I Guess the Kids *Were* Listening

Read this.  Just read it.

Captive Free Event

Last weekend our congregation hosted a ministry called Youth Encounter.  A band that tours the United States by the name of Captive Free came for a Saturday night concert and helped to lead Sunday School and our later worship service on Sunday morning.  What an important ministry!  Here are some pictures.

The Antidote to Nostalgia

The story of the Israelites and Moses in the book of Numbers resembles a soap opera or melodrama. There is sweeping action, random and powerful emotional outbursts, a tortured protagonist, a touch of the supernatural, and a long, incremental story that draws big and small conclusions. You can review the first reading for 17 Pentecost [...]

Tug-of-War

Competition and posturing; as old as humanity itself.  As we read this Sunday’s Gospel passage (found here, the 16th Sunday after Pentecost) we learn nothing new about ourselves.  Nor the lifelong tug-of-war we insist on perpetuating.
But we do learn something new about God–this God of ours, incarnate in Jesus Christ–who does not capitulate nor condone.  [...]

On Teaching

School has begun this week, and our programs here at church are also gearing up.  Along with the usual excitement, we have a remodeled high school building which is not only beautiful, but also seems to have breathed new excitement into the entire community.  Here at church, we have made some long-overdue changes to our Confirmation [...]

Our Faithful Mission Together

Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson has just released a new video asking all members of the ELCA to engage in conversation together.
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What will our witness be?  As members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, what stories shall we tell? 
In the weeks following the 2009 Churchwide Assembly there are many who are asking:
What does this mean?
What does [...]

From Pastor Karl Korbel

Dear Bloggies (Bloggers?)(Friends of the Blog?)
 
Let’s talk about change and possibility.  Christ brought about great change.  He clearly demonstrated that God’s attitude toward people, toward all creation, is loving and caring,  and that that attitude is demonstrated in loving and caring action.  This was apparently a new way at looking at God for most people. 
 
It [...]

Lutefisk Dinner 2009-First Lutheran, Blooming Prairie

We’ve added a page with information about our Lutefisk Dinner, which will be held Tuesday, October 20, 2009 at First Lutheran in Blooming Prairie.  See the “pages” in the top left, and click on “Lutefisk Dinner.”

It’s Time We Open Up!

The following is an excerpt from a sermon by Lutheran pastor Peter Marty.  It appears in its entirety on the Day 1 website.
The text for the sermon is our Gospel reading for this coming Sunday, September 6, 2009, the 14th Sunday after Pentcost.  Mark 7:24-37 can be read here.
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EPHATHA! Be Opened! We simply must find [...]