Our experiences this Easter are remarkably similar to those of the first Easter. Amidst fear and anxiety and crushing disappointment, we will sing our "Alleluias" with growing hope, strength, defiance and joy, confident that God loves us completely and has brought us into eternal life. Christ is risen. Alleluia.
Read MoreIn her April column for Living Lutheran, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton reflects on this paradox found in Martin Luther’s treatise On the Freedom of a Christian: “A Christian is lord of all, servant of all, completely free of everything. A Christian is servant, completely attentive to the needs of all.” Read her column in English at https://bit.ly/2XkCvqQ and in Spanish at https://bit.ly/3aSOcJ6.
Read MoreRev. Lamont Anthony Wells writes: “In the very city that hosted the African Descent Lutheran Association’s (ADLA) August 2019 Biennial Assembly (Milwaukee, Wis.), African Americans made up almost half of Milwaukee County’s 945 coronavirus cases and 81% of its 27 deaths in a county whose population is only 26% black (as of April 3, 2020). This level of disproportionate rates of infection and death is a direct result of economic, political and environmental factors that have been growing for decades.”
Read MoreFrom the ELCA Public Health page, Recommended Practices for Lifelong Faith Formation is available (download PDF).
Here you are, sheltering in place. This resource has great suggestions for spiritual practices and faith-filled service for every age in your household.
Read MoreHospitality is a bedrock value in Arabic culture. Anthropologists say it probably arose from the harsh desert conditions in the Middle East and the need to offer food, drink and rest to travelers who might appear at your dwelling. Without hospitality such visitors could die.
So important is this value for Arab Christians and Muslims that it has become ritualized.
Read MoreIt is bizarre that “on the night in which he was betrayed” Jesus didn’t use his time to do something more productive. He didn’t rally the troops, write a manifesto or plan some final demonstration. He sat down with his friends and shared a meal. What good is a meal when you know how bad things are about to get?
Read MoreFrom the ELCA Public Health page, Considerations for Remote Council and Congregation Meetings During the COVID-19 Pandemic is available (download PDF).
Many congregation leaders are asking how they can take advantage of technology to continue to hold necessary meetings to conduct the business of the congregation.
Read MoreBusinesses shuttered. Churches dark. Every trip outside the house involves a calculus of risk. With familiar activities proscribed Americans are scrambling to find new ways to educate, worship, connect, and calm their anxiety.
Nobody can say with any certainty how the crisis will affect the country over the long term. But some historians believe it will be a defining moment in our history.
Read MoreFrom the ELCA Public Health page, Families First Coronavirus Response Act from the UCC is available (download PDF), updated March 23, 2020.
Shared with permission from the United Church of Christ, this update helps explain The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), signed into law on March 18, 2020. It expands the provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), including which employers are covered under the Act, which may bring smaller religious organizations under the new provisions.
Read MoreFrom the ELCA Public Health page, Summary of CARES Act provisions is available (download PDF) , updated March 30, 2020.
This document briefly summarizes provisions in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“the CARES Act”) that could possibly be of interest to church plans, ministries and plan members.
Read MoreELCA.org/worship has resources for use in the home during this time of world-wide crisis:
Worship in the Home is available for each Sunday at blogs.ELCA.org/Worship.
Sign up for a Daily Bible Reading to be delivered to your email inbox.
Find a full list of readings for Sundays, festivals, and daily use is available from ELCA.org/Lectionary.
On the ELCA Worship blog, find Holy Week resources for:
Read MoreELCA World Hunger is announcing the immediate launch of Daily Bread Matching Grants. Through these grants, ELCA congregations can raise funds for their feeding ministries using an online fundraising platform and will receive a grant of $500 from ELCA World Hunger.
Up to 100 Daily Bread Matching Grants are available for ELCA congregations on a first-come, first-served basis, with the possibility of more grants becoming available in the future. Apply or donate here.
Read MoreThere’s too much “othering” today of people we don’t know or haven’t met. And, in a related way, awful hate speech abounds.
This commentary was prepared prior to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Unfortunately, the situation has spawned additional hate speech or racist remarks and actions directed against, for example, Asian Americans and China.)
Read MoreFrom the ELCA Public Health page, Update and Resources on COVID-19-related Benefits for ELCA Congregations, Synods, Other Ministries and their Employees is available (download PDF) , updated March 30, 2020.
Congress has passed three acts recently in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This summary focuses on the provisions of these acts that most directly affect churches and their employees and provides relevant resources.
Read MoreBishop Elizabeth Eaton encourages us to be of good courage while we move towards a Holy Week unlike any other.
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 MoreOn 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.
Read MoreOver 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.
Read MoreIt’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.
Read More
