Posts in ELCA
Prompts for Prayers of Intercession: November 14, 2021
Prompts for Prayers of Intercession: November 14, 2021

  • For equitable access to healthcare and medical resources…

  • For attendees of the Astroworld festival and the families of those who died there…

  • For those suffering severe flooding in the states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh in India…

  • For all victims of senseless acts of violence and destruction…

  • For all in search of warm places of shelter as the weather turns…

  • For justice-seekers working in healthcare, housing, food and nutrition, and education…

  • In thanksgiving for the harvest that has been gathered and for the hands that worked the fields…

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ELCA, PrayersBrian FlatgardELCA Worship, For What Shall We PrayComment
Workshop on Anger Issues in our Faith Community
Workshop on Anger Issues in our Faith Community

Many bishops and rostered ministers have reported an increase in anger in our faith communities. Covid issues over the past two years have made ministry more complicated.

Barbara Keller, with ELCA’s Misconduct Prevention, presents a 1-hour zoom workshop for rostered ministers. It focuses on understanding the origin of anger and ways to help rostered ministers and congregations deal more effectively with anger. Tuesday, 11/30/2021, 9 am MST, 8 am PST. Register here.

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ELCA, News, Leader ResourcesBrian FlatgardComment
Rev. Lisa Heffernan: Disability Ministries update
Rev. Lisa Heffernan: Disability Ministries update

Greetings! My name is Rev. Lisa Heffernan, and on June 1st I began serving as coordinator for ELCA Disability Ministries. I work remotely out of South Dakota, where I am also serving as a part-time interim pastor with a congregation.

As a person with a disability (spina bifida), this ministry is especially close to my heart and I’m excited for where God is leading us in 2022 and beyond.

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ELCA, LettersBrian FlatgardDisability MinistriesComment
Hidden Evangelists get-together
Hidden Evangelists get-together

Do you come home from a trip with a new best friend? Have you ever prayed with someone in line at the grocery store? Do you know the life stories of all of your Lyft drivers? Do you talk to your neighbors about Jesus? If these scenarios ring true for you, you might be a hidden evangelist!

Join ELCA’s Phil Hirsch and Louise Johnson on Zoom Tuesday, 11/9/2021 at 6 pm MST, 7 pm PST, for a lively conversation with people who have a similar passion for sharing Christ’s love. Register today.

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ELCA, NewsBrian FlatgardELCA Christian Community and Leadership Congregational Vitality TeamComment
A People of Hope: Until All Are Fed | An online benefit for ELCA World Hunger
A People of Hope: Until All Are Fed | An online benefit for ELCA World Hunger

In this post we share a vide of the online benefit for ELCA World Hunger, where Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton and guidebook author and travel TV host Rick Steves celebrate World Food Day! Steves interviews people on the ground who do the dynamic work of fighting hunger around the world. If you'd like to give a gift, visit ELCA.org/EndHunger.

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Bishop Eaton, ELCA, Stories of HopeBrian FlatgardHunger, ELCA World HungerComment
Generations of faith: How intergenerational ministry can sustain the church
Generations of faith: How intergenerational ministry can sustain the church

The October 2021 issue of Living Lutheran focuses on Intergenerational Ministry, with several articles and perspectives on the topic. The primary article shares many resources, including an interview with Linda Staats of the Generosity Project, as well as photos from the Grand Canyon Synod.

View the article online or in its magazine format, and find the study guide here.

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ELCA, Stories of Hope, Leader ResourcesBrian FlatgardThe Generosity Project, Living Lutheran, StewardshipComment
ELCA opposes designation of Palestinian human rights groups as terrorist organizations
ELCA opposes designation of Palestinian human rights groups as terrorist organizations

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America joins 14 other Churches and church-based organizations in a letter to Secretary of State Blinken to express concerns about the recent Israeli decision to label key Palestinian human rights and civil society organizations as “terrorist organizations.” Read the letter as PDF or in this post.

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ELCA, News, LettersBrian FlatgardEcumenical and Inter-Religious Relations, SumudComment
Prompts for Prayers of Intercession: October 31, 2021
Prompts for Prayers of Intercession: October 31, 2021

  • For candidates and voters in local elections…

  • For political unrest in Sudan and Tunisia…

  • For victims of gun violence…

  • For those recovering from recent severe weather…

  • For ecumenical and full communion partners, especially the Reformed Church in America…

  • For continued and increased access to Covid vaccines and treatments, and in memory of those who have died in the pandemic…

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ELCA, PrayersBrian FlatgardELCA Worship, For What Shall We PrayComment
Bishop Eaton: A pastoral letter regarding the actions of the Reformed Church in America General Synod 2021
Bishop Eaton: A pastoral letter regarding the actions of the Reformed Church in America General Synod 2021

Like many of you, I have been praying for the Reformed Church in America (RCA) as it met in General Synod, Oct. 14-19, in Tucson, Ariz. For nearly a quarter century, we have grown in full communion with the RCA, sharing in mutual ministry and mission. We have come to know each other through our common witness to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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Bishop Eaton, ELCA, LettersBrian FlatgardReformed Church in AmericaComment
ELCA Advocacy October 2021 updates
ELCA Advocacy October 2021 updates

ELCA Advocacy shares their October, 2021 updates. The first is from the ELCA Advocacy office in Washington, D.C., and the second is the UN and state edition, updates shared from submissions of the Lutheran Office for World Community and state public policy offices (sppos) in the ELCA Advocacy Network this month. We excerpt our synod’s Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (LAMA) update in this post.

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ELCA, News, Grand Canyon SynodBrian FlatgardAdvocacy, ELCA Advocacy, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (LAMA)Comment
Faith Lens: Inventing With a Purpose
Faith Lens: Inventing With a Purpose

In late September the MacArthur Foundation announced that Joshua Miele is a genius grant recipient. Miele designs adaptive technologies that allow blind and visually impaired (BVI) people to use the technologies that permeate society. For instance, Miele developed YouDescribe, which allows sighted volunteers to create audio descriptions of any video on YouTube.

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ELCA, Leader ResourcesBrian FlatgardFaith Lens, Youth and Young AdultComment