Stanley Enzweiler is the Program Manager of St. Matthew Trinity’s Lunchtime Ministry, which offers a warm meal, hospitality and community to neighbors in Hoboken, New Jersey.
In this post, Stanley reflects on the uncertainty and stress the community faced in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic – and on the hope, hard work and perseverance that has kept Lunchtime Ministry going.
Read MoreThe Grand Canyon Synod invites you to an informational Zoom meeting, April 28, 2021, at 1 pm MST/PDT, regarding current and upcoming grant possibilities from ELCA. Our churchwide office guests are Julianna Glassco and Iain Chester, who will present grants from Domestic Hunger and Open Doors. Please register here.
Read MoreAfter witnessing acts of violence this week, particularly against Black and Brown people, Bishop Eaton reminds us of all the ways our church has committed to do justice—on racism, on health care, on education, on immigration—but implores us to do more. Work for change. Get in contact with your neighbors, communities, lawmakers and officials. The same liberating gospel that sets us free from sin sets us free to serve our neighbor.
Read MoreThe Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America welcomes the opportunity to share its Greening the Parish Resource Page with the ELCA. Designed for both the parish and home, this page provides resource material for navigating and fulfilling our vocation as stewards of creation and working towards greening our churches together on a personal level.
Read MoreThe application window for the 2022 ELCA World Hunger Domestic Hunger Grants is now open. Visit ELCA.org/domestichungergrants to learn more about the grants and how to apply.
Organizations applying for an ELCA grant for the first time must register by setting up an account in ELCA GrantMaker in order to access the Domestic Hunger Grant application.
Read MoreLutheran campus ministry (LCM) can sometimes be an afterthought to the greater church. I spent my whole life in Lutheran congregations and had never heard of campus ministry before coming to Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill. However, LCM has been a vital part of the Lutheran community since the ministry’s inception in 1907 as a community “to attend to the needs of students.” Read more at Living Lutheran.
Read MoreCongress is currently considering two competing bills which would codify civil rights for LGBTQ+ individuals in the United States, the Equality Act (H.R. 5) and the Fairness for All Act (H.R. 5331). The Equality Act has passed the House of Representatives and is now being considered by the Senate. One of the most significant points of dispute is how the two bills would treat religious objections.
Read MoreThe 2021 Earth Day theme, "Restore Our Earth," reminds us of the holy work God entrusts to us — of seeking the well-being of creation as inseparable from the wholeness of humankind. En Español tambien.
Read MoreBut let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream" (Amos 5:24 NRSV).
The last 16 days have been a microcosm of the original sins of racism and white supremacy in the United States. As an anti-racist church that condemns white supremacy, we acknowledge these injustices.
Read MorePrompted to remember those who have died of the virus, Bishop Azar launched a memorial to plant an olive or native tree for every person lost to COVID-19. The Tree of Life initiative was announced in December and launched in late March. The initiative is managed the Environmental Education Center, an educational ministry of the ELCJHL. Read the full Lutheran World Federation story here.
Read MoreOn Monday, April 9, 1945, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was hanged in a concentration camp in Flossenburg, Germany, for his role in a conspiracy to assassinate Adolf Hitler. A week earlier, on April 1, the wider world had celebrated the news that Jesus “is not here; for he has been raised” (Matthew 28:6).
Read more about Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s subversive witness in Living Lutheran.
Read MoreIn her April column for Living Lutheran, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton writes about Easter and Earth Day, reminding us that we are redeemed, reconciled and reunited in the beauty of the Creator’s loving handiwork.
Read her column in English at https://bit.ly/3uR9fFu and in Spanish at https://bit.ly/3wXV9UA.
Read MoreThe Weekly Online Gathering for ELCA Leaders continues this Wednesday, April 21, 2021, 12pm MST and PDT. Links to the meeting at elcacoaching.org, as well as archives. Join Zoom meeting here.
Growing Young: Prioritize Young People (and Families) Everywhere - Rachel Alley and others.
Read MorePriscilla Paris-Austin, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Seattle, sees her commitment to racial justice and equity work as a “both/and” imperative involving personal and systemic change. Here, she shares a reflection on how her experiences led her to her work in inspiring and achieving the God-given dream of liberating love.
Read MoreELCA World Hunger is excited to share a new opportunity from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary’s Center for Climate Justice and Faith.
The Center’s work focuses on helping leaders learn about sustainability, caring for creation and working for justice so that all can enjoy the abundance of God’s creation.
Read MoreLutheran Disaster Response gives an update on several Middle Eastern countries with humanitarian crises.
Read MoreAs this pandemic draws on and we sometimes lose track of our schedule, Presiding Bishop Eaton assures us that no matter where we are or what we are doing, we are in the right place and surrounded by God’s presence.
Read MoreThe Weekly Online Gathering for ELCA Leaders continues this Wednesday, April 14, 2021, 12pm MST and PDT. Links to the meeting at elcacoaching.org, as well as archives. Join Zoom meeting here.
The Eisenhower Matrix: Managing Time and Priorities in a Too-busy World, with The Rev. Dana Peterson, DEM for the Rocky Mountain Synod.
Read MorePortico is adopting provisions in recent COVID-relief legislation (American Rescue Plan Act) that allow members to reconsider their 2021 FSA elections and adjust, as appropriate, during this one-time opportunity.
Sponsored members can elect to change or begin pretax contributions to an FSA – without experiencing a qualifying life event – during a special enrollment window between April 12 – April 23, 2021.
Read MoreIn the Easter season our “Alleluias” are bold. “Christ has risen while earth slumbers,” a new hymn in All Creation Sings, announces the promise of resurrection while acknowledging the complexity of human experience.
Read More
