The Lutheran Ladies' Lounge from KFUO Radio

(SL)AW YEAH. It’s Slawfest season in the Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge. In the latest installment of “Erin’s Recipe Card,” Erin introduces Sarah, Bri, and Rachel to a tangy twist on a summertime favorite: Cowboy Coleslaw. Will Rachel love or hate this complex concoction featuring apples, grapes, dill pickles, onions, and stone ground mustard? Can Sarah find a way to modify the recipe that will allow her...

Which is the greatest church picnic activity of all time? Bri attempts a definitive answer in her latest installment of “How to Lutheran,” as she offers listeners a ranked list of the best — and worst — ways to pass the time at a summertime church picnic. Which is better: softball, kickball, or dodgeball? Why do mothers in particular hate the egg toss? Which picnic activity has the most fanatical...

Catherine Winkworth (1827–1878) was not German; neither was she Lutheran. How, then, did this 19th-century Anglican literary spinster become the foremost translator of German Lutheran hymns into English? In her new “Story Time” episode, Sarah introduces Erin, Bri, and Rachel to the life and times of Lutheranism’s most ubiquitous female translator, the woman who penned the English lyrics to many of...

In this special hour-long Sharathon episode, which aired on KFUO Radio AM 850 on Thursday, June 25, 2020, the Ladies offer listeners a representative sampling (in miniature!) of four different kinds of Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge podcast episodes: “Hymn Sing with Sarah” digs into the backstory of the beloved Tanzanian hymn “Listen, God Is Calling.” “Rachel’s Trivia Challenge” quizzes Ladies and listen...

Happy Father’s Day from the Lutheran Ladies! Not being fathers themselves, Sarah, Erin, Bri, and Rachel take the unusual step of inviting two veteran fathers and friends of the show — Michael Grannis and Tony Alter (better known to listeners as “Erin’s Dad”) — into the Lounge for a special Father’s Day interview. Reflecting on what fatherhood means to them, what Lutheran women can do to support fa...

It’s summer—and in most Lutheran churches, at least, and in most years, that means Vacation Bible School. In her latest Trivia Challenge, Rachel quizzes Sarah, Erin, and Bri on the past, present, and uncertain future of this beloved children’s ministry tradition. Who hosted the world’s first VBS programs and when? What factors helped make Lutherans relatively late (but nonetheless enthusiastic) ad...

Argula von Grumbach (1492–c. 1554) was a Bavarian noblewoman who became the first Protestant woman writer, publishing letters and poems defending Martin Luther’s groundbreaking theology.  In this installment of “Story Time with Sarah,” Sarah introduces Rachel, Erin, and Bri, to one of the coolest ladies of the Lutheran Reformation you’ve probably never heard of.  Learn about how Lady Argula’s educ...

It’s summer — and for many of us, that means beaches … and sunbathing … and swimsuits … (Feeling insecure yet?) In this episode of The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge, Bri leads Sarah, Erin, and Rachel in a conversation full of big questions about what it means to be “body positive” in the Kingdom of God. How can we better understand our bodies — and the food and exercise that sustain them — as good gifts...

It’s time once again to finalize the next pick for the Lutheran Ladies’ Book Club! The category this time is “memoir,” and every one of the four finalists came directly from the Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group. 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...

Katherine Paterson’s Newbery Award-winning novel Jacob Have I Loved has been inspiring deep personal reflection for four decades. In this latest Lutheran Ladies’ Book Club recap episode, Sarah, Erin, Bri, and Rachel draw upon insights from their fellow online book club members as they talk their way through some of the big questions and ideas raised by this “deceptively simple” book. What do we le...

Ready for an extravaganza of colored fluffs and congealed salads? Good! In this special extended installment of Erin’s Recipe Card, the Lutheran Ladies pull out recipes old and new as they prepare and taste test an eclectic range of variations on that iconic Lutheran potluck staple: Jell-O® salad. Whether you prefer your gelatin sweet or savory or somewhere in between, unadorned or crammed full of...

Mother’s Day is just around the corner, and to celebrate the occasion, Rachel’s three young “Lutheran Ladies-in-training” recently stopped by the Lounge to give their mother a few minutes’ much-needed time off. In this special “Mom’s Day Out” edition of Bri’s Big Question, Bri quizzes Elanor, Evalyn, and Emalie Bomberger on a wide range of topics including why they love church, what they really th...

Alleluia! He is risen! It’s Eastertide, and for the Lutheran Ladies, that means hymns — hymns with all the alleluias put back in. In the latest “Hymn Sing with Sarah” conversation, Sarah gives Erin, Bri, and Rachel an all-access tour of just a few of the 45 Easter hymns featured in Lutheran Service Book. Covering both fan favorites like “Jesus Christ Is Risen Today” and more personal picks like “C...

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 — an...

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...

“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 scri...

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 the...

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 su...

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...

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”...

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 wh...

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...

“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...

It’s commonly believed that Lutheran churches are made up mostly of “dyed-in-the-wool” cradle Lutherans — those who were baptized into the faith in infancy and never left. But is that really so? In this special “Story Time with Sarah” episode, the Lutheran Ladies read and celebrate the inspiring personal stories of first-generation Lutheran women, gathered through the Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Faceb...

You probably have the Apostles’ Creed and Nicene Creed memorized, but what about the Athanasian Creed? We want to help you learn it! Our memorization guide will help you memorize this Creed in time for Trinity Sunday. Download the PDF guide at kfuo.org/lutheranladieslounge, graciously provided by Deaconess Mary Moerbe and Concordia Publishing House. Join the Facebook event in the Lutheran Ladies’...