The Lutheran Ladies' Lounge from KFUO Radio

Following up on last year’s Baptism party episode, the Ladies are once again forming a Party-Planning Committee — and this time, they’re tackling confirmation.

In this three-segment Sharathon episode, the Ladies provide friendly advice to anyone hosting a confirmation party. Erin (recipe subcommittee) starts things off with an Apostles’ Creed-themed menu, featuring gingerbread, Braunschweiger (a “lost and condemned food”), and red-and-white gelatin poke cake. Sarah (music subcommittee) explores several hymns that are appropriate for confirmation, including “Christ Be My Leader” and “Shepherd of Tender Youth.” Finally, Rachel (subcommittee for interesting conversation) ends the episode with a short Trivia Challenge on the history of confirmation.

Sources referenced in Rachel’s Trivia Challenge:

• John M. Brenner, “A Brief Study of Confirmation” (BrennerConfirmation.pdf (wisluthsem.org))
• A History of Confirmation - About Catholics
• The History and Development of the Sacrament of… | Loyola Press
• Sacraments? Baptism? Confirmation? - The Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville (pclawrenceville.org)
• What do I need to know about confirmation in the UMC?
• Confirmation Facts for Kids (kiddle.co)
• The Recovery of Memorization in Confirmation: A Study of Junior Confirmation at Concordia Lutheran Church, Geneseo, Illinois (lutherancatechism.com)
• The Confirmation Slap | Latin Mass Society (lms.org.uk)

Learn more about Sharathon 2024 and give now at kfuo.org/sharathon.

Connect with the Lutheran Ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) and on Instagram @lutheranladieslounge. Follow Sarah (@hymnnerd), Rachel (@rachbomberger), and Erin (@erinaltered) on Instagram!

Sign up for the Lutheran Ladies' Lounge monthly e-newsletter here, and email the Ladies at [email protected].

We’re back in class, ladies!

Once again, Sarah’s sharing study notes from her graduate courses at Concordia University Irvine’s Townsend Institute for Counseling and Leadership. In this insightful episode, she covers:

• How great teamwork skills relate to the Body of Christ
• Pat Lencioni’s Working Genius model for productivity
• How a productivity model applies to everything from marriage, to church council, to homeschool co-ops

"I think the most beautiful part about this is how Lencioni frames the [Working Genius] model,” Sarah says. “He specifically talks about the geniuses as the things God has gifted you to do, how He has wired you. I’ve talked about this before in several places, about recognizing the gifts God has given and not given to us, and using those gifts to the best of our abilities. This fits so beautifully with our description of the Body of Christ, that each of us in individually gifted with ways to serve each other within the unity of the Body. So this assessment gives us insight into how God has wired us so we can lean into the spaces that are our strengths, and uplift others in the spaces that are not our strengths but someone else’s strength.”

Find the Working Genius podcast, book, assessment, and insights at workinggenius.com.

For even more from Pat Lencioni, including the Table Group podcast, visit tablegroup.com.

Click to learn more about CUI’s Townsend Institute for Counseling and Leadership.

Connect with the Lutheran Ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) and on Instagram @lutheranladieslounge. Follow Sarah (@hymnnerd), Rachel (@rachbomberger), and Erin (@erinaltered) on Instagram!

Sign up for the Lutheran Ladies' Lounge monthly e-newsletter here, and email the Ladies at [email protected].

It’s a HAM-ERGENCY!

Easter Sunday is over and done — but what's a Lutheran lady to do with all that leftover ham?

In this Iron Ladle Challenge, Sarah, Erin, and Rachel (together with dozens of ladies from the Lutheran Ladies Lounge Facebook group) are coming to the rescue, with a smorgasbord of recipe ideas all involving ham.

Will you use your leftover ham in savory Cuban sandwiches? Fluffy crustless quiche? Hawaiian-inspired ham musubi? Ham empanadas? Korean bahn mi sandwiches? Ham-and-bean soup? Ham-and-potato casserole? Devilled ham? Ham salad? Ham balls? Whatever recipe you choose, the fridge (and the table) will be empty when you’re done.

Cuban Sandwich (Sarah's Favorite)

For a full recipe, see seriouseats.com/cuban-sandwich-recipe.

• Cuban bread (can be substituted with French bread)
• Mayo
• Mustard
• Ham
• Mojo roasted/pulled pork
• Swiss cheese
• Salami (optional)
• Dill pickles

Can be hot-pressed for an even better eating experience.

