Tag: 2025

Hello and a blessed Advent to everyone! On behalf of ELCA Disability Ministries’ advisory and our groups of grant reviewers I would like to say a huge “thank you!” to the nearly sixty congregations and ministries that applied for grants this year. It is wonderful to witness such a response, and all of the creative ways so many are working to make their ministries into places of belonging for people with disabilities. This year we will be funding the following ministries/projects. More info and details will come in a later post. Storyline Community, Milwaukie ,OR: “Re-embody the Body: Sustaining Expansive…

Opening Activity Part 1 Set Up: As you gather with people, have a jar of gummy worms and a jar of honey at each table being used for this activity. Hand out at least two gummy worms, if not more, and preferably blue in keeping with the Advent season. The jar of honey is only for decoration purposes, reminding everyone of John the Baptist’s meal of honey with locusts. Invite all participants to think of each gummy worm as a physical reminder of something that they have done over which they feel grubby. They do not have to share what…

Opening Activity Place a large piece of soft cloth on each table for this activity. It’s best if the cloth is blue to match the Advent season. As participants find their seats, invite them to touch the piece of soft cloth. What thoughts, feelings, or memories stirred as they touch it? Some examples might include: a memory of a soft blanket that is special to them a thought given to those who have made the fabric a feeling of being safe and warm in a coat, etc. Before reading, invite participants to listen for Jesus’ words about people who wear…

Note from the Editor: This week on Faith Lens, we’re revisiting a post from the archive. Originally published several years ago, the article still speaks with quiet strength and hope today. As Advent draws to a close, this reflection offers a grounding reminder at just the right moment: Emmanuel, God is with us. In a season that invites us to name our fears and watch for God’s nearness, this piece remains a faithful word for young people and leaders alike. One more note: in partnership with ELCA Children’s Ministry and ELCA Youth Ministry, the ELCA Youth Gathering is launching a…

Prepare This reading begins with a question about the afterlife from the Sadducees, a group of leaders who did not believe in the resurrection. This is important to note because the question is not really about the resurrection at all, but about trapping Jesus. The Sadducees want him to give an answer that somehow “convicts” him. Keep in mind that this gospel lesson comes just one chapter after Jesus has made his final entry into Jerusalem, what we celebrate as Palm Sunday. So this conversation takes place sometime between Sunday and Thursday, before the Last Supper. To clarify the question,…

Prepare Luke is the only gospel in which we find the story of Zacchaeus. Luke often shares stories of people who are marginalized, oppressed, or looked down upon and shows how Jesus’s love changes them. Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector and would have been shunned by his own people because of his profession. In those days, taxes imposed by Rome took a large portion of people’s money, leaving many poor.  And as was the practice of tax collectors, Zacchaeus was likely skimming a little extra for himself too, aggravating people even more. Zacchaeus became wealthy through his position in…

Prepare In Jesus’ day, the Jewish people lived under Roman rule. Even though Jews were allowed to worship Jehovah, the true God, life under an occupying empire often brought tension and resentment. Some Jews worked for the Roman administration, collecting taxes or overseeing trade. These tax collectors, often seen as collaborators who took more than what was due, were widely disliked and regarded by many as sinners or outsiders within their own community. At the other end of the spectrum were the Pharisees – Jewish leaders who devoted themselves on obeying not only the ten commandments, but also many ceremonial…

Prepare This well-known psalm is a song about the pilgrimage to Jerusalem the Israelites would have taken multiple times per year. I would caution leaders (including myself) against assuming that our youth/young adults know this psalm. Depending on the rhythms and practices of your congregation, they might. But, in my experience with youth/young adults, Psalm 121 is more of a “that sounds familiar” kind of recognition, not something they are able to recite all the way through. Nevertheless, this psalm is intended to carry one through a long and difficult journey, making it very helpful for any of us to…

Prepare (This section is preparation for the leader, not content meant for the group.) In this passage, we find the Israelites deep in the Babylonian Exile. The Assyrians had conquered the northern kingdom of Israel. The southern kingdom, Judah, held out a little longer. However, the Babylonians, under Nebuchadnezzar, came along and conquered the Assyrian territory and the remaining Israelite lands. This was a huge blow to the Israelites. The temple was destroyed, the walls of Jerusalem lay in ruins, and the people were forced to leave the promised land. As the years dragged on in exile, the generation that…

Prepare (This section is preparation for the leader, not content meant for the group.) The first part of this week’s gospel lesson is a familiar passage—though most of us probably recall its counterpart in Matthew 17:20, where faith the size of a mustard seed can move a mountain, rather than uproot a mulberry tree as we see in Luke 17. Either way, the point is not meant to be taken literally. This chapter is full of hyperbolic language meant to drive a lesson home. In verses 1–4, Jesus says it would be better to have a heavy stone hung around…