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I had just started my car to drive to my internship site on June 18, 2015, when I learned from the radio about the martyrdom of the Emanuel Nine. As I drove down the freeway and the details of this atrocious act spilled out of my speakers, I had to pull onto the shoulder and collect myself before making my way to the office for whatever meetings were scheduled that day.   The murders of nine people during a Bible study weighed on me throughout the week. That Sunday we prayed for their families. We prayed that such senseless violence…

This reflection is a cross-published piece, which was originally published on the ELCA Racial Justice Blog on June 6, 2022.   By Bishop Virginia S. Aebischer June 2022 — Reflecting on and Commemorating the Emanuel Nine On the evening of June 17, 2015, a white supremacist walked into Mother Emanuel AME Church, sat down and joined a Bible study focused on Mark 4. We all know now that he intended to start a race war. Innocent lives were taken in an act of hate, an act all too familiar in our society. That evening nine innocent people were killed in…

When approaching a discussion on abortion, even in so-called conservative Christian circles, at least traditionally, you will often hear people arguing that abortion shouldn’t become a single-voter issue. In other words, these people like to trick themselves into thinking that who we vote for, based on their policies, is bigger than the doctrine and practice of abortion. These people like to lull themselves into the idea that they are more nuanced, that they have greater sophistication, that they understand the complexity of life better than those who would argue that, indeed, abortion, all by itself is worthy of reducing a…

These prompts are provided for worship leaders as they prepare the prayers of intercession for weekly worship. The prompts are prepared by several leaders in the ELCA and reflect current world and national events. You are encouraged to adapt and add other concerns for your local context, including staying informed of events and concerns in your synod. Responding to recent acts of violence All Creation Sings includes several for lament including “Lamenting Gun Violence” (Leaders Edition, p. 107) and “Service after a Violent Event” (Pew Edition p. 64-66, Leaders p. 110-113) as well as several collect prayers including the one…

These prompts are provided for worship leaders as they prepare the prayers of intercession for weekly worship. The prompts are prepared by several leaders in the ELCA and reflect current world and national events. You are encouraged to adapt and add other concerns for your local context, including staying informed of events and concerns in your synod. Responding to recent acts of violence All Creation Sings includes several for lament including “Lamenting Gun Violence” (Leaders Edition, p. 107) and “Service after a Violent Event” (Pew Edition p. 64-66, Leaders p. 110-113) as well as several collect prayers including the one…

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. –I John 1.9 Without this passage as a paraclete I could not survive the Christian existence. It has been my soul-verse for as long as I can remember. I am a sinner, I confess, and I need the Savior on a moment-by-moment basis. Sometimes the intensity of my need rises when I find myself in the surd-moment of a heated sin. More than being irrational, sin is really the human incurved upon itself in all its asserted self-possessive inglorious…

The following reflections are the foundation of comments shared at the “Interfaith Vigil and Rally: Faith Acting on Gun Violence” by the Rev. Amy E. Reumann on June 8, 2022, hosted by Lutheran Church of the Reformation in Washington, D.C. by the Rev. Amy E. Reumann, ELCA Senior Director, Witness in Society I don’t know what tone to strike today. Is it to be a deep wail of grief and sadness at the blood that has been spilled, the lives lost, the communities forever changed by gun violence? Is it to be cries of holy rage at our leaders in…

Situation: On the night of May 30, a series of storms, including tornadoes, swept through the Central Great Plains and Upper Mississippi Valley. In Minnesota, heavily affected communities included Eagle Bend, Clarissa and Browerville, where over 100 buildings were damaged. In South Dakota, a tornado impacted the area around the city of Brandon, severely damaging Beaver Valley Lutheran Church in Valley Springs.     Response: Lutheran Disaster Response is accompanying both the Northwestern Minnesota Synod and the South Dakota Synod as they respond to the tornadoes. The Northwestern Minnesota Synod will provide basic necessities to impacted community members in the…

I am still here, never fear! Just a lot going on in life, and so my blogging has slacked a bit. I have more in the pipeline, and you can maybe expect a whole slew of them in the days to come. I just wanted to assuage any anxiety you might have had about my lack of posting. I wanted to give you a good night of sleep, once more, by knowing that, indeed I am here, and I always will be (haha). One post I’m thinking about writing is on teasing out the implications of the vicarious humanity of…

June 2022 — Reflecting on and Commemorating the Emanuel Nine   On the evening of June 17, 2015, a white supremacist walked into Mother Emanuel AME Church, sat down and joined a Bible study focused on Mark 4. We all know now that he intended to start a race war. Innocent lives were taken in an act of hate, an act all too familiar in our society.   That evening nine innocent people were killed in a temple of the Lord, where love was shared and life in Christ was embraced. The Emanuel Nine are saints who still witness to…