The Lutheran Ladies' Lounge from KFUO Radio

As the weather warms up and the sun grows brighter and hotter, Rachel’s taking the opportunity to ask a big question that turns out to be just a little more controversial than one might expect:

Should I line dry my clothes?

Beginning with a quick survey of the history of laundry drying techniques and traditions, Rachel then looks how and why American housewives made the transition from “drying greens” and clotheslines to gas or electric tumble dryers — and how the “right-to-dry" movement in the 2000s and 2010s marked a resurgence in popularity for the humble, affordable, counter-cultural, and even occasionally illegal clothesline.

Resources referenced in this episode include:

• Old and Interesting: History of Laundry
• Ronald Reagan " Live Better Electrically" comercial de "GE Theatre"
• "Live Better Electrically" commercial from "GE Theatre" (1950s)
• Organic Housekeeping: In Which the Non-Toxic Avenger Shows You How to ... - Ellen Sandbeck - Google Books
• Clothes line - Wikipedia
• Drying for Freedom - Drying For Freedom Official Trailer 1 | IMDb

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].

In honor of the Feast of the Ascension, the Ladies are once again welcoming listener submissions for a Write This challenge — this time based around the Venerable Bede’s eighth-century lyric “A Hymn of Glory Let Us Sing.”

Featuring 25 original hymn verses— covering Easter, the Ascension, the Sacraments, and more — from 15 creative contributors, this episode will inspire and deepen devotion as Christians everywhere prepare to celebrate one of the church's most ancient holy days.

For a good chuckle, check out Rowan Atkinson’s character Mr. Bean struggling with the peculiar meter of this beloved hymn tune.

To learn more about the historic names for Easter and read their respective introits in the one-year lectionary, visit the Lutheran Lectionary website.

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].

What have you always wanted to know about LCMS International Missions (but were maybe afraid to ask)?

In this second International Missions 101 conversation, Erin draws on insights from her day job as Director of Short-term Mission for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod to answer common questions about how the LCMS equips and sends missionaries and engages in missions throughout the world.

How does the LCMS do missions? What is the central focus and goal of all mission activities? How do we decide where to plant new missions? What kinds of people become missionaries (are they all pastors?), and what kind of work do they do?

To learn more, check out the following links:

• International Mission – The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
• LCMS International Mission Facebook Page
• How you can serve: Missionary Service – The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
• Short-term mission opportunities: Serve Now – Mission service opportunities
• Erin’s *other* podcast: 5 Minutes with a Missionary Archives – KFUO Radio
• Coffee Hour episodes with missionaries: Short Term Mission Stories

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].

Do infants have saving faith? Can they be counted as full members of the Body of Christ?

These are some of the thorniest questions Christian parents and grandparents face, especially since they tend to arise at some of life's most painful moments: after miscarriage, in cases of extreme disability, or when a child has tragically died before Baptism.

In this Kitchen Table Talk conversation, Chaplain Sean Daenzer returns to the Lounge to offer theological hope and comfort for those agonizing over these kinds of questions — comfort based not on human reason or empirical evidence, but on the sure Word of God.

How do infants and young children figure into the Kingdom of God? What role does Baptism play in salvation? How have nonbiblical concepts like “limbo” and the so-called “age of accountability” shaped how our culture thinks and talks about infant salvation? And how, given all that Scripture says about infant belief, can parents from conception onward begin passing on the faith to their prenatal and infant children?

Find a Pregnancy Loss Resources List downloadable PDF 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), and Erin (@erinaltered) on Instagram!

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

“Hello, judges, my name is Rachel Bomberger, and I’ll be your next podcast speaker today. My timer is set for 0:00, counting. If all my judges are ready ...? Great. Then let’s begin ...”

In this Adventures in Lutheranism (Homeschool Edition) episode, Rachel introduces Sarah and Erin to the world of competitive speech and debate and shares the story of her own family’s ongoing involvement with the NCFCA Christian Speech and Debate.

