Reflecting on the Day of Epiphany and events in Washington, Bishop Eaton asks that we consider our own epiphany, recognizing the brokenness of our country and how we can become part of the solution.
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Join Amy Reumann, ELCA Director for Advocacy, to learn more about why Lutherans advocate and how discipleship expressed through civic engagement and public witness impacts the issues of our day.
Part of the Weekly Online Gathering for ELCA Leaders, this Wednesday, 1/13/2021, 12pm MST, 11am PST. Links to the meeting at elcacoaching.org as well as archives.
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The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), joined leaders from the National Council of Churches (NCC) in an open letter to Vice President Mike Pence, members of Congress and the Cabinet, calling for the removal of President Donald Trump from office. The letter states:
“Our faith instructs us to take seriously positions of leadership, not to lead others astray and to be careful about what we say and do.
For the good of the nation, so that we might end the current horror and prepare the way for binding up the nation's wounds, we, as leaders of the member communions of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC), believe the time has come for the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, to resign his position immediately.”
Read the letter here or in this blog post. Use this link to add your name to endorse the open letter.
Signers of the letter include National Council of Churches, United Church of Christ, AME Zion Church, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Alliance of Baptists, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, The Episcopal Church, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, The United Methodist Church, Reformed Church in America, The Armenian Church, Eastern Diocese of America, African Methodist Episcopal Church, Swedenborgian Church of North America, Alliance of Baptists, Progressive National Baptist Convention, Conference of National Black Churches, Community of Christ, Assyrian Church of the East, Ecumenical Catholic Communion, Presbyterian Church (USA).
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Responding to events at the U.S. Capitol, Bishop Eaton reminds us that “this is not a protest. This is not only breaking the law but it is a threat to our democracy.” We pray for peace and safety for all who are in harms way.
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Lutheran Disaster Response is supporting the Southeastern Synod of the ELCA in the aftermath of the bombing in Nashville, providing disaster chaplains to deliver spiritual and emotional care to those impacted by the bombing.
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Deja reflects on her international service year in the Argentina & Uruguay country program with Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM). If you are a young adult ages 21 to 29, you can apply for YAGM. The deadline to apply is Jan. 15, 2021, for service beginning in August 2021. Learn more at ELCA.org/YAGM.
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Rev. Solveig Nilsen-Goodin leads this Weekly Online Gathering for ELCA Leaders, this Wednesday, 1/6/2021, noon MST, 1 pm PST. Links to the meeting at elcacoaching.org as well as archives.
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Applications are actively being accepted for Lutheran Summer Music 2021. Consider the young musicians in your congregation who would thrive at LSM, making music, building community, and growing creatively in their faith. Nominate a student online to connect them with LSM Admissions and help them learn more.
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Tony and Tabby reflect on their international service year in the Central Europe country program with Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM). If you are a young adult ages 21 to 29, you can apply for YAGM. The deadline to apply is Jan. 15, 2021, for service beginning in August 2021. Learn more at ELCA.org/YAGM.
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Sometimes parents resist the news that their child is, or may be, autistic. Why do we need to label children so young? What good could possibly come of it?
As an autistic adult who was diagnosed at age 22, I wish my diagnosis had come much earlier in my life, because so much good has come of it. Getting diagnosed with autism is, quite simply, one of the best things that has ever happened to me.
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ELCA Advocacy shares updates in their UN and state edition, as well as from the ELCA Advocacy office in Washington, D.C.
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In addition to a situation report on Pacific typhoons, Lutheran Disaster Response provides a wrap-up and infographic on the record-breaking 2020 Atlantic hurricane season.
Thank you for your continual support for Lutheran Disaster Response as they continue to accompany impacted communities through the East Coast, Gulf Coast, and Central America.
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The ELCA joined 16 Christian denominations and organizations in calling for the incoming Biden administration to change the course of U.S. policy and undertake renewed efforts to bring peace to the Holy Land.
The letter requests that the administration take six concrete steps to “build towards a future where human rights violations are ended and there is equality between Palestinians and Israelis.”
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The ELCA Systems Academy is a four-year structured engagement with family systems theory, theology, and clinical work. For more info, read more in this post and this introductory PDF.
Pastor Steve Beyer, Lord of Life Lutheran in Sun City West, is our synod representative. Through the academy he’ll learn more about family systems and conflict, and assist our synod after he’s been trained.
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An earthquake, mass displacement, low-latitude tropical cyclones, COVID-19, a plague of locusts – 2020 has been a year of calamities in East Africa like no other. Among the most destructive and widespread for ELCA companions in the region was flooding, explored here in this letter by Daudi Msseemmaa.
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Searching for the perfect gift? Choose from more than 50 life-changing, charitable gifts in lieu of traditional Christmas presents. Even in a year when the needs can seem overwhelming, ELCA Good Gifts provide an easy way to make a real impact.
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Bishop Eaton shares a Christmas message with children as she reads the book The Little Shepherd. In the book, the birth of Jesus is told from the perspective of a shepherd boy. Each of us, no matter how small, can tell the story of Jesus’ birth and how God loves us. Merry Christmas!
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Ensuring that children have access to education and educational support, though, is a difficult goal to reach, and the COVID-19 pandemic has created even more obstacles for communities in need.
In Romania, the Evangelical Parish in Sibu has been hard at work adapting to these new challenges.
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Palestine is a very dear place to my heart. Visiting Palestine became a reality for me when I was trained to be a Peace Not Walls trip leader.
As a Black man in America I have experienced a great deal of oppression. While in Palestine I quickly learned that their oppression mirrors my own on many levels.
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