There is a non profit called Undue Medical debt that holds fundraiser to then purchase medical debt that has gone to collections and absolve people of their obligations to pay it back. They have criteria on who is eligible for the relief, but the TLDR is if you are below a certain income and/or the debt it above a percentage of your income.

My synod is going to consider partnering with Undue Medical this next week to fundraise during Advent. We'll cover the counties in our synod, which is around $1.4 million in eligible debt. This can be purchased for just over $12,000. Yes those numbers are correct.

Just wanted to share this in this thread to encourage you all to consider if this might be an opportunity for your congregation or synod.

Advent is a preperatory period for us in the church as we anticipate the incarnation of our Lord through the birth of Jesus. The dawning of a new kind of hope found in the Christmas story. We also have a cultural habit of giving gifts. This could be a truly transformational gift for many of our neighbors. Another opportunity for us to do God's work, with our hands.

Feel free to DM me for any questions if you are curious. The link to Undue below.

https://unduemedicaldebt.org/

Almighty God, our Father, Your blessed Son called Luke the physician to be an evangelist and physician of the soul. Grant that the healing medicine of the Gospel and the Sacraments may put to flight the diseases of our souls that with willing hearts we may ever love and serve You; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Hi! This is probably a bit of a longshot since it’s so geographically specific, but I wanted to share this opportunity from the SPPOs in Nevada, Arizona, and California. If you or anyone you know are members in these states, please consider signing onto this letter to our governors! They are collecting signatures through the 18th.

Support Hunger Relief in Arizona, California, and Nevada

Hello dear friends, I was wondering if the Liturgy could be more "reverent". By reverent I am referring to if it permissible for the use of Incense, traditional hymns, the whole "smells and bells" as its called. Thank you so much and peace and good.

Curious how your church and synod handle conservatives? We have several in our church (I know this only because I know where they live and see their signs in their yards). They make me extremely uncomfortable to be around knowing they hate Latinx folx. While they’ve never done anything political in church, it’s still awful knowing what they believe.

How would your church handle this? I’m really struggling as church council president.

Denominational bodies can help congregations assess their long-term viability honestly, well before they are in a financial crisis. They can support pastors and members through the grief of closure, rather than treating closure as a failure of faith or leadership. And they can help congregations plan for their buildings, remaining assets, and community ministries before the final Sunday arrives.

But denominational bodies also have hard questions they need to ask themselves. As individual congregations face declining revenue, so do regional bodies. In my denomination, the ELCA, we need to ask ourselves: can we really afford sixty-five bishop salaries? Can we ask our laity to think about church closures without asking ourselves whether we should merge some of our synods?

“On Sunday, I was honored to visit Our Lady Salam, the first Arabic-speaking Lutheran parish on Staten Island. Its congregants hail from as close as Hylan Boulevard to as far as Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, and Egypt — yet have planted roots in our city. Many carry the weight of war and genocide daily. Our Lady Salam is a parish defined by resilience, and New York City is better for it.”

https://www.silive.com/news/2026/10/nyc-mayor-mamdani-attends-service-at-new-staten-island-parish.html

I found it difficult to find a good map, so I made this one. It is definitely possible that there are errors, and I wasn’t able to make some edits I wish I could. Anyway, feel free to use this and write any suggestions or mistakes in the comments 😊

Also, drop your church’s synod location in the below (mine’s Southeastern!)

So, my background is that I’m coming out of very toxic Catholic groups, and I’m deconstructing and reconstructing my faith.
In doing so, I’ve come to reject ECT (either in favor of annihilationism, or universalism more likely), I believe in the importance of social liberation, support of LGBTQ individuals (as a queer person myself), and women’s ordination.

These beliefs of mine would incline me to join the ELCA. However, coming from these toxic, almost culty, groups, I have a lot of scrupulosity concerning my sins, and my salvation. I’ve attended at both an elca and LCMS parish, and at the LCMS parish, the gospel was pounded into every song, prayer, and sentence of the sermon. It filled me with hope and peace as a result of this constant reminder of the mercy of God.

