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Sharing the Story

December 10, 2025

As Advent goes on and Christmas draws closer, this is a time to reflect on the story of Jesus’ birth. For the past several weeks, Sunday School Classes of all ages at ECLC have been learning Christmas songs and exploring advent themes, including stories of those who show up in the early days of Jesus’ life. This Sunday at the 11am service, our Sunday School kids will be telling the story of the Nativity through narration and classic Christmas songs. We hope you can join in exploring the story of Jesus this weekend at the kids’ Christmas program! 

Signs of the Season:

December 3, 2025

Advent is here. 

We are observing the season of anticipation in a number of ways at ECLC. On Sundays the clergy are wearing black robes in place of their white albs. This is to signify the way Advent invites us to enter into darkness, the places of growth, nurture, and inner-reflection. It is also a reminder that white is not the only color with sacred meaning. 

Soup supper with bread and homemade preserves will gather us on Wednesdays in Advent at 6pm. 

Our mid-week liturgy at 7pm on December 3, 10, and 17 is departing from the beloved tradition of Holden Evening Prayer and instead drawing on another moving prayer service that originated at Holden Village, Prayer Around the Cross. This service was co-written by Susan Briehl and Tom Witt. Participants engage in a communal prayer, acknowledging the brokenness of the world and our shared yearning for healing and justice. This simple service will include lots of singing and will have its center in the lighting of candles.

The candles will be held in sand box “boats” crafted by local actor and artist, Sam Bardwell. These are on loan to us from Luther Seminary and will be present all three Wednesdays, and on Sunday mornings December 7 and 14. 

Take note: Christmas Eve Worship times are: 3pm, 5pm, and 9pm. (5pm and 9pm will be livestreamed)
On December 28, ONE SERVICE AT 10am!

Happy Thanksgiving! 

November 26, 2025

Before you feast tomorrow, here are some poems to satisfy you today, as we reflect on gratitude and gifts, awe and abundance. 

At The End of the Year - By John O Donahue: 

As this year draws to its end,
We give thanks for the gifts it brought
And how they became inlaid within
Where neither time nor tide can touch them.

The days when the veil lifted
And the soul could see delight;
When a quiver caressed the heart
In the sheer exuberance of being here.

Surprises that came awake
In forgotten corners of old fields
Where expectation seemed to have quenched.

The slow, brooding times
When all was awkward
And the wave in the mind
Pierced every sore with salt.

The darkened days that stopped
The confidence of the dawn.

Days when beloved faces shone brighter
With light from beyond themselves;
And from the granite of some secret sorrow
A stream of buried tears loosened.

We bless this year for all we learned,
For all we loved and lost
And for the quiet way it brought us
Nearer to our invisible destination.

Advent begins November 30th! 

November 19, 2025

This Advent we will continue our theme for the year “What We Can Do” by pondering what it means to respond to God’s presence. Advent, as a season, is set apart for us to do the work to “prepare him room.” We make room for the baby Christ to show up among us and to be present with us. 

This time of year is meant to be quiet and calm, filled with simple anticipation of what it means that God is on the way to be “God with us” yet again. Oh if only our calendars - be them school or social - offered that kind of space and time. If only the world around us with its heightened fear and anxieties would offer the kind of calm and quiet reflection we long for this time of year. 

It is our hope that Advent at ECLC can be a part of the way you do your own preparation for the arrival of Christ into the world again.

On Sunday, November 30th, join us for Advent Fest! Between services we will celebrate the start of the Advent season with fun activities including card-making, ornament decorating, and more. 

Our midweek evening Advent services will begin on December 3rd. Come at 6pm for soup supper and stay for worship at 7pm. We will do an ECLC version of Holden’s “Prayer Around the Cross” during worship. This service is calm and quiet, candlelit and contemplative, with special candle holders on loan to our community for this practice together. We hope you’ll join us December 3, 10, and 17. 

A Bold Message for Our Community: God Loves Everyone, No Exceptions!

November 12, 2025

Soon, a new banner will stretch across the exterior of ECLC, boldly proclaiming one of our deepest convictions: “God Loves Everyone, No Exceptions!” Measuring four feet by ten, the banner bursts with vibrant color and joyful images celebrating people of many cultures and backgrounds. It’s a visual reminder of the diversity and radical inclusion that we strive to live out in worship, in community, and in our service to the world.

