The Lutheran Ladies' Lounge from KFUO Radio

The sun is out, boats are on the water, fish are jumping, and the beach is calling. It’s the perfect time to revisit one of the Bible’s most memorable water-based narratives: the story of Jonah.

Welcoming former co-host Bri Gerzevske back once again for another hilarious installment of Bri’s Radio Theatre, Sarah, Erin, and Rachel are jumping feet-first with her into the briny deep.

How will Captain Trish handle the runaway prophet on board her ship? What will the Ninevites do when they hear Jonah’s message of doom and gloom? Will Jonah ever learn what God wants to teach him? And what does this all have to do with the death and resurrection of Jesus?

Disclaimer: This episode is satire, Trish is a fictional character, and we already know our script probably wouldn’t pass LCMS Doctrinal Review on the first try. Enjoy.

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].

A blessed Pentecost to all! To mark the feasts of Pentecost and Trinity Sunday, Sarah’s digging into a dozen hymns associated with these holy days in a brand-new Hymn Sing episode.

Hymns featured include fan favorites “Holy, Holy, Holy” (LSB 507), “Holy Spirit, Light Divine” (LSB 496), and “Glory Be to God the Father” (LSB 506), together with lesser-known classics like “Come, Holy Ghost, Creator Blest” (LSB 498/499), “O Day Full of Grace” (LSB 503), and “Come Down, O Love Divine” (LSB 501).

Get to know the stories behind the hymns you love — and get better acquainted with hymns you may not yet know well — as you sing along with #hymnnerd Sarah.

As always: to learn more about these and other hymns in Lutheran Service Book, check out Lutheran Service Book: Companion to the Hymns, available from CPH.

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 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].