This day is an opportunity to celebrate who we are as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America – one church, freed in Christ to serve and love our neighbor.
You work every day to make your community a better place. Let us continue doing this work together in 2019! View the video and access resources to guide your congregation’s planning, promotion and more.
Read MoreThese petitions are offered as guides to prayer for the global, social and outreach ministries of the ELCA, as well as for the needs and circumstances of our neighbors, communities and world. Thank you for your continued prayers for the life and mission of this church. Download a Word doc, or PDF for letter size printout or legal size printout, or view the ELCA resource page.
Read MorePastor Shari Bernau of Living Water Lutheran Church in Scottsdale, AZ, agreed to be our Synod Liaison for Youth Gathering 2021. Contact her (pastorshari@lwlcaz.org) if you have questions about how you can get to Minneapolis for Youth Gathering.
Read MoreRemember in prayer our ELCA missionaries serving in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Nepal, Singapore and South Korea. Give thanks for their service and witness as they accompany our global companions in ministries of theological education, teaching, counseling, communications and parish ministry.
Read MoreMany of our ELCA outdoor ministry staff are ending their summer of service and transitioning back to school, new employment or other service opportunities in the church. As they work to discern their vocations and futures, ask the Holy Spirit to guide, inspire and equip them to share their faith and gifts with the church and society and to respond to God’s call to service and ministry.
Read MoreIn late August of 1619, twenty Africans were forcefully brought to Jamestown, Virginia and sold into slavery. This marked the beginning of the transatlantic slave trade, which would ultimately take some 12 million Africans away from their homes and cultures into hereditary chattel slavery.
On August 25th, many churches and communities will be marking this quad-centennial of “Landing Day.” The congregations of the Grand Canyon Synod are encouraged to participate in this commemoration in several ways.
Read MoreIn this video, Dr. Carter Lindberg discusses the question: What is the difference between court prophets, who vindicate rulers, and authentic prophets, who hold leaders accountable to God?
Read MoreWith the college year kicking off, now’s the time to refer students from your congregation to campus pastors. Use the student referral tool from ELCA Lutheran Campus Ministry to make sure these students receive a welcome from campus pastors and some help adjusting to their new campus life.
Read MoreAdopted at the 2019 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, A Declaration of Inter-Religious Commitment will serve as church policy for inter-religious relations. The policy statement was adopted with the witness of 39 ecumenical and inter-religious guests in attendance.
"I hope that you will experience renewed joy and fresh insights as you read this document,” says Bishop Elizabeth Eaton.
Read MoreBishop Deborah Hutterer will attend the Retreat of Newly Elected Leaders (RoNEL), an activity of the The Lutheran World Federation’s Church Leadership in the Sustainability Program. The activity targets newly elected leaders (Bishops, Pastor Presidents) who come together to contemplate about their vocation.
Read MoreAnother blog post from ELCA World Hunger Education Intern Aml Mohamed. In this blog, she continues to seek answers to the three questions posed in her first blog. This blog is a response to her second question: “Why would I care as a practicing Muslim to work at a Lutheran faith-based institution?”
Read her full blog post: God Created Abundantly.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MorePray for the ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission program as it prepares young adults, ages 21-29, for a yearlong journey of service and witness alongside our global companions and churches in nine countries around the world.
Read MoreMany people are familiar with Martin Luther’s teachings on civil order and obedience to laws. Fewer folks, though, recall the Luther who admonished preachers to use the pulpit to rebuke rulers for injustice, argued for public support for education of girls and boys, and inspired generations of future Lutherans to stand against political oppression and injustice.
The authors of The Forgotten Luther II: Reclaiming the Church’s Public Witness (Fortress Press, 2019) offer this side of Luther and Lutheran faith to congregations today. Read the whole story»
Read MoreOur church is always prayerfully seeking guidance for the mission, work and witness of the ELCA in this rapidly changing world. Pray that the Holy Spirit will equip and energize us to meet the shifting challenges we face in sharing the gospel and in doing God’s work of bringing hope, reconciliation and healing to the world.
Read MoreGathering under the theme "We are church," voting members of the 2019 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) made a number of key decisions to further the mission and ministry of this church. The assembly, the chief legislative authority of the church, met Aug. 5-10 at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee.
Read MorePosted on August 9, 2019 from the ELCA Advocacy office in Washington, D.C. – the Rev. Amy E. Reumann, director, we have the following updates: AUGUST RECESS ADVOCACY OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITS PROPOSED TO SNAP HUNGER PROGRAM | KEEPING GIRLS IN SCHOOL ACT | FAITH-BASED PRESENCE AROUND U.N. CLIMATE CONFERENCE | FEDERAL BUDGET DEAL REACHED | STANDING AGAINST #CHRISTIANNATIONALISM | HUNGER ADVOCACY FELLOWS | VISITING D.C.
Read MoreThe campaign is simple but profound: wear black on Thursdays, and declare you are part of the global movement resisting attitudes and practices that permit rape and violence.
Speaking during a plenary session at the ELCA Churchwide Assembly, World Council of Churches (WCC) moderator Dr Agnes Abuom saluted those assembled for their collaborative work in embracing Thursdays in Black. “The decision of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to endorse Thursdays in Black is timely,” said Abuom.
Read MoreRemember in prayer the work and witness of our ELCA missionaries and the seven young people serving in the ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission program in Israel, Jerusalem/West Bank, Jordan and Palestine.
Read MoreSunday morning is a lot busier these days at the corner of Raleigh Street and 5th Avenue in West Denver. For the past several years a new community of God, called Latino Ministry West Denver (Cristo Rey), has been growing in the church building in this changing neighborhood. Known to the neighborhood simply as Cristo Rey, the new-start congregation connects with its community and actively engages people to be in relationship with each other and Christ. Read the whole story»
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