Contributors

The Revd Rosalind C Hughes is the Rector of the Church of the Epiphany (Episcopal), Euclid, Ohio, and author of Whom Shall I Fear? Urgent questions for Christians in an age of violence and A Family Like Mine: biblical stories of love, loss, and longing.

Mark Granquist is the Lloyd and Annelotte Svendsbye Professor of the History of Christianity at Luther Seminary. He is the author of Lutherans in America: A New History (2015) and A History of Luther Seminary (2019), and is the Editor of Word & Word.

The Rev. Canon Dr. Stephanie Spellers is one of the Episcopal Church’s leading thinkers around 21st-century ministry and mission. The author of The Church Cracked Open: Disruption, Decline and New Hope for Beloved Community and Radical Welcome: Embracing God, The Other and the Spirit of Transformation, she recently wrapped up nearly a decade as canon…

The vision for Backstory Preaching woke the Rev’d Dr. Lisa Cressman in the middle of the night, and she’s been trying to keep up with the Holy Spirit ever since. She’s Backstory Preaching’s Founder and Steward, sharing insights from 25 years as an Episcopal priest, preacher, spiritual director, and retreat leader. Lisa is the author…

Jihyun is a 1.5-generation Korean American who is an ordained minister of the PC(USA). She currently serves as Director of Mid Council Ministries and Assistant Stated Clerk in the Office of the General Assembly of the PC(USA). Prior to denominational work, she served congregations as interim pastor, associate pastor, and parish associate, and served the…

Patrick Cabello Hansel is a husband, father and Lutheran pastor who served bilingual, urban parishes in the Bronx, Philadelphia and Minneapolis for over 35 years. He is the author of two collections of poetry: “The Devouring Land” and “Quitting Time”, forthcoming from Atmosphere Press. He blogs about his passion for beauty and justice at http://spiritwound.blogspot.com/.

Bonnie Wilcox is an alum of Luther Seminary, and a second-career pastor in the ELCA. She is in her fifth year as the senior pastor at First Lutheran Church of Columbia Heights, a first-ring suburb of Minneapolis. She’ll show you a photo of her grandson anytime, as well as her latest art projects.

Pastor Charles (Chick) Lane is a retired pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Previously he served as Director of the Center for Stewardship Leaders at Luther Seminary, Director for Stewardship Key Leader in the ELCA, Assistant to the Bishop in the Northwestern Minnesota Synod of the ELCA, and pastor of four congregations, one…

Eric lives in North Minneapolis, where he serves as pastor at Salem Lutheran Church in the Webber-Camden neighborhood. He spends most of his time with his spouse, Kirsten, and pets, Twyla and Harriet. He believes in the power of a shared meal, and is passionate about food justice issues.

Karen has been a spiritual director, trained at Christos Center for Spiritual Formation, for over fifteen years and joined the Loyola Spirituality Center community in 2015. Prior to Loyola, Karen was a spiritual director at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, companioning students and spouses to listen and notice the presence of the Holy Spirit in…

Brian Allain leads Writing for Your Life, a resource center for spiritual writers, and provides marketing services for authors and companies through Who Are You Trying To Serve? His work includes the Publishing in Color conference series, which is intended to increase the number of books published by spiritual writers of color, who have been…

The Rev. Dr. Yolanda Denson-Byers currently serves as the pastor of Faith Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Becker, Minnesota. They are a missional church which affirms that, “All are welcome; with no exceptions”. She is the co-author of “Unpacking White Privilege: The Important Work of Making the Church Less Harmful”.

Rev. Jenny Sung serves at St. Andrews Lutheran Church in Mahtomedi as Pastor of Outreach and Missions. In her spare time, Rev. Sung enjoys going on outdoor adventures with her husband Carl Torgerson and their dog Leo. Rev. Sung is the founder and co-director of One Dance Company in St. Paul. She has been preaching…

Rev. Caleb Crainer (he/him/his) serves as pastor at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Los Angeles, California. He is a product of Valparaiso University, The Graduate Theological Union, The Lutheran Seminary Program in the Southwest, 4 billion years of evolution, incredible friends, hilarious family, and a fair amount of Star Trek. After pandemic lockdown you might…

Deacon Julie Stecker is an Assistant to the Bishop for Communications and Youth and Family Ministry in the Delaware-Maryland Synod of the ELCA, in partnership with the Metro Washington DC Synod.