by Liesl Spitz | Jan 27, 2023 | Devotions
This year in confirmation, we are making use of Daniel Erlander’s Manna and Mercy to explore overarching themes of scripture. Recently we read about Jesus’ teachings, and the ways that he turns upside down our expectations of God’s love. Erlander’s words for me were a...
by Liesl Spitz | Jan 21, 2023 | Devotions
As the season of Epiphany continues so does the theme of baptism and its unfolding in our lives. Paul writes to the Corinthians, who are struggling with their allegiances to God, to each other, and to the gods of the Greco-Roman culture that surrounds them. I can...
by Liesl Spitz | Jan 13, 2023 | Devotions
This week we hear again of Jesus’ baptism, but from the perspective of John sharing with his disciples, “I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.” John’s powerful testimony surely fanned the flames of the movement growing around Jesus. Who...
by Liesl Spitz | Jan 6, 2023 | Devotions
What comes to mind when you think of “God’s will” for your life, or the world? If I am honest, the term has felt fraught for me for a long time. In my up-bringing, obedience to God’s will was impossible to parse from obedience to a strict patriarchal church, something...
by Hans Jorgensen | Dec 30, 2022 | Devotions
It’s still Christmas. We continue to celebrate how Christmas is more than a day, and it lasts through this week to move us to a new season where daylight expands.It’s still Christmas, and the joys of the season do not deny the sadnesses, too. We feel the absence of...
by Hans Jorgensen | Dec 24, 2022 | Devotions
Much of my life seems to happen in a prose-flattened world. Much of my life seems to take place in to-do lists and checkbooks, in interest rates and a never-ending news cycle. The Christmas readings give us a chance to see the poetry of God’s promise that sustains us....
by Hans Jorgensen | Dec 16, 2022 | Devotions
As we draw nearer to the story of the Christ child, we focus on the way God appears in the smallest and humblest places. This Sunday, the 4th Sunday in Advent, we will hear about the birth of the Christ child. We’ll hear it from Matthew 1 (appointed for this Sunday)....
by Hans Jorgensen | Dec 10, 2022 | Devotions
I don’t know about you, but there are times where my spirit seems dry as dust. I yearn to hear the promise from Isaiah 35 that we hear this Sunday: “The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom.” I long for that joy! I’m...
by Hans Jorgensen | Dec 2, 2022 | Devotions
The prophet Isaiah promises that “A shoot shall come out of the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.” David came out of Jesse’s family as we learn from our Jewish ancestors, and Jesus came out of that same family. Isaiah goes on to promise that...
by Liesl Spitz | Nov 26, 2022 | Devotions
“Wopida” is a Dakota word I’m learning from reading the stories from Lower Phalen Creek Project. “Thank you.” LCPC is the organization which stewards the site of Wakan Tipi, a sacred site for Dakota people. Over the last year and more, small...
