Church #40. Meet Inese Dahl. She is the Director of Christian Education at St Paul Lutheran Church, School and Childcare in McAllen, Texas. This congregation has an average worship attendance of 400 on a given Sunday. In honor of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, St Paul has adopted FAITH5 household devotions. (Shout out to … Continue reading The Power of a Donut Box

"If only you were here, Lord, my brother would not have died." This is what Mary and Martha said to Jesus about their brother, Lazarus, who has died. We read this story found in John 11:1-44, and it happens to be the story on All Saints 2018 (RCL).   Last week, I was at the … Continue reading If Only You Were Here…

Small children love to read the same book over and over again. I was like that. Mine was a book called "Little Witch" by Anna Elizabeth Bennett. It is a classic tale of a little witch who dreams of being a normal kid. I must have checked it out of the school library every week … Continue reading Tell the Story

Church #39. Meet Michelle Ketepa. She is the Director of Faith Formation at Beautiful Savior Luther Church in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. With an average worshiping attendance of 200 people on a given Sunday, Ketepa strives to reach all ages with the love of God. Ketepa asked, “Have you ever tried to stake a tomato plant … Continue reading The Little Little’s Blessing

Church #38. Meet Sister Emily Lalor – Clamser. She is a deacon on leave from call and located in the North Carolina Synod of the ELCA. Pastors, deacons, and children, youth and family staff know the conundrum of helping people connect faith to daily life. "It's a real struggle!" said Clamser. People long to understand … Continue reading Faith@home or Faith@Go

Church #37. Meet Carmen Retzlaff. She is the solo pastor at New Life Lutheran Church in Dripping Springs, Texas. The interesting thing about this congregation, which has an average worship attendance of 60 on a given Sunday, is that everything they do is outside: worship, Sunday School, gardening camp. And guess what? Like many things … Continue reading Growing Worship Outdoors

Looking for my first call to be a pastor, I decided to check out the numbers in my area of responsibility at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Minneapolis. I know, I know, numbers don't tell the complete story, but they do say something. In five years, Children's Ministries grew in leaps and bounds. … Continue reading Doubled and Tripled

Church #36. Meet Pastor Rebecca Sullivan. She is the solo pastor at Lakeview Lutheran Church in Maplewood, MN. With an average worship attendance of 65 on a given Sunday, Lakeview describes themselves as a "friendly little church that seeks to grow on our faith journeys by coming together and serving the world around us." One … Continue reading A Storytelling Sunday

Church #35. Meet Joel Folkemer. He is the lead pastor at Union Evangelical Lutheran Church in York, Pennsylvania. With averaging worship attendance of 70 on a given Sunday, Folkemer describes Union as an urban church in a small city. Union’s purpose statement is “Sharing the Good News of Jesus with our neighbors, as we grow … Continue reading Finding Purpose

Two children's books are on my reading list for this weekend. Not by choice and kind of reluctantly. (At least, the first one...) First. My kids are in a French immersion program at their middle school and high school. My youngest son's class is reading Pieter et Dan: La Vie en Noir et Blanc by … Continue reading Being Reluctant