Main Street Lutherans
Main Street Lutherans, Discussions about the ELCA

S1E42 - 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly Recap

with ELCA Vice President Imran Siddiqui

Episode Notes

The VP returns to go over the events of the 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. Our Better Know a Congregation is Peace First Lutheran in Astoria, Oregon.

Links

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S1E41 - The Evangelical Lutheran Education Association (ELEA)

With Executive Director Cory Newman

Episode Notes

Cory Newman joins the show to discuss the work of the Lutheran Schools and the congregations that support them which make up the Evangelical Lutheran Education Association (ELEA). The episode ends with our first Better Know segment where we get to know New Spirit Lutheran in Tuscon, AZ.

Links

Better Know...

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S1E40 - 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly Preview

Episode Notes

Ben previews the 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

We announce a change in our "C Segment" to talk about congregations and synods. Look for links to help tell us about your congregation or synod.

Links

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S1E39 - Responding to Challenges to LGBTQA+ Inclusion

with Rev Carla Christopher

Episode Notes

Rev Carla Christopher joins the show to discuss how the ELCA views the ways scripture is used to challenge inclusion of queer folks.

We don't have a new Catechism Question for this episode. Enjoy your summer break!

Links

Music by Viktor Hallman Find it at https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/jcOQ6kY2Cy/ Through Epidemic Sound

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S1E38 - Report Time

Reports from the CRLC and an outside group about the ELCA

Episode Notes

Ben and Keith summarize two important reports that were published for and about the ELCA in the first few months of 2025. The Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church's report and recommendations come from inside our house. A report from Barna and Fuller Seminary was made to give a perspective from outside. Links abound below.

Catechism Question:

What are the three “expressions” of the ELCA?

  • Holy Baptism, Holy Communion, & Almsgiving
  • The Local Congregations, The Synods, & The Churchwide Organization
  • The Apostle’s Creed, the Nicene Creed, & The Lord’s Prayer
  • Frowning, Sneering, & Glaring

(Bonus points for texting us your answer.)

Links

Music by Viktor Hallman Find it at https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/jcOQ6kY2Cy/ Through Epidemic Sound

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S1E37 - ELCA Social Message on Israel and Palestine

Episode Notes

Ben & Keith discuss Episode 36 in which Keith talked with Pastor Imad Haddad from Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church in Amman, Jordan. They also discuss the ELCA's 1989 Social Message on Israel and Palestine.

Catechism Question:

What is the meaning of the word Sumud?

  • Steadfastness
  • Faithfulness
  • Smelling Good
  • Special Undertaking for Mid-East Unifying Diplomacy

Links

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S1E36 - Being Lutheran and Palestinian

with Pastor Imad Haddad

Episode Notes

Keith has a conversation with Pastor Imad Haddad, pastor of Church of the Good Shepherd in Amman, Jordan. They discuss living in the region as a Palestinian Lutheran and how The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land and the ELCA relate.

Catechism Question:

What are ways to get involved in advocating for justice through the ELCA?

  • Join the ELCA e-Advocacy Network.
  • Invite your officials to visit your congregation’s ministry or project. 
  • If you have a Lutheran State Public Policy office in your state, get involved in this ministry. 
  • Contact the ELCA Advocacy Staff when you or a group from your congregation visit Washington, DC.
  • All of the above. (and more)

Links

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S1E35 - I'm Lutheran ... Let's Talk About It (The T-shirt)

Episode Notes

Ben & Keith discuss the new shirt. We hope it sparks conversations about our faith. The episode covers how one might explain Lutheranism to someone who wants to know because they read your t-shirt.

Catechism Question:

Martin Luther disliked the idea of this new church body being named after himself. What name did he prefer instead?

  • Evangelisch Kirche (Church of the Gospel)
  • The Melanchthonist Church
  • The Church for Saints and Sinners
  • Those Heretics Who Got Themselves Excommunicated (THWGTE)

Links

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S1E34 - The Daily Prayers

with Pastor Ollie Bergh

Episode Notes

Ollie Bergh joins Ben and Keith from Fairbanks, Alaska to talk about Matins (Morning Prayer) and all of the Daily Prayer (or Daily Offices) services in the ELW, our hymnal. Pastor Ollie hosts the Psalmcast Podcast. Give it a listen.

