Posts in ELCA
Prompts for Prayers of Intercession: March 6, 2022
Prompts for Prayers of Intercession: March 6, 2022

  • For the people of Ukraine, for conscripted Russian soldiers, for war zone reporters, for the leaders of the nations…that all your beloved might live in safety and freedom from fear…

  • For bold, adaptive leadership in the face of urgent climate change…

  • For African students in Ukraine seeking refuge, for an end to racism everywhere…

  • For Chef José Andrés and the World Central Kitchen, for all humanitarian relief efforts…

  • For trans kids and their parents, for allies, for legislators

  • For all who despair, for all who dare still to hope…

Read More
ELCA, PrayersBrian FlatgardELCA Worship, For What Shall We PrayComment
Rev. Amy E. Reumann: Again Asking and Finding Steadfast Love in the Gloom of War
Rev. Amy E. Reumann: Again Asking and Finding Steadfast Love in the Gloom of War

The prophet Joel doesn’t hold back when sounding the alarm about the coming Day of the Lord in our Ash Wednesday reading. This year Joel’s alert sounds above the horror of the Putin regime’s invasion of Ukraine, a great and powerful army conducting an unprovoked attack against a neighboring state.

Read More
ELCA, LettersBrian Flatgard2022 Lent, Advocacy, ELCA Advocacy, Russia and Ukraine WarComment
Lent Reflection 1: Journey in the Wilderness
Lent Reflection 1: Journey in the Wilderness

We have a curious set of readings for this first Sunday of Lent. Biblical scholars believe that Deuteronomy 26:5-10 is a script for someone making an offering of what was called the “first fruits,” a religious practice for farming communities. These verses fit well with this somber season. Lent is, if nothing else, a time of looking backward and a time of looking forward.

Read More
ELCA, Leader ResourcesBrian Flatgard2022 Lent, Hunger, ELCA World HungerComment
Lutheran Disaster Response: Give now for Eastern Europe crisis response
Lutheran Disaster Response: Give now for Eastern Europe crisis response

On Feb. 24, 2022, Russian forces invaded Ukraine, launching land, sea and air attacks. Millions of civilians fleeing the violence are heading toward Ukraine’s western districts and neighboring countries.

In this post we share a letter from The Rev. Daniel Rift, Director, ELCA World Hunger and Lutheran Disaster Response Fund. You can support Urkainians and others by giving here.

Read More
ELCA, News, LettersBrian FlatgardRussia and Ukraine War, Lutheran Disaster ResponseComment
Pastor Kristin Engstrom: Arrived in Zambia
Pastor Kristin Engstrom: Arrived in Zambia

Pastor Kristin Engstrom, ELCA Global Missionary with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zambia, is glad to share with us her arrival in Zambia, “to begin my new call as an ELCA global missionary with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zambia (ELCZa). Thank you for all your prayers and support over these past months of waiting and anticipating my deployment to Zambia. I've written a new blog post about my first week in Zambia. You can find it here.”

Read More
ELCA, Letters, Grand Canyon SynodBrian FlatgardPastor Kristin Engstrom, Global MissionComment
LIRS: Russian invasion of Ukraine could trigger refugee crisis
LIRS: Russian invasion of Ukraine could trigger refugee crisis

Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, President and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS), writes: “The humanitarian implications of a full Russian invasion must be a central consideration in the U.S. and international response. Thousands could lose their lives, and millions more could lose the only home they have ever known. The U.S. and its allies must prepare to respond to the very real possibility of a mass exodus of Ukrainian refugees. Protecting the displaced cannot merely be an afterthought.”

Read the full statement in this post or on LIRS.org.

Read More
News, ELCA, LettersBrian FlatgardLutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS), Immigration and Refugees, Russia and Ukraine WarComment
Heads of churches in Holy Land voice objection to Mount of Olives being included in national park
Heads of churches in Holy Land voice objection to Mount of Olives being included in national park

After heads of churches in the Holy Land voiced their objections to a proposal to expand Jerusalem Walls National Park to include property owned by several churches in the city, Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority announced on February 21, 2022, that it was freezing the plan.

The text of the Feb 18 letter from Patriarchs about the Mount of Olives can be found here. The Feb 23 World Council of Churches article about the situation can be found here.

Read More
ELCA, LettersBrian FlatgardSumudComment
An Interfaith Call to Peace for Ukraine
An Interfaith Call to Peace for Ukraine

Though we have been anxious about the recent growing tensions between Ukraine and Russia and between Russia and the NATO countries in recent weeks, we remain deeply concerned, as we have been since 2014, for the impact of this ongoing conflict on innocent civilians throughout Ukraine.

All our religious traditions call us to pray and work for peace. We join our voices and hands together. We must open our eyes to those who are suffering, and we cannot remain indifferent to the injustice this conflict has brought on the people of Ukraine and may bring on people of neighboring countries.

Read More
Bishop Eaton, ELCA, News, LettersBrian FlatgardEcumenical and Inter-Religious Relations, Russia and Ukraine WarComment
Workshop: Community Resources to Manage Personal Issues and Family Needs
Workshop: Community Resources to Manage Personal Issues and Family Needs

Over the past two years of the pandemic, an increasing number of our congregants have come to the church for help with personal issues like depression, substance abuse, and domestic violence.

Our leaders minister to them and often need to refer them to others. View a list of resources in this PDF or in this post. Barbara Keller will host a one hour zoom workshop on this topic on Thursday, Mar 3, 2022 9am MST, 8 am PST. Register here.

Read More
ELCA, News, Leader ResourcesBrian FlatgardComment
Prompts for Prayers of Intercession: February 27, 2022
Prompts for Prayers of Intercession: February 27, 2022

  • For peace to prevail, especially between Russia and Ukraine…

  • For all firefighters working to contain destructive wildfires in Argentina…

  • For all members of the LGBTQIA+ community, especially beloved transgender women and girls at the heart of recent legislation…

  • For an end to rising, deadly violence against Asian American women…

  • For all who grieve the loss of loved ones to gun violence…

  • For all those living with mental illness…

Read More
ELCA, PrayersBrian FlatgardELCA Worship, For What Shall We PrayComment
The Power of Peacebuilding
The Power of Peacebuilding

Since the beginning of the civil war, South Sudan has been gripped by a cycle of violent retribution. The Episcopal Church of South Sudan–Upper Nile Internal Province (ECSS-UNIP) is striving to break that cycle.

Through its Peace and Reconciliation project, which is funded by Lutheran Disaster Response, ECSS-UNIP is fostering peace and understanding in the Upper Nile Internal Province.

Read More
ELCA, LettersBrian FlatgardLutheran Disaster ResponseComment