Tag: Devotional

By Jillian Russell, Hunger Network Ohio [about the author] I have always known myself to be a “self-doubter.” I am constantly doubting myself – my ability to lead, my ability to be a good friend, but especially my ability to lead God’s people. I have been a self-doubter when it has come to God’s plan for me. How was I supposed to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with my God if I didn’t even believe I could do so? As much as I have tried to change this aspect of myself in recent years, I constantly…

By Kayla Zopfi, 2022-23 Hunger Advocacy Fellow [about the author] They were prodded by a desire to know. The magi who journeyed to baby Jesus were likely some of the only people who noticed this bright new star in the sky, and they took off with excitement and energy even still. Story of the Magi This past Sunday at my young adult and queer-led Synodically Authorized Worshiping Community (SAWC) in Northeast Minneapolis, Tree of Life Lutheran, we did Lectio Divina on the story of the magi. I couldn’t help but reflect on the virtue of curiosity. Curiosity about an anomaly…

by Isabella Peterson, 2021-22 Hunger Advocacy Fellow [about the author] I often struggle with an uneasy sensation when faced with change – that is the inability to control the “new.” It isn’t because I fear a new stage in my life, it’s because I fear the unknown. I fear the loss of control of what is happening around me; I fear the journey to the “new,” not the destination. I fear the loss of control of what is happening around me. “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will…

by Sandra Roper, 2021-22 Hunger Advocacy Fellow [about the author] Sometimes it feels like my whole life revolves around the question “what’s next?” There’s this notion that “next” is a jump, one thing to another, and that the next thing must be substantially different from the thing before in order to be “new.” I’m starting to think that’s not the case. “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:19). What strikes me the most about the…

by Rachel Wyffels, 2021-22 Hunger Advocacy Fellow [about the author] It can be hard to feel God’s restorative presence in these times. In the midst of violence towards each other and the Earth, I often wonder how the Holy Spirit is realizing God’s promise of resurrection in our lives and in our world. For me, one answer is with the people and relationships in my life. “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:19). An opportunity…

By Hannah Peterson, 2021-22 Hunger Advocacy Fellow [about the author] I am not a practicing Lutheran. Although many of my relatives and ancestors are, I grew up in a secular family, attending church only for Christmas Eve services and the occasional baptism or funeral. As you might imagine, it was an unusual path that led me to this year of being an ELCA Hunger Advocacy Fellow, of learning to navigate through new communities, new opportunities and new insights. “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way…