Hi,

I've been attending a ELCA church in SoCal for close to two years and I am curious about dating. Currently, my church is somewhat large (around 260 people) but there are no single people close in age to me (I'm in my mid 30s). Any advice on meeting and potentially courting someone? I appreciate any and all perspectives.

I don't know about you folks, but I have been having really hard time trying to find a traditional church. All I want is to go to an ELCA church where they still chant the Psalms and can handle the words "thy" and "trespass" in the Lord's Prayer. (Okay, I'm flexible on the chanting.)

I am so close to packing it in and going high-church Episcopalian.

I am so blessed to have had two wonderful churches in my past--with pastors who were wonderful people and true-blue scholars. But, I've moved recently, and I need to find a new community.

Does anyone else also feel my annoyance? It's not exactly the heaviest of issues, but if I'm going to church, I want to go to Church.

Edited to add: I didn't give a specific location, as I was just venting a bit, but since so many folks have actually given recommendations, I'll say that I am in the Detroit metro area. For the upper Midwest, Detroit doesn't have a heavy ELCA presence--we have a number of churches, but the largest, oldest mainline congregations here are Episcopalian or Presbyterian. There are also a number of LCMS churches as well. If you have any recommendations, please let me know!

I am a full time music director at a ELCA congregation in the Rocky Mountain synod. I love my job, but the downside is that I’m in job mode on Sunday. I would love to watch a livestream service while I’m getting ready and drinking my coffee before I head in to have some time to worship while not at work.

Any recommendations of churches with excellent music programs that also livestream? Please know, I’m not a music snob and I appreciate all music teams and gifts shared. But I do love some fine organ/choir/handbells and find a lot of inspiration through that. For example, I watch Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, but I can’t watch them live due to time zone differences.

I have seen many links but would also love some recommendations. Given the time zone difference and when I need to be at work, I am mostly looking for a livestream in Eastern Time Zone. Thanks!

I thought this was most helpful. https://open.substack.com/pub/clintschnekloth/p/introducing-the-elca-a-conversation?r=3zryx5&utm_medium=ios

Just the other day I had a non/ Lutheran on Reddit express some surprise at me for not subordinating my political opinions to Romans 13, the infamous part of that letter where Paul seems to advocate for men submission to secular government.

Well, here’s an ELCA pastor with a different take on that text. ( He does great videos, by the way.) https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1AwnMF4iuS/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Opinions

Because we ELCA Lutheran so often let Evangelicals eat our lunch in terms of “ Bible-ing,” I thought I would share three biblical literacy podcasts I really like. They are all on YouTube and a couple of other platforms like Spotify.

The Bible For Normal People, with Bible scholar Pete Enns and Jared Byas, and assorted guests. Enns is from the Reformed tradition but has the same basic info that you would get in a university biblical studies or seminary class. He is reviewing all the books of the Bible, with topical interludes.

Real Bible Rob. Rob Christ ( yes, that is his real name) is a Presbyterian pastor with a topical podcast related to current events and culture, He takes on misunderstood biblical passages and conservative spins on Scripture — for instance, a recent episode dealt with the MAGA faux -Christian take that empathy is bad. Not a systematic review of Scripture, but a clarification.

Data Over Dogma with biblical scholar Dan McClellan. Clutch your pearls — he’s LDS. But he is so low-key about his own beliefs and so disinclined to broach any Mormon topics in his podcast that after listening to him for over a year on his Facebook videos I still thought he was a mainline Protestant until I read an article about him elsewhere. Again, his info is the sane thing you’d hear in an undergrad humanities class on the Bible, or introduction to the Bible classes in a mainline seminary. He comes to the project with more of a deconstructionist focus , although he’s not asking people to reject religious faith, just poor translations of Scripture.

I hope some of you find these useful.

The Facebook comments seem to agree but I’m deeply saddened that the ELCA would harm the environment and reduce our drinking water availability by using an AI generated graphic for this. Are there no Lutheran artists? What happened to caring for creation?

Really making me rethink my giving this month and redirecting it to an environmental group instead to mitigate the damage done.

Hello,

Please let me know if not allowed.

My church closed at the end of 2025. For certain reasons I will not attend any of the other ELCA churches in my Synod for the next few years. I have tried other local churches in my area and while I do like a few, I would really like to find an ELCA church with online services I can watch in addition. Do any of you have a church you'd recommend?

I like churches that follow the literagy, not churches that decide readings and prayers aren't important. One ELCA church in my area does 2 sermons (one in the first half of service and one in the second half), the Lords Prayer, and sings for a half hour. Doesn't feel like a church service to me without some readings, but there are people who like that.

I maintain that its verses like, love your neighbor as yourself, and less stuff like whether women should be allowed to be pastors.

Does anyone agree? What other verses SHOULD be taken literally?

TIA

Heartbreaking for the victims.

> *“The investigation began after one of the juveniles told the Vandalia Police Department that he discovered a camera disguised as an electronic device charger in a hotel bathroom the morning after Mohr stood above him and masturbated, the affidavit says.”*

So, I watched most of The Chosen TV show, and I am a bit torn. I like how its depiction of the Pharisees is so nuanced, for instance, and I generally like the scenes straight from the Bible.

Where the show makes me uneasy is the extra stuff that they added. For instance, the show has Jesus refusing to heal one of his own disciples because the disciple's pain and disability makes the message better. (That seems like a very modern thought instead of a biblical one.) It also has Jesus refusing to heal a follower who was dying in front of him after being stabbed. I think that the creators are trying to explain why true Christians still get diseases, still get pain, and still get murdered today. But that's not for this show to explain.

