A blog post by Terri Elton Image Credit: Holy Spirit Dove Window by Hickory on Flickr As we face the new year, the holidays are just about all wrapped up. The Christmas music has lost its luster, the holiday treats are gone (and fresh veggies sound better than ever), and it is almost time to…
A blog post by John Potts Image Credit: Path by pkdon50 on Flickr “Get lost,” were the words that my cousin, Ray, would say. I was staying with him and his family. He was a teenager and I was a little kid. The words first hurt. Rejection by someone who you really look up can…
A blog post by Rachel Schwenke Last Sunday, as I was attending to the craziness of Sunday mornings with youth and parents gathered round, I lost track of my 3 year old daughter Lily at church. At first, I just assumed she was playing with the other kids in the lobby or dining hall. Then…
A blog post by Brigette Weier At the beginning of December every year, alongside bills, advertisements, endless catalogs, and credit offers, we start to receive Christmas cards from family, friends, and people we can’t remember how we know. It’s always fun to get anything other than bills, so going to the mailbox takes on the…
A blog post by Ben McDonald Coltvet Image Credit: Advent Terminus – Happy Holiday 5 by Stuart Dootson on Flickr Free time: It’s one thing that easily gets “lost in the holidays” in my household. Time to play, time to be a family, time to be alone, time to sleep. With all the schedules and…
A blog post by Terri Elton Image Credit: Friends by Rodrigo Suarez on Flickr Each year as I turn the calendar from November to December my mind creates a list of people I’d love to connect with during the holidays. Some of the connections are givens, like time with my brother and sister-in-law from California….
A blog post by Timothy Siburg Image Credit: Advent Wreath by Chris Wolff on Flickr The Centrality of Worship Worship is central to the church’s practice and understanding of who it is. We worship to praise and give thanks to God. In worship we join together as the body of Christ in song and the…
A blog post by Terri Elton Image Credit: Chocolates by Jonathan Reyes on Flickr Bittersweet — there is no better word for the days of Advent, Christmas, and New Years than that. Sweet sums up the excitement of being with family and friends, of living in a season of giving, of having an intentional season…
A blog post by Terri Elton Image Credit: Christmas 2007 by Christina Rutz on Flickr Some say, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” while others dread the season. Christmas, the heart of this season, is centered on Christ, and yet amidst the holidays Christ often gets pushed aside. Truth be told, it’s a…
A blog post by Carole Joyce What is on your top ten list of things to cover in confirmation? Go ahead and make that list: God’s grace, baptismal identity, relationships, discipleship, Bible, prayer… November’s theme for the First Third reflection is stewardship, so be honest; did stewardship make your list? Last week Jonathon Davis concluded…
A blog post by Tim Coltvet Image Credit: iPad and iPhone by Sean MacEntee on Flickr Time, talents, treasures, and…Technology? How my fifth grade son has become so adept at typing may not surprise you. Playing Minecraft and a host of other online games has him punching the keyboard like a rag-time piano player. Building…
A blog post by Grace Duddy Image Credit: Making a Difference?? by Madhan R on Flickr A little over a year ago, my colleague, Chick Lane, and I became fascinated with the topic of “stewardship with adults under 40”. As an “adult under 40” myself, I had noticed that “stewardship” was not something that my…
By Chase Smith In the February 2012 issue of The Lutheran magazine, Bishop Mike Rinehart of the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America contributed an article that ruffled a few feathers. Bishop Rinehart opens up the piece, entitled “Insiders and Outsiders,” with these words: Here’s my hunch. Everything for me…
A blog post by Jonathan Davis Image Credit: Matthew 6:21 by Mengjie Jo on Flickr I have this theory. Sometimes I wonder if theology and ministry are just like fashion — it’s all about what’s trendy. I listen to a lot of sermons. It seems that sermons on the same text over the years shift in…
A blog post by Grace Duddy A few weeks ago I led an intergenerational adult forum called “Talking about Money Together” at a local congregation. Everyone from kindergartners to great-grandparents was invited to join in the conversation. During the forum, we discussed the various beliefs that feed our money habits. One belief that feeds many…
