Because of my disability I have not been able to stand in worship since 1997. So I sit. At Wartburg Seminary one day the person beside me sat with me in support. Then, the next day another person who was beside me stayed sitting. And so, without a community decision or policy, or even a discussion, people just noticed and every day in chapel for the next 20 years the person beside me did not "please stand" but sat. I am thankful. My son, Joel, sits with me in the front row at church now.
Mason City, Iowa, Wednesday night in different places in town received 2 1/2 to 5 inches of rain in about 1/2 hour. Flooding all over. In this picture this afternoon the flood had already receded from the grass in East Park but was still a roaring river.
I posted a picture of our orchids blooming for Epiphany. I posted another picture when an orchard was still blooming at Pentecost. And here one of the orchids is still blooming the 6th Sunday after Pentecost, after the 4th of July weekend. I give thanks for God's good, long-lasting creation. We are called to care for it.
Oh beautiful for spacious skies for amber waves of grain, for purple mountain majesties, above the fruited plain. America! America! God mend thine every flaw, confirm thy soul in self-control, thy liberty maintain.
July 1 is Canada Day celebrating the anniversary of Canadian Confederation on July l, 1867. Canada achieved legislative independence from Great Britain in 193l, separation of citizenship in 1947. The red maple leaf flag was adopted in 1965. Full sovereignty was gained in 1982. When we lived in Detroit, July 1 through July 4 was celebrated together with fireworks across the Detroit River south (yes, "south") to Windsor, Canada. We have been privileged to travel in the provinces of Nova Scotia, Prince Edwards Island, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. We love Canada!
The Texas State Board of Education approved a new statewide curriculum that makes Bible reading mandatory. This goes against the 1st amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It presumes this nation and its public schools are and should be Christian (Christian Nationalism). Public Schools should teach youth about all religions, not teach what they should believe. The board also approved a curriculum that glosses over racism and the history of slavery in the United States. This is not God's chosen, perfect nation. We need to recognize our flaws. We need to respect all people.
What a joy and privilege to have recent visits from Wartburg Seminary graduates who have been faithfully serving for many years. Rev. Kathy Gerking and husband Andy. Rev. Carolyn Pflibsen and Rev. Dr. Troy Pflibsen.
I give thanks for my husband, Burton who has been and continues to be a great dad--and granddad. Oldest son Mark (in Phoenix) with daughter Aimee, Next Joel (in Mason City) , father to Jennaya and Jackson, and youngest son, Kirk (Dennison, Texas) pictured with taking a picture of the family.
Yes, there was music at the Grand Opening of the Barack Obama Presidential Center. There were thousands of people, ordinary people from the neighborhood. I also saw Angela Merkel from Germany and Justin Trudeau from Canada. I heard wonderful speeches by Valerie Jarrett, Michelle Obama and Barack Obama himself. I appreciated the focus on the South Side of Chicago where Michelle grew up and Barack was a community organizer. Years earlier Burton and I had our first urban street experience canvassing on the South Side of Chicago. Everyone in this diverse country needs to feel welcome.
June 18 is the celebration of the opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, a place where new generations will be empowered to find their own voice. June 19 is Juneteenth, the Federal Holiday celebration when the Emancipation Proclamation which set enslaved people in Confederal states free finally reach Galveston, Texas 2 1/2 years after it was issued by President Abraham Lincoln.
It's Flag Day, a time to recognize the stars and stripes, adopted in 1777. (I remember when we changed from 48 stars to 50). There are also hundreds of people having birthdays today. Most important, the U.S. flag belongs to everyone. We dare not be separated over the flag as we were during the Viet Nam War. We dare not wrap the flag around a cross; we reject Christian nationalism. We honor the flags of all nations.
An eight-year-old girl in Topeka had already understood intuitively from the school bus window — that the message sent to a child by telling her she cannot attend the school four blocks from her home is not a neutral administrative decision. It is a statement about her worth.
"Severe Storms" "Tornado Warning" Those words trail across our TV screen. Have we become used to floods, tornados, record heat and cold? Former Vice President Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" was written 20 years ago. King Charles was concerned about the environment decades before. We rarely hear words about "Climate change" anymore. We should be working on the "Climate CRISIS" all the time. The current administration doesn't care. When will be a "convenient" time to be concerned?
Donald Trump is saying the voting in California was rigged. No rigging, no fraud. It simply takes time to count all those votes when so many people vote by mail. Don't fall for Trump's false claims. We need to encourage all people to vote. We need to save "vote by mail." We need to help people register to vote in the remaining primaries and in November.
Jennaya Everist, recent college graduate, was interviewed by the press as she voted in the Iowa Democratic Primary June 2. Years ago, when the national press was covering the first-in-the-nation Iowa Caucuses, Jennaya, then 3 1/2, was interviewed by a New York reporter. Jennaya said she was for "Obama." Whatever age, we need to be ready to speak about our views.
The Tulsa race massacre was a two-day-long terrorist massacre perpetrated by white supremacists that took place between May 31 and June 1, 1921. As news of the violence spread throughout the city, mob violence exploded. White rioters invaded Greenwood that night and the next morning, killing people and burning and looting stores and homes. About 10,000 black people were left homeless.