Rachel’s Fluffy Ham-and-Cheese Quiche

Begin with Crustless Quiche - Ham and Cheese | RecipeTin Eats

Adjustments:

• Grease pans with bacon grease
• Use cream for sure (not milk)
• Use six eggs per quiche (not four)
• Do not feel limited to just two cups of add-ins. So long as one cup is cheese, you can add extra “add-ins” — sauteed onions, green peppers, kale, mushrooms, asparagus (so many options) — without ruining the quiche

HAMBALLS AND SAUCE, from Cristin Otte and Ann Otte (in a church cookbook, via Debbie Larson)

For the ham balls:

• 1 lb. ground ham
• 2 lbs. hamburger
• 3/4 c. bread crumbs
• 3/4 c. graham cracker crumbs
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 can tomato soup
• 3/4 c. water

For the sauce:

• 2 cans tomato soup
• 1/2 c. water
• 4 T. brown sugar
• 4 T. vinegar
• 2 T. mustard

Mix the ham ball ingredients together and form into balls. Mix the sauce ingredients and pour over balls. Bake at 325 to 350 degrees for 1 ½ to 2 hours.

A variation on this from Victoria Maaske: Ham balls meatloaf style with a ketchup and grape jam sauce.

More HAM-ERGENCY recipes:

• Ham Loaf- https://www.spendwithpennies.com/glazed-ham-loaf/
• Masubi- (sub ham for spam) https://omnivorescookbook.com/spam-musubi/
• Kimbap- korean seaweed rice rolls- https://mykoreankitchen.com/easy-kimbap/
• Bahn Mi- vietnamese sandwiches- https://omnivorescookbook.com/ham-banh-mi/
• Vegetable hash- (sub diced ham for pancetta) https://smittenkitchen.com/2010/05/spring-asparagus-pancetta-hash/
• Baked ham and dijon sandwich-https://www.food.com/recipe/easy-delicious-ham-and-dijon-sandwiches-108947
• Ham empanada recipe from Uruguay. But they are in spanish, so you will need to be clever if you want to make them.

Connect with the Lutheran Ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) and on Instagram @lutheranladieslounge. Follow Sarah (@hymnnerd), Rachel (@rachbomberger), and Erin (@erinaltered) on Instagram!

Sign up for the Lutheran Ladies' Lounge monthly e-newsletter here, and email the Ladies at [email protected].

As an aid to Good Friday meditation and devotion, the Ladies once again welcome listener contributions in a new “Write This:” creative challenge, this time inviting their fellow Lutheran ladies to compose additional stanzas to the beloved Passion hymn “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded.”

Beginning with a brief account of how the hymn came to be and its connection to the Lutheran worship tradition, Sarah, Erin, and Rachel then read and sing their way through 14 listener submissions and several of their own.

Follow us on Instagram (instagram.com/lutheranladieslounge) or check our Facebook group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) to read and ponder the text of all twenty new hymn stanzas this Holy Week.

Click to read more about “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded” at hymnary.org.

Connect with the Lutheran Ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) and on Instagram @lutheranladieslounge. Follow Sarah (@hymnnerd), Rachel (@rachbomberger), and Erin (@erinaltered) on Instagram!

Sign up for the Lutheran Ladies' Lounge monthly e-newsletter here, and email the Ladies at [email protected].

Justine Siegemund (born Justine Diettrich; 26 December 1636 – 10 November 1705) was a groundbreaking midwife whose illustrated medical book The Court Midwife (1690), was the first German medical text authored by a woman.

In this episode, Sarah tells her story.

Born in Silesia as the daughter of Lutheran minister, Justine married age 19 but was unable to bear children. Her own struggles with infertility and a prolapsed uterus led her to study obstetrics and become a midwife — eventually delivering almost 6,200 infants in her 42-year career and serving as court midwife to several German princely families. Her inspiring story teaches us not only to value life but also to find purpose in the obstacles we face.

