Environmental urgency: Lutheran responses — actions, books, articles, agriculture, farming, ecological, scientific, theological, ethical, you name it — to global climate change. Examining what gives us insight, hope and reasons to change. 2013 is also the 20th anniversary of the caring for creation statement.

We’ve come this far by faith: A celebration of 25 years being the ELCA. A look back, a look forward by congregations and ministries that began in 1988, and pastors who were ordained in 1988.

Churchwide Assembly: A comprehensive look at the actions and activities of the ELCA gathering in Pittsburgh. It is the last under the every-other year meeting schedule before switching to a three-year cycle.

Lutherans & tolerance, acceptance: A look at the theological underpinnings of tolerance as well as the lack of tolerance in some of Martin Luther’s writings. How have Lutheran relationships with Jews and also Mennonites improved from the 16th century? What are the issues of tolerance in our society today?

Community organizing: Community organizing/outreach as a way to “do church.” More than an extension of the church’s social justice efforts, church-based community organizing resets our understanding of theology and doctrine.

Is the word returning empty? A great deal of current research suggests that not only is biblical illiteracy growing, but there is an increasing sense in which this not a problem. Biblical literacy is not, for many, even a goal. We address the relationship between modern Christian spirituality/faith and the Bible.

Work of the church: Should congregations focus more on serving their congregation members or the needs of the larger community? Or both? Redefining church and community.

Women in the church: Justice for women is the topic of a new ELCA study toward a possible social statement. What does justice for women mean for ELCA congregations and the society in which we live?

Vocation and job loss: How are people today finding new direction after losing a job? Is faith part of their journey? Do they see God at work in their lives when they have to start over? Tales from the real world.

Tradition! What is the role of tradition in the church? How does it help or hinder us? Why does it hold so much power over people’s perspectives and beliefs about what it means to be a church and a Christian? How have traditions evolved from generation to generation? And in recent years, how have pop culture, brain science and social science shaped our traditions?

Mental illness: How do ELCA congregations and organizations care for, minister to and advocate on behalf of the mentally ill? How are we erasing the stigma that prevents many from seeking treatment? Who in the ELCA helps before (or after) untreated mental illness leads to homelessness, imprisonment or community violence? What is the church called to do?