The Crossings Blog

Co-Missioners, Some of us are already starting to slip our Reformation caps on. This year’s annual Lutheran observance, on October 27, is but three Sundays hence. The day’s Epistle, Romans 3:21-28, ends with the resounding declaration that “a person is justified by faith.” So really, what does that mean? With this in mind, we take you today ...

Co-Missioners, “Let all mortal flesh keep silence / and in fear and trembling stand….” See below for the second and final installment of Fred Niedner’s presentation at the Crossings’ conference this past January. Last week’s first installment closed with a reflection on Job which bears reviewing as you step into this. A reminder that we’re taking registrations for ...

Co-Missioners, The dates are January 26-29. That’s when the 2020 Crossings Conference is set to unfold. The venue as always is the Shrine of our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, Illinois. The lineup of speakers is, dare we say, dynamic. One of them is traveling all the way from Melbourne, Australia. Another was born and ...

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 ...

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 ...

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. ...

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 ...

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. ...

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 ...

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 ...