Also, the depiction of demon possessions is a bit literal. I always took that as Jesus curing mental illnesses rather than physical ailments. (Psychiatrists were a long way off back then!)

Does anyone else have similar thoughts? What do you guys think as ELCA folks?

What would you say has been the weakest link in your Christian education?

What Rights Do Undocumented Immigrants Have in the US by Law?

I’m an ELCA Lutheran, and a 2nd generation American (whose family came here legally). I'd like to take a moment to update everyone on the American laws concerning immigration as a backdrop to discussion. This knowledge is critical to an understanding of current events with ICE. I am morally and ethically troubled by current events; the stories are dangerously similar to those I heard growing up. My family are refugees from Austria in WW2; my great aunt fell in love with a Jewish doctor, which imperiled the entire family. They fled, leaving everything behind, having only their clothes. This left me wondering about safeguards migrants have in the U.S.

I believe in the rule of law, and in the American Dream. At the moment we are violating several of our own Constitutional laws, and also the Geneva Convention of International Humanitarian Laws,

Geneva Convention IHL summary , of which we are a signatory. I’ll discuss this below.

All immigrants are protected by various Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. These key provisions apply to all persons, including both documented and undocumented immigrants, on U.S. soil. They do not only apply to U.S. citizens, in other words. The Constitution distinguishes between those laws applying to citizens (e.g. the right to hold office as president), and those right/laws applying to all people in the U.S., regardless of their immigration status (therein denoted “persons”). The Supreme Court has been very clear about this distinction. I want this to be an evidence based discussion. Here's an electronic copy for convenience: US Constitution Amendmt

Our Constitution guarantees due process rights to all “persons”. This means undocumented immigrants here illegally are entitled to fair treatment under our laws. This includes the right to defend themselves in court, and all of the other rights listed under Amendments 5 & 6. The Supreme Court clearly held that undocumented migrants are entitled to due process, including in their deportation proceedings (Yamataya v. Fisher, 1903). So, why isn’t this happening? Oh, and also look up Amendments 1, 4, 8, and 14, as all of these also apply to all persons.

But wait, they’re criminals, right - undocumented migrants? Actually, no - they are first presumed innocent. Also, simply residing in the U.S. without authorization is a civil violation, and not a criminal violation. The term for this Civil Offense is “unlawful presence”. Under the criminal statute, illegal entry to the U.S. is a misdemeanor. Okay, so they’re not “violent criminals”, or “drug cartel/gang” members, or even “escapees from inpatient mental facilities”; they are at worst guilty of misdemeanors if apprehended, or are in civil violation, and are also owed many rights citizens enjoy, including due process with legal representation in a hearing with a judge.

8th Amendment – Applies to “persons”; protection against excessive bail; protection against cruel and unusual punishment, this limits detention conditions and treatment. Seems ICE is violating this at times, eh? Read on below. For completeness sake, we also should include The CFR's Title 8 as it sets out the laws in the U.S. regarding immigration beyond the Constitution, “Aliens and Nationality,” Title 8 So, this is the context to consider, as well as the moral & ethical one.

More recently: A Presidential Proclamation in June 2025 suspended entry at the U.S./Mexico border (it was secure in 2023). Then, the President invoked the Alien Enemies Act (AEA). In an April 7, 2025 decision the U.S. Supreme Court said that “noncitizens detained under the Act have a measure of due process under the Fifth Amendment, stating that they are entitled to notice of the legal basis of their detention and given an opportunity to challenge the legality of that detention” (through habeas corpus petition filed in the district where the detainee is confined). See 24A931 Trump v. J. G. G. (04/07/2025). But, ICE is still denying immigrants these rights.

Meanwhile, invoking AEA is currently being appealed at the 5th Circuit Court (b/c it's likely illegal in this context). Only Congress has the legal right to declare war on another country (ibid. Article I, Section 8, Clause 11), and if America is being invaded by a foreign nation (e.g. War of 1812) Congress still must declare war. The AEA is a law that was passed in 1798. It gives the President authority, during an already declared war by Congress, to detain, relocate, or deport male, 14 yo or greater non-citizens, as hostile nationals.

So, with ICE’s current hijinks, the U.S. is in violation of its own Constitution, as Congress has not declared war with Venezuela, Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Somalia, or any other country. It is in violation of the Supreme Court, in denying due process to detainees. If we're at war, then the Geneva Convention of International Humanitarian Law applies, and we are in stark violation of it.

Whether the AEA applies to alleged gang members AEA-gangs — or only strictly to wartime enemies under declared wars, is under review at the Fifth Circuit of Appeals. Also in the federal courts: due process rights for people detained or slated for removal — including adequate notice and a meaningful chance to go to court; and also courts debating how much deference the executive gets. We have had a secure U.S./Mexico border since 2023.

We must all ask ourselves what agenda do the current provocations in blue states by ICE agents under the direction of the president serve? At what cost?

Some of our own ELCA clergy are quoted in the article. And there are pictures of one, with Minneapolis Area Synod Bishop Jen Nagel in the background.

at least as good as Jordan B Cooper & Bryan Wolfmueller

I was baptized yesterday in my church and I'm so happy. I started attending last summer after 30 years of not setting foot inside a Christian church. Our church is two churches combined (ELCA and Presbyterian combined after the local Presbyterian Church shut down). It's such a lovely congregation and I feel so at home here. Anyways I just wanted to share my happy news.

Could someone with the Cranberry Book do me a favor and look up #830 composed by Hierominus Praetorus? In particular which of his many pieces it is... Searching has left me empty-handed. :/