Here you can discover what issues and topics the magazine will cover in the future. You may also want to see our bulletin blurbs for specific articles coming up in the next couple of issues of the magazine.
Here are some major topics we'll be exploring in the next year at The Lutheran.
The topics were selected by readers who answered our survey.
If you think you or your congregation has something to contribute to a planned theme, please contact the editor listed after the appropriate description.
| June 2008: What does it mean to be spiritual but not religious? How does the emergent church movement reach seekers? |
Contact Elizabeth Hunter by March 1, 2008 with your questions or suggestions about this theme. |
| July 2008: Disconnect to connect: Why do ELCA congregations and members feel disconnected from one another and the broader church? What can we do to help congregations, synods and the churchwide expression of the church to listen to each other and to stay connected? What do you need to feel connected at all levels of the ELCA and beyond? |
Contact Sonia C. Solomonson by March 1, 2008 with your questions or suggestions about this theme. |
| August 2008: Worship: What do congregation members want? What do worshipers need? Worship in ELCA congregations varies, but some essential elements remain. What are those “elements” for you? What’s your worship experience—past and present? What’s the future of worship in the ELCA? How do we both honor traditional liturgy and make room for other worship styles? |
Contact Julie B. Sevig by May 1, 2008 with your questions or suggestions about this theme. |
| September 2008: What's the Lutheran perspective of church, state and the role of government? |
Contact Kathleen Kastilahn by June 1, 2008 with your questions or suggestions about this theme. |
| October 2008: Lutheranism 202: Beyond the basics. Plus: Luther took risks, asked questions, do we? |
Contact Kathleen Kastilahn by July 1, 2008 with your questions or suggestions about this theme. |
| November 2008: Death and life: How can God's pruning lead to new growth? Might the death of something also offer the opportunity for new life? For changes that were needed all along? How can we use those images and that promise to advantage in our congregations and in the broader church? What are the congregational stories that show this pruning and new growth? When is death truly the end and how can we mark that? |
Contact Sonia C. Solomonson by June 1, 2008 with your questions or suggestions about this theme. |
| December 2008: The current state and future of ecumenism |
Contact Elizabeth Hunter by September 1, 2008 with your questions or suggestions about this theme. |
| January 2009: R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Aretha Franklin sang about it, but how well do we practice it? Is this a quality we’ve lost—both young people and adults? How do we go about reclaiming it? How has a lack of respect changed us as a church. How do we, or could we, intentionally practice respect with one another and in our communities of faith? Why is respect even more important considering our increasingly plural society? How do we find and show respect to those with whom we disagree or don’t understand? |
Contact Julie B. Sevig by October 1, 2008 with your questions or suggestions about this theme. |
| February 2009: Size matters: Let’s face it, ministries differ in large, medium and small congregations. What are the gifts and liabilities of a congregation’s size? What size do you prefer and why? Share your congregation’s story/ministry that is possible (and no doubt wonderful) simply because of your congregation’s size. |
Contact Julie B. Sevig by November 1, 2008 with your questions or suggestions about this theme. |
