Let's Talk

20 years of
Living Theology in the Metropolitan Chicago Synod since 1996

  • Home
  • Issues
    • Welcome to Let’s Talk 2020
    • 22. 2 Reformation Jubilee 500
    • 22.1 Death and Dying
    • All Issues 1996 – present
  • Noted Guest Authors
  • About
  • Contact

Powered by Genesis

You are here: Home / Archives for Spirituality

Self-Care: Being Present to God and to our Bodily Selves

November 25, 2019 by Frank C. Senn

Frank C. Senn   We all need dedicated times to be present to God and to our bodily selves. In both we address our soul, that which makes us uniquely who we are. I could just say: you should have a time for personal prayer, maybe first thing in the morning using a good prayer […]

Filed Under: body, Lets Talk 2020, Spirituality

Holy Living

November 25, 2019 by Richard O. Johnson

Richard O. Johnson It is my pleasure and my joy to be with you this evening for this event, and to contribute in some way, I hope, to “refreshing the hearts of the saints” here in the Metropolitan Chicago area. My thanks to Pastor Keith Forni for inviting me, and for being such a splendid […]

Filed Under: Lets Talk 2020, Spirituality

Letters to the Editor – 2.2 Spirituality

May 26, 2016 by Editorial Council

Kudos for your excellent Epiphany 1997 edition of Let’s Talk! Read every word of it, which is saying a lot for someone often caught in a paper blizzard. As an ELCA deaconess serving as a counselor and spiritual director I especially appreciated Jack Finney’s excellent article, “Taking Time for the Soul.” In this time of […]

Filed Under: Spirituality

Frank Senn’s Warning – A Response

May 26, 2016 by Philip Hefner

Since Frank Senn’s response, in Let’s Talk, Volume 2, Issue 1, to my previously published piece goes right to the heart of some crucial issues in our thinking about the ELCA, it is well worth a response and even further discussion. He raises two major issues: the theme of baptism and the question of the […]

Filed Under: Spirituality

In Memoriam: Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, Archbishop of Chicago, 1982-1996, Friend-Teacher-Brother in Christ

May 26, 2016 by Thomas C. Knutson

On Friday, August 30, 1996, I listened to the news conference at which Joseph Cardinal Bernardin shared with his Church, the public, and friends around the world that he was dying of pancreatic cancer and probably had less than a year to live. He said that he had placed himself in the hands of God […]

Filed Under: Spirituality

Other Spiritualities: A Travelogue

May 26, 2016 by Joyce M. Bowers

Manifestations of the supernatural outside the realm of typical Christian experience have piqued my curiosity for a long time. My interest began during missionary service in Liberia, West Africa, as I gradually became aware that African life was permeated with spiritual realities in ways that we Western missionaries could barely comprehend. A few years ago, […]

Filed Under: Spirituality

The Lutheran Third Order of St. Francis

May 26, 2016 by Brother Michael D.F. Sculley ESC/F

When you see the words Lutheran Third Order of St. Francis, it may conjure up many thoughts, feelings, and questions. An astonished “what?” plus momentary confusion will probably be at the top of the list. After all, Lutherans do not have religious orders, do they? But before I answer several of the questions most frequently […]

Filed Under: Spirituality

God’s Extraordinary Presence

May 26, 2016 by Carl C. McKenzie

As a parish pastor I have found that in order to grow in Christ and to be refreshed with God’s grace I need to go deeper in prayer, which Martin Luther referred to as “a sacrament, for it has both God’s command and very many promises” (Apology of the Augsburg Confession XIII). I am sharing […]

Filed Under: Spirituality

Nurturing Your Spirit After You’ve Said “Amen”

May 26, 2016 by Tim Hubert

I once knew a man who was taught to pray by folding his hands, bowing his head, closing his eyes and talking to God just like talking to a friend. For years this man tried his best.Yet when the “amen” came, he felt like a failure. He just couldn’t pray that way. He felt something […]

Filed Under: Spirituality

On Spiritual Direction

May 26, 2016 by Jane Seagren

Where is God in my life? To what is God calling me? What is God’s will for my life, and how do I discern it? If you find yourself asking these questions, you may be a candidate for the ancient Christian practice of spiritual direction. Or, perhaps you sense God calling you to a deeper […]

Filed Under: Spirituality

Recent Articles

Homily at Bach Vespers: Breathing Together Again

Observing Ash Wednesday 2021

Sermon on Embodied Racism

As I See It: Public Health and Public Worship During COVID-19

Is Fasting from the Reception of Holy Communion the Same as Fasting from the Eucharistic Liturgy? A Lutheran Liturgical-Sacramental Reflection on Eucharistic Praxis during COVID-19

Jesus Known in the Breaking of the Bread

Communion at Home

Jessie: A Palm Sunday Parable in the Midst of the Pandemic of 2020

Forsaken

Why Virtual Communion Is Not Nearly Radical Enough

23.1 Advent 2019

the Brown Virgin (La Morenita)

“Eternity,” You Thunder Word

By Frank C. Senn

Farewell Sermon: Home Rejoicing

By Benjamin Dueholm

Self-Care: Being Present to God and to our Bodily Selves

By Frank C. Senn

Holy Living

By Richard O. Johnson

Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Season of Advent

By Maxwell E. Johnson