Please enjoy this joyful musical offering of “O Clap Your Hands” by Ralph Vaughan Williams, performed by the LSM 2025 Festival Choir, conducted by Dr. Shannon Gravelle, with Dr. Catherine Rodland, organ. Watch here: https://youtu.be/bI8CzO_VgxA.
Read MoreIn this Easter reflection, Dr. Jennifer Pietz, Assistant Professor of New Testament at Luther Seminary, draws on 1 Corinthians 15.
Read MoreIn this year’s Easter message from Lutheran World Federation, Nepalese pastor Rev. Rinki Rachel Soren reflects on the transformation made possible through Christ’s resurrection, freeing believers from sin and redefining their identity in him. Rather than observing this season only as an event, Easter is an invitation to leave behind the old self, choose justice over injustice, and love over division, in a world marked by violence, inequality, and broken relationships.
Read MoreWhat makes Good Friday “good” amid pain, suffering, and death? Bavarian church leader Michael Martin, invites us to reflect on the answer: Jesus’ solidarity with us, giving us strength and courage. Read the full message on The Lutheran World Federation site.
Read MoreIn this week’s Faith Lens reflection, Pastor Tim Wright explores how Easter is not just a celebration—but a divine interruption that transforms everything. Drawing from Matthew 28 and a personal story of injury and recovery, Wright reflects on how both joyful and painful interruptions shape our lives, and how God’s grace ultimately interrupts despair with hope, death with life, and fear with peace.
Grounded in the resurrection, this reflection invites readers to consider how Jesus continues to interrupt our lives today—with love that cannot be undone—and challenges us to share that same grace with others in tangible ways.
Read MoreFaith Lutheran Church in Phoenix invites all to the Great Vigil of Easter on Saturday, April 4 at 7 p.m. Beginning with a new fire and the lighting of the Paschal candle, the service moves through scripture, song, and sacrament, culminating in the first Eucharist of Easter, the affirmation of baptism, and the welcome of new members.
Held at 801 E Camelback Rd, this powerful and ancient liturgy proclaims the resurrection story in full, inviting all into the hope and promise of new life in Christ.
Read MoreIn his Easter message (download: bit.ly/4c9zxv4) , Presiding Bishop Curry says that even though we consider ourselves to be an Easter church, we must remember that we are also a Lenten church, a time when we live in uncertainty, waiting and hoping for renewal. Curry reminds us that in the midst of that uncertainty, comes God’s promise of reassurance and hope. Death does not have the final word.
“Yes, we are Easter people. Even when the ground below us is shaking, we will not grow weary. We know that Jesus is our foundation. Christ is risen, and that truth strengthens us. It gives us courage to live, to hope, and to proclaim joy. Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed. Alleluia!”
Read MoreWe come to Easter this year in a world that feels, in many ways, unsettled—marked by uncertainty, division, and deep longing. And yet, this is not new territory for God’s people.
Jesus lived, spoke, and moved among communities facing turmoil, oppression, and fear. Into that very reality, he proclaimed good news. Into that very reality, he brought healing, hope, and ultimately resurrection.
Read MoreMountain View Lutheran Church in Phoenix invites all to “The Way of the Cross: A Time of Meditation and Prayer”on Friday, April 3 (7 AM–6 PM, closed 12–1 PM). This self-guided experience features seven stations with artwork, Scripture, meditation, and prayer, inviting participants to walk alongside Jesus while reflecting on both Christ’s suffering and the realities of life today.
Open to all, this Holy Week opportunity offers space to pause, pray, and consider where we find ourselves in God’s story—bringing our burdens before Christ and encountering his presence along the way.
Read MoreThe Lenten and Easter seasons show us that we will survive the brokenness of this world. Listen to the podcast written by the Rev. Dr. Ralen M. Robinson on the Women of the ELCA podcast. Listen now.
Read MoreIn this Boldcafe reflection, Saint Browder explores how cultural signals—including beauty standards—can reinforce political power and exclusion, even within religious spaces. Drawing on scripture, the article calls Christians back to a deeper truth: our bodies are not projects to perfect, but sacred vessels created by God.
Especially in this Lenten season, the reflection challenges us to practice discernment, resist harmful narratives, and live out a Gospel rooted in love, justice, and courage. Read more from Boldcafe.
Read MoreAs Holy Week begins, this Faith Lens reflection on Matthew 21:1–11 invites us to reconsider what we mean when we cry “Hosanna—save us.” Jesus enters Jerusalem not with power or force, but in humility, challenging expectations about leadership, salvation, and how God works in the world.
