By Tim Winterstein - Troubled Water (2008, streaming on Amazon Prime) is really a brilliantly made film. You know the whole thing is going to collapse and fall apart between Thomas and Agnes, but you don't know when. That tension builds and builds, even when there is nothing tense happening in a given moment. And … Continue reading Guilt and Grief, and Relief
By Paul Koch – I often joke around with some of my colleagues that the reason I default to the historic liturgy of the church along with an established lectionary system is that I’m lazy. I don’t want to try and figure out some sort of creative thematic series, so I just open up the … Continue reading Unrequested but Given
By Joel A. Hess - That’s really all you want to know, right? What’s the rule, Pastor? What can I do? What can’t I do? Just tell me, and I’ll do it. Just say it. Or, is this is a good reason? What if he does this? What if she does that? This is not … Continue reading So can I get divorced or not?
By Cindy Koch - It is a terrifying thing to consider that you don’t really know yourself. As far back as you can remember, your voice inside your own head has been your friend and council, unbeknownst to the world outside. You have had silent conversations in the middle of actual conversations within your own … Continue reading Do you know yourself?
By Tim Winterstein - First of all, in another life, I would have wanted to be an Icelandic shepherd. Second, Rams (streaming on Netflix) is a beautiful—truly—meditation on family, place, and history. There is the dark humor that comes with two brothers (Gummi and Kiddi) who live next to each other, doing anything and everything … Continue reading Rams
By Hillary Asbury - "To appropriate: to take for oneself; take possession of; to steal." While at the theological symposium in Saint Louis last week, I had the rare pleasure of meeting a fellow liturgical artist. Kelly Schumacher is the founder of Agnus Dei Liturgical Arts in Saint Louis, Missouri. She is a talented creative … Continue reading Minimalism and the Church
By Graham Glover - We Lutherans, that is, we Lutherans of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, are an interesting bunch. For a denomination that prides itself on doctrinal purity, remaining steadfastly loyal to the creeds and confessions that define what it means to be a Missouri Synod Lutheran, we have an unusual fear of those outside … Continue reading Lutherans Fear of Not-Lutherans
