The Rev. Paul D. Erickson, Milwaukee, was reelected May 21 to a six-year term as bishop of the Greater Milwaukee Synod of the ELCA.
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Read the May and June updates from the ELCA advocacy office in Washington, D.C., by The Rev. Amy E. Reumann, Senior Director, ELCA Witness in Society.
The May/June issue of ELCA Advocacy Connections was prepared for distribution on May 25, 2022. While these brief updates on activity in which our ELCA Witness in Society federal staff is engaged are never an expansion of national news or a complete picture, today especially we are aware they don’t touch our corporate reflections, including on the horror of the shooting in Uvalde, Tex. and on observance of the second anniversary of the death of George Floyd.
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For over 25 years, Fund for Leaders has supported church leaders of tremendous promise. So far, your gifts to Fund for Leaders have made a difference in the lives of over 1,100 seminary students, allowing them to serve the church where they are needed most. Together, we are working toward our ultimate goal: a future in which every rostered minister can graduate without the burden of financial debt. ELCA.org/FundforLeaders25
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Our hearts grieve for those who have been killed and our souls cry out against more lives lost to the hatred birthed by racism. As we mourn those lives lost as a result of the racially motivated killings in Buffalo, we ask God to ease the continued suffering and trauma of our Black siblings throughout the nation and in our church. We are one body in Christ, so when one part suffers, we all suffer.
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On May 18, 2022, ELCA Presiding Bishop Eaton and 44 ELCA synod bishops, including Bishop Hutterer, wrote to Congress about their concerns related to the funding of Augusta Victoria Hospital. Read the full letter here: ELCA Bishops’ letter to Congress concerning US funding for Augusta Victoria Hospital.
Ask your Members of Congress to restore funding for Augusta Victoria Hospital and the other East Jerusalem hospitals (This form will give you a sample letter you can personalize and send).
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Presiding Bishop Eaton wrote to Secretary of State Antony Blinken to express her “profound shock and sadness concerning the death of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in Jenin, the West Bank, on May 11 and the deplorable disruption of her funeral procession on May 13.”
Read the letter from Bishop Eaton to Secretary of State Blinken on the killing and funeral of Shireen Abu Akleh and join Bishop Eaton in taking action by writing to Secretary of State Blinken here. (The action alert will give you sample language that you can edit and personalize).
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The 2022 ELCA Churchwide Assembly will take place Aug. 8-12 in Columbus, Ohio. Under the theme “Embody the Word,” the assembly will meet around word and water, wine and bread, to carry on its work on behalf of the entire church.
A key action during the assembly will be electing a vice president. Live video of worship and plenary sessions will be accessible at Churchwide Assembly — Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (elca.org).
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Sometimes it feels like my whole life revolves around the question “what’s next?” There’s this notion that “next” is a jump, one thing to another, and that the next thing must be substantially different from the thing before in order to be “new.” I’m starting to think that’s not the case.
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ELCA Advocacy shares updates shared from submissions of the Lutheran Office for World Community and state public policy offices (sppos) in the ELCA Advocacy Network this month.
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Pastor Clay Bates, chair of the North/West Lower Michigan Synod Task Force for Disability Ministry, shares how his vision of a synodical task force to promote ministry with people with disabilities began with the conviction that people with disabilities belong in worship and the life of a congregation as full participants, and every person with a disability has a right to access the sacraments, Christian learning, and spiritual guidance.
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In this post, meet the wonderful group of colleagues who serve on the ELCA Disability Ministries advisory team.
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For victims of the Tops grocery store shooting in Buffalo, NY and for their loved ones…
For victims of the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church shooting in Laguna Woods, CA and for their loved ones…
For all who live in fear of racially or politically motivated violence, that they will be safe from harm…For people, families, and communities affected by gun violence…
For the loved ones of the one million Americans who have died of COVID-19 and the six million people who have died of COVID-19 globally…
The Rev. William J. Gohl Jr., Baltimore, was reelected May 12 to serve a second six-year term as bishop of the Delaware-Maryland Synod.
Gohl has served as bishop of the Delaware-Maryland Synod since 2016. Prior to becoming bishop, he served as pastor of Epiphany Lutheran Church of Baltimore from 2007 to 2016, as evangelism coordinator for the synod from 2004 to 2010, and as pastor of Peace Lutheran Church in Glen Burnie, Md., from 2000 to 2007.
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The pandemic has resulted in years of isolation, anxiety, loss and grief. In her May column for Living Lutheran, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton reminds us that we can “remain isolated and reactive, or we can live as the new creation in Christ and be a witness to the world of the reconciliation we have received from God.” Read her column in English at https://bit.ly/3sHQkOL and in Spanish at https://bit.ly/3PwkzCm.
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In recognition of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, I share the journey of my achievements and struggles as a person of Asian descent in our church, and in our nation.
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A disciple has asks Jesus how he will reveal himself to the disciples when the world cannot see him, as Jesus describes in John 14:19. It’s a good question. They have never experienced anything like what Jesus describes. Of course, Jesus gives a very Jesus-y answer to that question. Love. Love is the way the disciples will know Jesus.
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Millions of people are suffering the consequences of Russia’s war against Ukraine. As devastation sweeps the region and millions are forced to flee their homes, we are beginning to see the long-term consequences the war will have for food security in Ukraine and around the globe.
In this video, the Rev. Daniel Rift talks with Rev. Rachel Eskesen and Dr. Ryan Cummingabout conflict, hunger and the ELCA’s response in Eastern Europe.
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Peace Not Walls shares responses to the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh from Association of Lutherans of Arab and Middle Eastern Heritage, Bishop Sani Ibrahim Azar, and World Council of Churches. Read and listen to NPR coverage here.
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The May, 2022, bimonthly e-newsletter for ELCA congregational and synodical leaders is here, featuring: the ELCA Churchwide Assembly, 4 things you can do to keep your organization cyber-safe, new videos on Portico’s billing process now available, creating a congregation mission statement, a new e-book entitled The Four S’s That Keep Church Leaders Awake at Night, and 10 essentials of severe-weather preparedness.
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Our unity as Christians is through Jesus Christ, the One who embodies God's grace among us. Every day we dive into our baptism, through which God promises grace and mercy and draws us out to love and serve neighbors.
Yet, there are times when, even in our unity, we do not agree. The people of this church and this country have various and perhaps contrasting responses to the Supreme Court's leaked draft opinion on abortion. Regardless of where each of us stands on the issue, the ELCA's 1991 social statement on abortion speaks to all of us.
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