Trinity Sunday in 2026 falls on Sunday, May 31. Celebrated on the Sunday immediately following Pentecost, this Christian feast honors the foundational doctrine of the Holy Trinity: one God existing in three distinct divine persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I prefer to say, "The Creator, Jesus Christ, and the Empowering Spirit."
It's time to leave messages for U.S. Senators and Representatives (even when they are not in session) by calling 202-224-3121. We can make a difference by speaking against the "war of choice" in Iran, deportation, the 8.1 billion dollar slush fund, corruption, lies. Speak up for the U.S. postal service, voting rights, social security and so much more.
The 87th North Iowa Band Festival Parade is here! Floats are lining up in front of our Prairie Place Building. As usual the Mason City High School band leads off playing Meredith Willson's "Seventy-six Trombones" After all, this is "River City" of "The Music Man"
Pentecost is here. We celebrate and give thanks for the Holy Spirit who gave the followers of Jesus ability to speak in "other languages." I was consecrated a deaconess on Pentecost in 1960. God declares that God will pour out the Spirit upon all flesh and "your sons and your daughters shall prophecy."
We had no poinsettia for Christmas, no Lily for Easter. They would have faded long ago. However these orchids started blooming on Epiphany and are still blooming now for Pentecost. We rejoice. We celebrate Pentecost, the beginning of the Church that has lasted 2000 years.
My husband, Burton, has made hundreds, if not thousands, of hospital visits in his over 60 years of pastoral ministry. However, this morning he made his first hospital visit to a woman who survived a tornado. She and her family are alive, but their house in rural Joyce, Iowa, was moved off its foundation and farm buildings were destroyed. We pray for all those who have lost so much in the past few days of tornados in Iowa and surrounding states.
I voted yesterday. Early voting for the Iowa primaries, June, 2, is now open. Why should I vote? Because it matters desperately this year. Trump is doing everything he can to keep people from voting, particularly people of color. The primaries set the stage. Inform your neighbors how to register to vote. And then VOTE.
2026 marks the 70th anniversary of my graduation from high school and the 50th anniversary of my graduation from Yale Divinity School. This year I celebrate my granddaughter Jennaya's graduation from college.
Today, Thursday May 14, is Ascension Day. The first congregation I served, in St. Louis 1960-1964, was Ascension Lutheran Church. The words we read each week as we left the sanctuary to go out into the world were "Why do you stand looking up toward heaven?" (Acts 1:1l)
Across the United States the Trump Administration is trying to purchase large empty warehouses to convert into Detention Centers, also called Trump Prison Camps. These are designed to hold thousands of people without trial who are not criminals. However, local residents are pushing back and most often succeeding in stopping these Detention Centers from materializing. We CAN do something!
Mother's Day planting flowers in Joel's and Rachel's backyard. I've been doing this with Jackson and Jenneya every year for about 22 years, before Jackson was born. This year Jackson and I talked while we planted about writing books. He is writing one this summer.
Go to the FB page of "Wartburg College Choir" to see and hear them singing in the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Tangier, northern Morocco on the coast of the Straight of Gibraltar.
My heart bleeds for those who are losing their right to vote and hold public office due to redistricting and to gutting the Civil Rights Act of 1965, particularly African Americans.
Where is Granddaughter Jennaya Everist? With the Wartburg College Choir, singing at the Wartburg Castle in Germany, riding a camel in Morocco and giving a Saturday night concert in a church in Cassablanca.
Cheers for Golden Tempo and the first woman trainer to win the Kentucky Derby, Cherie DeVaux.
The speech given this afternoon by King Charles lll before the joint session of Congress at the Capitol was magnificent. The monarch of the United Kingdom and head of the Commonwealth spoke with depth and words of wisdom. Do find it and watch it.
The thunderstorms have passed and the flowering trees are now beautiful, including my favorite, redbud.
More than 65,000 children have been killed or injured in Gaza, according UNICEF. Thousands remain missing and are believed to be buried under rubble, and at least 1,009 of those killed were under the age of one.
As the sun sets on Earth Day, there are droughts, fires burning, and erratic weather patterns. The National Forest Service is being weakened. Will lands and waterways be no longer protected? We have a climate crisis. Have we become numb? This Earth Day will soon pass, but what will we do tomorrow?
Things are not going well in the war. Things are not going well in the world. We are tempted to turn off the TV, ignore what is going on and focus only on our own lives. But all of our lives are being affected. An alternative is to become engaged. Just now I called four senators and urged them to act. It takes only a minute or so to leave a message. Call the Congressional switchboard and ask for your senator or the representative of another state. Call 202-224-3121. We can act!
Vice President J.D. Vance has made outrageous comments, trying to correct the Pope's theology. Trump criticizes the Pope constantly. Trump also vehemently criticizes Episcopal Bishop of Washington, Maniann Budde. Many Evangelical Lutheran Church in America bishops, including our presiding bishop have come out with statements against what Trump is doing. I as a Divinity and Seminary Lutheran Professor professor, have written often on the problems of Christian Nationalism and on justice. I have not been criticized nor do I know of any Lutheran leaders who have been criticized by Trump. Perhaps he doesn't know what a Lutheran is. Remember the importance of the first Amendment of the Constitution.