For further reading:

• The Court Midwife from The University of Chicago Press press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/C/bo3620306.html
• Google Doodle for Justine Siegemund: doodles.google/doodle/celebrating-justine-siegemund
• Wikipedia entry: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justine_Siegemund
• Justina Siegemund and the Art of Midwifery Journal Article ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2791243
• Center for Women's Health entry: ohsu.edu/womens-health/women-who-inspire-us-justine-siegemund
• Brooklyn Museum entry: brooklynmuseum.org/eascfa/dinner_party/heritage_floor/justine_dietrich
• Health Savvy Blog entry: healthsavvyblog.medium.com/justine-siegemund-the-lasting-legacy-of-the-unsung-trailblazer-of-midwifery-b9f29f5534f5

Connect with the Lutheran Ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) and on Instagram @lutheranladieslounge. Follow Sarah (@hymnnerd), Rachel (@rachbomberger), and Erin (@erinaltered) on Instagram!

Sign up for the Lutheran Ladies' Lounge monthly e-newsletter here, and email the Ladies at [email protected].

This week, the Ladies are rolling out a brand-new interview series: Mother + Daughter. Each of these conversations will feature a different pair of Lutheran women who are joined not only by the closest bonds of kinship but also by the fellowship they share as Lutheran sisters in Christ.

In the first of these conversations, we welcome Cheryl and Caitlin Magness.

Cheryl Magness is managing editor of Reporter, the official newspaper of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Her writing has also appeared in publications including The Federalist, Touchstone and The Lutheran Witness. Caitlin Magness is a manager in the food services industry, a graduate student completing her master's degree in library science, and a self-published novelist. Cheryl and Caitlin currently share a home and are both active members of Village Lutheran Church in Ladue, Missouri.

How can mothers and daughters navigate a young woman’s transition from childhood to adulthood? How can they model mutually supportive interactions both in person and online? What strategies help keep tension from taking over in a multigenerational home? What does it look like when two very different writers live under one roof?

Click to read Cheryl Magness’s most recent contributions to Reporter.

Connect with the Lutheran Ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) and on Instagram @lutheranladieslounge. Follow Sarah (@hymnnerd), Rachel (@rachbomberger), and Erin (@erinaltered) on Instagram!

Sign up for the Lutheran Ladies' Lounge monthly e-newsletter here, and email the Ladies at [email protected].

This week, the Ladies are reviving an old segment from the early days of the show: “How to Lutheran,” an exploration of distinctive aspects of Lutheran life that are so familiar as to be almost unnoticed. This week, Rachel’s looking at table prayers: Why do we say them? Which ones do we pray? What’s so distinctively Lutheran about the way Lutherans say grace? And what’s so “common” about the so-called “Common Table Prayer.”

“It is, then, a good and worthy practice to pray before and after meals,” says Rachel. “All our ‘daily bread’ ultimately comes from God, and it’s appropriate to acknowledge this reality out loud and thank Him for His gifts."

Resources referenced in this episode include:

• Who Wrote the Common Table Prayer? – The Lutheran Witness (lcms.org)
• Come, Lord Jesus – The Lutheran Witness (lcms.org) (Gene Veith, 2021)
• Come, Lord Jesus – The Lutheran Witness (lcms.org) (David Loy, 2011)
• Letting these gifts be blessed – The Lutheran Witness (lcms.org) (Emily Olson, 2018)
• Praying Before A Meal: Does The Bible Say We Have To? - Pray With Confidence
• Pre-meal Prayer: John Crist's Official Rules (youtube.com)
• Luther’s Small Catechism by Dr. Martin Luther (cph.org)
• Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest (Sung to Tallis' Canon) - A Common Table Prayer (youtube.com)

Connect with the Lutheran Ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) and on Instagram @lutheranladieslounge. Follow Sarah (@hymnnerd), Rachel (@rachbomberger), and Erin (@erinaltered) on Instagram!

Sign up for the Lutheran Ladies' Lounge monthly e-newsletter here, and email the Ladies at [email protected].

Unsurprisingly, Lutheran Service Book contains a substantial collection of “Trust” hymns — and also unsurprisingly, many of those hymns are dearly loved by Lutheran ladies.

In this Hymn Sing with Sarah episode, Sarah tells the stories of over a dozen different trust-based hymns, a list informed by listener polls conducted earlier in the Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group.

Lyrics featured include “Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart (LSB 708), “Jesus Savior, Pilot Me (LSB 715), “Jesus Lead Thou On” (LSB 718), “How Firm a Foundation” (LSB 728), “I Am Trusting Thee, Lord Jesus” (LSB 729), “O God, Our Help in Ages Past” (LSB 733), “Precious Lord, Take My Hand” (LSB 739), and “I Am Jesus’ Little Lamb” (LSB 740).

