Peace Award Connects Church with School
In May, the school had an award ceremony in which all the 4th-6th graders and many of the parents showed up. Along with our youth director and senior pastor, the three of us showed up to the school lunch room to present our award. I have to admit, I was a little nervous. How would these kids, these parents, these teachers respond to a church group coming into their school?
Interpreting bin Laden on the Road to Emmaus
How do we encounter Christ in the midst of bin Laden’s death? If we celebrate the death of another, what does that say about us? It seems un Christ-like to rejoice, even if that death carries such a strong emotion of eradicating evil from the world.
The hardest thing in life
I’ve been thinking about the topic of death a lot more than usual lately. Not from a pastoral care role. Not from presiding over funerals. But very personally. Two weeks ago, we put my son Oliver, on hospice. The questions of mortality are never easy, but when it’s your own child—confronting this reality and being able to talk about it is the hardest thing in life.
Bullying isn’t just for kids: why dialogue is essential in Wisconsin teachers’ strike
Over the past few weeks, I have been fascinated at the cat and mouse game that is happening just over the border from me in Wisconsin. The big bully Governor Walker is metaphorically taking away the lunch money from the teachers who spend part of their day making sure the bullies in their schools literally [...]
New Life in Lent through a new lens
When I was growing up, I just assumed everyone celebrated Mardi Gras. In my family, when Fat Tuesday rolled around, my mom always made a great meal (it wasn’t until I was old enough to tolerate spicy food that she’d make jumbalaya), but there was always a King Cake for dessert. Much of my mom’s [...]
A suicide hitting close to home
The following response to the GLBT bullying will appear in the February edition of Como Park Lutheran Church’s Evangelist newsletter. I was truly disturbed when I read the headline. “Another Bullied Gay Teen in Minnesota Commits Suicide.” This hits close to home—in fact, Lance Lundsten was from Alexandria—less than 20 miles from my wife Taryn’s [...]
The choice between church and sports
When I was in middle school, I played for a City youth football team in Sioux Falls, SD. Our team wasn’t very good and many of the other guys quit before the end of the year. Since half of the team was in 7th grade and the other half was in 6th grade, those of [...]
Combating hate in the midst of sadness
I certainly have been in shock at the news that came out of Tucson this weekend. The acts of the young man who took so many lives and has sent our nation into a fury of emotional outcry comes as devastating reality. This event was hard to comprehend. They have interviewed people who knew the [...]
Does God read our Tweets?
Johnson: “I PRAISE YOU 24/7!!!!!! AND THIS HOW YOU DO ME!!!!! YOU EXPECT ME TO LEARN FROM THIS??? HOW???!!! ILL NEVER FORGET THIS!! EVER!!! THX THO…”
God: “I created your hands, use them next time, but stop blaming me.”
Santa Theology: A Lutheran view on Naughty and Nice
Spoiler alert… if your kid is old enough to read and believes in Santa Claus, close down this window and open again in a safe place. We put up our Christmas tree on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. After being out of town for the holiday, no sooner had we unpacked our things from the trip [...]
John Klawiter
John is currently serving as Pastoral Intern at Como Park Lutheran Church, member of the ELCA, in St. Paul, MN. He will graduate from Luther Seminary in May, 2012 with a M. Div.
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Contributing Scholars
Andrew TwitonAndrew Twiton is the pastoral intern at Lutheran Church of Christ the Redeemer in Minneapolis and a Master of Divinity student at Luther Seminary. You can connect with him on Twitter @atwiton.
Diane JohnsonI am currently a student at Pacific School of Religion where I am pursuing a M.Div with a focus on spirituality and social change. I am founder and President of Mmapeu Management Consulting, a national management consulting firm focused on individual and organizational capacity building, leadership development and strategic visioning with social sector organizations. I am most interested in the nexus of sacred activism, social change, and movement building.
Rhee-Soo LeeRhee-Soo is currently a Master of Divinity candidate at Harvard Divinity School, focusing on Christianity. She is a recent graduate of Wesleyan University, and prior to attending HDS, she completed a year-long fellowship with the Episcopal Service Corps in Boston.