Social issues

Brian Beckstrom

Living in sin?

Trust involves a clear commitment to a lifelong monogamous relationship rather than simply “trying it out” by living together. | more »
Tim Brown

A question for the Boy Scouts

Which of the 12 Core Values is most important? Citizenship, compassion, cooperation, courage, faith, health and fitness, honesty, perseverance, positive attitude, resourcefulness, respect or responsibility? | more »

The sandwich generation

Today, more baby boomers are not only caring for their own children but for their elderly parents. | more »

A church that takes action

With help from the ELCA Southwestern Texas Synod, young ELCA members in Texas receive a chance for a brighter future. | more »

Her little, tapping foot

Rosa reminded me of something that I had learned in Namibia. She reminded me that poverty is merely a word. | more »
My community based on the book of Ruth exists only in my imagination. Were it to be translated into a reality, it would be like any other faith community: imperfect. | more »

Random acts of kindness

It’s like the loaves and fishes. For so little, so much is done. | more »

Water by the numbers

Water is the most abundant resource on the planet, yet getting access to clean water remains a dangerous problem in much of the world. | more »

Globally linked

With some help from ELCA Missionary Sponsorship, youth groups in Decorah, Iowa, lead their community to help refugees in Syria. | more »

Open doors

An ELCA congregation in Brooklyn, N.Y., keeps its doors open by opening the doors. | more »

A plunge with a purpose

An ELCA pastor in New Hampton, Iowa, uses his “craziness” for the sake of the gospel and the ELCA Malaria Campaign. | more »

'Hey! That's my church!'

Volunteers from the South-Central Wisconsin Synod get creative when it comes to spreading the word about ELCA World Hunger. | more »

Radical hospitality

For many ELCA travelers a trip to the Holy Land is an experience in a radical welcome and bridge-building. | more »
Jason Chesnut

Eulogizing Jesus

One of my favorite bumper stickers has the words, “Haters are my motivators.” Catchy — and, yes, a little corny — this phrase is, nevertheless, sticking with me. | more »

15 ways to observe Memorial Day

We remember those whose sacrifices served the cause of peace and pray for those who are today working in harm’s way. | more »

A little ‘TLC’

Young adults in Alaska join with an ELCA congregation to fight hunger. | more »

A moral voice

Members of Spirit of Truth, an ELCA congregation under development, fight for workers' rights in the St. Paul, Minn., area. | more »

Bullying at summer camp: tips for parents

Children engaging in new activities, meeting new friends, and sharing living quarters with other campers present challenges to even the most well-adjusted child. | more »

Help for military families

We care about ELCA members who are in the military, but what about their families and friends waiting at home? | more »

The lifesaving power of goats

Thanks to ELCA World Hunger, Sentongo Abdul says, “My future and that of my siblings is surely brighter.” | more »
Brian Beckstrom

Called to witness, not judge

Eventually it came out that this is a big issue for our students who are struggling with what it means to be a “witness” for Jesus in a diverse world. | more »
“We're going to send them [the police] as soon as we get a car open,” said the dispatcher. Amanda Berry replied, “No, I need them now before he gets back.” | more »

Building apartments in the sky

Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Seattle gives away the sky above their heads. | more »
Joelle Colville-Hanson

Who we are

If we do not forgive and let go of our anger and grievances, they continues to hurt us. | more »

A chronic corporate disease

Being accused of being the bully can be difficult to accept. You may believe your actions were unintentional or were provoked. | more »

A welcoming home

The ELCA homeless ministry network helps ministries like Central City Lutheran Mission in San Bernardino, Calif., provide a welcoming home. | more »
When things were difficult, my mother would say, "Son, remember that God is always with you; learn to trust him and trust him even more when you are faced with ugliness." | more »
Delmer Chilton

The water of life

It is not important that we get the world to come to the church. Our calling is to bring the thirsty and the water of life together. | more »

Pastoral counseling

Here are a series of questions that can help a pastor or other worker in the church determine whether a person or family is facing a situational crisis. | more »
Terri Mork Speirs

Sisterhood

“No one is speaking up for women here, and this is America!” | more »

Life with dignity

ELCA World Hunger helps people and organizations in Cambodia begin to live sustainably. | more »

Help prevent youth violence

When anger is left unresolved, it intensifies and may be projected inward or outward to find an expression beyond reason. | more »

In commemoration: Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“Those who are still afraid of men have no fear of God and those who have fear of God have ceased to be afraid of men.” | more »
Tim Brown

Christianity doesn’t work

It encourages you to adopt tactics that don’t work. Forgiveness, for instance, doesn’t work. It doesn’t automatically repair relationships. | more »

