Posts in ELCA
#MYLE2022: Cultural Awareness

We are very excited to see you next July for the 2022 Multicultural Youth Leadership Event (MYLE) and happy that we get to lead the brand new MYLE team called Cultural Awareness.

We have heard stories about microaggressions and other harms that have happened at past MYLEs. These stories break our hearts, and we are working hard to help people do better and for everyone to have a better experience at MYLE, in their faith communities and in the world.

Read More
Tornado disaster response

Lutheran Disaster Response is collaborating with the Indiana-Kentucky Synod and other partners in the area to assess the damage and develop an immediate and a long-term response plan. Your gifts to support these response efforts will empower our partners to meet survivors’ immediate and long-term needs.

Your gifts to “U.S. Tornadoes” will be used in full (100%) to help people impacted by the tornadoes until the response is complete.

Read More
Prompts for Prayers of Intercession: December 12, 2021
  • For all who lack warm shelter or adequate clothing…

  • For all impacted by inclement weather and severe winter storms…

  • For all experiencing loneliness or exacerbated grief this holiday season…

  • For the moments of joy and hope that illumine the shadows of our soul…

  • For victims of gun violence…

  • For rescue and recovery efforts following the eruption of Mount Semeru in Indonesia…

Read More
Community Awaits | Young Adults in Global Mission

After a two-year pause during the COVID-19 pandemic, ELCA’s Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) program is getting ready to send volunteers out into the world again!

Young adults aged 21 to 29 can apply now for an international service year that will shape their faith, career, identity and understanding of how they fit into God’s work in the world. Watch the video in this post and then more and apply at ELCA.org/YAGM.

Read More
Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy plan information

The ELCA has posted guidance for congregations who received ballots or who are otherwise entitled to vote on the Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy plan. Please note that this is not legal advice and that, due to the nature of our polity, the ELCA cannot dictate what congregations do.

Click here for the Summary of Select Information about the Boy Scouts of America Bankruptcy Case, updated December 6, 2021. You can find this and more sexual misconduct resources on the ELCA legal resource page.

Read More
Bishop Eaton: Living in charged times

Feeling stressed? Stressful times often lead to unkind words and actions toward one another. Bishop Eaton reminds us to consider Luther’s explanation to the 8th commandment: We are to fear and love God so that we don’t tell lies about our neighbors, betray or slander them or destroy their reputation. Instead we are to come to their defense, speak well of them and interpret everything they do in the best possible light.

Read More
Bishop Eaton issues message on 80th anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day

Eighty years ago, on a beautiful Sunday morning, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was tragically transformed from an island paradise into a bloody battlefield. After the Japanese bombed the U.S. Navy, war was declared and tragedy ensued. During times like these, the Lutheran church has always trusted our chaplains to bring a ministry of Word and Sacrament — to remind people that, no matter how difficult the circumstances, there is always a way toward peace.

Read More
IRS requirement for churches — Form 8822-B

In a July 30, 2021, news release, the IRS issued a call for entities with an Employer Identification Number (EIN) to ensure that the IRS has the entity’s current “responsible party” on file. The IRS believes maintaining current responsible party contact information is critical to its efforts to fight identity theft and other fraud related to EINs. View the form here.

Read More
ELCA Youth Gathering: We’ve hit 10K!

I am thrilled to share with you that at the close of our early-bird registration we crossed over the 10,000-person mark for the 2022 ELCA Youth Gathering. It’s exciting and hopeful to know that even during an unusual and tough couple of years, thousands of you are preparing for the Gathering next summer.

Questions? Our Grand Canyon Synod Gathering Coordinator is Pastor Shari Bernau, with Living Water Lutheran in Scottsdale: pastorshari@lwlcaz.org.

Read More
Hunger and Poverty by the Numbers: Where Are We at Now?

"Hunger and Poverty by the Numbers: Where Are We at Now?" is a webinar with Ryan Cumming (ELCA World Hunger) on December 9, 2021, at 5pm MST, 4 pm PST. Registration for this webinar is at forms.office.com/r/iN8KcajcJ4.

The webinars are open to anyone passionate about ending hunger and eager to learn more. In each session, we will dive deeply into the topic, with presentations from ELCA World Hunger staff and partners and time for questions and conversation.

Read More
Prompts for Prayers of Intercession: December 5, 2021
  • For the victims of the Oxford High School shooting and all victims of gun violence…

  • For peace between nations…

  • For equity and justice for all peoples…

  • For all affected by flooding in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia…

  • For human rights activists and organizations…

  • For judges, lawyers, and all who make far-reaching and life-impacting decisions…

Read More
Celebrating One Year of All Creation Sings

All Creation Sings, the worship and song supplement to Evangelical Lutheran Worship, released in late November 2020.

The ELCA Worship Staff would like to know how you’ve gotten to know All Creation Sings since its release last Advent. What is a newly discovered hymn or song that has worked very well in your assembly? Have you used elements of Settings 11 or 12 over this past year?

Read More
Regina Fredrick: Facing family violence so peace catches on

We are thankful to share a perspective from a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.

Violence and peace are contagious. Maintaining them depends on one’s decision. A family member who has been raised experiencing one of the two is most likely to act the same toward people around them. One act of peace can change a society, and the same of violence.”

Read More