Bishop Elizabeth Eaton encourages us to be of good courage while we move towards a Holy Week unlike any other.
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These 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.
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On this National Census Day, commit to complete your form – but also encourage the community as well! Before in-person census takers are scheduled to facilitate this once-every-10-years count, let’s encourage everyone we can to complete the census online, by mail or by phone – accessed at 2020census.gov.
The ELCA is an official partner of the 2020 Census. Use these voices of Lutheran leaders, also available on social media @ELCAadvocacy, to help encourage the most accurate count possible.
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Over the past month, we have observed Women's History Month in the United States, a time for celebrating, honoring and reflecting on the contributions of women to history. At the same time, we are living through the unprecedented time of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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It’s easy to feel betrayed watching people take the last two packages of toilet paper, leaving you with nothing.
COVID-19, you have left us feeling betrayed.
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During these times of COVID-19/Coronavirus, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton provides some thoughts as many of us are quarantined.
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Many members may be concerned about how to support the work of their congregations, synods and churchwide ministries if they are ill or choosing to stay home to reduce the risk of getting or spreading the virus.
A majority of ELCA congregations currently offer online giving as an option for both one-time and recurring gifts; and all still accept checks. For congregations looking for online giving, the ELCA has negotiated with preferred vendors who can quickly respond with options.
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From the ELCA Public Health page, Intercessory Prayers in the midst of the spread of COVID-19 from the Lutheran World Federation are available in English and Spanish.
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The churchwide office is launching a comprehensive Covid-19 response across the ELCA beginning today. We have three new approaches designed to provide several levels of support for our most vulnerable congregations and ministries. These three approaches are Daily Bread Grants, Here to Serve, and the Covid-19 Response Appeal.
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From the ELCA Public Health page, Guidance for funeral practices during a health crisis (download PDF) is available, updated March 18, 2020.
How does the Christian community respond to these needs when public gatherings for worship are limited or suspended because of a health crisis such as COVID-19? How do we provide pastoral care to the grieving while also acting out of love for those most at risk in our communities by practicing social distancing?
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From the ELCA Public Health page, Congregational Planning Checklist for Public Health Concerns is available in English and Spanish, updated March 11, 2020.
With the outbreaks of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the United States, congregations and houses of worship need to be well-informed and well-prepared. A step-by-step approach to prepare for a serious outbreak can be useful.
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From the ELCA Public Health page, How to stream your worship service — A starter guide is available in English and Spanish, updated March 13, 2020.
If you’ve ever wondered how to stream your congregation’s worship or events online, this guide is for you. It’s not comprehensive, and the information contained here may change at any time because the software and hardware are always evolving. But the guide explains how to begin streaming for very little money and with equipment you already own or might borrow.
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The Census Bureau continues to carefully monitor the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation. The key message right now is: It has never been easier to respond to the census on your own—whether online at 2020census.gov, over the phone, or by mail—all without having to meet a census taker.
Promotion of census participation is important, particularly to support challenges like the coronavirus (COVID-19).
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From the ELCA Public Health page, Prayers for Times of Public Health Concern: COVID-19/Coronavirus are available in English and Spanish.
These prayers and prayer suggestions may be used or adapted as needed. Know that your local context may lead to additional prayers that reflect local needs and situations. The conclusion of the prayers may be easily adapted when included as part of the prayers of intercession.
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From the ELCA Public Health page, Worship in Times of Public Health Concerns is available in English and Spanish (updated March 20, 2020).
When worshiping together in person is not advised or prohibited by municipal/state government, leaders are facing circumstances they have likely not encountered. This resource is offered to help consider how we are the body of Christ together when we cannot gather in-person for worship.
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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?
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You’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)
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At 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.
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“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).
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