I'm a columnist now!

A quick August update and a new piece on marriage ...

Hi Readers,

A special welcome to new subscribers! You’ve joined in the midst of my self-imposed August sabbatical, where I’m taking a break from regular posts like the Sunday Stretch and News with Nuance. Feel free to check out those posts in the archives - and I’ll be back with regular weekly posts on Sundays, twice-monthly news posts, and once-monthly articles/columns in September!

Thanks to all of you for your support of my second-annual August sabbatical from regular posting. I wish I could say I’ve been completely relaxing and reading lots of books and poetry, and spending time outside - but the truth is that this August has been full of lots of changes and exciting new affirmations of my calling to ministry and to journalism, as well as ongoing care for a close family member who is undergoing cancer treatment and complications.

We did manage to sneak away for four days on Minnesota’s North Shore. Magical.

I wanted to pop in quickly here to share a couple of updates, and, a link to my latest article at the Minnesota Star Tribune, where I was recently named a new contributing columnist!

More than 18 years ago, I served as a sports reporting intern at the Star Tribune, and it was an action-packed summer, filled with deep learnings and education, from covering Grandma’s Marathon, to the Inner-City Classic basketball game, to interviews in the Twins locker room and at Vikings training camp: as well as a few front-page articles on boxing in Minnesota.

I always dreamt that someday I’d find a way to come back to the Star Tribune, and over the past few years I’ve had lots of conversations with editors there about potential roles. Nothing was really quite the right fit … until now, and I couldn’t be more honored to be a part of this distinguished group of columnists. Look for my pieces twice a month in the Opinion section!

Today’s article in the Star Tribune

Because sometimes God seems to work in overwhelming and overflowing gifts of abundant blessings … the very same Sunday I was announced as a new columnist, I was also officially installed as Pastor of Visitation and Public Theology at Lake Nokomis Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. Making the moment even sweeter was seeing our new Minneapolis-Area Synod Bishop Jen Nagel preside at the service, listening to the powerful sermon of our lead pastor, Sara Spohr, and being prayed for by the inimitable Pastor Kris Capel, who helped me into my first call in the Twin Cities as interim teaching pastor for the congregation she formerly served as lead pastor, Easter Lutheran Church. Standing in the shadows and on the shoulders of these women, and all the retired male pastors who also came to support me on Sunday for the installation service, was a humbling moment. As was listening to my two sons read the Bible passage of the day, and standing alongside Parish Nurse Barb in our shared ministry of visitation at Lake Nokomis.

I wanted all of you to know that this very Substack is a big part of both of these stories. My editor at the Star Tribune, Kavita Kumar, first read some of my articles here on Substack, including this one, which she said led her to believe my writing would be a good fit in the paper. I know the fact that you all are already reading and sharing in community here was a huge part of the reason that the Star Tribune wanted to share my writing as well, and to link to this page in my newspaper bio!

Maybe even more significant, this Substack page was a part of my installation as well. Pastor Sara talked about how

I'm Listening

is a big part of my call to visitation and public theology, and framing it in this way helped the synod staff too to understand my ministry outside church walls, and to support it by allowing this public theology to be a part of my official pastoral call, which is something new for Minneapolis - and for most synods in the ELCA. (Thanks to

Nadia Bolz-Weber

for paving the way!)

All that said - you all mean so much to me. As I begin these two new callings, Substack will remain at the center of it all. I have missed you this month, even as I know this break in regular writing is a necessary part of my creative process. I can’t wait to get back into the swing of things in September, and I’m excited to see the conversations and community that continues to grow here. Please do stay in touch!

And now … here’s a piece of my article on marriage, Christian Nationalism, and Minnesota Gov. (and VP nominee!) Tim Walz. I’ll give a gift link to read the whole thing over at the Star Tribune. (It’s in today’s print edition as well). Lots of exciting changes happening over there, and it’s great news for local Midwestern journalism.

In defense of the ‘bro hug’ marriage

Why I can’t shake off criticism about how Tim and Gwen Walz greeted each other on stage.

