When we go to church, do we expect anything? Do we expect God to show up in our staid worship services? Do we expect God to show up at church on Christmas Eve? The writer of Isaiah longed for God to come crashing down, interrupting our world and making us pay attention.

Supportive housing can make all the difference in the lives of at-risk youth and young adults. Since 2012, the Beacon collaborative has worked on creating three residences for this vulnerable population: Nicollet Square in Minneapolis, Prior Crossing in St. Paul, and 66 West in Edina. While the need for supportive youth housing remains great, it is making a huge impact in the lives of young adults here in Minnesota, allowing them to move from just trying to find ways to live from day to day to being able to see a future. One life that has changed for the better is Keyana.

During the fall, many congregations start their annual stewardship campaigns, asking members to pledge for the coming budget year. Many stewardship campaigns ask people to give not just in monetary terms. The phrase one might see is to give of your “time and talent.”

For Dick Patterson, giving of his time and talent is part of what makes a moral life. While some people might be satisfied with writing a check to a cause they love, Dick marries his giving with action.

Site Coordinator Jason Todd learned to be a cook from his grandmother. “I was raised by a single mom who worked 2 full-time jobs, so I spent the majority of my time at my grandparents’ house,” he said. His grandmother taught him to cook and sew to prepare him for life. “If you can do these 2 things you can make it through life no matter what is thrown at you,” Jason recounts his grandmother telling him.

I have a love-hate relationship with the book of Rev­ela­tion. Actually, it’s more like a love-fear relationship. With a whole lot of fear.

It’s not uncommon these days for a congregation to spend time discerning how to do mission and ministry in the 21st century. What worked in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s often no longer works now. What does it mean to be a congregation at this point in time? How are we witnesses to the gospel right now?

“We say we’re bondage to sin and can’t free ourselves,” says Ed Treat, the pastor of Transfiguration Lutheran Church in Bloomington. “Addiction is anything that you do that is hurtful, you know, and you keep doing it.”

The Twin Cities is blessed with a number of faith communities that openly welcome and affirm LGBTQ people, especially in the Minneapolis Area Synod. “Religion Row” at the Twin Cities Pride Festival is filled with booths from various congregations spanning all faiths, an indication of the number of LGBTQ-inclusive faith communities.

For the Steering Committee of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in the Twin Cities, the challenge was agreeing on a date.

While their Minnetonka campus had hosted with Beacon’s shelter program for two decades, the Minneapolis campus was eager to host for the first time. The question was when. “We have a pretty strong program here with a variety of different activities and things going on for children and youth and outside groups that use our space,” said Ben Cieslik, Co-Lead Pastor. “So, allocating the kind of space you need to help families was impractical.”

Then, a lightbulb came on.