With midterm elections just around the corner—and voters faithfully contemplating the many post-Roe v. Wade candidates and referenda on their respective ballots—the Ladies welcome Donna Harrison, MD, to the Lounge for a heartfelt, hard-hitting conversation about abortion and women’s health.

Dr. Harrison is a board-certified physician specializing in obstetrics and gynecology who currently serves as CEO of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG). A committed LCMS Lutheran, she is also the mother of five living children and grandmother of ten.

Click to learn more about AAPLOG; to follow AAPLOG on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube; or to listen to their limited-series podcast The Post-Roe Review. You can also download their helpful and informative document “Myth vs. Fact: Correcting Misinformation on Maternal Medical Care.”

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), Erin (@erinaltered), and Bri (@grrrzevske) on Instagram!

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

Just in time for Stewardship Sunday, the Ladies tackle the thorny subject of personal finance in Lutheran perspective … well, sort of.

For this Adventure in Lutheranism, Bri digs deep into her past to dig up a core memory of Tracky, a 90s-era mascot of the Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF) designed to get kids excited about investing their quarters in the work of the church. Is Tracky really real, or did Bri dream the whole thing?

Along the way, Bri, Sarah, Erin, and Rachel also discuss LCEF’s current Young Investors Club and the value of solid stewardship education in uncertain economic times.

To learn more, check out LCEF’s Young Investors Club and Young Investors Stamp Program.

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), Erin (@erinaltered), and Bri (@grrrzevske) on Instagram!

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

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and to help navigate the rocky waters of this challenging topic, Erin has invited Sandra (Ostapowich) Madden into the Lounge for a One-Question Interview.

This episode’s hot question:

What aren’t Lutheran ladies talking about when it comes to domestic violence that we should be?

Sandra (Ostapowich) Madden is a farmer, accountant, Lutheran lady, and survivor of domestic violence. Previously, she served on the LCMS Task Force for Domestic Violence, where she authored You Are Not Alone: A Prayer Book for Victims of Domestic Violence and was a contributor to Identify, Understand, Intervene: Training Manual for Domestic Violence. She also worked for many years with Higher Things.

For additional (non-LCMS) resources from Sandra Madden on surviving domestic violence and creating healthy marriages, check out:

• Hope for Hurting Wives
• Intentional Today

If you or someone you love is in an abusive relationship, help is available. Call the Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233. You can also text “start” to 88788 or chat live at thehotline.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), Erin (@erinaltered), and Bri (@grrrzevske) on Instagram!

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

It’s an Adventure in Lutheranism for the whole family, as Rachel takes the Ladies on an epic vicarious vacation to Camp Arcadia on the coast of Lake Michigan.

From the pros (Scenery! Bible study! Family dodgeball!) to the cons (Open tabs! Shared bathrooms!) and everything in between, Rachel spills the beans on what it’s like to be a forty-something mother of four living the dream at Lutheran summer camp.

Click to learn more about Camp Arcadia, revisit our previous episode on NLOMA (National Lutheran Outdoor Ministry Association) camps, or find a NLOMA camp near you.

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), Erin (@erinaltered), and Bri (@grrrzevske) on Instagram!

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

Happy third anniversary to the Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge podcast!

To commemorate the festive occasion, Sarah, Erin, Bri, and Rachel throw an audio Arch Book party, spotlighting Concordia Publishing House’s classic series of picture book Bible stories as they try their hands at writing their own rhyming Bible narratives.

The only trouble? Nearly all the obvious Bible stories have already been made into Arch Books in the last fifty-plus years (some of them several times over). Listen and laugh as the intrepid Ladies scrape the bottom of the proverbial barrel, seeking out the handful of stories and angles that haven’t yet been adapted into Arch Books.

Listen to Rachel recount the story of “Eutychus and the Really Long Sermon” from Acts 20, and hear Erin reflect on the thankless job of Old Testament prophet in “Truthful, not Nice.” Sarah gets a little messy with her rendition of “Ezekiel and the Bad News for Jerusalem,” and Bri digs deep to tell the not-quite-G-rated tale of “Deborah and Barak, Jael and Sisera.”

Click to learn more about or order Arch Books, or to subscribe to CPH’s Family Arch Book Club.

If you happened to miss our first two anniversary podcast episodes, check out our first anniversary Shoebox Extravaganza and our second anniversary commemoration of Great Moments in Lutheran Lady History.

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), Erin (@erinaltered), and Bri (@grrrzevske) on Instagram!

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

It’s Hispanic Heritage Month, and to celebrate, Sarah’s leading a special Hymn Sing episode on Himnario Luterano, the new Lutheran hymnal for the Spanish-speaking world.

This episode features information and anecdotes from key figures involved in the creation of this comprehensive worship resource, including the Rev. Ted Krey (Regional Director for LCMS International Mission, Latin America and Caribbean Region), the Rev. Sergio Fritzler (hymnal committee member), Deaconess Sandra Rhein (Sacred Music Educator, Asia Region with LCMS International Mission), the Rev. German Novelli-Oliveros (Outgoing President of the National Hispanic Convention), the Rev. Nathan Sherrill (Executive Director of David’s Harp), Deaconess Cheryl Naumann (Missionary / Director of the VDMA with LCMS International Mission), and the Rev. Dr. Jon Vieker (Dean of Chapel at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis).