Saving the world, one meal at a time

Kristina Johnson, 17 years old, mobilizes the youth of Hosanna Lutheran Church in Rochester, Minn., to fight hunger. | more »

Ugandans are on the road to renewed life

They are leaving the crowded camps where they took refuge and, with the help of ELCA World Hunger, are returning to rebuild their villages and lives. | more »
We knew this morning was different, dreadfully different, but we dared to gather together anyway. | more »
We are left with a God who seems to love both saints and sinners, which means we are both comforted and confronted in the aftermath of tragedy in Boston. | more »

A new perspective

Students at Augsburg College's Center for Global Education get a different view of Central America. | more »
Ken Wheeler

Easter hope in the inner city

She wanted to give her testimony on Easter because she feels that she has been brought back from the dead. | more »

God's work in Malawi

With help from ELCA World Hunger, the people of Malawi are improving their quality of life. | more »
Pamela Czarnota

We all 'hand others over to suffering'

I am grateful that our family has had conversations about the years when nobody (including me) was able to see the others clearly and compassionately. | more »
I’m a Lutheran pastor. My wife is Jewish. This time of year brings both beauty and tension in sharp relief for us. | more »

Serving others with our own hands

Here are ideas for volunteering this summer and at other times during the year. | more »

Pastors promote potluck

Potlucks can combat world hunger! | more »

The Catacomb Churches

The Catacomb Churches in western Washington want to "to engage as saints and sinners, not as people with all the answers." | more »
Megan Rohrer

For the children of God

You don’t have to be Lutheran to believe that all children are worthy of food, but it is beautifully Lutheran to see all people as children of God. | more »
Joelle Colville-Hanson

‘Habemus Papam!’

Well, not being Catholic maybe I don't get to say "we" have a pope. But still it was all very exciting. Social media makes these events so much more fun. | more »

Standing with their neighbors

Mother of the Savior Lutheran Church in Dearborn, Mich., joins with its neighbors to fight intolerance. | more »

Something to count on

Every November, Peace Lutheran Church in Tacoma, Wash., hosts a holiday bazaar for those who need it most. | more »
Carrie Newsom

The answer?

My mom said, "There are no mistakes. No accidents. Each of your children is who they are meant to be, and God didn't make a mistake when he created them." | more »

A pastor’s approach to funerals

It is a chance to come together to hear God’s promises and to take comfort that “nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” | more »
Delmer Chilton

The sacred exchange

There are a couple of reasons for the stunned reaction on the part of the group, one that is spoken of in the text and one that is not. | more »
The Reformation and Vatican II breakthroughs provided radical new possibilities for all kinds of people to serve within the church and to make significant vocational contributions to society. | more »

Fighting malaria with honey

The ELCA Malaria Campaign gets creative to change attitudes about malaria prevention in southern Africa. | more »

Special delivery for Jim Freeman

Every day of the week, Jim Freeman can count on a warm meal delivered to his home, thanks to ELCA World Hunger. | more »

When Jesus shows up unexpectedly

The Holy Spirit is at work in ways we may never see, using our gifts to make a real change in another person. | more »
Brian Bennett

The problem with ‘The Bible’

It is clear that "The Bible" is not trying to let the biblical stories speak for themselves; it is trying to make a case for one narrow vision of Christianity. | more »
Emery Ellingson

Ping-Pong and police

The staff members of La Obra explained that this was not OK and gave the kids a quick overview of their rights so they would be prepared for the next time. | more »

Faith in the workplace

Each of us has been given gifts by God for service to others in the name of Christ by all we do with our daily lives. | more »
Sexual images and explicit word references have become increasingly common among groups that are younger by the year. | more »

To just live happily

With the help of ELCA World Hunger, young people in a refugee camp in Kenya are dreaming big. | more »
Moriah Reichert

A lovely idea

Loving me through all of my failures and screw-ups. I can barely comprehend that someone loves me that much — let alone that I should love other people like that. | more »
Brian Beckstrom

Lent: Fitting our lives into God

By no means do we have it figured out. But at least for the time being we’ve decided that Lenten devotions and worship are a non-negotiable. | more »

Families formed through adoption

Attitudes that non-adoptive families have can play an important role in the support, or lack thereof, that adoptive families experience. | more »
Helen Isolde Thomas

God is at the movies

It was all enough to make me wonder whether we, as Christians, should eschew going to movies at all. But, in the end, I think not. | more »
Helen Isolde Thomas

A eulogy for me

I thought about what words I would prefer to have read at my funeral; I realized that they had nothing to do with what might be listed as my “accomplishments.” | more »
Terri Mork Speirs

Let’s be lonely together

For all of you lamenting Valentine’s Day — take heart, we’ve got Lent. | more »
Dave Long

