The right supports in the right environment are life-changing for people. For Dawn and daughter Brooke, Mosaic provided both and their lives have been transformed.
The post The Right Supports Make All the Difference in Peoples’ Lives appeared first on Mosaic.
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In the latest Pivot podcast, Dr. Christian Smith explores why religion feels outdated in modern culture, citing shifts in family, institutions, and technology as key causes.
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King of Glory Lutheran Church, Tempe, will host a community conversation on Christian Nationalism on Tuesday, November 18, 2025 (6:30–8:00 p.m.) with guest speakers Rev. Caleb Campbell and Rev. Ellie Hutchison. All are invited to explore what Christian Nationalism is, why it matters, and how people of faith can respond with humility, grace, and Gospel-centered love. Learn more at kogaz.org/events. View PDF flyer here.
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Explore this week’s LAMA advocacy update, including an ELCA Action Alert urging Congress to protect international food aid in the upcoming Farm Bill. You’ll also find upcoming events—on hunger ministry, public lands, Christian nationalism, civic engagement—and new reflections from the LAMA blog. Read the full newsletter, event details, and action links here.
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For an end to war and conflict, and for places of political unrest or contention, especially Gaza, South Sudan, Myanmar, Ukraine, Pakistan/Afghanistan, and Tanzania…
For all in the path of Tropical Storm Melissa…
For victims of police raids in Brazil…
For cease-fire in Gaza, and for opportunities for relief agencies to accomplish their work…
For all who face hunger and food insecurity, especially those those who rely on SNAP benefits…
For food pantries, community meals, and all feeding ministries and programs…
For federal employees…
For safety for immigrants, refugees, and all migrants…
For the communion of saints and for witnesses to faith in this and all generations…
For gifts of time, daylight, nighttime, and the cycle of the seasons…
Arizona Faith Network’s latest newsletter highlights ways people of faith are responding to community needs through mutual aid, reflection, and action. Congregations are invited to share their ministries in AFN’s new Faith & Mutual Aid Resource Guide, helping connect families across Arizona to food, shelter, and care.
The issue also includes details for the 2025 AFN Annual Gathering, United We Rise, on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, honoring Rev. Towanda NT Connelly and other bridge builders; weekly Monday Meditations; Reconciliation Ecology workshops; and safety training for faith communities.
Read the full update and subscribe at arizonafaithnetwork.org/newsletter.
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This week, the Office of the Bishop is actively engaging across our synod and Churchwide—preaching and worshiping with congregations, meeting with youth and parents, developing mission and stewardship plans, collaborating with national partners, and tending to communication, finance, and event planning to support ministries across the synod.
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Mark your calendars for the Grand Canyon Synod Spring Gatherings 2026, where we come together under the theme Rooted in God’s Story. Gatherings will be held in Tempe, Sun City, Phoenix, Flagstaff, Tucson, and Las Vegas from February through April. These events offer opportunities for connection, reflection, and renewal across our synod.
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Global Refuge’s volunteer Pastor in Residence, Rev. Eric C. Shafer, is booking Sunday visits to ELCA congregations in our synod to preach and lead an adult forum on Christian welcome. Available dates: Dec. 28, 2025; Jan. 4, 11, 18, 25; Feb. 1; and all Sundays in March 2026. Hosts provide travel expense support. To schedule, email ericcshafer@hotmail.com and learn more at globalrefuge.org.
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This week we celebrate the ordination anniversaries of:
Rev. Brian Ward, Community, Las Vegas, who celebrates 15 years on October 31.
Rev. Thaddeus Book, Desert Cross, Tempe, who celebrates 16 years on November 1.
Deacon Anada Guse, who celebrates 35 years on November 4.
Rev. Conrad Braaten, who celebrates 53 years on November 5.
Join us for the Ordination for Wanda K. Frenchman on Thursday, December 11, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. at Grace Lutheran Church, Phoenix. Bishop Deborah Hutterer will preside, and Vance Blackfox will preach. Rostered ministers are invited to vest and process; the color of the day is red. Dinner will follow. The service will be livestreamed via Grace Lutheran Church’s Facebook page, with video later on the Native American Urban Ministry page. All are welcome.
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Join women from across the Grand Canyon Synod for the 2025 Women of the ELCA Biennial Convention and Gathering on Saturday, November 8, at Faith/La Fe Lutheran Church in Phoenix. The day includes worship, speakers, and lunch for just $30. Special guests include Myrna Wells-Ulland, Pastor Jacqui Pagel, and Connie Phillips.
Register today at grandcanyonwomen.org/events.
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Federal shutdown delays have stalled this year’s refugee admissions, and SNAP food assistance has been halted for both refugees and all current recipients statewide. Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest continues serving resettled families and invites you to advocate with legislators for restored SNAP funding and refugee protection. The ELCA has provided an easy tool to contact Congress—learn more and take action.
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A simple act of kindness can change a life. When Jesus called Zacchaeus down from the tree, it wasn’t with judgment but with compassion—and that moment transformed Zacchaeus’s heart, leading him to generosity and repentance. This week’s Faith Lens reflection invites us to see how love and inclusion, rather than shame or exclusion, open the way for true change. In the words of Isaiah, “Learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed.”
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Discover how St. John’s, Rock Island (Northern Illinois Synod) is pairing homemade community meals with contemplative worship through Table of Grace and “Welcome Wednesday,” supported by creative lay leadership, grants, and creation-care partnerships. The memo also introduces the updated What Does My Offering Do? poster (with a companion video) and celebrates churchwide leadership updates as the ELCA welcomes Presiding Bishop Yehiel Curryand prepares for Rev. Lucille “CeCee” Mills to begin as secretary. Read the October Mission Support Memo for the full story and resources.
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The Grand Canyon Synod continues to cooperate fully with law enforcement and coordinate with ELCA churchwide leadership in the ongoing federal investigation involving a former synod leader. As of this post, there are no known victims within our synod, and all allegations involve online activity.
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This Deeper Understandings reflection revisits the ELCA’s 2003 social statement Caring for Health: Our Shared Endeavor, which calls Christians to affirm health care as part of our baptismal vocation to love our neighbor. The statement highlights the need for equitable access to care, support for providers, faithful decision-making, and compassionate community engagement.
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In Wisconsin, Share Our Best Furniture Ministry partners with Breaking the Chains Church to furnish homes for people reentering society after incarceration. By providing essential items—beds, tables, and home goods—local Lutherans help families rebuild stability and dignity during a vulnerable transition. Learn how congregations collaborate to embody Christ’s love in tangible and practical ways in Living Lutheran.
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Two Texas Lutherans—Pastor Brad Otto of Acts of Wisdom and Dick Moeller of Water to Thrive—answered God’s call to support safe water access and education in Africa. Their ministries now provide vital resources in Ethiopia, Liberia, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, impacting more than a million people through well-building and school support.
Learn how mustard-seed faith grew into transformative ministries serving thousands in this Living Lutheran article.
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