This reflection offers a timely invitation for congregations and leaders: Where might we be expecting God to act in familiar ways—and missing the deeper work already unfolding? Explore the reflection, discussion prompts, and prayer for use in your ministry. Read more.
Read MoreIn a recent Living Lutheran interview, author Thomas Maltman reflects on his new novel Ashes to Ashes, a story set within a rural Lutheran congregation where Ash Wednesday crosses mysteriously won’t wash away. Drawing on his own experience in congregational life, Maltman explores themes of mortality, belief, suffering, and grace—inviting readers to consider how faith shapes the way we live with one another in uncertain times.
Blending Lutheran practice, storytelling, and spiritual questions, Maltman describes his work as a “marvelous mystery” rooted in Lent’s call to reflection and renewal. Read more to explore how this uniquely Lutheran narrative invites deeper engagement with faith, doubt, and the enduring marks we carry.
Read MoreMountain View Lutheran Church in Phoenix invites all to “The Way of the Cross: A Time of Meditation and Prayer”on Friday, April 3 (7 AM–6 PM, closed 12–1 PM). This self-guided experience features seven stations with artwork, Scripture, meditation, and prayer, inviting participants to walk alongside Jesus while reflecting on both Christ’s suffering and the realities of life today.
Open to all, this Holy Week opportunity offers space to pause, pray, and consider where we find ourselves in God’s story—bringing our burdens before Christ and encountering his presence along the way.
Read MoreLCM at ASU invites volunteers to a Palm Sunday Hygiene Kit Assembly on March 29 (11:30 AM–2 PM) in Tempe. Help assemble and distribute kits for neighbors experiencing homelessness while supporting student-led outreach grounded in faith and service. Registration is open.
Read MoreThis Lent, individuals and congregations across ELCA Region 2, including the Grand Canyon Synod, are invited to participate in the “Lord, When Did We See You?” Lenten Challenge, a set of simple daily practices rooted in Matthew 25. The toolkit offers intergenerational activities that connect prayer, worship, advocacy, and daily acts of compassion.
Participants are also encouraged to support ELCA World Hunger using Appeal Code R2LENT2026, or donate to ELCA World Hunger here. Explore the toolkit and join the challenge: lentenchallenge.org/toolkit.
Read MoreThe 2026 Lenten Challenge invites individuals and congregations across the Grand Canyon Synod to join four other ELCA Region 2 synods in raising $100,000 for ELCA World Hunger during Lent. Participants commit to three of four spiritual practices—devotions, learning, action, and donation—using a Matthew 25–centered toolkit.
Everyone is welcome to participate, with a shared goal of engaging at least one person from 50 congregations per synod. Sign up, invite others, and live out Jesus’ call to serve “the least of these” this Lent.
Read MoreThe “Making Room” Lenten series invites Christians to rethink the traditional focus on giving something up for Lent. For the week of March 8, the focus is making room for imperfection—releasing unrealistic expectations and remembering that God’s grace, not perfection, is what sustains us.
Grounded in 2 Corinthians 12:9, this week’s practice encourages journaling about one expectation you can release and reflecting on how God’s grace allows space for growth and compassion toward ourselves. Read the full reflection and explore the prayer and practice in the Living Lutheran article.
Read MoreLiving Lutheran begins a new Lenten series inviting readers to shift the focus of the season—not simply giving something up, but making room for what nourishes faith and life. The first week centers on rest, encouraging a simple daily practice: a 30-second “holy pause” to breathe deeply, clear the mind, and remember God’s sustaining grace.
Grounded in Psalm 121 and reflections on grace, this practice invites us to notice where rest already exists in our lives and where we might create more space for it during Lent. Explore the Lenten practice and reflection at Living Lutheran.
Read MoreIn a reflective essay for Living Lutheran, retired ELCA pastor Kristin D. Anderson revisits Martin Luther’s understanding of the devil and explores how evil can appear in everyday behaviors—accusing, gossiping, vengeance-seeking and more. Through Scripture, pastoral experience, and a Lenten lens of self-examination, Anderson reminds readers that while the devil seeks to corrupt and divide, Christ’s victory on the cross frees us to respond with forgiveness and love.
This thoughtful Lenten reflection invites readers to examine their own responses to harm and temptation and to rediscover the grace that leads us away from revenge and toward reconciliation. Read the full reflection at Living Lutheran.
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