“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 […]
“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 […]
“Big Look at Small Catechism” Editor’s note: This is reprint of ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton’s column from July 2014. Just as she did at the 2016 Churchwide Assembly, Eaton encourages people to “dust off” their Small Catechism and take another look at the basics of our faith as we near the 500th anniversary of […]
A Message from Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton “Earth Day Statement” As members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), we share a deep love for all of God’s creation and a profound responsibility for it. Made in the image of God, we are called to continue what God is already doing for the earth […]
“Easter Message” It all started with such promise – the angel announcing to Mary that the child she would bear would be called Son of the Most High; the conviction of Mary that this child would be the embodiment of God’s promised justice, that the hungry would be filled with good things and the rich […]