The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will observe its 35th anniversary on April 30, 2022. On this date in 1987, the ELCA constitution was adopted during the opening session of the Constituting Convention in Columbus, Ohio.
To symbolize the formation of the new denomination, the bishops from the three predecessor church bodies poured water from separate containers into one baptismal font.
Read MoreIf you know of someone in your synod who is discerning a call to ministry and might like to hear from all the ELCA seminaries in one space, please encourage them to attend a collaborative ELCA Seminaries virtual discernment event on Saturday, May 7th from 8 am - 1 pm MST/PDT, 9am-noon MDT. Register here.
Read MoreFor the protection of people and all creatures in the path of wildfires in New Mexico, Arizona, and Nebraska…
For Ukrainian refugees, displaced internally and internationally, and for all refugees of armed conflict throughout the world…
With thanksgiving for the gifts of Asians, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and throughout society…
For our Muslim neighbors celebrating Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of their Ramadan fast…
For synods, their leaders, and their bishops as synod assemblies begin to gather…
For all who were baptized or who affirmed their baptisms at Easter…
The Easter season is seven weeks long. Nearly every week the gospel lesson includes disciples encountering Jesus and failing to recognize him. This week’s gospel encounter is crammed with significance. There is a miracle and allusions to Peter’s failure to stand firm during the horrible events of Holy Week, as Jesus asks him repeatedly, “Do you love me.” Both are important and theologically significant, yet by focusing on them we may miss what is most significant. Namely, Jesus is in the world today if we have eyes to see.
Read MoreApril is Fair Housing Awareness Month and Bishop Eaton encourages us to continue the Lutheran tradition of being advocates for fair housing legislation and “tackle the legacy of segregation, housing discrimination, and ongoing disparities of homeownership for persons with disabilities, or based on race and gender.”
Read MoreThe ELCA Advocacy blog shares updates from submissions of the Lutheran Office for World Community and state public policy offices (sppos) in the ELCA Advocacy Network this month. Full list and map of sppos available. Read the updates here.
We also share the April Advocacy Connections from the ELCA advocacy office in Washington, D.C.
Read MoreIn his Daily Meditation of February 6 on 1 Corinthians 12, Rev. Richard Rohr writes “Humanity consistently has to face the problem of unity and diversity. We’re not very good at understanding it. We habitually choose our smaller groups, because we don’t know how to belong to a larger group. That demands too much letting go.”
Read MoreJoel McKinnon Miller is an actor. A lifelong Lutheran, he currently isn’t a member of an individual congregation but continues to be affiliated with the ELCA.
Read MoreAll Creation Sings includes a fully bilingual setting of Holy Communion (Setting 11/Liturgia 11). To support use of this liturgy as well as Evangelical Lutheran Worship Setting Seven: Santa Comunión, Sundays and Seasons now provides many more hymns and songs in Spanish.
Most hymns from Libro de Liturgia y Cántico are available for download to Deluxe subscribers. Service music (#181-274) is available to both Standard and Deluxe subscribers.
Read MoreThe ELCA European Descent Lutheran Association for Racial Justice (EDLARJ) hosts a webinar series entitled Building an Anti-Racism Team: Next Faithful Steps on three upcoming Wednesdays: 9/7/2022, 10/5/2022, and 11/2/2022. Register in advance here. More info at edlarj.org/events and Facebook event.
This series is for anybody in the ELCA, specifically interested in connecting with other folks building or working at a synod, campus or congregational anti-racist team.
Read MoreOn March 31st, 2022, the ELCA Church Council adopted “A Declaration of the ELCA to the Muslim Community,” uplifting our commitment to friendship and solidarity with our Muslim neighbors.
The idea that the ELCA should develop “A Declaration to the Muslim Community” has been around for some time, especially since the Reformation commemorations of 2017, when there was renewed focus in a variety of forums on Luther’s attitudes toward the religious Other.
Read MoreFor people facing violence in the Donbas region of Ukraine…
For Orthodox Christians celebrating Easter this week…
For interfaith peace and understanding as people of different faiths observe this holy time of year…
For wisdom and compassion to treasure and preserve our planet, God’s own beloved creation…
For our Jewish neighbors as they observe Yom HaShoah and for people facing genocide throughout the world…
Several years ago I was having an over-the-fence conversation with my neighbor. My garden lay at the edge of my property line, and her children’s play set stood at the edge of hers, so we’d exchange chitchat now and again as neighbors do.
On this afternoon, she peeked over the pickets and said somewhat breathlessly, “Anna, today I had to take my daughter out of our Baptist day care and put her in the Lutheran one.”
Read MoreALCM Webinar Series “TuneUp: A Way to Recruit Singers by Teaching Them to Match Pitch,”
Friday,4/29/2022, 11am MST/PDT, 12pm MDT.
The Association of Lutheran Church Musicians invites you to join its webinar to “help people sing with confidence.” This session offers ways to “recruit people to TuneUp” as well as useful techniques to get them to quickly and easily match pitch.” Register as part of the spring or full-year webinar series.
Read MoreKristen Berthiaume and her family live in Alabama. They wanted to promote racial justice in their community. Seeing that nationwide protests and demands for justice were often met with open racism and ignorance, the family decided to create an Anti-racist Little Library in front of their home.
Read MoreThe April, 2022 newsletter from ELCA worship is available, featuring All Creation Sings, events, and resources in English and Spanish. Read the newsletter here.
Read MoreLast week, history was made when the U.S. Senate confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court. She will serve as the first Black woman justice in the 232-year history of the Supreme Court. It is not the only, nor likely the last “historic first” for the highest court in the United States.
Read MoreResurrection – new life out of death – is built into the natural world—the interdependent life cycles of plants and animals living together in ecosystems mirror resurrection. How can our faith help us care for creation?
Read the article by LeeAnn Pomrenke in Café, a publication of the Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (WELCA).
Read MoreAs we return to a post-pandemic world, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton reminds us that we will need the “word of the Lord—the Word that calls us back to our center, which is the steadfast love of God, law and gospel, judgment and promise.” Read her April column for Living Lutheran in English and in Spanish, or download as PDF or Word document.
Read MoreFor the first time in decades we are witnessing a confluence of significant religious holy days and cultural traditions during the month of April. Kristen L. Opalinski shares her thoughts in Perspectives, a new ELCA ecumenical and inter-religious blog. She also shares these links:
This April, Chicago has a rare opportunity for interfaith cooperation
The Confluence of Holy Seasons: An Opportunity to Grow Together