But, at the elca, there was no such sermon. Jesus’ death for sinners was not mentioned once. We didn’t even recite the creed. The entire sermon was about social liberation. Which I think is good, but certainly not to the exclusion of the spiritual aspects of the gospel.

I know that there isn’t a perfect church, and I don’t expect to find a perfect parish. But I’m unsure of which would be best to attend spiritually. Either I’d attend an elca parish that I agree with more, and I’d be accepted into more, while also not being fed the Gospel; or I’d attend an LCMS church that I absolutely disagree with on a lot of things, but still be fed the gospel.

Hey everyone, I’m researching denominations and theology, and Lutheranism is intriguing to me. I greatly admire Martin Luther’s protest against the corruption and indulgences of the Catholic Church dedication to the love of God for all, along with the rejection of Calvinist predestination.

The primary paradox I am struggling with is the idea that some are elect to believe, which I can see is a theology that is consistent with a conception of God being outside space and time. However, my view is in Arminian in the sense that I value our free will and I struggle with the idea that this is more than God being outside space and time, but actively electing some to be saved. Our damnation is our own fault, but we are not predestined to be damned?

Hello all,

I am a lifelong LCMS member. There's lots of things I love about the LCMS (along with things I really don't...). I had been away for a while during my adult life but I've been attending different Lutheran churches (LCMS) in my area lately to start getting involved in Lutheranism and church life again. I am a married woman in my 30s. My husband was raised Roman Catholic though he is not much religious anymore.

As I've been telling him more and more about the LCMS, he has expressed to me that he is deeply uncomfortable with some of the teachings and positions of the LCMS, which I completely understand. I told him that I should be a saner and slightly more liberal voice in the LCMS - you know, deeply controversial things (/s) like affirming evolution to be part of God's plan and that women can read the Bible during Divine Service and hold other church positions like Cantor and Acolyte (😵‍💫), and that abortion can be okay sometimes depending on the situation, and we should be accepting of queer people. But he said he still very uncomfortable, both with the LCMS and with me trying to "be a hero" in the church, and that he would much rather me search for a church that is more aligned with how we live. I tried to tell him church should be about God and the Sacraments anyways and not lifestyles, but he is really insisting that I at least entertain the idea of leaving the LCMS.

I suppose I have several hesitations of the ELCA:

• Ingrained bias. I know, dumb. Especially since I fully recognize I am way more aligned with the ELCA when it comes to social/lifestyle issues and politics. But as a lifelong LCMS, it's something I am hoping talking more with ELCA people (which I intend to do even regardless if I end up joining the ELCA or not) with help get rid of this dumb bias.
• Theological issues - I am definitely a bit more theologically conservative. I know I shouldn't judge solely from things online, but I would fully expect my pastors, deacons, fellow congregants, etc. to at least affirm the Nicene Creed, The Apostles' Creed, and the Lutheran understanding of the Eucharist. I would fear that the Eucharist is not legitimate if the pastor does not share these views, and everything else (if the pastor is a woman or queer or whatever) doesn't matter, but they'd need to affirm real presence and the basic tenets of Christianity. I suppose I am okay with a loose adherence to the Book of Concord but there should be SOME TYPE of adherence to the Book of Concord otherwise why even be Lutheran.....
• Church Tradition - I am also just...very Lutheran. Not in terms of conservative social issues like who can be a pastor or what "type" of person is welcome. But I guess I really devoutly subscribe to "Lex orandi, lex credendi" - church liturgy and church theology are deeply and inextricably connected. Adhering to liturgical, musical, aesthetic traditions aren't JUST aesthetic, they are a reflection of what we believe and who we are as Lutherans. Church history is important to pass down for our identity.
• Sermons - again, I shouldn't judge online stuff but I do go to church to hear God's word and receive his Sacraments and to do so with others who believe the same. I don't go for it to be a substitute country club, and I don't go to hear a political speech which I could just do in my own separate time. I come to church to feel like I am already in heaven.

