International Women’s Day is March 8, 2023. The ELCA celebrates this day by uplifting the International Women Leaders (IWL) program.
On the following Sunday, March 12, we encourage your congregation to take a special offering for IWL. In honor of International Women’s Day, all gifts to IWL will be matched dollar for dollar until we reach $50,000 — your gifts will go twice as far! Read more here.
Read MoreRostered ministers are heading to Phoenix in July, 2023! If you like to welcome people, help with registration, or have the gift of hospitality, please connect with Pastor Doug Dill: pastordoug@centrallutheranaz.org or 402-235-6969. Click here to register as a volunteer at elca.org.
Learn more about the gathering at elca.org/rmg.
Read MoreAfter perhaps a year or more of not gathering on-site for Ash Wednesday services due to the COVID-19 pandemic, worshiping communities across a large swath of the US are dealing with or expecting severe weather that would prevent gathering on-site.
Conversations on social media have begun, as fellow worship planners ask one another what they are doing when assembling for worship on-site will not be possible.
Read MoreThe February, 2023 edition of Seeds Monthly is available here, featuring articles, events, and resources.
Read MoreELCA Worship shares their news for January, 2023.
Don't forget to visit ELCA.org/worship and click on "Worship Resources" for a library of liturgical and formational resources for use in your context. You might find something new (or new to you) and share it with others who help plan worship in your context. Blessings as we approach Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent.
Read MoreLutheran Disaster Response is contributing to ACT Alliance to address the devastation from the earthquakes. There are several ACT Alliance members already active in the region that are providing immediate aid. These organizations are supplying blankets, mattresses, hot meals and hygiene kits to earthquake survivors. As needs are assessed, the organizations will establish further actions.
Read MoreStudents of all races at Collingswood High School in South Jersey recently protested two straight days over allegations of racism in their school. During the peaceful demonstration, students protested racial profiling, lack of inclusivity, and how their Black classmates are disproportionately disciplined.
In a recorded statement student Abygail St. Louis shares her frustration and why it has come to protesting for equal rights for her and her classmates. She says she would rather be in the classroom.
Read MoreJoin us this season — on your own, in a small group or with your congregation — as we encounter the psalms anew and unite in our efforts to end hunger. Visit elca.org/40days to download or order a suite of resources to equip you on the journey.
Read MoreThe Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) concluded a productive meeting on January 26-28, 2023, at the Disciples Ministry Center in Fullerton, California, to continue their ongoing bilateral dialogue.
The dialogue team studied together the WCC Faith and Order Commission’s theological convergent text, Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry.
Read MoreBlack History Month is February, which means a new season of the “Talks at the Desk” video series. This year, brief clips and highlights from the talks are available, which you can view in this post or on YouTube. We’ll keep this post updated throughout the month.
Read MoreIn the fall of 2021, the ELCA Worship Blog began a weekly series entitled, “Prompts for Prayers of Intercession.” Beginning this Lent, the blog series will be retitled, “For What Shall We Pray?”
This new title honors a more expansive understanding of the purpose of this resource. It is a weekly invitation for individuals, groups, and congregations to remain mindful of the needs of our world, and to lift one another up in prayer.
Read MoreWhat are Lutheran views on civic life?
The ELCA invites you and your congregation to explore this and other questions by using "A Study Curriculum on Civic Life and Faith." View a video on this question in this post, along with a PDF guide.
Read MoreWelcome to Episode 3 of Talks at the Desk, season 2. We are again in he U.S. Virgin Islands and visiting several of the oldest Lutheran churches in the Western hemisphere.
Read MoreThe ELCA Worship blog has complied a set of Prayer Resources in Time of Earthquakes. Intercession prompts:
For continued relief and recovery efforts in Turkey and Syria…
For families and communities experiencing grief, anger, and despair at the tens of thousands of deaths following the earthquake in Turkey and Syria…
For the victims of the shooting at Michigan State, for their loved ones, and for campus ministries that are supporting students…
For all hearts longing to see a day when tools of rage are not seen as more important than the lives they take…
For those who will revel in the unfettered joy of carnival celebrations this week in every corner of our world…
For contrite hearts and hopeful spirits as we end the season of Epiphany and prepare for Lent…
For stability and civility amidst leadership transitions in world governments…
In lament over all lives lost in the past year of war between Russia and Ukraine…
For resolve and power for those fighting for climate justice, especially in another year of Antarctic ice decline…
Dr. Maya Angelou (1928-2014) was a celebrated poet, author, teacher, filmmaker, and civil rights activist, among other roles and accomplishments. When interviewed upon being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011, Angelou reflected: “I’m always amazed when people walk up to me and say, “‘I’m a Christian.’ I think, ‘Already? You’ve already got it?’ I’m working at it…”
Read MoreEach year the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) asks congregations to provide information about their people and activities. This year’s deadline to do so is March 1, 2023.
Find all the resources you need at the ELCA’s Annual Congregation Report page, including FAQs, online Form A & C Parochial Reports as well as ways to update your ELCA Congregational Leadership Directory.
Read MoreThe Grand Canyon Synod and the Southeastern Iowa Synod are partner synods. For Lent 2023, the two synods are challenging one another to participate in some spiritual and physical practices during the 40 days of Lent, raise awareness of hunger issues, and raise some money for ELCA World Hunger.
The synod with the most participants wins! Click here to sign up for the 40-40-40 Lenten Challenge. Just signing up counts as participation!
Read MoreBlack History Month started as a week-long celebration in 1926 and has grown to a month-long event. But what does this month mean for us in the ELCA? In this video, Bishop Eaton shares some contributions of a few Black Lutherans around our church.
Read MoreAs part of the latest Stories of Faith in Action, we share a story about the Lutheran Church of Rwanda (view online or as PDF). The ongoing construction of Rwanda’s first Lutheran seminary is sparking excitement among church leaders, but with an important government deadline looming, that excitement has been coupled with anxiety.
View all the Stories of Faith in Action here, and how your offering becomes mission support.
Read MoreHow do Christians address controversial civic issues?
The ELCA invites you and your congregation to explore this and other questions by using "A Study Curriculum on Civic Life and Faith." View a video on this question in this post, along with a PDF guide.
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