Due to the continued and anticipated impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Young Adults in Global Mission program has decided to postpone sending volunteers until the 2021-2022 year of service. This decision was made for the safety and care of volunteers and global companions. Watch the video and read the press release.
Read MoreEmergency room doctor Halleh Akbarnia shares a poignant op-ed about her first COVID-19 patient, Mr. C. They learn from one another as they share a long and frightening road toward his recovery, which is also healing for her. For twelve days she waited to see if her efforts would be successful. At the end of her wait, she went in to visit her patient. Mr. C looked up at her and said, “I remember your eyes.” Sometimes it is a small thing which establishes a deep connection.
Read MoreWhether born of fear, ignorance, or bigotry, the calumny and actual harm that the Chinese American community has suffered is morally reprehensible. The same is true for those of other communities who are assumed to be Chinese. Any sense of isolation that might be compounded by our silence only adds to the pain and offense.
Read MoreEvery day is an adjustment. As we continue to lean into the discomfort and the unknown of this pandemic, let us remember what we do know. We know that God’s love for us is boundless. God’s love cannot be measured. We know that God’s boundless promise, no matter the darkness, is that Christ prevails.
Read MoreDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, the ELCA churchwide organization is here to support our members, congregations, synods and partners. Call 800-638-3522 and press #4 or email HereToServe@ELCA.org for prayer, support and to ask your questions.
Read MoreYou can help the ministries of the ELCA by supporting your local congregation and making a gift to the ELCA’s COVID-19 Response Fund.
Your donation will provide funds to the ministries of the ELCA most in need and best positioned to help. This includes our congregations as well as local and churchwide ministries capable of reaching and assisting those in need.
Read MoreWe could all use some good news these days, right? That was exactly the kind of thinking that inspired John Krazinski, star of The Office and Jack Ryan, to launch a heartwarming series of videos called “Some Good News” from his own home, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Krazinski sets up at a makeshift news desk to tell the world about the good things happening in the midst of so much bad.
Read MoreLutheran Disaster Response is working with partners around the world to respond to the pandemic, including Jersusalem, Egypt, Sudan, Madagascar, and India.
Read MoreUpdated April 8, 2020, with the addition of a video, from the ELCA Public Health page, FAQ on Paycheck Protection Program Loans is available as a PDF in English, Spanish, and via video.
Are churches eligible? Yes. There is some misinformation out there, and some lenders are confused, but churches are eligible.
Read MoreResponding to the wide-ranging impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on ministries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the ELCA Church Council approved a special fundraising appeal during a teleconference meeting that convened April 8.
Read MoreOur 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.
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