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Kick Off Summer with ECLC’s Neighborhood Parties

May 20, 2026

Inspired by the God of relationship, ECLC takes the "community" part of our name seriously. It means showing up for each other, worshipping and learning about God together, making connections across generations, praying and comforting one another in times of struggle, and having FUN together! 

We know people come from far and wide to be part of the ECLC community, so each year we plan Neighborhood Parties to help you connect to your closest ECLC neighbors! It's a meaningful, simple way to make new connections and find out who lives just around the corner from you. This year's potluck parties are Wednesday, June 10th at 6pm. 

RSVP now for one of ECLC's six neighborhood potluck parties: 

Eden Prairie & Minnetonka's Neighborhood Party hosted by Loren & Whitney H 
Edina's Neighborhood Party hosted by Doyle & Kim R
Minneapolis East of 35W's Neighborhood Party with host TBD 
Minneapolis West of 35W's Neighborhood Party hosted by Jan K and Peggy & Wayne K
Richfield & Bloomington's Neighborhood Party hosted by Katia M & Melanie R 
St. Louis Park & Golden Valley's Neighborhood Party hosted by Jim J & Elaine W 

Don't live in one of these cities? You're warmly invited to choose the potluck party closest to you or contact Deacon Lauren to help you find the closest party to you.

Happy Summer!
Deacon Lauren

Paul Andress: Professional Joy-Shouter  
 

May 13, 2026

Edina Community Lutheran Church is many things. Engaged. Optimistic. Driven. A thousand other adjectives that help the world know the kind of congregation that we are. 

But one thing that ECLC is not is quiet.

We aren’t quiet when we’re protesting in our community. We aren’t quiet when we welcome new people in worship. And we certainly aren’t quiet when we sing. One person in particular may be the least quiet among us, and that’s a gift we are all grateful for. 

Paul Andress started his career at ECLC in 1984. Not as the music director we all know and love, but as the Youth Director that many ECLC members still remember him as. Excerpts from ECLC newsletters from the 1980s detail the ways that Paul engaged the youth of our congregation back then. Horseback riding, roller skating, and hayrides were just a few of the entertainment options he brought to the congregation before leaving this position in 1988.

Most of us know Paul for the role he took on at ECLC in the year 2000: Music Leader. Instead of riding horses, he wrote worship songs. Instead of roller skating, he brought new musical genres and perspectives to our church. I don’t have a good pun for what hayrides turned into across these twenty-six years. But hey, what a ride it’s been.

Forgive me for getting emotional here, but if you look over at the drum set during Sunday’s worship service, I’m confident I’ll be even more emotional over there. I didn’t know anything about Paul Andress before I first came to ECLC in 2018, but he’s one of the primary reasons that I kept coming back. 

My wife had told me that church didn’t have to be the way it was for me growing up. What she meant by that was a church can be a place where you feel loved and accepted. What I learned is that church can be a place where you may hear bluegrass music one week, hymns from the 16th century the next week, followed by 12-bar blues the week after. And I wanted to be a part of all of it.

As soon as I learned that ECLC had this dynamic, wacky, talented musician and that the drum set behind him sat empty some weeks, I knew what I had to do. First, become a member of ECLC. Second, get behind that drum set. I knew I was gaining an outlet for my rhythm skills every weekend - what I didn’t know was that I was gaining a role model, an inspiration, and a friend. 

Playing in the ECLC Band with Paul has been a privilege. I know I’m not the only person who thinks that. Nor am I the only one who has grown as a musician, a Christian, and a person under Paul’s leadership. 

These decades of Paul’s music, passion, and infectious joy defined who ECLC is, what we stand for, and how we demonstrate that. After today, Paul’s face won’t be the first thing you see on the staff page of our website anymore. But his face, his voice, and his passion for justice-seeking will be a part of our congregation and our hearts even in his retirement. We’ll have to see whether people still think he’s too loud even without a microphone!

Psalm 98 tells us to “shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music.” Paul’s job required him to do much more than play music for a few hours every Sunday. ECLC needed someone to shout for joy and burst into jubilant song. And we needed someone who could get us to do the same. 

I know that we will shout and burst and sing and dance and clap and laugh and cry again after Sunday, like we have before Paul Andress played his first note for us. We’re so fortunate to have had him as one of our Music Leaders, and even more fortunate that we’ll still have him as an ECLC member and a friend.

-Madelyn W.

Minneapolis Synod Assembly                

May 6, 2026

Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for the one who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:23-25)

Last Friday evening and Saturday, representatives from our 137 worshipping communities of the Minneapolis Area Synod gathered at Lord of Life in Ramsey for our annual Synod Assembly. Pastor Jeff, Pastor Gretchen, Deacon Lauren, Carla Carlson, Barry Lau, and Tyler Moe-Slepica represented ECLC at the event, joined by Kriss Ross representing retired clergy. 

