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As Russian forces advanced on his town in Ukraine’s heavily contested Donbass region, a group of friends helped to save Igor Gusev’s life. Born with cerebral palsy, Igor has lived independently with some limited support and the companionship of a beloved black cat. His community shunned him, but for the efforts of his few friends. Igor Gusev fled Ukraine after the invasion by Russia and is now living in Poland. As bombing and violence approached his home, Igor’s friends packed him and just a bit of luggage into a car and headed west. While Igor sadly had to leave his…

Hello! The time to receive grant proposals is on the way! Thank you to those who have reached out recently to ask this very question. My answer, in short, is soon– right at about the end of September. After some more work with the Grants Management team we will send out details regarding the kind/number of proposals we will consider, and the time frame in which we will be accepting and approving them. You can come here for those details, and please know that other communication will be sent out as well. For now, you may direct questions to me…

Knowledge of God is the key, that is to the ‘secret of creation.’ If “Jesus Christ is indeed the real ground of creation,”[1] then in order to know what in fact creation is for, we must first know its Creator. But as Karl Barth underscores, in a rather Athanasian key, if Jesus is the ground of creation, and if Jesus is indeed the ‘Son of the Father,’ then to know the inner-ground, the secret of creation is first to know Jesus, to know the Son. As such, prior to knowing what and who creation is for, as the case may…

Our garden at home has finally started yielding its bounty, which means we have more tomatoes than we know what to do with and are engaged in constant battle with rabbits to preserve our harvest. Now is the season when we get to enjoy the fruits of our time spent planting and preparing the soil, with fresh bites from the garden in every meal. It’s a reminder of the growing season and of nature’s wonders. The fresh veggies making their way from my yard to my plate has had me thinking more about community gardens recently, especially with the rising…

Registration closes August 31   The Strasbourg Ecumenical Institute offers advanced training in ecumenical theology for Lutheran pastors. The next study course will be held online from October 10-14, 2022. The course will be held in English and is designed for pastors with parish experience or for students with advanced knowledge of Lutheran theology. It will cover an overview of the most important ecumenical agreements between Lutherans and other Christian communions over the past half century. In addition, students will examine the ways churches on the different continents are putting those agreements into practice in their local contexts and how…

Update on my doctoral statuses. I have backed out of the PhD I was attempting to do with Concordia Academic Theology Consortium, Intl., and Martin Luther School of Bible and Theology. I have also “unaccepted” the honorary ThD presented to me by the same institution back in January of this year. After further research into the degrees offered, and some other circumstances, I have decided that this is the best alternative. That said, the church denomination associated with this educational institution, the General Lutheran Church, is legitimate. And its Dean has nothing but good and pure intentions. The gesture made…

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. Intercession prompts: For communities in China impacted by drought… For communities in Algeria impacted by wildfires… For victims of gun violence in Washington DC… For resolution to the ongoing war in Ukraine as we cross the six-month mark of the war, and especially…

Announcing the city of the ELCA Youth Gathering, Multicultural Youth Leadership Event and the tAble is a fun and somewhat interesting task. In this blog post, we’ll give you a behind the scenes look at the process of selecting a city to host this life changing faith formation event in.   First, cities bid on the event years in advance. We’ve already selected a city to host the 2027 Gathering and we are close for 2030. If that doesn’t instill terror in your planning hearts, think about it.   What might this church look like in 2030?  What will our youth groups…

God is my Father.[1] Jesus said to Mary post-resurrection, “I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.” God is our Father. Athanasius writes: “Therefore it is more pious and more accurate to signify God from the Son and call Him Father, than to name Him from His works only and call Him Unoriginate.”[2] This is the Christian way for knowing, for thinking God; this is the way those who have the Spirit can call Jesus, Lord; that is, as recognizing their Shepherd, knowing His voice as Son of the Father. As Athanasius rightly noted we…

Following are updates shared from submissions of the Lutheran Office for World Community and state public policy offices (sppos) in the ELCA Advocacy Network this month. Full list and map of sppos available. U.N. | Colorado | Delaware | Washington   U.N. Lutheran Office for World Community (LOWC), United Nations, New York, N.Y. – ELCA.org/lowc Dennis Frado, Director   The 24th International AIDS Conference took place from 29 July to 2 August 2022. The theme of AIDS 2022 was Re-engage and follow the science. It was the first time the conference was hosted in person in Montreal, Canada, as well as…