LAMA Highlights: Christmas Service Opportunities, New Policy Priorities & Upcoming Events

This week’s Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (LAMA) newsletter features important ways our synod can put our faith into action—beginning with an urgent call to support Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest (LSS-SW) during the Christmas season. Gift-wrapping, delivery, Shopping Guide roles, and Christmas card-making volunteers are needed in both Phoenix and Tucson. All gifts and cards are due December 15.

The newsletter also highlights upcoming opportunities for learning, collaboration, and advocacy. The LAMA Liaison Roundtable meets on Monday, December 15 at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom for conversation about congregational engagement. Later in the month, the Grand Canyon Synod Hunger Leaders Network gathers on Tuesday, December 30 from 6–7 p.m. to share updates and coordinate hunger-related ministries. Additionally, LAMA partners with statewide networks in the Anti-Hunger & Food Systems Advocacy Call on Friday, January 9 from noon–1 p.m., offering legislative insights for the year ahead.

This week’s newsletter includes several new posts from the LAMA blog. The LAMA Policy Council has released its 2026 Policy Priorities, outlining the guiding focus of the ministry’s advocacy in the coming legislative year. Additional articles examine the potential statewide impacts of H.R. 1 on Arizona’s budget and SNAP funding, share Presiding Bishop Yehiel Curry’s Christmas children’s sermon, and highlight opportunities such as ELCA Good Gifts, Lutheran Day at the Legislature, and the new LAMA T-shirt design contest.

LAMA also invites volunteers to consider becoming district coordinators for Lutheran Day at the Legislature(February 23, 2026), helping congregations organize their presence and support faithful civic engagement.

To explore all updates, read the full newsletter, and stay connected with the advocacy ministry of our synod, follow the link in this week’s Grand Canyon Synod newsletter. You’ll also find ways to support LAMA financially and contact the team for congregational assistance—including help setting up RTS (Right to Speak) accounts, speaking engagements, and volunteer connections.

As always, we give thanks for LAMA’s faithful witness and for all who advocate for justice, compassion, and dignity in Arizona.

Grand Canyon SynodBrian FlatgardLutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (LAMA), Advocacy, Church and SocietyComment