This Lent, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton reflects on Paul’s stormy journey to Rome and the Lord’s Supper. In her March column, she reminds us that our Lord’s holy meal is an act of faith, trust, love, strength for the journey, forgiveness and resistance—it’s an intimate communion with God and each other. Read her column in English at https://bit.ly/3cKxNIc and in Spanish at https://bit.ly/2xnTn54.
Read MoreIn 1527 the plague returned to Wittenberg, Germany. Two hundred years earlier the plague had swept across Europe killing up to 40% of the population. Understandably, people were anxious and wondered what a safe and faithful response might be.
In answer to this, Martin Luther wrote "Whether One May Flee From a Deadly Plague." In it, he emphasized the duty to care for the neighbor, the responsibility of government to protect and provide services to its citizens, a caution about recklessness, and the importance of science, medicine and common sense.
Read MoreIn the February issue of Living Lutheran, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton reminds us of our uniquely Lutheran understanding of the gospel and renews her call for studying Martin Luther’s Small Catechism. “Luther said he needed to study it every day—and he wrote it! Let’s do the same.” Read her column in English at https://bit.ly/2uhqshX and in Spanish athttps://bit.ly/2vXv90F.
Read MoreDear Church: Last week, on the third anniversary of the original executive order, the administration extended the travel ban to the United States from seven majority Muslim countries to thirteen. The ban suspends the issuing of immigrant visas that can lead to permanent residency for those from Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar and Nigeria, as well as visas available through a diversity lottery for applicants from Sudan and Tanzania.
As Lutherans, these actions should concern us. Through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, God has set us free from ourselves to serve our neighbor.
Read MoreI am very dismayed and disturbed by President Trump's announcement of a "peace plan" that, I fear, will bring greater insecurity for Israelis and Palestinians instead of peace.
Read MoreDear Church,
With sadness I bring you the news that Presiding Bishop Emeritus Herbert W. Chilstrom died at home early this morning. His wife, Pastor Corinne Chilstrom; his son, Chris Holt; and family were with him.
Read MoreThe current crisis between the United States and Iran is worrisome for many of us in our church, in our nation and in the world. Our country and Iran need urgently to find ways to resolve our differences through a de-escalation of the current crisis, using diplomacy and other peaceful means. Our social statement, "For Peace in God's World," offers guidance.
Read MoreLast week, in a flurry of misleading headlines, many of us read that the United Methodist Church had split. This is not, in fact, what happened.
Many of you may be pondering the good Lutheran question: What does this mean? For the UMC? For our full communion partnership? It is simply too soon to have clarity on those questions. I assure you that there are leaders, both ELCA and UMC, who are carefully and faithfully tending to these questions.
Read MoreIn the January 2020 issue of Living Lutheran, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton reflects on white privilege (reprint of her June 2108 column): “We aren’t free until all of us are free.” Read her column in English at https://bit.ly/36BvljB and in Spanish at https://bit.ly/39UNISW.
Read MoreTragically, several acts of anti-Semitic hatred, bigotry and violence in New York during these days have marred the joyful festivities in Jewish communities across this country and around the world. Within the last year, we have witnessed the broader surge of anti-Semitism from Pittsburgh to Poway in which these most recent incidents have occurred. Our Jewish neighbors are living in pain, grief and fear.
Read MoreView a Christmas video message from Bishop Eaton, or download a PDF in Spanish or in English.
Read MoreIn her December column for Living Lutheran, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton reflects on the mystery of the season: the expectation and longing of Advent and the true gifts of Christmas—“the helpless baby in a wooden manger, a broken man on a cross.” Read her column in English and in Spanish.
Read MoreIn observance of Veterans Day, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton invites congregations to hold a Sunday of prayer and action. Congregations are encouraged to invite veterans to share their stories, learn about the issues they face, and let them know that the church is grateful for their service.
Read MoreIn her November column for Living Lutheran, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton compares doubt to winter—it can seem long, cold, barren, isolating and lonely. But she reminds us that doubt is part of faith—and God will carry us through the winter. Read her column in English at https://bit.ly/2oDi1dX and in Spanish at https://bit.ly/328m8wj.
Read MorePresiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton invites ELCA members to read and study Martin Luther’s essay “On Christian Freedom” in commemoration of its 500th anniversary in 2020. God liberates us in Christ to live generously and courageously in service of our neighbor’s liberation, confident that God’s mercy will free us all.
Read MoreThe Conference of Bishops of the ELCA met in Chicago Sept. 26–Sept. 30 under a theme from 2 Corinthians: "We have this treasure in clay jars." The conference, an advisory body of the ELCA, comprises 65 synod bishops, the presiding bishop and the secretary.
"Thanks to the work of the Holy Spirit and the wisdom of God's people, the Conference of Bishops is now more diverse in more ways than it has ever been," said the Rev. William O. Gafkjen, bishop of the ELCA Indiana-Kentucky Synod and chair of the conference.
Read MoreHurricane Dorian hit the Bahamas with devastating force, lingering over the islands for over 24 hours. One month later, over 50 people have been reported dead with hundreds still missing and thousands left homeless in the Bahamas. Crippled infrastructure, closed businesses, and a tainted water supply are exacerbating. In North Carolina, many homes have been damaged and assessments are ongoing.
In this post, Bishop Elizabeth Eaton shares an overview of the last two years of hurricane relief, and Lutheran Disaster Response provides a situation update on Hurricane Dorian.
Read MoreIn her September/October column for Living Lutheran, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton reflects on the 2019 Churchwide Assembly, saying the actions taken were based on “our scriptural and confessional understanding of who God chooses us to be.” In Milwaukee, she says, “we stepped out in faith.” Read her column in English at https://bit.ly/2mjiMYj and in Spanish at https://bit.ly/2oDR5KK.
Read MoreCentered in Christ, the 2019 Churchwide Assembly was significant in many ways: worship, thoughtful deliberation and prayer led to the adoption of memorials and resolutions that will shape this church for years to come. Among these decisions, this church was called to address the deadly power of racism and white supremacy. Martin Luther's clear exposition of the gospel — that God justifies, that we are redeemed by the death and resurrection of Jesus, and that grace is a gift — not only makes it possible to engage in this work but gives us a framework in which to do it.
The doctrine of justification is a great leveler. It acknowledges that no one group of people can claim supremacy over others. We are all deeply in need of grace, and God gives this gift to all. Standing equally under the judgement and promise of the gospel, we, as a church, can recognize the overt and covert ways that a culture of white supremacy denies full humanity to all people, and we can work to dismantle it.
We offered a public apology titled "Declaration of the ELCA to People of African Descent."
We adopted a resolution condemning white supremacy.
We adopted a resolution to establish June 17 as "Emanuel 9 Day of Repentance," commemorating the martyrdom of Clementa C. Pinckney, Cynthia Marie Graham-Hurd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lee Lance, Depayne Middleton-Doctor, Tywanza Sanders, Daniel L. Simmons, Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, and Myra Thompson by a violent white supremacist, Dylann Roof, who grew up in the ELCA.
The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), has joined Christian leaders in a statement against Christian nationalism.
An excerpt: "Whether we worship at a church, mosque, synagogue, or temple, America has no second-class faiths," their statement reads. "All are equal under the U.S. Constitution." Read and sign the statement at https://www.christiansagainstchristiannationalism.org.
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