At the end of the episode, listeners can enjoy a brief musical performance by the Krey family, showcasing two hymns from Himnario Luterano.

To learn more about the people, resources, and topics covered in this episode, check out the following:

• Himnario Luterano online
• LCMS International Mission, Latin America and Caribbean Region
• The Lutheran Heritage Foundation (request a Spanish hymnal here)
• Seminario Concordia El Reformador (LCMS-affiliated seminary in the Dominican Republic)
• David’s Harp

View videos of singing from the new hymnal in the show notes at kfuo.org/lutheranladieslounge.

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), Erin (@erinaltered), and Bri (@grrrzevske) on Instagram!

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

In this excerpt from their September 9 book club recap episode, the Ladies announce their next pick for the Lutheran Ladies’ Book Club: Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead: A Novel.

From the publisher:

“John Ames is a preacher, the son of a preacher and the grandson (both maternal and paternal) of preachers. It’s 1956 in Gilead, Iowa, towards the end of the Reverend Ames’s life, and he is absorbed in recording his family’s story, a legacy for the young son he will never see grow up. Haunted by his grandfather’s presence, John tells of the rift between his grandfather and his father: the elder, an angry visionary who fought for the abolitionist cause, and his son, an ardent pacifist. He is troubled, too, by his prodigal namesake, Jack (John Ames) Boughton, his best friend’s lost son who returns to Gilead searching for forgiveness and redemption. Told in John Ames’s joyous, rambling voice that finds beauty, humour and truth in the smallest of life’s details, Gilead is a song of celebration and acceptance of the best and the worst the world has to offer. At its heart is a tale of the sacred bonds between fathers and sons, pitch-perfect in style and story, set to dazzle critics and readers alike.”

Click to learn more about Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead, to see a list of previous Lutheran Ladies’ Book Club picks and runners up, or to revisit past online book club events in the Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook group.

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), Erin (@erinaltered), and Bri (@grrrzevske) on Instagram!

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

In this Lutheran Ladies’ Book Club recap episode, Rachel leads Sarah, Erin, and Bri in a warm and enthusiastic discussion of Edna Hong’s Bright Valley of Love, “the true story of a handicapped child who finds a haven of love in the nightmare of Nazi Germany.”

Where does true joy come from? What ultimately makes a human life worth living? How does God's grace free us to live fully in the moment? What can faithful Christians of the past teach us about good and bad ways to combat great evil?

Readers and listeners will come away with a fresh perspective on the sanctity of human life—especially within the context of severe disability—and a renewed will to cherish the dignity and worth of the most vulnerable among us.

Listen till the end to hear an announcement of the next Lutheran Ladies’ Book Club pick: Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead: A Novel.

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), Erin (@erinaltered), and Bri (@grrrzevske) on Instagram!

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

September is “back-to-school” season for young people in general—and “back-to-Sunday-School” season for many young Lutherans in particular.

In this latest “Adventure in Lutheranism,” the Ladies tackle that venerable (though not universal) Protestant Sunday-school tradition: Rally Day, which gathers children and families back after a summer away for the launch of the new Sunday school year. Bri leads the conversation, diving through the murky waters of history in an attempt to understand both how this annual celebration got its start and how it is commonly practiced in churches today.

To learn more, check out the article on Rally Day (referenced by Bri in the episode) in the Congregational Library and Archives’s Beacon Street Diary blog.

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), Erin (@erinaltered), and Bri (@grrrzevske) on Instagram!

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

Few Lutherans have never laid eyes on a Portals of Prayer devotional booklet, yet how much do you know about its 87-year history?

In this "Story Time with Sarah" episode, Sarah presents original primary source research on these timeless devotional booklets commissioned in 1935 by the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States to provide members of the Synod with short daily devotions, interestingly written, at an affordable price. Stroll through the timeline of these ubiquitous volumes published by Concordia Publishing House to hear tidbits of history, including the first set of authors, partnership with KFUO Radio for audio recordings, the first Lutheran Lady to write for Portals of Prayer, and formatting successes (and otherwise) throughout the years.

At the end, Sarah shares stories from Lutheran Ladies about their own poignant, nostalgic, practical, or otherwise hilarious adventures with Portals of Prayer booklets.

The resources in this episode include:

• CPH.org/Portals - your one-stop-shop for Portals of Prayer
• 75 Years of Portals of Prayer available from CPH
• Portals of Prayer Devotional Bible available from CPH
• Lutheran Braille Workers - to request Braille Portals of Prayer and other Lutheran Braille materials.
• Walter Loeber's story of his time with KFUO Radio's Extension Service
• The story of Alma Kern from LWML
• And, if you're in the Lutheran Ladies' Lounge Facebook group, read ALL of the stories from the Ladies here!

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), Erin (@erinaltered), and Bri (@grrrzevske) on Instagram!

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