This Lenten season we live in a time of pandemic. We also live in a time of rapid change. Coronavirus—ignoring the human boundaries of nation-states, class, culture, race, and religion—spreads with the exponential inevitability of a mathematical formula.
As we struggle to understand the virus and its effect on our daily lives, we also wonder how best to be church together. We are a church whose practices literally go hand-in-hand with sharing the virus.
Read MoreWhen the 500th anniversary of The Lutheran Reformation took place in 2017, the Vatican and The Lutheran World Federation issued a joint statement and study document, “From Conflict to Communion.” (View online or as PDF.)
A series of Lenten dialogs is our local participation in that endeavor to build ecumenical understanding and cooperation. Three Wednesday morning sessions, from 10:30 am to noon, will take place in March, with Bishop Hutterer and Bishop Weisenburger attending some of the dialogs.
March 11, 2020 @ Lutheran Church of the Foothills
March 18, 2020 @ St Cyril of Alexandria Catholic Church, featuring Bishop Weisenburger
March 25 @ Dove of Peace Lutheran Church, featuring Bishop Hutterer
Refugees and their supporters, including Bishop Deborah Hutterer, went to the Arizona Capitol on Monday to urge the state Legislature to pass a resolution welcoming those who escape violence and persecution.
Among them was Jolie Nabigondo from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She explained at a news conference that she was imprisoned in the late 1990s and tortured. Nabigondo later fled to Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya before coming to the United States.
Read MoreComfort crosses donated by the Mount Olive Lutheran Church Woodshop in Lake Havasu City—gifts for our Senegalese brothers and sisters to be delivered by Bishop Hutterer—also made their way to the Holy Landand were given by Bishop Hutterer as she made her way with other bishops through Palestine and Israel.
Read MoreBishop Deborah K. Hutterer and Pastor Jacqui Pagel took part in vespers during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Bishop Hutterer gave the meditation at the opening service at Desert Cross on Sunday, 1/19/20, while Pastor Pagel helped preside at the main worship on Thursday, 1/23/20.
View photos and more info in this article from the Catholic Sun, or view photos from the Episcopal Diocese further in this article.
Read MoreBishop Deborah K. Hutterer and her husband, Pastor Alan Field, visited Senegal at the turn of the year, and was hosted by Rev. Adama Faye, President of the Lutheran Church of Senegal. President Faye (rhymes with fly) will attend the Grand Canyon Synod Assembly in Las Vegas on June 11 and 12, 2020.
Read on to view photos and more»
Read MoreThis week, we honor The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who preached a message of love. A message of unity where all of God's people could walk together. Where people of faith stood as a beacon of light to those struggling against injustice.
In my travels throughout the Grand Canyon Synod, I am grateful to see the myriad ways in which our congregations and people shine.
Read MoreFor Bishop Hutterer’s upcoming trip to Israel and Palestine, we are looking for three or four gifts she can share with people she meets in her travels to the Holy Land.
If you can share unique or homemade gifts that reflect the Grand Canyon synod, please contactthe office. Items needed by January 21, 2020. These items need to be, small, packable, and travel well.
Read MoreBegin the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity with our Lutheran Holden Evening prayer at Desert Cross Lutheran Church on Sunday, 1/19/20, with Bishop Hutterer giving the meditation.
Throughout Arizona, there are ecumenical vespers every evening through 1/25/20, with the main worship on Thursday, 1/23/20. Full info and schedule is on the GCS site and the the Shepherd of the Hills site.
Read MoreYou are light and hope as you answer God’s call in your life, as you do your quiet work which few may see, as you discover and rediscover Jesus Christ in both the friend and the stranger, as you listen to people share their painful stories and wishing we could fix them, or as you listen when people rejoice at small and large victories.
You are hope and light. God uses you for good in the world. Here is to 2020: for your good health, fearless courage when you need it, and steadiness in the work you are called to do in the Grand Canyon Synod and in your circles of influence.
Read MoreIn this interview with Lutheran World Information, Bishop Deborah K. Hutterer talks about the ministry of the Grand Canyon Synod, changing populist rhetoric, and being open to change.
Read MoreThe Mount Olive Lutheran Church Woodshop in Lake Havasu City, AZ, donated a number of handcrafted comfort crosses to be delivered by Bishop Hutterer on her trip to Senegal.
The crosses come with the following message: “Keep it near, and when you hold it, know that your brothers and sisters in Christ are praying with you, and for you.”
Read MorePastor Ben Bergren was installed as the new Senior Pastor at Community Lutheran Church in Las Vegas on November 16, 2019. He begins a new chapter for the church that has had only two other Senior Pastors in its 46 year history. Bishop Deborah Hutterer installed Pastor Ben and other pastors in the Las Vegas Valley came for the event.
Read MoreAs Thanksgiving approaches, we are reminded to notice God’s abundance and “count our blessings.” You may even practice this at a Thanksgiving table of family, friends and food.
It’s easy to think of Jesus at such a table. The Gospel gives us numerous examples of Jesus and the disciples giving thanks for the bread of that day, and then returning to the dusty road of service with nothing more than simple clothes and sandals for walking.
Read MoreThe Rev. Scott Hackler was installed as pastor at Spirit of Grace Lutheran Church, Surprise, AZ on Sunday, October 20, 2 pm.
Read MoreWe’d like to thank the Planning Committee for the 16th Annual Retirees Retreat, conducted at the Spirit of the Desert Retreat Center in early November. Thanks to their leadership, 85 participants gathered for a stimulating learning event under the theme: “AWAKENING... STILL: The Importance of Knowing the Right Questions!”
Read MoreAt the Bishop’s Fall Gathering, someone asked me, “Where do you find joy?” And, while I find many places of joy, it got me thinking. When I opened myself to serve in this role as bishop, I wasn’t thinking of joy. My prayer was, and still is, that God would use me to serve. Even though I get to do so many wonderful things, there are days when I struggle.
Read MoreIn September the synod council, staff, and conference deans gathered in Tucson for a weekend of church business, worship, fellowship, and a border immersion experience. The experience comes out of our commitment to live into our strategic plan of communicating Jesus: “We will grow our public witness through advocacy, integrating our ELCA theology and engagement with current issues and contextual realities.”
The workshop included time to examine our perceptions around border issues, to cross the border and visit our Lutheran-Episcopal ministry, Cruzando Fronteras, and worship with the GCS’s oldest Spanish speaking congregation, Iglesia San Juan Bautista.
View reports, resources, and reflections of the participants.
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 MoreBishop Deborah Hutterer joined refugee advocates in response to President Donald Trump's decision to lower the cap on refugee admissions over the next 12 months to 18,000, saying it will hurt Arizona socially and economically.
"Let me reaffirm that refugees do not bring terror when they resettle. Rather, they are the ones who are fleeing terror," Hutterer said. "It's refugees who contribute to our community, both economically and with their passion for this country, (and) bring with them their diverse cultures and backgrounds that only enrich the United States."
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