The Lutheran Ladies' Lounge from KFUO Radio

Theology meets epidemiology in the latest round of Rachel’s Trivia Challenge.

Drawing on two millennia of church and world history, Rachel quizzes the ladies on the long and complicated relationship between Christians and plagues. The resulting “grand tour of life in the midst of death” reveals clearly that in a grand, cosmic sense, there is nothing very “novel” about the coronavirus pandemic — and that when it comes to sharing Christ’s love and compassion with our neighbors in a time of contagion, this is #notourfirstrodeo.

Click to read Lyman Stone’s foreignpolicy.com article (which has been retitled since this episode was recorded) “Christianity Has Been Handling Epidemics for 2000 Years”; follow Lyman Stone on Twitter; read Martin Luther’s essay “Whether One May Flee From a Deadly Plague”; check out Rodney Stark’s comments on Early Christian interventions and plague mortality rates; read Katie Luther’s loving remembrance of her daughter Elizabeth; and read Warren Schmidt’s Lutheran Heritage Center article “Summer of Death — 170 Years Ago.”

Q: How’s everyone feeling?

In this special episode on living as a Lutheran in the time of coronavirus, Bri leads the Ladies through a series of questions and talking points on how to survive and (maybe) even thrive while enduring the many government-mandated community-wide lockdowns now in place around the country.

How can Lutheran churches continue to bless their communities when they can’t even open their doors? How can Lutheran women — alone, yet together — support their churches and each other while they responsibly practice social distancing and self-isolation at home? How can Christians everywhere use this time to become better stewards of their God-given bodies, minds, and spirits?

The answers to questions like these may not always surprise you, but they will nonetheless inspire and uplift you as you listen. No matter how you’re feeling going in to the episode, you may find yourself more hopeful and encouraged coming out.

Connect with the Lutheran ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) and follow Sarah (@mrsbaseballpants), Rachel (@rachbomberger), Erin (@erin.alter), and Bri (@grrrzevske) on Instagram.

“Surely he has borne our griefs

and carried our sorrows;

yet we esteemed him stricken,

smitten by God, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions;

he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

and with his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:4-5 ESV)

In this special Holy Week episode of The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge, Sarah presents hymns and scripture readings as we meditate on the suffering and death of Christ for our sins. Many thanks to Rev. Sean Daenzer, Peter Slayton, and Erin Alter for lending their voices to this episode.

Connect with the Lutheran ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) and follow Sarah (@mrsbaseballpants), Rachel (@rachbomberger), Erin (@erin.alter), and Bri (@grrrzevske) on Instagram.

Ever wonder what happens to church rummage sale leftovers after they get dropped off at a local donation center? If so, you’re not alone.

Dozens of women recently participated in a stimulating online exchange around the second Lutheran Ladies’ Book Club pick: Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale, and in this book club recap episode of the podcast, Sarah, Erin, Bri, and Rachel take their own turn at discussing and digesting some of the many compelling facts and insights found in Adam Minter’s book.

Why is “stuff” so key to our sense of identity? Why do we want so badly for other people to value our castoffs? How might our buying and purging choices today potentially either bless or burden someone half a world away from us? And how can taking an honest look at our relationship with our belongings (and with consumer goods in general) help us better learn to trust in God for everything?

At the end of the episode, they announce the next Lutheran Ladies’ Book Club’s pick: Katherine Patterson’s young-adult novel Jacob Have I Loved.

Connect with the Lutheran ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) and follow Sarah (@mrsbaseballpants), Rachel (@rachbomberger), Erin (@erin.alter), and Bri (@grrrzevske) on Instagram.

Q: When is a dessert not a dessert?

A: When you call it a dressing and serve it as a side!

In the latest installment of Erin’s Recipe Card, Erin introduces Rachel and Bri to the buttery, sweet-and-savory goodness of pineapple dressing.

Pair it with ham or pork loin for Easter dinner, or add bacon and brown sugar to tailor-bake a tasty twist on the Easter brunch casserole. Either way, the pan is sure to be empty at the end of the meal (as Erin’s on-air taste-testers can whole-heartedly testify).

Pineapple Dressing recipe

½ cup butter

1 cup sugar

4 eggs

1 cup crushed pineapple

5-6 slices of bread, cubed

– Cream butter, sugar, and eggs. Stir in pineapple, fold in bread cubes.

– Bake uncovered in 1.5 quart casserole at 350° for 1 hour.

– Delicious with ham!

Discover more of Erin’s tasty, church-lady-approved recipes 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 follow Sarah (@mrsbaseballpants), Rachel (@rachbomberger), Erin (@erin.alter), and Bri (@grrrzevske) on Instagram.

