I grew up a Lutheran, having built a deep connection to God from a young age. However, like many of us I am sure, I have struggled with my faith over the last few years, especially these last two years. It seemed like the life I planned out was turned upside down and twisted without a moment’s notice. “New” things kept appearing everywhere I looked, and I felt incredibly lost, stuck in an uncontrollable void of questions and uncertainty
Read MoreThe Evangelical Lutheran Church in America grieves with the families of the 19 students and two teachers killed in Tuesday's mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Mass shootings in this country over the past two weeks have deepened the wounds of grief and sorrow. This follows the racially motivated shooting of 10 people in Buffalo, N.Y.; the shooting in Laguna Woods, Calif.; and the 27 other school shootings that have occurred in 2022. Many of the shooters have targeted children and older adults — some of the most vulnerable in our society.
Read MoreFor a long time, no one in Tulsa’s white or black communities talked about the massacre that destroyed the Greenwood district in May 1921. Those who were there remembered. A few kept the memory alive. But most simply chose to forget. Shrouded in silence for decades, it lay there in the heart of the city, eating away at it like a cancer.
Read MoreOn May 2-5, National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, National VOAD, held its annual conference in Baltimore, MD. Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) is a National VOAD member and has been a strong player in the VOAD movement.
National VOAD is a coalition of community-based, faith-based and nonprofit disaster response organizations throughout the United States.
Read MoreFor victims of the the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas and for their loved ones…
For all people, families, and communities affected by gun violence…
For local, state, and federal lawmakers, that justice, peace, and safety may prevail…
For students and graduates at the end of this school year (especially local institutions)…
For families searching for infant formula to feed their children, and for affordable access to safe, healthy nourishment for all people…
For families and friends remembering loved ones who died while serving in the United States armed forces on this Memorial Day weekend…
For peace between nations and an end to war across the globe…
All Creation Sings includes several for lament including “Lamenting Gun Violence” (Leaders Edition, p. 107) and “Service after a Violent Event” (Pew Edition p. 64-66, Leaders p. 110-113) as well as several collect prayers including the one below. This content is also available on SundaysandSeasons.com in the Library. (All Creation Sings/Prayers, Thanksgivings, and Laments/Resources for Lament)
Lord Jesus Christ, your own mother looked on when your life ended in violence. Our hearts are pierced with grief and anger at the [death of / mass shooting in_________]. We commend the slain to your wounded hands, and their loved ones to your merciful heart, trusting only in the promise that your love is stronger than death, and that even now, you live and reign forever and ever. Amen. (ACS, p.49)
Read MoreJesus repeatedly prays that “they may all be one,” that through the communion of God and Jesus, we all may be one. This oneness is rooted in God’s immense love which goes beyond all time and space.
Even in that upper room, the reality of this oneness rooted in love is hard to conceptualize. The folks who fill that room are far from perfect, they will mess up some in pretty significant ways in the days to come, as they struggled to understand and cope with Jesus’ death and resurrection. Yet, knowing all this, Jesus prays for them and, in that moment, Jesus prays for us too.
Read MoreThis blog post from ELCA Advocacy is an invitation into learning more about the farm bill, farm bill advocacy and ways to get involved. It expands on information in the ELCA World Hunger’s Global Farm Challenge Youth Action Guide’s advocacy page.
Read MoreThe Rev. Paul D. Erickson, Milwaukee, was reelected May 21 to a six-year term as bishop of the Greater Milwaukee Synod of the ELCA.
Read MoreRead 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.
Read MoreFor 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
Read MoreOur 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.
Read MoreOn 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).
Read MorePresiding 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).
Read MoreThe 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).
Read MoreSometimes 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.
Read MoreELCA 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.
Read MorePastor 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.
Read MoreIn this post, meet the wonderful group of colleagues who serve on the ELCA Disability Ministries advisory team.
Read MoreFor 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…