Sorry for some of the cuts. The audio files were corrupted and Ben stitched it together as best he could on the schedule we have. We'll try not to let it happen again.

The Catechism Question:

What are the names of some of the divine office liturgies:

  • Matins, Ford, Sext, Vespers
  • Lauds, Prime, Nome, Vespers
  • Chevelle, Compline, Sext, Lauds
  • Matins, Lauds, Vespers, Compline

Links

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S1E33 - Being Church

with Rev Dr David Lose

Episode Notes

David Lose, Senior Pastor at Mount Olivet Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, MN, joins us for this episode. We start out with a broad topic, how do our churches move forward in our time and place. We talk about He Gets Us and what it means to be Lutheran.

In the A Segment, Ben and Keith discuss what it means to be "Unapologetically Lutheran".

Catechism Question:

What happened to the prodigal son when he returned home?

  • His father sent him back to the pig farmer
  • His father welcomed him, and his brother threw a party for him
  • His father took him back as a hired servant
  • His father welcomed him and killed the fatted calf

Links

Music by Viktor Hallman Find it at https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/jcOQ6kY2Cy/ Through Epidemic Sound

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S1E32 - Lutheran History Pt 2

with Rev Dr Mark Granquist

Episode Notes

Dr Granquist joins us to continue our exploration of the history that leads up to the ELCA being what it is.

The Catechism Question:

Where did the majority of Lutherans immigrate to North America come from? A. Germany, Norway, and Sweden B. Germany, Norway, and France C. Austria, Australia, and Antarctica D. Wittenberg, Wartburg, and St. Olaf

Links

Music by Viktor Hallman Find it at https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/jcOQ6kY2Cy/ Through Epidemic Sound

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S1E31 - The Best Hand of the Lutheran Deck

with Pastor David Daubert

Episode Notes

Pastor Dave Daubert joins the show to talk about the critical parts to understand about Lutheran faith and how theology we use in the ELCA is our best hand for living the Christian Life.

Links

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S1E30 - Lutheran History: The Beginning

with Rev Dr Mark Granquist

Episode Notes

This is the first of three episodes that cover the history leading up to formation of the ELCA by merging three Lutheran Synods together. We start at the Reformation in this episode. The next one will start in America in the 1800s when a lot of Lutheran immigration occurs. The last will cover the last 75 or 100 years.

Rev Dr Mark Granquist is a professor of the History of Christianity at Luther Seminary in St Paul, MN. He was ordained into the ELCA in 1988 and has served congregations and taught in university settings. His book Lutherans in America: A New History is a definitive work, sharing his understanding of how immigration gave direction to how Lutheranism would flourish in the Americas.

Make sure to email or message us the answer to this episode's Catechism Question:

Where did Martin Luther go into hiding during the height of the German Reformation?

  • In the Castle Church in Wittenberg, near the university where he taught
  • As a sideshow in the Barnum & Bailey Circus
  • In the tower of Wartburg Castle
  • In Emperor Charles V’s wine cellar

Links

Music by Viktor Hallman Find it at https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/jcOQ6kY2Cy/ Through Epidemic Sound

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S1E29 - Authenticity

Episode Notes

Ben talks about what it means to be authentic as a Christian, as a Lutheran, and as a person of the 21st century as well as the challenge the ELCA has to be authentic in all three ways.

This episode's Catechism Question:

What is considered by Lutherans to be the primary document of the Book of Concord?

  • The Catechisms
  • The (Unaltered) Augsburg Confession
  • The Creeds
  • The Formula of Concord

Links

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S1E28 - The Ordination of Women

Episode Notes

Ben and Keith discuss the history and theological issues behind the ordination of women in the American Lutheran Churches in 1970. They also tackle the mail bag.

Links

Music by Viktor Hallman Find it at https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/jcOQ6kY2Cy/ Through Epidemic Sound

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Pastor Keith Fair and Licensed Lay Minister Ben Fogt invite discussion about the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), its history, structures, traditions, and beliefs in a light and fun way.