Welcome to the first issue of “Where Your Heart Is,” the new stewardship newsletter of the ELCA (subscribe here).
In the coming months and years, I hope we not only dig into some of the things valued in our lives, both personal and collective, but also highlight the important and honest fact that all of life is an act of stewardship, from our first breath to our last. How do we use our days?
Read MoreIn this Living Lutheran article, 1517 Media’s Dawn Rundman recommends three books: The Wit of Martin Luther; Baptized, We Live: Lutheranism As a Way of Life; and Luther the Reformer.
Read MoreThe ELCA’s Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) program is ready for new volunteers! Applications are now open, and you can invite young adults on this journey abroad for the 2023-2024 program year.
If you know young adults aged 21 to 29, this is the time to reach out. Encourage them to apply for YAGM by the deadline of Feb.1, 2023. (Priority deadline is Jan. 15, 2023.) YAGM volunteers will begin in August 2023. Learn more at ELCA.org/YAGM.
Read MoreAs you vote early or make your plan to vote, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton offers this message in advance of Election Day. Thank you for making informed and faithful decisions for your community, and congratulations to the first-time voters!
Read MoreJoin ELCA Coaching every Wednesday at noon MST, 11am PST, as we practice Courageous Leadership. Log in info is on the ELCA Coaching website.
Join us on Wednesday, November 9, 2922, as we hear from Rev. Adam Stockton regarding his personal experience with PTSD, recommendations for companionship, and how it has changed the way he leads and teaches (and more recently, how he coaches).
Read MoreA worship resource for Veterans Day includes prayers, hymn suggestions, and other ideas. Both PDF and Word versions are available at elca.org/Resources/Worship#Liturgy.
The resources may be used and adapted as needed for Veterans Day observances or in weekly worship on the Sunday closest to November 11. To learn more about caring for returning veterans, resources are available from the ELCA Federal Chaplaincy Ministries.
Read MoreThe ELCA provides this PDF resource, provided to assist congregations in this time surrounding a national election. The readings, prayers, and assembly song suggestions could be used in settings such as prayer vigils, as part of Morning or Evening Prayer, as part of regular weekly worship in the weeks preceding or following an election, or devotions at home or in other settings.
Read MoreFor the global missionaries of our church, including pastors, educators, medical personnel, and Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM)…
For our nation’s veterans, all who have experienced the violence of war, and those who strive for peace…
For an end to the continued war in Ukraine and all places of war and conflict…
For those injured and those grieving loss of life in the aftermath of the tragic Halloween festivities in Seoul, South Korea…
For those grieving loss of life following the bridge collapse in Morbi, Gujarat, India…
For our national and local elections and those who will be elected to public office this week…
Christian Nationalism identifies human-made governments as lockstep with God’s will and seeks to privilege Christians, typically only white Christians. This type of ideology is not only dangerous but distorts the difference between holding government accountable to God as opposed to identified strictly with God’s will. We must stand against Christian Nationalism and as that you join us in signing the petition and sharing your stance by visiting the Christians Against Christian Nationalism site.
Read MoreELCA Global Mission shares their November, 2022 Global Links, featuring: Young Adults in Global Mission Welcomed Around the World; News Around the World; Mission Personnel; and how to get involved.
Read More2022 marks two decades of full communion between the ELCA and The Episcopal Church—a pioneering decision for Christians in the United States that now bears fruit in about two hundred ministry sites including combined church plants, shared facilities, joint camping ministries and governmental advocacy, food pantries, campus ministries, archival work, very regular exchange of pastoral care and preaching, and collaboration in educational initiatives.
Read MoreI’ve lived in both cities and in the country–and in a few different states. There are commonalities among people everywhere I’ve lived. Most people want the best for themselves, their families, and the world. But we disagree on what that looks like and how we can bring it about.
Read MoreOn Reformation Day and in this video from Bishop Eaton, we celebrate the five hundred and fifth anniversary of the Reformation! Over five hundred years later, the Lutheran movement is alive and well, as the good news is proclaimed in languages and places Martin Luther never knew existed.
Read MoreCommitted to womanist theology, Trinity Lutheran Seminary and the ELCA’s Quality of Call Initiative for Women in Ministry have appointed Denise Rector as the seminary’s first joint doctoral scholar-in-residence (DSIR).
Read MoreFounded as Chautauqua Lake Sunday School Assembly, the community was originally an educational experiment in vacation learning for Sunday school teachers. Fifteen denominations are represented at the institution—12 of which have houses on the grounds, including the Lutheran House.
Read MoreWe recognize the wisdom of Ecclesiastes when it comes to the life cycles of all living beings. As individuals, we know our lives will end someday. But it’s often more difficult to accept the reality that all human organizations, including our congregations, have life spans as well.
A 2021 study by the Center for Analytics, Research & Development and Data, affiliated with the United Church of Christ, found that, during the previous decade, between 3,850 and 7,700 U.S. congregations closed each year, or 75 to 150 per week. Some who study church trends believe the pace will quicken in the wake of the pandemic.
Read MoreFor me, this awareness month/s isn’t about simply learning what spina bifida is or saying how “inspiring” disabled people are. (Just don’t say that…seriously. We’re human. Just as faulted, sinful, loving, and capable as you.) It’s about making we who follow Christ aware of the beauty in this diverse community.
Read MoreViolent conflict is one of the most significant drivers of hunger around the world. From wars between nations to ethnic and tribal violence, conflicts affect farms, markets, jobs, housing, trade and more. In this webinar, we will hear from ELCA staff from around the world, who will help us dive more deeply into the tragic and significant ways violent conflict impacts hunger. Click here to register for “Conflict and Hunger,” Thursday, 11/3/2022, 11am MST/PDT, noon MDT.
Read MoreThe October, 2022 edition of Seeds Monthly is available, featuring: 500 Years of God’s Word in Common Language; Public response period for social message on climate care; Young Adults in Global Mission resumes; Pursuing justice and food security in Brazil; and featured events and resources.
Read More
