Black History Month begins this week — and so does a new season of the “Talks at the Desk” video series. This four-part series amplifies and celebrates Black voices across our church.
Wednesdays in February, 6:30pm MST, 5:30pm PST. Watch this and last year’s season videos on YouTube here. For more information and accompanying discussion guides, visit ELCA.org/ADM.
Read MoreProfessional ministry can be isolating and lonely. We were created to be together – that story is told in our scriptures from Genesis through Revelation. Let’s practice that this summer.
You can still register for the Rostered Ministers Gathering, July 17-20, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona, and the early-bird rate of $245 is good through March 31.
Read MoreToday we are announcing that Living Lutheran magazine will print its final issue in December 2023. Also, the magazine will print six issues in this final year. The Churchwide Organization will not stop telling stories of this church when the printing of the magazine ends.
This year, we will begin transitioning Living Lutheran to a full online storytelling engine featuring new ways of reaching people, providing a more economical and far-reaching approach for us to engage with a broader audience.
Read MoreThe science of taste is fascinating, perhaps because food is a universal part of our daily lives. We eat to live and, for many of us, sharing a meal with others brings a whole new sense of joy to our daily lives. Food tells stories and we use the flavors of food to experience it in all sorts of different ways.
Read MoreThe churchwide office entered into an agreement with Bravura Technologies for a customized event app that could incorporating the PDF navigation and annotation capabilities of the Foxit PDF editor. That agreement includes the option for synods and ELCA-related organizations to build an event app using Bravura’s platform for $550/event. For more information about the Bravura offering, view this Bravura flyer as PDF.
Read MoreThe churchwide office has negotiated a new 3-year agreement with Guidebook.com to offer their mobile event app building platform with a couple changes. Last year Guidebook raised their prices across the board for the first time in close to a decade. For more information, view this Guidebook flyer in PDF or view this post. A Wednesday, February 1, 2023 webinar is also available.
Read MoreAs the nation watches another video exposing police violence against a Black man after a traffic stop, there will be great suffering and despair emerging from across the United States. In just over a week we have witnessed mass gun violence in California – twice – and the shooting of a protester at a future police training site in Atlanta. Each of these tragedies inspires grief, not only for the lives lost and forever altered but also for our loss of confidence in a system that continues to fail us, over and over.
Read MoreHow are we as Lutheran Christians called to civic engagement, including in the arenas of government and political life? What is the proper relationship of the church with government, and what is not?
The ELCA invites you and your congregation to explore these questions and more by using "A Study Curriculum on Civic Life and Faith."
Read MoreThe January, 2022, bimonthly e-newsletter for ELCA congregational and synodical leaders is here, featuring: Stories of Faith in Action; New year checklist for Portico financial and health benefits; Risk control technologies; and IRS issues standard mileage rate for 2023.
Read MoreFor the continued influx of asylum seekers entering the United States …
For the victims of shootings in California and Georgia, and for all victims of mass shootings and gun violence…
For all grieving amidst celebrations of the Lunar New Year…
For all affected by blackouts in South Africa…
For those suffering acute or long infections with Covid-19, especially as cases surge in China…
For those grieving victims of a worship bombing in the Democratic Republic of Congo…
For protesters in South America…
ELCA Worship shares their news for January, 2023, featuring: Sundays and Seasons, Compelling Preaching Initiative, Call for Songs for the Global Achtliederbuch, All Creation Sings , Resources for multi-religious ministry, Music that Makes Community, Invitation to join the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, Finding our Rhythm, in Fullness of Time Valparaiso University April 17-19, Worship resources from Augsburg Fortress, and more.
Read MoreMy home congregation is the same church my parents grew up in and got married in. I was baptized and confirmed there. I went to Sunday school after services there for as long as I can remember, and I really got involved in the youth group program there in middle school. I also have been on multiple mission trips with my church to different locations out of state.
Read MoreThe January, 2023 edition of Seeds Monthly is available, featuring: Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church nominations; Living Lutheran’s top five Storie of 2022; Talks at the Desk; featured resources; bulletin blurbs, and more.
Read MoreThe final deadline to apply for Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) is Feb. 1, 2023.
Now even more communities are ready to welcome you. The YAGM team recently announced that the Mexico and Central Europe country programs will be reopening in 2023. Volunteers will have the opportunity to serve there and in four other country programs. Learn more at ELCA.org/YAGM.
Read MoreELCA is offering a webinar with practical stewardship tips on Wednesday, 2/1/2023, 5pm MST, 4pm PST. Click here to join via Zoom.
In this increasingly post-pandemic world, rostered and congregational leaders might well explore some of the nuances of giver motivation with the upcoming webinar “Practical Stewardship Tips,” which is free and open to all.
Read MoreI have always known myself to be a “self-doubter.” I am constantly doubting myself – my ability to lead, my ability to be a good friend, but especially my ability to lead God’s people. I have been a self-doubter when it has come to God’s plan for me. How was I supposed to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with my God if I didn’t even believe I could do so?
Read MoreAt the beginning of this month, the U.S. House of Representatives elected a new Speaker. Typically, electing a new Speaker occurs rather quickly, needing only one vote, but this time the situation was different. While Representative Kevin McCarthy (Republican from California) was the early favorite, it took fifteen votes for him to be elected Speaker. This is the first time in 100 years that the election for Speaker took more than one vote.
Read MoreMore than two decades after the ELCA and The Episcopal Church became full communion partners, congregations from both denominations are joining forces in arrangements that many see as the way of the future.
Read MoreELCA Advocacy shares updates from state public policy office in the ELCA Advocacy Network for January, 2023.
Read MoreThe 118th U.S. Congress convened on January 3, 2023. Following finalization of House speakership, the official swearing in took place January 7, 2023. In this post are some of the legislators with Lutheran affiliation who will serve the country in this new session.
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