Persistence
Posted: June 2, 2026The friendship began with the kids bringing me dead cicadas. I’m not sure why they thought I would be interested and I hoped they weren’t killing the bugs for my benefit. My mind quickly went to work figuring out how I was going to re-direct my two new-found Honduran friends. Our synod team was at a national park in Honduras holding a first aid training for the local health workers in our companion synod. I had stepped outside because I was not on the agenda for some time, and I had work to do to get ready for synod assembly.
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Change Bucket
Posted: May 28, 2026At home, we have a “change bucket” that we have thrown change into for many years. In fact, when we started our change bucket, people were still using change quite commonly! We were also much younger and fresh out of school; so, it was not uncommon to dig into the change bucket to pay for a fast-food meal or an overdue library book. Sorting through our bucket felt a bit like time travel, as I discovered several Chuck E. Cheese tokens from when our daughter was young. There were a few German marks from a trip we took in 1999, just before the Euro was introduced. There were some Canadian coins and even a “coin” from a Mardi Gras parade. I’m wondering what others found in their change jars.
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The Picture Never Does it Justice…
Posted: May 19, 2026The picture never does it justice. When I am with you on Sunday mornings and I try to get a picture of the gathering, the foreground looms large and you all seem so small in the background. The picture does not capture that moment accurately. Additionally, we can talk about how the picture does not give testimony to power of the singing, the depth of God’s Word spoken to us, and the deliciousness of the meal that reminds us that right in the middle of this, Jesus is with us.
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Pastor Megan Crouch Honduras Reflection
Posted: May 12, 2026This week’s “Wandering” reflection comes with a guest narrator! Pastor Megan Crouch (Peace, Gaylord) has graciously agreed to share reflections from her recent travels with the Synod’s Global Missions Table. […]
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Honduras
Posted: May 5, 2026The man standing in the picture above is Pastor Rolando Ortez Martinez. He is the President (think bishop) of the Iglesia Cristiana Luterana de Honduras, which is one of our […]
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Sheep Week
Posted: April 28, 2026Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the pasture… “Sheep Week” started in the spring of 2020. We were all staying home and staying safe in […]
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Shoes on the Danube
Posted: April 21, 2026“Make sure you see Shoes on the Danube,” that’s what my sister told me when I asked what she recommended from her own visit to Budapest. “Shoes on the Danube” […]
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Bishop Julie is Off to Austria
Posted: April 7, 2026Thanks to the many rostered ministers who sent in their annual report to me (the personal one, not the congregation one)! It has been very helpful to hear people reflect […]
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Holy Week
Posted: March 31, 2026Holy Week. It is the oldest Christian observance — far older than the celebration of Christ’s birth. The Great Three Days (Triduum) of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter — these are God’s gift to us.
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Worthy of Praise
Posted: March 24, 2026The Pigeon on the red rocks is hanging out in the Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs. The black bird sitting on the snow is an Alpine Chough, which I met on the top of Nordkette, a mountain in the Austrian Alps. Honestly, I don’t know that I would have paid much attention to either bird if it weren’t for one of my young parishioners from Hope, Rockford who is passionate about birds. His love and knowledge have inspired me to pay more attention to the feathered friends around me.
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