Bishop Jen Nagel led us as we worshipped together joined by the amazing synod youth choir, honored retiring synod staff (including Pastor John Hulden and Vice President Felicia Boone), elected new officers to synod committees and positions, and considered resolutions for our synod. In addition to passing a resolution on the 2026 and 2027 budgets for the synod, we also passed a resolution to create a task force to empower and educate congregations in their use and understanding of artificial intelligence, especially considering its environmental impact. Finally, we passed a resolution to encourage both the congregations of the Minneapolis Area Synod and the ELCA Churchwide organization to actively participate in the World Council of Churches' Ecumenical Decade of Climate Justice Action.

Along with the business of the day, we were led in Bible study by our ELCA Churchwide Representative, Pastor Miguel F. Gomez-Acosta. As a whole, we reflected on the passage from Hebrews above, as well as our shared experiences of this year during Operation Metro Surge. We considered what it means to hold fast to hope and to provoke one another to love and good deeds.

The Synod Assembly is a joyful gathering to connect as Lutherans in the Minneapolis Area. We have the opportunity to visit booths, including our mission partners as Bright Stars of Bethlehem, as well as a couple of our own ECLC members sitting at the booth for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. This year there was a service project for us to participate in as our mission partners at Lutheran Social Services gathered hygiene and snack kits for homeless youth- empowered by the $1300 gathered at ECLC on Sunday, April 26th for feminine hygiene products. Thanks to all who gave!

Please continue to pray for the leaders and people of our synod as we find ways to be church together.

Reflecting on Operation Metro Surge:  A Gathering of Lament and Hope 

April 29, 2026

Our community has been through a collective trauma and an overwhelming response of neighborhood care. On Wednesday, May 6th from 6-8pm, all ECLCers are invited and encouraged to come together for A Gathering of Lament and Hope.

Our Racial Justice Vision Committee and our Proactive Resistance and Rapid Response Teams recognize that while racialized culture promotes skipping over trauma. Ignoring pain. Pretending to move on. We recognize the need to make intentional space. For reflection. For community. For lament. For healing. For hope.

RSVP to the church office to join the congregational gathering, beginning at 6pm with a dinner from Andale Taqueria, and moving into the sanctuary at 6:30pm for a worship gathering with the pastors and I that includes quiet prayer and contemplation, small group remembering, music, and healing. Together, we will reflect on the impact Operation Metro Surge has on our bodies, our congregation, and our whole community. 

We hope you will depart grounded in God's hope, reminded of the power of our community, and empowered for living faith through justice.

 ...Deacon Lauren on behalf of Racial Justice Vision Committee & Proactive Resistance and Rapid Response 

Earth Day 2026

April 22, 2026

In reality, every day is Earth Day, but each year, we designate this day, April 22, to remember that the whole of our life is drawn from the bounty and ecology of the earth. Through the book of Genesis, God charges you and all God’s people with responsibility for all the plants and all the animals, the fish and the birds. You are the pinnacle of God’s creation, but you are also the stewards of this amazing home with all its challenges and wonders. As Spider-Man reminds us: “With great power comes great responsibility.” See also Luke 12:48.

The EcoFaith Team of ECLC continuously serves up opportunities for you to take seriously your stewardship of the earth. Here are some upcoming opportunities:

We are always collecting items for recycling: currently corks and medicine bottles. Our recent plastic recycling effort resulted in another bench made from recycled plastic. This one is overlooking the native plant garden in the front of the church. Check it out.

Wednesday, April 22 – The Rise and Repair Coalition hosted Mother Earth vs. Big Tech. Data Center Moratorium Now: A Community Hearing in the Capitol Rotunda.

Sunday, April 26 – Our quarterly Green Sunday liturgy in worship; wear something green or flowery to add to the joy. We thank God our Creator for the gift of life and creation.

Sunday, April 26 – Earth Day community enrichment on April 26th will be “Forest to Fork”. Presenters are by Anna Larrson & Nicola Philpott. Discussion includes: “Even if we stopped using fossil fuels today, emissions from our food system would still cause the earth to exceed targets. We under-appreciated impact our food system has on climate and the environment. What actions can you take at your very next meal to start changing things for the better?”

Sunday, April 26, 1-4pm Drive Electric Earth Month; Edina Earth Day Community Festival  (Weber Park, 4115 Grimes Ave S)

Saturday, May 2 – EcoFaith will host their fourth electronics recycling 10 am to 2 pm in the east parking lot at ECLC. Check the list of accepted items at www.ecyclemn.com; note that there is a nominal fee for some items.  

Wednesday, May 6 – Spring Confirmation garlic mustard weed pulling event with confirmation students.

Thursdays, May 7, 14, 21, & 28, 7pm. ECLC EcoFaith is co-sponsoring Understanding Christian Nationalism: Faith, Power, and the Soul of America with Rev. Dan Stark at St. Luke Presbyterian Church, unpacking the history, theology, and modern-day impact of Christian Nationalism & its intersection with climate justice and all aspects of our lives. 

June 15-18 – Adopt-A-Park clean-up as part of JAM Camp as well as snacks for the week provided by the EcoFaith Team.

Watch for other events throughout the year that explore how we might encourage and explore together how we can live in harmony with all of God’s creation and give back at least as much as we have been given.

Mark Vinge, on behalf of the EcoFaith Team