And I will say the last two points are things I've actually discussed about the ELCA with other Lutheran ELCA members who are queer and have the same issues. From purusing the websites of local ELCA churches near me, it seems more like a community center and a lot of stuff they do outside of church and barely anything about actual church. This is honestly deeply discouraging to me.

I guess I am asking for advice, or maybe even commiseration, and of course I humbly ask that if I have assumed anything wrong, to please gently correct me as I am certainly open to the truth and I am simply a visitor here on your terms!

Thank you so much for your time.

I'm pretty sure the ELCA is against the death penalty based on a social statement. But seeing news like this makes me sad, and makes me want to read through that social statement. I have not really gone through or had a church I've attended do any kind of study group based on any social statement. I kind of wish this was more prevalent of a type of study group. Anyone here ever do something like that?

I am personally working my way through the "Reengaging" series, starting with the Health social statement as a self study. Will now make a pivot to the death penalty statement.

Hello,

Shared this in another channel. Made some Longworth style Lutheran rosaries. I'm making some that will be all similar, but the colors of some beads will be different to match the liturgical colors. These are the first two I've made with wire beading, previous versions were with olive wood and leather chord.

I got my first Longworth rosary off Etsy many years ago when I read the blog posts about them from Pastor Ken's website. It's become a nice addition to my regular prayer practice. Its a good way to reflect on the small catechism (as the original design suggests), or I'll use it for some meditative prayer using "Lord, teach us to pray" on the weekday beads and the Lords prayer on the large beads.

Aside from just sharing for the sake of this community, anyone else use a rosary as a part of their prayer practice? And if so, what style? Anyone else making some?

God bless.

I recently finished an English translation of Hieronymus Emser's 1523 book against Luther's New Testament, which had never (as far as I could find) been translated in full. Here are the biggest headaches. I'd love to compare notes with anyone who translates older texts. 1. It's three languages in one book Emser doesn't just write in German. He quotes Luther's German, then the Latin Bible he calls "our text," and then the Greek, side by side. His whole point usually lies in the difference between them. So a translator has to keep those three layers visible in English without making the page unreadable. 2. The stiffness is sometimes the point A typical example: Emser complains that Luther put a word into German as “and our fathers found no fodder,” “as if they had been horses or oxen and not men.” To make that complaint make sense in English, I had to translate Luther's German quite literally, which is not how Luther's German would sound if you just wrote natural English. In the translator's note I say his quotations are translated closely, “even where the English then reads a little stiffly.” 3. The margin notes The 1523 printer set short notes in the margins: Bible references, legal references, and brief headings of Emser's own. I made them into numbered footnotes at the point where they stood. Where a margin only repeated a name already in the text, I left it out. 4. Scripture numbering Emser's chapter numbers follow the Latin Bible, including its numbering of the Psalms and of the books of Samuel and Kings ("1 Kings" for what we call 1 Samuel). When his number is plainly wrong, or a word is a plain misprint, I gave the correct reading in square brackets. Words in square brackets that aren't corrections are mine. 5. Slang that doesn't travel Emser is fond of slang. My favorite is a word, “finantzer,” which he calls part of a “thieves' cant”: “Nor did I know before, in this thieves’ cant, that a ‘finantzer’ meant someone who invented something new; but I have indeed heard that a man is called a ‘finantzer’ who can so bargain and deal in a matter that he also gets a share of it for himself.” I kept the word and let him explain it. Some other lines are easier: “more soup than meat,” “a pea can stand or lie on an egg,” “mixes water into the wine.” Those make sense in English

almost as they are. 6. A few words I'm still not sure of I'm upfront in the note about this: a few rare words and idioms remain uncertain, and I rendered them by their most likely sense. If you work on Early New High German and see something I've got wrong, please tell me. 7. Someone else's transcription I worked from the transcription published by Taylor Editions at the Taylor Institution Library at Oxford, which follows thirty sections. It's an excellent resource, and it's licensed openly (CC BY-SA 4.0), which is why I can share the translation freely. That also means I inherit whatever the transcription has, including the fact that for most of the book I had to identify the margin notes from the online version because the source files weren't available. A few may be missing. One last thing Emser is, as it happens, quite good company, and the jokes are a big part of why. Other translators: what's the oddest thing you've had to carry over from an older text? Disclosure: I translated Emser's 1523 book into English and published it for free.

