Erik 🕊️

@varbergensis.bsky.social

750 Followers 648 Following

he/him | Lutheran | 🏳️‍🌈

NPR headline that says “Supreme Court upholds bans on transgender athletes participating in women and girls’ sports.”
Summer 2025, the bright pink hollyhock standing tall in the middle of the weeds
A hollyhock plant growing along a gray stucco wall. The hollyhock has 6 or 7 tall stalks, each adorned with large, bright pink flowers. Each stalk is 6 or 7 feet tall
The cover of the children’s book Here’s the Church, Here’s the Steeple by Jan and Mike Berenstain. The bear family walks up a path toward a church where a bear vicar waves at them.
a stained glass image of Mary Magdalene with a look of surprise on her face. She has a head scarf made of bright blue and peachy pink glass and gold hoop earrings. She wears a light pink dress with a red sash.
A meme. A group of friends gathers. One friend says, “I love being at the beach!” Another friend says, “oh no I’m sunburnt.” Another friend says, “I love swimming, what a fun beach.” An outsider says, “the Midwest has no beaches! You’re just at the lake shore!” One friend gives the outsider a big thumbs up. The friends go back to talking. One friend says, “I still like the beach.” Another friend says, “people from the coasts are so annoying sometimes.”
Flag of Saint Paul. Three horizontal stripes of yellow, blue, and yellow, with a red shield in the middle. On the shield, a log cabin, the Capitol dome, and a wheel with wings. A red banner says “SAINT PAUL” across the bottom.
a cross necklace. the cross is approximately 2 inches wide and 3 inches tall. the cross has a metal back with a mosaic of light blue glass and red glass
A stone statue of Saint Erik, King of Sweden
a wide stump of a maple tree with wet edges where the sap
a man in front of the Minnesota flag with the caption “I love my country”
Dark blue circle surrounded by light blue. Minnesota’s 8-pointed star is in the middle. The design is based on Minnesota’s flag.
The sanctuary of Mount Olive Church. Brick walls, colorful stained glass, and terracotta floor tiles.
red and green northern lights
a pigeon figure hanging from a string in a glass case in a museum. the pigeon appears to be made of metal or a shiny stone material
a close-up view of a wooden pigeon painted gray and white, hanging above the pulpit at Veddige Church in rural Sweden
A paper with colorful pictures of a church, a pastor confirming students, and the Lord’s supper. The document says, “In Remembrance of the Day of Confirmation. Claus Henry Feil. Born October 2nd 1897. Confirmed March 16 1913. Ev. Church of Peace, Rochester, Minnesota.”
a picture of Erik and Wesley in Stockholm. Erik has glasses and light hair, and he wears a white shirt with blue vertical stripes. Wesley has dark hair and is wearing a dark blue button-up shirt.
Erik and Wesley in their Halloween costumes! Wesley has cotton batting gathered around a hat, resembling a storm cloud, and a yellow lightning bolt hanging around his neck. Erik has a white and red cardboard replica of the ship Edmund Fitzgerald hanging from his shoulders, around his body
Stained glass window at Westminster Presbyterian in Minneapolis, Minnesota, depicting Martin Luther in various shades of purple, blue, green, and yellow, with a red and blue background
Erik and his friend Nadia at a protest, both in clergy collars, holding signs. Erik’s sign says, “Jesus was a refugee,” and Nadia’s sign says, “love your neighbor.”
the handshake meme where “my parents in 2005” agrees with “me in 2025” saying that “Christians and all people of integrity must avoid Harry Potter.”
the Flag of Illinois, which depicts an eagle carrying a banner that says, “State Sovereignty, National Union.”
A stained-glass image of a green cross with a red circle that looks like a tomato. At the bottom, water flows out of the cross.
The sanctuary of Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A large, open space with light brick walls, white pillars, and blue stained glass windows.
The outline of Minnesota with the new flag design inside it
a picture of Erik photoshopped in front of clouds and heavenly stairs
the Flag of Illinois
A picture of several people in bike riding gear in front of a church in Iowa Falls, Iowa. Among the crowd are the three ELCA Lutheran Bishops from Iowa. (photo from Bishop Amy Current)
An alleyway in the old town of Stockholm. The narrow stone walkway is framed by beautiful yellow and orange stucco buildings.
A Nordic cross flag with the four sections colored red, indigo, gold, and green.
A chart showing the various ELCA camps in the western US and their risk of sale in the potential public land sale prescribed in the “Big Beautiful Bill,” a budget bill produced by Congressional Republicans.
A statue of Knute Nelson in front of the Minnesota State Capitol
a selfie-angle photo of a bunch of people. they’re all affiliated with Luther Seminary in one way or another!
A picture of Erik photoshopped into a rainbow gradient background. Next to Erik, his quote says, “Because I am so loved by God, I’m moved to make sure that all God’s children know they have a place in God’s family.”
Erik and Wesley on the balcony of their suite in Grand Marais. Wesley is hugging Erik from behind.
A chorus of men singing in a brick sanctuary
a gathering of people in a brewery watching Eurovision
Twin Cities Pride 2025 Grand Marshal Governor Tim Walz
Erik with a monarch butterfly cape. Wesley with a pink helmet/headdress that looks like a milkweed bloom and green cardboard things on his arms that look like milkweed leaves.
a gathering of Lutherans in Iceland, with brightly colored vestments
+Teresia Derlén, ++Martin Modéus, +Ulrica Fritzson in their fineries
snowdrops, tiny white flowers with vibrant green stems and leaves, popping up, out of the dirt, mulch, and dead leaves
flag of NATO
A 0.5 lens picture of Erik from above. The angle makes his forehead look massive
the meme of the Norman Rockwell painting of the guy standing up to speak
A screenshot from Google results showing the Holden Village website saying Holden has an elevation of 3220 feet.
A graphic of the world map, showing areas where the lunar eclipse of March 13-14 will be visible. All eclipse visible in most of North and South America. Total eclipse at moonset throughout the Atlantic Ocean. Total eclipse at moonrise throughout the Pacific Ocean.
a picture of Erik with an ash cross on his forehead. he’s a young white man with round black metal glasses and a short trimmed beard and mustache.
old map of Saint Anthony from 1856 with streets labeled with beautiful and distinctive names like Pembina, Moose, Beaver, Elk, Christmas, Breckenridge, Brewery, Vine, and many others
A selfie of Erik from February 23, 2020, five years ago. He’s standing in a frozen lake, wearing a red winter jacket and facing into the sunset. His face is lit up with the glow of the setting sun. His shadow is visible on the snow and ice behind him.
An image of Jesus in stained glass. He is depicted in the regalia of a Byzantine emperor.
an image of the Black Cloister, Martin Luther’s home in Wittenberg, Germany. Traditional German architecture, with white-cream stucco walls and red terracotta tiles on the roof. The building has one prominent tower in the center.
A painting of Martin Luther, a 16th century German man. He’s painted in front of a lovely green-blue background
a screenshot from Google Maps showing the Gulf of Mexico relabeled as Lake Chipotle
a screenshot from Google Maps with the Gulf of Mexico relabeled as Gulf of America
A photo of Katy Perry performing at a concert. Erik is in the front row. Katy’s spotlight is also shining on him and his face can be seen looking up at her.
Flag of Canada
medieval art showing Mary punching the Devil
A screenshot from the Weather app showing a current temperature of -15° Fahrenheit in Stanchfield, Minnesota