The Crossings Blog

Thursday Theology -full listing Crossings Film Series
  • “Why?”
    Co-Missioners, In the wake of Hurricane Dorian—how terrible that was, and how quickly it recedes from the world’s attention and our own as well—we send along a year-old sermon by Steve Albertin. He preached it on June 24, 2018, when news feeds were stuffed with reports and discussion of events at America’s border with Mexico. The ...
  • “What Else Shall We Preach?” A Homily
    Co-Missioners, Today we pass along a homily—a brief, condensed sermon—that was delivered this very morning at a meeting of ELCA pastors and other rostered leaders in a corner of northeastern Ohio. Peace and Joy, The Crossing Community “What Else Shall We Preach?” The Homily at an Anticipatory Observance of Holy Cross Day by Jerome Burce In the name of the Father, and ...
  • A Labor Day Challenge
    Co-Missioners, For many of us, this past Sunday brought the interesting coincidence of America’s Labor Day weekend with a hearing of Luke 14:7-14, as appointed in the Revised Common Lectionary. The text presents a saying of Jesus in two parts. The first, cast as a parable, addresses how to behave as a guest at someone else’s banquet. ...
  • Two Wings of Effective Mission
    Co-Missioners, This week our mission correspondent, Richard Gahl, reflects on some examples of effective mission that honors Christ and shares his promise. Peace and Joy, The Crossing Community Two Wings of Effective Mission in Columbus, Ethiopia, and Cleveland by Richard Gahl Some fifteen years ago I had the privilege of working with Berhanu Ofgaa, a Lutheran from Ethiopia, who brought together ...
  • What Is God Doing?
    Co-Missioners, We pass along some thoughts from our editor about a topic that gets a lot of discussion in Christian circles these days. Peace and Joy, The Crossing Community What Is God Doing? (No Guessing, Please) by Jerome Burce I was still a teenager when I stocked my wannabe theologian’s vocabulary with its first pejorative, Schwärmerei. Luther used the term a lot. ...
  • The “Freedom” Struggle: Another Tussle with St. Paul
    Co-Missioners, According to Lutheran church calendars, today is the Festival of Mary, Mother of our Lord. Are any Lutheran congregations disturbing their usual Thursday habits with a high liturgy in the Virgin’s honor? If so, the few who gather will hear a familiar passage from Galatians 4, appointed as the second reading for the day. It ...
  • To Give the Laity their Priestly Due: An Ongoing Lutheran Challenge
    Co-Missioners, This week we send you another offering from our mission essayist, the Rev. Richard Gahl. Dick spent much of his career as executive director of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s Ohio District. For readers with exclusive ties to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, an LCMS district equates with an ELCA synod. The closest one might ...
  • On Parenting in 2019: A Law-Gospel Reflection
    Co-Missioners, Four weeks ago we sent you the treat of an essay by Carol Braun on her calling as a patriot. Today Carol reflects on her calling as a parent with an unusual degree of depth and perception. Anyone who shares that calling will resonate to what she says. Readers under 40, as Carol is, will ...
  • Our Christian Shame
    Co-Missioners, Tumult followed a political rally in North Carolina last week. It prompted our editor to vent. Peace and Joy, notwithstanding The Crossing Community Our Christian Shame: Massive, Endless, Unspoken By Jerome Burce The current occupant of the Oval Office instigated another flood of impassioned ink last week. The man has a knack for this. Possessed of a middle-school mindset, sulky ...
  • Good News for Chronic Sufferers
    Pain is an enduring feature of the world the Holy Spirit dispatches us to as bearers of Good News. Now and then we’ll meet a person whose pain is great and unrelenting, stretching over years. To speak credibly of God love’s in Christ to someone like this is a daunting challenge that ties all too ...