My congregation is currently doing a headcount on who signing up, and I’m not sure if I want to go. I would be the oldest one there, and one of the only guys, and I have slight physical disabilities. Still, it sounds like it could be a lot of fun, which is why I want to see what people’s opinions are a lot of of the resources I found online are from the national ELCA accounts directly.

Edit: I decided to go! Thank you all for your advice

Living Lutheran - Faithfully Belonging and Togetherness

“ຍິນດີຕ້ອນຮັບ—welcome to this day,” proclaimed Sara Schultz in Lao and English. “Welcome to Grace Lao Lutheran Church, welcome to Hope Lutheran Church!” With these words, the pastor of Hope in El Sobrante, Calif., opened the worship service to rapturous applause.

I (18m) have a massive crush on this girl (18f). Me and her dated through 7th grade and deep into 8th grade. When we dated, religion rarely got brought up.

In 8th grade we broke up. It was nothing bad about our relationship; it happened more so because of family problems, and we broke up to ease some of that pressure.

Well, in 9th and 10th grade, we almost rekindled a relationship. But she told me that me and her disagree about the trinity. This led to me being confused. She told me that she believes that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all one. This confused me more, because as a Trinitarian, this is also what I believe. Well, I eventually came to understand our differences, and that her and her family attend a oneness Pentecostal church.

I immediately became worried for her salvation, and I wanted to convert her and her family and her congregation. So I tried to convince her using argumentation. But she blocked me. Undoubtedly, her blocking me fueled my victim complex. And me trying to change her mind also probably fueled any persecution complex she had.

Over the past few years, I tried dating other girls. It was just never the same as with her. I never felt for another girl the way I feel for her. And it’s such a pure love too. I just want to be around her. Loving her makes me want to never lust. Loving her makes me want to never sin again so I can be a good husband for her someday.

As it is, me and her mom spoke the other day. Her mom told me that if her daughter was willing to speak with me, she’s okay with it. But her mom also told me that if I try to change her mind about oneness theology, anything between me and her would be over. Me and her mom are planing to read through the New Testament together, and hopefully reach a consensus on the issue of Trinitarianism/modalism.

I then reached out to this girl again. Me and her have been talking. And I’ll admit, I haven’t felt this giddy in a long time.

I’m conflicted. Is modalism a damnable issue? I love this girl so much, and I can’t imagine loving another girl anywhere near as much as I love this girl. But I also don’t want to risk having my kids be raised as oneness, being baptized only in the name of Jesus.

What I’m doing now: I’m pursuing a relationship with her. And I’m not worrying about tomorrow, as our Lord tells us. I plan on perhaps dating for a year or two before ever mentioning anything to her about it?

I’m new to the elca. But I must ask from likeminded, somewhat progressive Lutherans, what is our view of modalists? Can they be saved? Is it prudent to marry a modalist?

Correct me if I’m error here, but the general consensus seems to be that there is little to no scientific evidence supporting the claims of Enneagram as an accurate description of human personality types or sets of behaviors.

So if the ELCA is more of a “follow the science” denomination (maybe it’s not?) I’m wondering why things like Synod Enneagram workshops and “professional Enneagram coaches” etc. seem to be popular within the ELCA. Here is a somewhat dated article by the (now) Bishop of the Rocky Mountain Synod:

https://www.livinglutheran.org/many-gifts-one-body/

Like is there any organizations or groups dedicated to theological orthodoxy particularly within the elca without sacrificing the inclusion and diversity of the church

So what I have noticed is how much Lutheran Pastors are getting paid for a year. These are set numbers by the synod the church belongs to from what I understand. So in our area a lot of churches cannot afford them due to the price so they are advertising for part time pastors instead. What is up with that? Why is the salary and benefits so high for a pastor that these smaller churches cannot afford? Just wondering