Laughter and rejoicing need to be a part of our faith life. Think of something funny that has happened, and thank God for giving us humor in

The church has always been a part of my life. My parents were good role models in volunteering their time and resources to the church. I walked to a small Lutheran grade school where there was one teacher for every two grades. Growing up in the country, church and relatives made up our social life. Even when going to a large public high school, most of my social life revolved around the teenagers in Walther League. In college I also had a circle of friends from the church

My husband Mark was invited to be a part of the disaster relieve crew. I asked if I could go too. Mark and I had volunteered for Habitat a few times and we both truly enjoyed it. So in November of last year we set off for St. Louis. I have to admit, I was nervous and a little apprehensive. You see, I am very much an introvert, this is why you are reading this instead of listening to me say it, and the thought of spending a week in the same house with people I didn’t know very

It seems that not a day passes without another story of racism rearing its ugly head in our nation or our metro area. Recently two incidents in Warren County have left us shaking our heads in disbelief. First, a youth basketball team wore racist and vulgar jerseys. Then we learned that a white middle school teacher told an African American student his classmates would lynch him if he didn't get back on task. The student's mother was not satisfied that school officials had

Recently my wife and I attended Sunday worship at a small church in Indianapolis. We had traveled to the city for the weekend after Thanksgiving. Our busy schedules don’t allow us to see much of each other at times and the stress of the holiday had frayed our nerves; so, we turned off our phones, left the laptop at home and skipped town for a little recharging. As is our custom, we attend church when we travel. I find myself excited for these experiences. Seeing the varying w

In the time following the Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogues that took place last fall, we are wondering what more the Holy Spirit might have in mind for our parishes. Our steering committee will meet on January 15 to consider possibilities. In this reflection, Mark Ewing offers an idea that has already happened. A Christmas Reflection As I sit here on Christmas morning (in my jammies and waiting for the festivities of the day), I wanted to take a moment (at Pastor Zorn’s re

The unbroken circle of greens in clearly an image of everlasting life, a victory wreath, the crown of Christ, or the wheel of time itself. C