Jennifer Merck summons us to our mission field. Dorothy Esther Roush Kuhlmann — my Grandma Kuhlmann, Dottie to her friends — was born and raised on a dairy farm in Western Michigan. She moved to Chicago, but her little sisters stayed in Hastings. As I was growing up, this is where we visited Aunt Mary […]
Mission as Love in Action
There is nothing like a crisis to bring out the best and the worst in people. In the extremities of life we find out who we are. We are hearing and reading many stories of heroism and egotism in this time of pandemic. “Every society tells stories,” writes Jonathan Haidt, “and those stories involve good […]
What I Learned in North Africa
This is Angela’s second post about her experience in North Africa. We are grateful for the lessons she brings home to us. In my last post, I wrote a lot about the things that confused me while I was living in North Africa. I reflected that there is a lot I don’t know about the intertwining of […]
Eight Months in North Africa
Angela reflects on her experience in North Africa partnering with an organization that does Bible translation work. This is the first of two posts. This is the first time I’ve written publicly to my family at All Souls about my experience in North Africa. I waited a long time because I was hoping I’d be […]
Deeper Into the Story
Rob Lewis shares the rest of the story…read to the end! Stepping into God’s Story The Bible is the story of Jesus, God become man, by which the catastrophe and mortifying shame of the human condition becomes the means by which we become living human beings – the glory of God. “Liberty is the chief […]
Stepping Into the Story
Rob Lewis writes about entering into the life of a church visitor. Post 1 of 2 Chris first came to our church on a Sunday in mid-November last year, and stood quietly and obtrusively just inside our front door. Our narthex is a small space, an intersection between two flights of stairs where two or […]
Soldier, Gangster, Pastor
In this post Roy Stiff tells the story of Slava, former soldier and gangster who now serves God in Moldova Slava usually starts his testimony from right before the fall of the Soviet Union. Slava was in the Soviet military, and in his words, a “believer”, not in Jesus, but in communism. He was sent […]
Roy Stiff Reweds in Gdańsk
“When I die, you will need a new wife.” This was one of Gosia Stiff’s parting instructions to her husband Roy shortly before she died in January, 2018. Gosia’s funeral was held at All Souls, which she and Roy made their church home in 2012. Their focus always was on the goodness of God’s grace, […]
Yes, Souls, There Is a Santa Claus
Is the jolly man in the red suit with a long white beard real? Did he first appear in Coca-Cola ads? At department stores? Illustrating the poem, T’was the Night Before Christmas? And more importantly, how does he relate to Souls on Mission? And what do we teach our children about him? The true […]
Good Coffee
The coffee we drink at All Souls helps people reclaim their lives. One of my favorite tasks at All Souls is brewing coffee early Sunday mornings. I do this along with a dedicated team who spend at least two hours every Sunday making sure our Catechesis Hour is well caffeinated. Our coffee draws us in […]