Today, Feb. 25, is the day we remember the life and ministry of Elizabeth Fedde, a Norwegian Deaconess who died on Feb. 25, 1921. I learned about Elizabeth Fedde as I was in formation for the Deaconess Community, and her story still challenges and inspires me. Elizabeth Fedde came to… Continue reading
Yesterday in Preschool Chapel, I was trying to get some kids’ attention who were talking to each other. So I called out to them, “boys, are you with me?” From the opposite side of the group, where I wasn’t even looking, I heard a little voice say, “I’m with you,… Continue reading
“It isn’t so much that people leave religion, I think as it is that, like Olympic runners on a mission, they come to a moment in life when they go beyond the system to the very source of the light. It is the plight of the mystic to enter the… Continue reading
He brought me out into a broad place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me. (Psalm 18:19) I read this verse recently, and it reminded me of a conversation we had during staff meeting regarding the upcoming Gospel text for Sunday. This Sunday’s Gospel text is the story of… Continue reading
Every now and then, I have a conversation with someone about the importance of engaging in a faith community of some kind. Sometimes the sense is that folks want to get ‘other things sorted out first’ before focusing on things like spiritual development or faith community. I hear things like,… Continue reading
The people of the Judean hill country know enough to realize that this means that God will be summoning him to something special in which, due to their proximity to him, they will almost certainly be caught up” (Gooder, p. 90). This week’s Advent focus was on John the Baptist,… Continue reading
“Prophetic waiting looks eagerly for signs of God’s salvation in our midst; it looks backward remembering God’s glorious salvation in the past; forward to the time in the future when it will break forth again; and all around us for signs of its presence now.” (The Meaning is in the… Continue reading
The season of Advent is always a meaningful season of reflection and pondering for me. This year, join me in this journey of pondering, preparing and anticipating the new way God is breaking into creation. God’s call does not necessarily ask us to move our physical surroundings (although sometimes it… Continue reading
I’ve been on the road a bit recently, so haven’t been in worship very consistently on Sundays. This past Sunday, I got back to church just a few minutes before the end of the service. As everybody was leaving the sanctuary, I stood in the narthex to greet people in… Continue reading
I’m sitting at the Conference on Ministry, the annual gathering of rostered leaders in this synod. Each fall we spend 2 days with other pastors and leaders, getting reconnected with colleagues and reflecting on this crazy work we are all doing. This is the 6th COM from what I can… Continue reading