish pastor, I would sometimes be asked if it was possible to be a faithful Christian and also doubt. Could one be a disciple and also question? Parishioners would be hesitant to ask for fear that they would face judgment—Divine and mine. Somehow, we’ve gotten it into our […]
Tis the season for giving and the Social Ministry Planning Group invites you to consider giving an alternative gift in honor or memory of a loved one. Alternative giving allows you to use your resources to give twice…a thoughtful gift to someone you care about and a gift to our neighbors in need. This year […]
Thanks to many hours of hard work and amazing sewing skills, our Quilters Group was able to ship 120 quilts(!!!) to Lutheran World Relief this week. The quilts were delivered to the Madison Railyard on Saturday, September 14th, to begin their journey to eagerly waiting hands. Your generous donations toward the cost of shipping the […]
“We Belong to the Truth” “Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or “No, No’ ” (Matthew 5:37). When I was a girl, dinner table discussions in our family were lively. We could state our position on an issue, but then we had to be ready to back up our argument with facts. In that pre-Google […]
“What Is God Up To?” What is to be done? Our congregations are growing older and smaller. At least 40 percent of our congregations have an average weekly worship attendance of 50 or less. ELCA membership decreases by 70,000 people a year, or roughly the loss of a synod per year. Clergy retirements outnumber new […]
“Happy New Year!” Editor’s note: This is a reprint of the January 2017 column from the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Ah, a new year! It opens up before us with infinite possibilities like brand new notebooks at the beginning of the school year or the beginning of football season in […]
The Foundation would like to remind our members that this scholarship fund is available from the Foundation to assist students who attend colleges associated with the ELCA. Scholarship applications are available in the church office for anyone from the congregation who is attending or contemplating attending a Lutheran Church school. We would also encourage contributions […]