Beginning with an overview of the various speech and debate events and what it’s like to attend a tournament in person, Rachel then answers Sarah and Erin’s specific questions (“How is this part of the kids’ education?,” “What's the craziest thing they've had to debate?,” and the like). At the end of the episode, she puts her cohosts on the spot and challenges them to an on-air impromptu speech round.

To learn more about the two most prominent Christian homeschool speech and debate leagues, visit the links below:

• NCFCA, National Christian Forensics & Communications Association
• HOME | StoaUSA

Correction: Since time of recording, NCFCA has announced that they will discontinue moot court in future seasons.

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].

Birgitte Katerine Boye (1742–1824) was a prolific and accomplished Lutheran poet, hymnwriter, and playwright in her native Denmark. In this episode — part Story Time, part Hymn Sing, part ode to Scandinavian Lutheranism — Sarah shares her story with a world that has largely forgotten her.

In and around rabbit trails on Mahler’s Second Symphony, single-stanza festival hymns, and the wonderfully named Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, Sarah examines the life and hymnody of this extraordinary Lutheran lady, with a special focus on the three Boye hymn lyrics that have appeared in recent LCMS hymnals: “Rejoice, Rejoice This Happy Morn” (LSB 391), “He Is Arisen! Glorious Word” (LSB 488), and “Holy Spirit, God of Love” (TLH 230).

For further reading, check out the following resources:

• Birgitte K. Boye | Hymnary.org
• He Is Arisen! Glorious Word — The Hymnal Project
• Lutheran Service Book 391. Rejoice, rejoice this happy morn | Hymnary.org
• Lutheran Service Book 488. He is arisen! Glorious Word! | Hymnary.org
• The Lutheran Hymnal 230. Holy Spirit, God of Love | 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].

We revisit a special devotional episode from Good Friday 2024 as we meditate on Christ’s death for our sins.

As an aid to Good Friday meditation and devotion, the Ladies welcome listener contributions in a “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) to read and ponder the text of the lovely new hymn stanzas this Good Friday.

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].

In this book club recap conversation, Sarah, Erin, and Rachel talk through one of the most talked-about nonfiction books of the year: Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness.

How have our collective relationships with screen-based technologies and social media evolved since the early 2000s? What effects has this shift had on young people? How are Christian perspectives on both screen use and adolescence distinct from those of the secular world around us? What strategies can families employ to counteract the negative effects of what Haidt calls “the great rewiring”? Are there things that every Christian can do to help young people transcend a screen-based childhood and escape the “Anxious Generation”?

At the end of the episode, Rachel unveils this year’s pick for the Lutheran Ladies’ Book Club summer read: E. Jane Mall’s classic fictional biography of Katharina Luther, Kitty, My Rib.

Click to read more from Jonathan Haidt, including the article on close-knit communities Sarah references in the episode.

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 party within a party (within a party?) as the Lutheran Ladies welcome special guest Tori Egger during Sharathon 2025 to talk about hospitality, sharing Christ’s love — and how to host one epic Easter Feast.

Tori Egger is a fellow Lutheran lady and mother of six. She frequently welcomes guests into her home on the campus of Concordia Seminary, Saint Louis, where her husband (the Rev. Dr. Thomas Egger) serves as seminary president.

“Bringing people into your home —” she says, “opening your heart and your home to them — is just one way of showing Christ’s love to your neighbor. Once you can kind of catch that vision — that really, hospitality is sharing Christ’s love with your neighbor, with the saints around you who need it — you can find lots of really easy ways to do it.”

For more on how to host your own midnight Easter feast, check out Liv Booth’s recent article for The Lutheran Witness:

How to Host a Midnight Easter Feast – The Lutheran Witness

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 year (as eggs are currently selling for $4.95 a dozen on average), the pressure’s on to sustain beloved family traditions while also ensuring that none of those precious Easter eggs go to waste.

This sounds like a challenge for the Lutheran Ladies ...

