Is the Coronavirus really a threat to ordinary Americans? Do we actually need to take the inconvenient prevention measures many health and government officials suggest (staying at home, cancelling group events, keeping a distance between yourself and others, etc.)? Why or why not?
Read MoreYou’ve probably never wondered how many tables and chairs it takes to make a Gathering
happen. Me either! Well, until I said yes to serving as the Operations Team Leader for the 2018
ELCA Youth Gathering. (For the record we used 9,555 chairs and 750 tables of varying sizes.)
We can say, today, that women are free. Free to do. Free to dress. Free to decide. They should not need protection. Yet it is apparent that even today in the 21st century they still do. As Jesus protected them in his comment about divorce. (En Español)
Read MoreAt the ELCA Youth Gathering in Houston in 2018, I told the story of being immunosuppressed and going to Rwanda. What I didn’t say was that in Rwanda, when I was 23, I got typhoid fever. About six months after that, I got malaria. I thought I was going to die.
Read More“Psalm 104 celebrates the way in which water pours… This flowing water serves, in the psalm, as a sign of God’s overflowing blessings on creation, pouring down from God to the earth and giving life to creatures,” writes Benjamin M. Stewart in A Watered Garden: Christian Worship and Earth’s Ecology (p. 28).
Read MoreDid you know World Water Day is March 22? Use ELCA World Hunger’s Walk for Water to educate yourself and your community about the link between clean water and a just world where all are fed. View this Walk for Water guide.
Read MoreWith daily developments in the spread and scope of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), our anxiety and uncertainty tempt us to curve inward and fixate on self-preservation.
As a church for the sake of the world, committed to God’s call to love and serve our neighbor, we must turn our attention to those who will be most impacted by what may be massive disruptions.
Read MoreLent is a time in which we see God’s creations of nature change and show their seasonal differences. As nature’s seasons change, so do the seasons of the human life.
Different in the seasonal human change, unlike nature, especially Lent when all things appear new again, our bodies age. Hopefully, our minds are renewed each season to the point of maturity revealing the beauty of Godly wisdom.
Read MoreELCA Advocacy has many updates, including our first ever update from Solveig Muus and the newly formed Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (LAMA).
The March update includes: U.N. | Arizona | California | Colorado | Delaware | Kansas | Minnesota | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Southeastern | Texas | Washington | Wisconsin. Advocacy connections include COVID-19 | Landmines | Hmong and Laotian Deportations | FY2021 Budget | Fair housing rule.
Read MoreWe often see what we expect to see and miss other things because we are not looking for them. A famous experiment illustrates this. A group of people is passing balls around. Observers are asked to count the number of passes made. During the time the group is passing the balls around, a person in a gorilla suit walks into the group, struts around, then moves away. About half the observers say they did not see a gorilla. You can see an illustration of this experiment here.
Read MoreCan you name a ministry that, using a comprehensive approach, draws on the strengths of its community to break the cycle of poverty and hunger — for good?
Invite that ministry to apply for a 2020 ELCA World Hunger Domestic Hunger Grant! Registration: March 18 – May 20. Application: April 1 – May 22.
Read MoreAs we enter this election year, we remember our call to conversation and prayer around our role as U.S. residents and as people of faith in ensuring our election systems promote dignity and respect for all.
We are called to act by speaking out as advocates and engaging in local efforts to guarantee the right to vote to all citizens. More info at: elca.org/Our-Work/Publicly-Engaged-Church/ELCAVotes
Read MoreWe live in the time of COVID-19.
Daily, sometimes hourly, we hear of more cases of the virus, more cancellations of events, more closing of schools.
This is a time of disruption. It is also a time to live and act as faithful people of God.
Read MoreWith the outbreaks of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the United States and around the world, congregations and houses of worship need to be well-informed and well-prepared. The ELCA and Grand Canyon Synod have created pages with information that offers guidance as we minister to and engage with each other, and within our communities, as the body of Christ. Visit elca.org/publichealth and gcsynod.org/coronavirus for more info.
Read MoreTime to plan for summer fun! "On Earth As in Heaven" is a free vacation Bible school study linking the Lord's Prayer to the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals through stories and activities related to hunger. Check out the guide’s sample schedules, music, skits, snacks and craft ideas — including a certificate to celebrate everyone’s participation in VBS! Download and order via the ELCA resources page.
Read MoreOn February 24th, Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was found guilty of rape and a lessor crime. He has been accused by over 80 women of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape. While he is not the only powerful man to have such behavior exposed, he is a famous example and his accusers were instrumental in starting what we now call the #Metoo Era.
Read MoreHello! My name is Matthew Felbein and I am thrilled to be able to serve as one of the Gathering Hosts for the 2021 ELCA Youth Gathering in Minneapolis. This will be my second Gathering, and even though it is still about 450 days away (I might be counting already…) I couldn’t be more excited!
Read MoreThis 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 MoreAs our nation responds to COVID-19 with public health measures to test and contain the outbreak, we are also confronted by an outbreak of xenophobic attacks on Asian Americans, adults and children, with reports of similar aggressions around the world.
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