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Visit Our Archive of Writings from Rev. Dr. Walter Brueggemann

Rev. Emmy Kegler 9/18/25 Rev. Emmy Kegler 9/18/25

Lectionary Musings from the Church Anew Blog: September 21 and 28

Each week, we’ll offer a curated selection of blog posts that speak to the upcoming lectionary texts to help spark your imagination and serve as a thought partner for you. We hope these musings meet you right where you are with a fresh, bold, and faithful witness.

Kat Armas 9/18/25 Kat Armas 9/18/25

Dressing Our Children in Battle Songs

Even if not invested in war directly, much of our theology is steeped in violence. We hear it in Sunday school songs, see it in images of a triumphant Christ wielding a sword, and witness it in political leaders who stoke division with violent rhetoric.

Natalia Terfa 9/17/25 Natalia Terfa 9/17/25

Mary, Undoer of Knots

My spiritual director asked me, “Have you ever heard of Mary, Untier of Knots?”

Rev. Mihee Kim-Kort 9/16/25 Rev. Mihee Kim-Kort 9/16/25

Play and Love Loud

When kids spill out onto the sidewalk in laughter or race down the block on bikes, we catch a glimpse of the divine extravagance.

Rev. Miguel Escobar 9/11/25 Rev. Miguel Escobar 9/11/25

Beyond Stewardship

As we approach “stewardship season,” I want to question the language of stewards and stewardship. To be clear, this is not a critique of fundraising. I serve a small Spanish-speaking congregation, and I know firsthand how vital annual pledge drives are for a workable parish budget. My concern, rather, is theological. My question is whether stewardship is still the best framework for what we are doing this season.

Rev. Emmy Kegler 9/10/25 Rev. Emmy Kegler 9/10/25

Lectionary Musings from the Church Anew Blog: September 14 and 21

Each week, we’ll offer a curated selection of blog posts that speak to the upcoming lectionary texts to help spark your imagination and serve as a thought partner for you. We hope these musings meet you right where you are with a fresh, bold, and faithful witness.

Drew Ingram 9/4/25 Drew Ingram 9/4/25

Pray Without Ceasing

Praying together helps me see how God has already torn open the heavens through Christ’s death and resurrection, and is alive and actively working to bring hope where we thought it a lost cause and to topple all the would-be gods and emperors with a love stronger than any evil and a life stronger than death.

Rev. Emmy Kegler 9/4/25 Rev. Emmy Kegler 9/4/25

Lectionary Musings from the Church Anew Blog: September 7 and 14

Each week, we’ll offer a curated selection of blog posts that speak to the upcoming lectionary texts to help spark your imagination and serve as a thought partner for you. We hope these musings meet you right where you are with a fresh, bold, and faithful witness.

Rev. Emmy Kegler 8/27/25 Rev. Emmy Kegler 8/27/25

Lectionary Musings from the Church Anew Blog: August 31 and September 7

Each week, we’ll offer a curated selection of blog posts that speak to the upcoming lectionary texts to help spark your imagination and serve as a thought partner for you. We hope these musings meet you right where you are with a fresh, bold, and faithful witness.

Rev. Dr. Yolanda Denson-Byers 8/25/25 Rev. Dr. Yolanda Denson-Byers 8/25/25

Pray Without Ceasing at Shepherd of the Hills in Minnesota

We were early adopters of the Pray Without Ceasing (PWC) ministry opportunity. When I suggested PWC, some shared that praying for thirty whole minutes seemed like a very large hill to climb. Folks were nervous, asking, “What will we do for thirty minutes? Will there be awkward silence? Is this even Lutheran?”

Rev. Emmy Kegler 8/19/25 Rev. Emmy Kegler 8/19/25

Lectionary Musings from the Church Anew Blog: August 24 and 31

Each week, we’ll offer a curated selection of blog posts that speak to the upcoming lectionary texts to help spark your imagination and serve as a thought partner for you. We hope these musings meet you right where you are with a fresh, bold, and faithful witness.

Rev. Emmy Kegler 8/14/25 Rev. Emmy Kegler 8/14/25

Lectionary Musings from the Church Anew Blog: August 17 and 24

Each week, we’ll offer a curated selection of blog posts that speak to the upcoming lectionary texts to help spark your imagination and serve as a thought partner for you. We hope these musings meet you right where you are with a fresh, bold, and faithful witness.

Rev. Kevin L. Strickland 8/13/25 Rev. Kevin L. Strickland 8/13/25

Letter to the Supreme Court Justices

Through years of theological discernment, prayer, and faithful conversation, the ELCA has affirmed that same-gender couples are fully capable of embodying the love, commitment, and covenant that Christian marriage represents. We marry same-gender couples not in defiance of our beliefs, but in fidelity to them.

Kat Armas 8/11/25 Kat Armas 8/11/25

Empire in the Everglades: Prophetic Imagination in the Face of “Alligator Alcatraz”

The prophets offer us a glimpse of what could be, but visions are not guarantees. They demand something of us.

Rev. Dr. Yolanda Denson-Byers 8/6/25 Rev. Dr. Yolanda Denson-Byers 8/6/25

See Them, Champion Them: On the Election of Presiding Bishop Yehiel Curry and Secretary Lucille “CeCee” Mills

How can we stand “close enough” to Presiding Bishop-Elect Curry and Secretary-Elect Mills? What is our call as ELCA Lutheran Christians to love, support, and protect our newly called leaders?

Rev. Emmy Kegler 7/31/25 Rev. Emmy Kegler 7/31/25

Lectionary Musings from the Church Anew Blog

Each week, we’ll offer a curated selection of blog posts that speak to the upcoming lectionary texts to help spark your imagination and serve as a thought partner for you. We hope these musings meet you right where you are with a fresh, bold, and faithful witness.

Kat Armas 7/29/25 Kat Armas 7/29/25

Is Your Anger a Good Thing?

Maybe that’s the point. Maybe the story was never about the whale, but about a God who dares to ask us things we don’t yet know how to answer.

Bishop Brenda Bos 7/23/25 Bishop Brenda Bos 7/23/25

Interview with Bishop Brenda Bos, Author of “Refilling the Reservoirs: Spiritual Care for the Exhausted Caregiver”

You are not alone in your struggle. Your spiritual despair makes sense, and God is reaching out. Your feelings are real, your overwhelm is real, and God has something to offer.