ReformING: Always being made new In 2015, Pastors Lauren and Paul Carlson were called as co-pastors to Calvary, Morganton, where they would share one call, 50/50. Today, they’re still serving at Calvary and they’re still sharing one call, but now Pastor Paul is three-quarters time and Pastor Lauren is one-quarter time, but that’s not the […]
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Sanctuary “Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true. With thanksgiving I’ll be a living sanctuary for you.” I wonder how many hundred times I’ve sung those words at camp, on retreats, and in contemporary worship services of the early 2000s. I’ll bet a lot of you know it and
Pull up a chair! “The kingdom of God is a bunch of outcasts and oddballs gathered at a table,” Rachel Held Evans wrote, “not because they are rich or worthy or good, but because they are hungry, and because there’s always room for more.” Held Evans, a 37-year-old best-selling Christian author, tragically died this spring
“Faith, love, joy, and helping others” Both Hurricane Matthew in October 2016 and Hurricane Florence in September 2018 flooded Cathy Farmer’s home in Princeville, N.C. (the first African American incorporated town in the U.S.), forcing Cathy, her terminally ill daughter, and two grandchildren out of her home. During Hurricane Matthew, the four were rescued from
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Our common witness In her August column for Living Lutheran, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton says “We need to ask what it means to be Lutheran in the 21st century.” Read her column in English and in Spanish.
2019-08 Eaton Living Lutheran Read More »
We are church That’s the theme under which 16 voting members (elected at our 2018 assembly) and about a thousand other folks from the other 64 synods of the ELCA gather for the Churchwide Assembly. What’s that about, you say? Well, it happens only once every three years, and it is the highest decision-making body
Our country’s proud tradition: welcoming immigrants and refugees with generosity and grace The United States is the land of freedom and of welcome. Our nation’s history overflows with stories of people relocating to the United States, beginning with the first pilgrims being welcomed by the hospitality and generosity of the Wampanoag and their feast of
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Reading 25—Conclusion I hope that, if not before, you have an appreciation now for the immense depth and breadth of this wonderfully earthy and human hymnbook of the ancient Israelites and for Christians as well. In most congregations that follow the lectionary, the Psalms hold such a revered place that it’s the only book of
Reading 24—The Five Ws Psalm 150 READ PSALM 150 Like many of you, in elementary school, I learned that in order for a story or report to be complete, it had to answer the five Ws: who, what, when, where, and why (and sometimes a sixth question, how, is also needed). My third-grade teacher drilled
Reading 23—A God Who Gets It Psalm 139 READ PSALM 139 Are you running? Are you hiding? GOD understands; He understands the human condition. “Where shall I go from Your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from Your presence?” Much of life is a mystery to us! We look for answers that will help us
