Partner Organization Resources and Events
Each month ELCA Worship highlights resources and events from other organizations and institutions. These Lutheran and ecumenical partner organizations work alongside the ELCA to support worship leaders, worship planners, musicians, and all who care about the worship of the church. ELCA Worship also features resources from Augsburg Fortress Publishers in a monthly blog post. Let It Be With Me According to Your Word Seminar on Lutheran Liturgy Minneapolis, Minn., August 13-15 Registration is open now at www.seminarliturgy.org. Lutheran Summer Music Academy & Festival Transforming and connecting lives through faith and music since 1981. Lutheran Summer Music 2025 Valparaiso University,Valparaiso, Ind. June…
Oxford Trained Philosopher of Religion
I am an a officially trained philosopher of religion at the University of Oxford . Athanasian Reformed
Proclaiming John’s Gospel on Good Friday
Due to the historic misuse of “the Jews” in John’s passion to justify anti-Judaism, please consider how this gospel is read and heard in your assembly’s worship. The Consultation on Common Texts, the ecumenical body that curates the Revised Common Lectionary has provided the following paragraph. You are invited to include it in printed worship folders or read it aloud before the gospel is proclaimed. Throughout Christian history, references to “the Jews” in scripture—particularly in John and Acts—have been used to perpetuate negative stereotypes and falsely assign blame for the death of Jesus. These references gloss over significant distinctions among…
Worship Resources from Augsburg Fortress Publishers
Each month ELCA Worship highlights resources from Augsburg Fortress Publishers that support worship leaders, worship planners, musicians, and all who care about the worship of the church. ELCA Worship also features resources from other partners in a monthly blog post. The Three-Day Feast: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Recent decades have witnessed the revival of the ancient liturgies of the Three Days—Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil. In this book Gail Ramshaw gives a little history and a lot of suggestions about how these services can enrich the worship life of your entire assembly. Using…
KJV’s Mere Christian Hermeneutics
Just finished. As an after Barth, Torrance, Calvin, Athanasius (and patristic theology), John Webster (on Scripture) person, I would say that Kevin J. Vanhoozer’s book fits well with what us Evangelical Calvinists (after our books and my blog work) call a Dialogical Theology and reading of the text of Scripture. It is more about the encounter, transformation, and instrumentality of the reading of Holy Scripture versus the academic slicing and dicing of things; the latter often being under higher critical antisupranaturalistic pressures. This is not to say that the grammatical historical has no place, but that such a frame is…
For what shall we pray?
“For what shall we pray?” is a weekly post inviting individuals, groups, and congregations to lift up our world in prayer. This resource is prepared by a variety of leaders in the ELCA and includes prayer prompts, upcoming events and observances, and prayer suggestions from existing denominational worship materials. You are encouraged to use these resources as a starting point, and to adapt and add other concerns from your local context. More information about this resource can be found here. Prayer prompts: For justice and peace among nations where war and violence rage, especially Ukraine and Russia, Palestine and…
Bosom of the Father Knowledge
No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. –John 1:18 Jesus has brought all who will, because He first willed for us, into the bosom of the Father in union with Him. It is here, this locale, where knowledge of God alone obtains. It is God’s Self-knowledge that He has invited us into, as if a banqueting table. The Christian, by the grace of God in Christ, shares in the divine nature; indeed, the particular nature of the particular and only living God. Without God’s revelation there would…
What Can Congregations Do to Prepare for Immigration Raids?
What Can Congregations Do to Prepare for Immigration Raids? April 1, 2025 The information shared here does not constitute legal advice and is provided for informational and educational purposes only. Individuals are strongly recommended to seek the advice of an attorney to discuss their unique circumstances. Through this guide, AMMPARO seeks to educate congregations and others about their rights under the law to help them better prepare for encounters with immigration officials. Executive Summary: There are various steps that congregations can take to prepare for possible encounters with immigration or immigration-related officials. The guide below discusses some of these steps…
March 30, 2025–Coming Home
Catalyst Question What was the last trip that you went on? How did it feel to come home after being away? A Surprising Homecoming After nine months, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are home. These two are the astronauts who were originally supposed to spend a week at the International Space Station. What was meant to be a short, joyous journey toward the stars became a months-long stay in the vacuum of space. They returned to great fanfare and, of course, to some well-deserved time off. This week’s Gospel tells of another homecoming. Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 includes the parable we often…
For what shall we pray?
“For what shall we pray?” is a weekly post inviting individuals, groups, and congregations to lift up our world in prayer. This resource is prepared by a variety of leaders in the ELCA and includes prayer prompts, upcoming events and observances, and prayer suggestions from existing denominational worship materials. You are encouraged to use these resources as a starting point, and to adapt and add other concerns from your local context. More information about this resource can be found here. Prayer prompts: For areas of the world impacted by ongoing war, conflict, and violence: Ukraine and Russia, Palestine and…