In their latest Iron Ladle Challenge, Erin, Sarah, and Rachel are cooking with eggs — both raw and hard-boiled. Rachel offers a fresh take on the classic seven-layer salad with her nine-(or-ten?-)layer Cobb salad; Sarah whips up a Paleo-friendly, coffee- and cardamom-infused, almond-milk baked egg custard (from scratch!); and Erin digs deep into her own family history to serve up a literal golden oldie, Egg à la Goldenrod.

Spring is the air — and eggs are on the table — in this delectable episode.

Rachel’s Many Layered Cobb Salad

In an 11 x 15 pan, layer (in order):

• 1 head chopped iceberg lettuce
• 1+ cup chopped celery
• 1+ cup frozen baby peas, cooked and cooled
• Dressing: 1(ish) pint mayonnaise, mixed with 1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning
• 1+ cup thin sliced grape tomatoes
• 1 diced chicken breast (rotisserie, roasted, or fried)
• 5+ chopped hard boiled eggs
• ½ pound crumbled bacon
• Shredded Colby-jack cheese to taste

(Optional extra layers: diced onions, chopped avocado; may substitute bleu cheese for Colby-jack.)

Dairy-Free Baked Egg Custard (from Sarah)

(paleopantry.org/dairy-free-baked-egg-custard-made-with-almond-milk)

600ml almond milk

1 vanilla pod (or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract)

4 egg yolks, plus 2 whole eggs

3-4 tablespoons honey (to taste)

1 whole nutmeg, for grating

Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F.

Pour the milk into a saucepan. Slit the vanilla pod in half length ways. Scrape out the seeds with the tip of the knife and add to the milk, along with the pod. Heat slowly over a gentle heat to just below boiling point, until you see small bubbles barely breaking the surface. Expect this to take at least 10 minutes, and stir frequently with a whisk or wooden spoon. Take off the heat. Fish out and discard the vanilla pod.

Whisk the eggs and honey until fully blended. Gradually pour the hot milk over the eggs in a thin stream, whisking constantly to prevent the hot milk from curdling the eggs. Keep whisking until fully blended. Push through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any lumps.

Pour the custard into 4 ramekins with a capacity of at least 200ml, or one large dish – the recipe makes about 800ml. Finely grate the nutmeg, then sprinkle over the top (you may have more nutmeg than you need, but personally I go for a generous dusting).

Arrange the ramekins / dish in a deep roasting tray, leaving space around the sides. Pour in just-boiled water from the kettle, until it reaches half-way up the sides of the ramekins. Transfer to the lowest shelf of the pre-heated oven, where the heat is gentlest.

Check after 30 minutes for ramekins / 1 hour for a large dish. The custard should be just set. Test for doneness by giving a gentle shake – if there is a slight wobble in the centre of an otherwise solid mass then it is done, otherwise return to the oven and re-test in another 5 minutes.

Either leave to cool for 30 minutes and serve warm, or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate to serve chilled. The custard will keep well for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. For best results, remove from the refrigerator half an hour before serving. For a refreshing breakfast, serve with tart berry fruits.

Note: Sarah substituted maple syrup for honey and extremely fine-ground cardamom coffee grounds for nutmeg.

Egg à la Goldenrod (from Erin)

Serves 3-4

½ c butter

½ c flour

1 t salt

1 t pepper

3 ½ c milk

5 eggs, hardboiled

Biscuits for serving (at least 6, but make 12)

Peel the eggs and remove the yolks, whole if possible. Reserve the yolks. Cut the whites into small, bite-size pieces.

Heat butter in a saucepan over low heat until melted. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and bubbly. Gradually add in the milk, stirring (yes, constantly). Once it is all incorporated, simmer and stir (!) for 1 minute. Mix in the egg whites.

Grate the egg yolks with a fine grater into a small serving dish. This is the Goldenrod!

Serve the egg gravy over biscuits. Top with the egg yolk Goldenrod and a sprinkle of paprika.

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].