Have you ever seen something on the internet that just won’t leave you alone?

No, I’m not talking about that pair of Nike Dunks or that perfectly fitting gray hoodie made of organic “cloud-like” cotton. Or the molded plastic, aesthetically appealing fridge organizer that promises to make back-to-school a breeze!

I’m talking about something even more insidious: the political “gotcha” post. It happened to me last week when Donald Trump Jr. reposted a short video grab from the rally where Gov. Tim Walz was announced as the running mate for Kamala Harris. The four-second clip shows the moment when Walz’s wife, Gwen, joins him on stage along with Doug Emhoff, the second gentleman, and Harris herself.

In the video, Gwen steps confidently onto the stage. She and Tim look at each other directly in the eyes. He extends his hand to hers. She reaches her other arm around to pat him on the back. He pulls her in for a hug. You can’t tell what they’re saying to each other, aloud or in the silent language of a couple who’s been married for more than 30 years, but it seems like some version of: “You did it!” from Gwen.

Tim bows his head, burying it into her shoulder. He stays there for a brief second, that cozy place with your loved one where you know you’re safe. Then he pulls away, steps back. He pats her hand. The crowd pulsates with electric energy. They’re a long way now from that first high school in Nebraska where they met as public school teachers, from that first date that included a movie, followed by Hardee’s. In that moment, though, maybe for just a second, they were together back in that place where they first met.

Here is Don Jr.’s commentary, watching that same brief interaction:

“Totally normal to greet your wife with a firm handshake and a bro hug/back slap. Tim Walz isn’t weird at all, guys.” That was followed by three sideways laugh-crying emojis.

Maybe now is an appropriate time to mention that I met my now-husband, Ben, on the pickup basketball court at the rec center at the University of Missouri. In those early days, our first touch was a lingering high-five, curling our fingertips together at the end, while we waited in line at the drinking fountain to try and figure out who had “next.” My kids tell me that handshake is called a “dap,” and I’ve since learned it originated with African American soldiers during the Vietnam War.

I tell you this to try and explain why Don Jr.’s post stuck with me for so long, why it seemed to take everything I’d valued about marriage and relationships and love itself and rub it all over with filthy-smelling trash, trying to make something lovely into something somehow disgusting or abhorrent.

Don Jr., and by no means is he alone in this, is trying to make Tim and Gwen Walz seem “weird” because they don’t abide by the strict traditional gender roles currently embraced by the MAGA-fied and Christian nationalist-infused Republican Party of his father. In the conservative Christian circles I grew up alongside, and have spent the past several years writing about, traditional and strict gender roles are central to the maintenance of power held by a shrinking number of (mostly) white, straight conservative Christian men. Remember former Vice President Mike Pence’s adherence to the “Billy Graham rule”? That’s just one example of the policing of these norms: Pence would never eat alone with a woman other than his wife. Sure made it difficult for him to work alongside powerful women, or promote them on his staff to positions requiring trust and confidentiality.

Once Donald Trump’s celebrity and objectification of women was added to the mix (remember, he was found liable for sexual abuse by a jury), the right-wing strictness about women’s roles …

Read the rest here at the Minnesota Star Tribune

P.S. …

A Few Notes:

First, a huge THANK YOU to all subscribers. I get a little email notification every time someone signs up, and every time I get one, I feel joyful and honored that you want to spend part of your day with this community. I mean it when I say: “I’m listening,” to you as well, and please don’t hesitate to share with me your thoughts + ideas for what you’d like to read in this space.

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On free vs. paid-subscriber posts only: My plan right now is that the Friday + Sunday posts, focusing on news + spirituality, in that order, are available for subscribers only (I am going to continue sharing a sample, with a line where the paywall cuts off for our paid subscriber community). My plan is that the Tuesday blog-style posts will always be free, to enable as much access as possible, while creating a smaller and more intimate experience for paid subscribers, who are also able to comment and share in community in fuller ways.

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