“These hymns confess what God promises to provide for us,” says Sarah. “They talk about how God will provide for us, how he forgives our sins, rescues us from death and the devil, gives us eternal life, and promises to be always with us. They also confess that nothing can separate us from God. We are His children, and literally nothing can take that away from us. There’s a reason they are favorites.”

Stay tuned at the end for a 2021 performance of “Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart” by the Concordia Seminary Choir (including Sarah Gulseth) with Dr. Jim Marriott on the organ. (Used with permission.)

Links mentioned:

• "Trust Hymn" Facebook Group Poll facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge/posts/7257427070985875
• Hymn Sing with Sarah Episodes
• Good Shepherd Sunday kfuo.org/2022/05/06/lutheran-ladies-lounge-episode-136-hymn-sing-with-sarah-good-shepherd-sunday
• Hymns for the Nation kfuo.org/2022/07/01/lutheran-ladies-lounge-episode-144-hymn-sing-with-sarah-hymns-for-the-nation
• Two Year Anniversary Great Moments in Lutheran Lady History kfuo.org/2021/09/24/lutheran-ladies-lounge-episode-104-two-year-anniversary-great-moments-in-lutheran-lady-history
• Jesus Savior Pilot Me arranged by Jonathan Kohrs youtube.com/watch?v=Hvo4eQ8fNC8

Featured audio:

View the entire video here: youtube.com/watch?v=hSPDYsXpcWA

Lutheran Service Book 708 "Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart"

Performed by the Concordia Seminary Choir, conducted by Dr. Jim Marriott.

Organ by Dr. Jim Marriott.

Audio performance used with permission.

Text and Tune: Public Domain

Setting: © 1950 Bärenreiter. Used with permission.

Connect with the Lutheran Ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) and on Instagram @lutheranladieslounge. Follow Sarah (@hymnnerd), Rachel (@rachbomberger), and Erin (@erinaltered) on Instagram!

Sign up for the Lutheran Ladies' Lounge monthly e-newsletter here, and email the Ladies at [email protected].

The Rev. Dr. John Kleinig is emeritus lecturer at Luther College, Adelaide, South Australia, and author of several books on Lutheran theology and spirituality, including Grace upon Grace, Wonderfully Made, and the volume on Prayer in the Lutheran Spirituality Series. In this warm and pastoral Kitchen Table Talk conversation, Dr. Kleinig answers vital questions on prayer from a biblical Lutheran perspective.

What is prayer? What different forms does it take? Is there such a thing as a “Lutheran rosary”? How does Christ teach us to pray, even today, through His Word? What does it really mean to pray “in Jesus’ name”?

For further reading, check out the following books by Dr. Kleinig, which were referenced in the episode:

• Lutheran Spirituality: Prayer
• Grace upon Grace: Spirituality for Today
• Wonderfully Made: A Protestant Theology of the Body

For further listening, check out our Lutheran Ladies’ Book Club discussion of Wonderfully Made.

Connect with the Lutheran Ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) and on Instagram @lutheranladieslounge. Follow Sarah (@hymnnerd), Rachel (@rachbomberger), and Erin (@erinaltered) on Instagram!

Sign up for the Lutheran Ladies' Lounge monthly e-newsletter here, and email the Ladies at [email protected].

How much do you know about Valentine’s Day? In her latest trivia challenge, Rachel’s quizzing the Ladies on the holiday that everyone seems to love (or hate, or not actually care about ... as Rachel says, “There are only really three options.”).

Was Saint Valentine real? What’s his story? Is it romantic? If now, where did all the lovey-dovey stuff come from? (Hint: the answer will probably surprise you.) And what, exactly, do postage stamps, black noodles, cow hugging, and riots all have to do with Valentine’s Day?

Resources referenced in this episode include:

• Valentine's Day - Wikipedia
• St. Valentine - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online
• The Love Birds of Valentine's Day - JSTOR Daily
• The young men and maids delight; or, the new English valentine writer; containing a variety of verses ... To which is added several new songs ... 1787
• Valentine’s Day: Countries Where It’s Illegal to Celebrate Season of Love and Why
• Parents' Worship Day - Wikipedia
• Commemorations - Church Year - The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (lcms.org)

Connect with the Lutheran Ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) and on Instagram @lutheranladieslounge. Follow Sarah (@hymnnerd), Rachel (@rachbomberger), and Erin (@erinaltered) on Instagram!

Sign up for the Lutheran Ladies' Lounge monthly e-newsletter here, and email the Ladies at [email protected].