Reflections
Advent Devotional by Kathy Mannerburg: Thursday December 5, 2019
A Light Shines in the Darkness. We’ve all experienced degrees of darkness, sometimes for a brief time, other times for extended periods. It can come on suddenly like an explosion knocking us off our feet or creep in wrapping its tentacles around all the spaces that used to be light and happy and safe. I’ve […]
Posted on December 5, 2019 | Posted by Mary Stoneback
Grey by Dennis Bagenstos: Advent Day 4
To someone who is clinically depressed, the world can seem flat or grey. This was long thought to be purely psychological. It turns out, though, that depression may affect how the eyes function—the lack of dopamine physically affects the amacrine cells within the retina. The world really does appear gray to someone with depression. If […]
Posted on December 4, 2019 | Posted by Mary Stoneback
Advent Devotional by Lisa Coltrin: Tuesday December 3, 2019
When I reflect on all the ways that light has come into my life, it brings up a lot of different emotions: Happiness – from the sunlight of a new day ahead, especially on a weekend or vacation day Shock – from the overhead bedroom light, jolting me awake in the middle of the night […]
Posted on December 3, 2019 | Posted by Mary Stoneback
Keep Awake Together
“So we need to keep awake. Stay alert. How do we do that? I believe it’s something we need to do together. As a community, we need to remind each other that there is this urgency, that our end is coming, that there are things we still need to do. That God has left us […]
Posted on December 2, 2019 | Posted by Annie Saunders
Advent Devotional by Alisa Desjardin, Monday December 2, 2019
As a former High-School Science teacher when I hear the word “light” I think of the complete spectrum of wavelengths we call light. The human eye can only see one small fraction of that light. There are wavelengths both longer and shorter than our eye can detect, but they still exist even if we cannot […]
Posted on December 2, 2019 | Posted by Mary Stoneback
Nurturing God’s Gifts
At the end of October, I made a 5-day trip to Manhattan, Kansas for the regional level of the National Association of Teachers of Singing National Student Auditions. I competed in the top division, the NATS Artist Award as well as judging the collegiate levels. The NATS auditions are a chance for vocalists from high school […]
Posted on November 27, 2019 | Posted by Mary Stoneback
The Tale of a Book
This is the tale of a book. The book. And even this tale has been anoccasion for faith. To think of how this book has been used by God intimes of darkness to provide light. From when the book was just a setof ideas to when it was slowly being put together, to the milleniasince, […]
Posted on November 25, 2019 | Posted by Annie Saunders
In Solidarity
Educación Popular en Salud (EPES) stands for Popular Education for Health and was founded in Chile in 1982 by ELCA missionary Karen Anderson. It began as a project of the Chilean Lutheran Church and is funded by ELCA Global Mission. Its purpose is to grow community organization and participation around health in vulnerable sectors of […]
Posted on November 20, 2019 | Posted by Mary Stoneback
This God
“There are times in this life where God can feel all too absent. Or there are times in this life where God’s calling can feel all too inconvenient, or God’s rules are all too harsh, or God’s community all too maddening, or God’s example all too pie-in-the-sky. There are times when you aren’t sure about […]
Posted on November 13, 2019 | Posted by Annie Saunders
Ageless Ambassadors?
What Are Ageless Ambassadors At Ascension? The primary message of Faith Formation for Maturing Adults (FFMA) at Ascension Lutheran is this: Across the lifespan, our lives have value in the eyes of the Lord and God continues to call us. In other words, part of God’s good news is that no matter what society tells […]
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