"Our democracy is not a spectator sport. It demands participation. Now is our time to remember that we are each other's hope. . . We need to be stewards of the truth. When we remain silent out of fear or out of indifference our believing that what we say won't make a difference, we fail to meet what this moment demands." Sen. Cory Booker from his new book, Stand." I highly recommend it. The book is both an easy read and profound.
We just watched splash down of the space capsule Integrity on the Artemis ll mission, April 10, 2016. On July 24, 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins safely returned to Earth, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean to conclude the historic Apollo 11 mission, the first human moon landing.They brought back lunar samples. Early the next morning, July 25, I gave birth to our son, Kirk Andrew Everist.
A narcissist is a person with an extreme, unhealthy preoccupation with themselves, characterized by an inflated sense of self-importance, a deep need for admiration, and a lack of empathy for others. Trump is not just old, not just sleepy, not just unintelligent. He is a dangerous narcissist, saying "A whole civilization will die tonight" about Iran. We must stop him.
We watched on C-SPAN the astronauts of mission Artemis ll emerged from the far side of the moon. This morning we watched the moon from earth. This is what we saw from our deck: the same moon, different perspectives. Ps. 8: "When I look at your heavens, the work of your finger, the moon and the stars that you have established. . . O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth."
Christ is risen! Blessings from the Everists at church in Mason City. Burton this morning preached and presided at four rural churches in three services in two states. I am thankful for his continuing service as a pastor. Blessings to all.
When hope was lost, what did the women who came with Jesus from Galilee do? "Many woman were also there looking on from a distance." The women, some named, and some not, watched and grieved. They followed and saw Jesus' body laid in the tomb. They sat opposite the tomb and watched it be sealed shut. They saw a stone rolled against the door of the tomb. It was the sabbath. They went home and prepared spices and ointments. They rested and then, on the first day of the week, at early dawn they came to the tomb. We wait and watch and hope--and believe.
Holy Week. On Maundy Thursday, 1968, Martin Lutheran King Jr. was assassinated. What followed were uprisings in over 100 cities across the country. Earlier that Holy Week of 1968, on Palm Sunday, President Lyndon Johnson announced "I shall not seek and I will not accept the nomination of my party for another term as your president." Death and decisions are on our minds also this Holy Week.
Over 8 million people participated in No Kings Day rallies in the U.S. A dozen countries held rallies supporting the U.S protests: Countries in the UK, France, Portugal, Greece, Australia and countries in Latin America. Trump wants to be more than a King; he wants to be an Emperor. Queen Elizabeth II after WW II oversaw the rapid dissolution of the British Empire and its transformation into the modern Commonwealth of Nations. She's my example.
The children at Trinity Lutheran Church, Mason City, processing with their palm leaves. Hundreds of people (everyone) came up for the rite of healing. Blessings for Holy Week.
Millions participated in No Kings Day protests yesterday, with NO violence reported. The Full count is not yet in. However, it can't be "over." The excitement must carry into action. Voter registration! Ongoing work to organize for the fall. People together make a difference. Christians gather again this Palm Sunday morning in the name of the Prince of Peace.
This very harmful administration is not unstoppable. The third No Kings Day will be this Saturday, March 28. At the first one last June 5 million people showed up. At the second No Kings Day last October 7 million people gathered all over the country: 2500 events in June; 2900 events in October and already 3100 events planned for Saturday. If there isn't one near you, organize one. Whether it's l0,000 people in a large city or 15 in a small town, every event is important. Ask three or more people to join you. We will not hide in fear. Together we can make a difference.
Last night PBS Newshour co-anchor Amna Nawas interviewed the Mayor of New Your City Zohan Mamdani. Both are Muslims. They talked about many things. I was so encouraged to see two professionals, both Muslim, having this national conversation together. We ARE a pluralistic nation! We can be different together.
Three olympic gold medals in Ice Hockey. The men's and women's U.S. teams both took first place in the 2026 Winter Olympics and the U.S. sled hockey team just won gold in the Paralympics. Mr. Trump, are you going to invite our sled hockey team to the white house? I challenge you to do so!
It's not the medals. It's not a matter of one nation "beating" another. This is not war; it's international community. It's watching paralympians cross-country skiing with arms missing. This is courage.
International Women's Day yesterday reminded me of three important women. Eleanor Roosevelt was the driving force behind the UN Universal Declamation of Human Rights. Nancy Pelosi, first women Speaker of the U.S. House or Representatives, author of "Know Your Power." Letty Russell, my mentor at Yale, author of "The Future of Partnership." Who are women important to you?
The Opening Ceremony of the 2026 Paralympics! Beautiful. Nations of the world coming together not as a distraction from war, but as a statement of unity among all peoples. A statement of inclusion of everyone, no matter what our disability. For ten days watch and see what we can be together.
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