This beautiful design is the creation of ECLC member Justine Persigehl-Flak, currently studying in Greece, who collaborated with ECLC staff and lay leaders to bring our shared vision to life. The banner is a generous gift from an anonymous donor whose hope is that it will speak love, belonging, and courage to all who pass by our church.

To extend this message beyond our walls, matching lawn signs will soon be available so you can share this good news in your own neighborhood. It’s a simple, gentle way to say to your neighbors: there’s a community of radical welcome ready to greet you! Lawn signs are available for a recommended donation of $20.

The banner and signs are now being printed—watch for them soon outside and inside ECLC!

Bring Your CAN and Your Commitment Card!

October 29, 2025

With the termination of SNAP benefits due to the government shutdown, many of our neighbors are struggling to access food. As part of our What We CAN Do stewardship campaign, ECLC invites you to take action by supporting Community Emergency Services (CES)—one of our long-time ministry partners.

Between now and November 20, when we dedicate our commitments, bring a donation of CANS (or other non-perishable item) along with your completed commitment card—which was mailed to each household—to worship. (Cards are also available at church) Baskets will be placed near the pulpit each week as a visible sign of generosity and hope.

We’ll be collecting CES’ most needed canned items:  tuna, chicken, pasta meals, and fruit. 

Direct food donations can fill the CES shelves immediately in this time of immense need.  Monetary donations are also needed to purchase bulk items from the government at drastically reduced rates, but take longer to receive.  To provide additional financial support to the food shelf, gifts can be made directly to CES.  

Let’s fill the baskets—and our commitments—with gratitude, generosity, and love for our neighbors.

Faith Milestones

October 22, 2025

This Sunday is such a special day for the ECLC community! Not only is it Reformation Sunday, a reminder of Martin Luther’s work which eventually kick started the Reformation, but we will also be celebrating important faith milestones at both services!!

At the 11am service, two students are affirming their Baptisms through the rite of Confirmation. These students were baptized as infants and were promised that they would be supported through their faith journeys throughout their lives by their community. Now, after three years of attending confirmation class and spending this fall working on a faith statement and project, they will publicly confess their faith in church, affirming that they will be making their faith their own; continuing the covenant made with God on their behalf at the time of their baptisms. 

Earlier in the morning, at the 9am service, thirteen students will receive Bibles to use and study! Whether it’s the first Bibles that will belong to them alone, or it’s the next Bible that matches where they are developmentally, this milestone will empower these students to grow in faith in this community. 

I hope you can join us on Sunday to encourage and support these young people as they take their next steps in faith at ECLC!

Kaya Hougen, Director of Children, Youth & Family Ministry

Installation of New ELCA Bishop

October 15, 2025

Imagine sitting quietly in a large church, with a grand center aisle, pillars stretching from the floor and arching over you gracefully. Suddenly the doors of Central Lutheran Church in downtown Minneapolis open and hundreds of people eagerly file in, all waiting for the celebration to begin. They are waiting to install their new bishop, The Rev. Yehiel Curry, who was previously the Bishop of Metropolitan Chicago Synod.  The National Lutheran Choir sings softly. Then the mood changes. Joyous sounds from the organ accompany those in the processional. Colorful robes, streamers waving everyone singing to welcome Bishop Curry. 

It was a magical place to be Saturday October 4, 2025. The air was full of excitement, energy, joy, and hope. People waved and clapped their hands to the music with abandon. Jazzy riffs came from the musicians. The pastor giving the sermon was given two standing ovations, once in the middle of his message and once at the end. The preaching pastor spoke of standing on a precipice and our choices there. He said we can either push someone off, or lift them up. He said this was a challenge for all our church. We had lifting to do. 

Then our new presiding bishop, Yehiel Curry was installed to his office by outgoing Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton. There were cheers, tears, and thunderous applause as he took his place. Then the entire congregation shared in Holy Communion. It was a very moving moment. A closing hymn accompanied the recessional. It was a day to remember. 

As the first Black Presiding Bishop of the ELCA, joined by the first Black Secretary of the ELCA, the Rev. CeeCee Mills, our predominantly white denomination enters a new and hopeful era.  We ask your prayers to support our new leaders in this immerse Calling to the Church. 

ECLC Ministry Partner Liaison to the Minneapolis Area Synod, Rev. Kristin Ross