It’s time once again to finalize the next pick for the Lutheran Ladies’ Book Club! Will Sarah, Erin, and Bri choose “literary fiction involving sisters”? Or will they go for “cultural criticism for a post-Christian society”?

Listen in to this Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge short to hear which book they (and hopefully you!) will be reading next.

Members of the Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge group on Facebook can watch the events page for a chance to RSVP to the next book club discussion, coming in May, 2020.

Connect with the Lutheran ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) and follow Sarah (@mrsbaseballpants), Rachel (@rachbomberger), Erin (@erin.alter), and Bri (@grrrzevske) on Instagram.

Which are the greatest Lutheran Lenten hymns?

In this episode, the Lutheran Ladies share their favorite Lenten hymns and discuss the results of a recent poll in the Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook poll. Resident #hymnnerd Sarah then tells the stories behind the creation of two of Lutheranism’s most beloved hymns: “My Song Is Love Unknown” (text by Samuel Crossman) and “O Sacred Head Now Wounded” (text by Paul Gerhardt).

“Our favorites tend to be driven by emotion and memories,” says Sarah. “… and I don’t think there’s anything necessarily wrong with that. All of the Lenten hymns in our hymnal, they all have great texts. They all point you to Christ; they all point you to His suffering and death for our sins.”

Click to learn more about Samuel Crossman, Paul Gerhardt, the poems of George Herbert or the (#hymnnerd-approved!) two-volume Lutheran Service Book: Companion to the Hymns, new from CPH.

The Lutheran Ladies would also like to take this opportunity to remind listeners that — even if singing hymns together in church is off limits at the moment — Lenten hymns make wonderful devotional texts, and singing them alone or with others in your household can raise spirits and turn hearts to the cross.

Connect with the Lutheran Ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) and follow Sarah (@mrsbaseballpants), Rachel (@rachbomberger), Erin (@erin.alter), and Bri (@grrrzevske) on Instagram.

The Lutheran Ladies Erin Alter, Bri Gerzevske, and Rachel Bomberger, join Sarah on this special Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge takeover episode of The Coffee Hour to share how the Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge podcast was created, the community that has been created by this endeavor, and their own favorite Lutheran women in honor of Women’s History Month. Find the podcast at kfuo.org/lutheranladieslounge or wherever you listen to podcasts. Find The Coffee Hour podcast, co-hosted by Sarah Gulseth and Andy Bates, at kfuo.org/thecoffeehour.

The Lutheran Ladies Lounge is a podcast produced by KFUO Radio and hosted by Sarah Gulseth, Erin Alter, Rachel Bomberger, and Bri Gerzevske. Created for Lutheran ladies to have a place to escape to with inviting conversations, laughter, and fellowship with Lutheran sisters, we invite all of you Lutheran ladies to join Sarah, Erin, Rachel, and Bri on the sofa in the Lutheran Ladies Lounge to sit, rest your feet, and stay a while. If you’re a Lutheran lady, join us in our Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge.

Have you ever noticed how much tension can surround the idea of Lutheran Lenten fasting? “Giving up something” for the season is a popular and oft-touted practice, but is it necessary? And if it isn’t necessary, what’s the point?

These are just a few of the questions the Lutheran Ladies tackle in their honest and wide-ranging conversation (led by “How to Lutheran” segment host Bri) about the whys and wherefores of Lenten fasting. Whether you don’t fast for Lent (but are curious to know why others do) or do fast for Lent (but are curious to know why others abstain), you’ll find food for thought here to challenge and enrich your understanding of Lenten discipline.

Click to learn more about the March issue of The Lutheran Witness (mentioned in the episode), which explores fasting in Lutheran perspective.

Connect with the Lutheran ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) and follow Sarah (@mrsbaseballpants), Rachel (@rachbomberger), Erin (@erin.alter), and Bri (@grrrzevske) on Instagram.

“What should we be talking about that we’re not?”

In the latest installment of “Erin’s One-Question Interview,” Sarah, Erin, Bri, and Rachel welcome special guest Heidi Goehmann into the Lounge to talk about mental health in the church — and, most especially, what it means to give and receive empathy.

Deaconess Heidi Goehmann is a licensed clinical social worker who writes and advocates around the topics of mental health, relationships, and Jesus. She hosts the Life in Relationship podcast and the Heidi Goehmann Writes YouTube channel, is a regular “Mental Health Mondays” guest on KFUO Radio’s Coffee Hour program, and has published several books and studies with CPH, including Altogether Beautiful and, most recently, The Mighty & the Mysterious: A Study of Colossians. Learn more at heidigoehmann.com.

Connect with the Lutheran ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) and follow Sarah (@mrsbaseballpants), Rachel (@rachbomberger), Erin (@erin.alter), and Bri (@grrrzevske) on Instagram.