Auschwitz and Birkenau

I’ve been thinking, “Where is God’s place in all of this?” This is certainly not an easy question. | more »
When it comes to our money, the reality is that everything we have is to be used for God. | more »
Ken Wheeler

Freedom in truth-telling

As he concluded his story he said these words: "In order to be a man you've got to take off your masks and humble yourself." | more »
Bruce Roberts

The art of mattering as we age

We all know that to feel that “I matter” is important throughout our life, regardless of our means of evaluating such things as “success” and love. | more »

African American Lutheran giants

Here is a closer look at the contributions of three African American Lutheran leaders — Will Herzfeld, Rudolph Featherstone and Nelson Trout. | more »

‘Walking the road as we make it’

Members of Leaven Project in Portland, Ore., make a commitment to serve their changing neighborhood. | more »
Death and life are issues that Christ calls us to care about. Christ’s death and resurrection free us to be agents of life in a death-denying, death-defying culture. | more »

Alcohol use and abuse

Its effect can be as minor as an irritating hangover — or as traumatic as living with auto fatalities, job loss and domestic abuse. | more »
Everett Flanigan

Reflections on the King I met

That evening, Dr. King reminded our family and other families of the hope that is present for all God’s people. | more »
Kevin Haug

The $1,000 prayer

It was a small price to pay to break through barriers, establish relationships, and enter into a place of trust as we were connected through our relationship in Christ. | more »
Terri Mork Speirs

A bleak-midwinter survival plan

Please allow me a moment to wallow in the bleak midwinter and to offer one potential antidote to the melancholy. | more »

Marriage is both legal and religious

The United States is unique in its practice of allowing clergy to preside at legal wedding ceremonies. In much of the world couples first go to a judge. | more »
Brian Konkol

An inconvenient truth and a convenient truth

As we prepare to celebrate once again Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of racial reconciliation, we must consider replacing “convenient” and “inconvenient” truths with the truth that will set us all free. | more »

Servant evangelism, recycled

One person’s trash is another’s opportunity to serve their neighbors. | more »

A relationship with native nations

The 1960s and early ‘70s was a time when Lutherans in America met with a cross section of American Indians and formed a national board. | more »
Laura Mills

Stars

I am home surrounded by the living stones that speak stories and breathe life into this holy and broken land, with the same stars that shine in the North Woods of Minnesota. | more »
David Lose

The recycled orchestra

It is, if you think about it, one of the starkest pictures of poverty — other people eking out a living by sorting through the things we have thrown away. | more »
Ken Wheeler

Born this day

Martin Luther King Jr. was speaking a truth, an ugly truth that did not match the dream. | more »

Dealing with unemployment

Congregations need to reassure their members who are affected by the difficulties of unemployment or job transition. | more »
Megan Rohrer

Looking forward

I have walked on deeply rutted trails, which were carved out by generations upon generations of faithful Lutherans who yearned together for justice and peace. | more »
Jason Chesnut

Gospel unchained

The unchained gospel is as scary to us as an unchained Django was to virtually everyone he came across. | more »
Brian Beckstrom

Resolve to live a better story in 2013

When making resolutions we typically focus on “what” we want to do without considering “why” or “how.” | more »

How can you live a better story in 2013?

If you decide to live a better story in the coming year, you might also have better success with those resolutions you usually fail to keep. What will your story be? You might also want to read: Resolve to live... | more »

Vanquishing Herod

You need only look at interpersonal relationships in the family or in the office to see that most of us have an inner Herod whom it is hard to ignore. | more »
How will 2012 be for you a year to build upon for a better 2013? You might also want to read: What’s new? The end of the year Resolving my resolutions... | more »
Brian Bennett

Slaughter of the Innocents

The fourth day of Christmas is not a day many preachers want to fall on a Sunday so they can avoid preaching on the Slaughter of the Innocents. | more »

A post-Sandy Christmas

For people affected by Hurricane Sandy, Jesus didn't come at Christmas, he's been there all along, both in the pain and in the coming together of communities to serve. | more »
Ken Wheeler

The greatest gift

The gift given to this grieving father was far greater than money. | more »

The happiest time of the year?

For many, it’s a reminder of lost loved ones, personal disappointments and dreams left unfulfilled. | more »
Kris Capel

Look for the Light

God doesn’t need more angels in heaven and those who were killed were not “taken” from us by God. They were taken by the evil actions of one man. | more »
David Lose

‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel’

At times like this, we need to remember that we do not wait alone. We are in this together, as a community, as a nation, and as a family of faith. | more »

Copper mining on your property

Here are tips to prevent the valuable metal from being stolen from your church. | more »

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