Two years into a global pandemic, the toll on human life and livelihood is undeniable, and the toll on mental, emotional and spiritual health is no less profound. Enormous shifts in the way we work, gather and worship have left many people reeling. How can faith communities be a resource for those struggling? For...
Category: Faith formation
January 21, 2022
Contemplating the New Year
Two years into a global pandemic, the toll on human life and livelihood is undeniable, and the toll on mental, emotional and spiritual health is no less profound. Enormous shifts in the way we work, gather and worship have left many people reeling. How can faith communities be a resource for those struggling? For...
September 15, 2021
The Joy of Third Things
Elise Seyfried (Christ’s, Oreland) writes in LivingLutheran: Many people have fond memories of special conversations that transpired while they were doing the dishes with a parent or going fishing with a friend. This third thing they do together makes it easy and comfortable for them to converse more deeply, often without even making eye contact....
October 6, 2016
A Big Look at the Small Catechism
Several years ago my husband’s bishop tried initiating a diocese-wide call to the catechumenate to engage those preparing for confirmation in a period of study and formation. We call it confirmation class or catechism, something generations of Lutherans have gone through. But this was a new experience for the Episcopalians in his diocese. He set...
February 9, 2016
‘Dust Is Not the Final Word’
The crosses marked on our foreheads on Ash Wednesday are signs of both life and death. The ashes suggest our eventual return too the dust, but “the dust is not the final word,” says Welcome Church Pastor Violet Little. At an Ash Wednesday service on Logan Park in 2013, Pastor Violet told her flock “What...
September 22, 2015
Bradley Burke Called to Youth, Formation Roles
Dionne Jackson also joins ministry team The Rev. Bradley R. Burke has been appointed Assistant to the Bishop for Youth, Young Adult and Spiritual Formation by Bishop Claire Burkat. Pastor Burke, who is currently serving as executive director of Lutheran Charities in Southeastern Pennsylvania, has been involved in youth and young adult ministry in our...
November 21, 2014
Bishops Offer Advent Devotions
Presiding Bishop Eaton and the leaders of the Anglican Church of Canada, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and The Episcopal Church have developed a series of devotions for this Advent season. You are welcome and encouraged to use these devotions individually and in your congregation. For the past five years, the presiding bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran...
August 20, 2014
Prayer for Ferguson
Please include the people of Ferguson, MO in your congregational prayers Sunday, using the following petition written by Linda Manson of Living Gospel Ministries, or a similar prayer: God of Peace and Healing, We experience violence and hatred that divides us as cultural groups, ethnicities and nations and we feel we do not have the...
July 23, 2014
Finding God In The Glories of Summer
How are you finding God today? As I write to you today it is a beautiful, hot, summery sunny day. Many of us long for summer, and after a winter like we have just endured, it is more welcome than ever! I love the light, and the sounds and smells of summer: the brightness and...
May 13, 2014
‘Be Communities of Discernment’
“To do God’s work with our hands, we need to know what God is about,” the Rev. Dr. Mark S. Hanson told the 2014 Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod Assembly in his keynote address. “We need to be communities of discernment,” the former ELCA presiding bishop said. To do that, “we need to be fluent in the...
March 22, 2013
“I Love You. Love, God”
The Bible is a lot like the love messages parents receive from their children, Pastor Keith Anderson of Upper Dublin Lutheran Church says in a new YouTube video. “The Bible can be a messy, complicated, confusing book, but at the heart of the Bible is this message: ‘I love you. Love, God.” Enjoy this video...
