The Fuller Church Leadership Institute shares their January 2023 The Crucible newsletter, featuring a Tod Bolsinger article on the power of prototyping over predicting. He quotes the great Wayne Gretzky: "Skate to where the puck is going."
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Lutherans Restoring Creation shares their January 2023 Good Green News, featuring synod creation care teams, their just response team, and federal funding resources for houses of worship.
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Pastor Kristin Engstrom, ELCA Global Missionary with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zambia, shares a video update on her year in Zambia. You are invited to share this video via social media, in worship services, or perhaps at an upcoming congregational meeting.
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The National Fund for Sacred Places is a grant-making program that provides capital grants ranging from $50,000 to $250,000+ as well as wrap-around support services to congregations undertaking once-in-a-generation preservation projects. To learn more, visit undforsacredplaces.org.
View an introductory webinar on Wednesday, February 1st, 2023 at 12:00 PM EST to learn more about the National Fund for Sacred Places and whether your sacred place (or the sacred places in your community or judicatory) may qualify. Register here!
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In his retirement announcement, Pastor David Drach-Meinel of Christ the Servant Lutheran in Henderson, explains how he and his wife, Pastor Diane, faithfully care for their son Paul every day. Paul is 32 years old with Down Syndrome, and also endures kidney failure. We give thanks for Pastor Dave’s service.
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Join Bishop Hutterer along with other Arizona judicatory heads for the statewide celebration of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (WPCU) 2023. This Prayer Service will be held Friday, January 20, 2023 to celebrate the Annual WPCU, and we are delighted to welcome everyone back to our first in-person gathering in 3 years.
Arizona’s statewide gathering for the celebration will take place at 6:00 p.m. Friday, January 20, 2023, at Phillips Memorial Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, 1401 E. Adams St., Phoenix, AZ 85034.
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In the winter of 1959, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his wife, Coretta, came to India for a month-long stay as guests of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. He had long wanted to visit the land of Gandhi, the man he considered to be the father of nonviolent protest.
According to Isabel Wilkerson, author of the book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, Dr. King was taken to visit high school students who came from Untouchable families. There he received the following introduction from the principal. “Young people, I would like to present to you a fellow untouchable from the United States of America.”
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Bishop Hutterer and others return from the Holy Land as we all begin a full calendar of 2023.
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This week we celebrate the following ordination anniversaries:
Rev. Annemarie Burke, a chaplain at Noble Hospice, Mesa, who celebrates 17 years on January 15.
Rev. Lourdes Olson, New Song, Henderson, who celebrates 1 year on January 15.
Medium level counties include Clark, Coconino, Gila, La Paz, Maricopa, Nye, Mohave, Pinal, Santa Cruz, Washington, Yavapai, and Yuma.
Low level counties are Apache, Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, Pima, and Navajo.
Note: our updates can be a week behind due to our news cycle overlapping with Thursday updates. View the latest CDC and NYTimes updates here.
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We pray for Rev. Keith Lingwall and the people of Abounding Grace Lutheran Church in Tucson, part of the Kino Conference. Visit their site at agtucson.com, and their social media pages on Facebook.com and Youtube.
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We pray for Rev. Sandra Jones and the people of Bethany Lutheran Church in Scottsdale, part of the Northeast Valley Conference. Visit their site at bethanyscottsdale.com, and their social media pages on Facebook and Instagram.
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Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary (PLTS) is hosting three events for folks in discernment. Find info here or click a link below:
Exploring Your Call: An Online Discernment and Info Session. Via Zoom: 1/21/2023, 10am-12:30pm MST, 9-11:30am PST.
Queer and Called: A Conversation for LGBTQ Prospective Students and Allies. Via Zoom: 2/2/2023, 6-7:30pm PST, 5-6:30pm PST.
Signs Along the Way Discernment Weekend. In-Person: February 25th-27th 2023, 10:30 am Saturday - 12:30 pm Monday, Berkeley, CA
The Bishop and Theresa travel the Holy Land, while others start a new year with meetings and travel.
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We celebrate Rev. Stephen Springer, with Dove of Peace, Tucson, who celebrates 26 years on November 12.
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Mohave is our synod’s sole high level county. Medium level counties include Apache, Clark, Coconino, Gila, La Paz, Maricopa, Nye, Pinal, Santa Cruz, Washington, Yavapai, and Yuma.
Low level counties are Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, Pima, and Navajo.
Note: our updates can be a week behind due to our news cycle overlapping with Thursday updates. View the latest CDC and NYTimes updates here.
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We pray for Rev. Scott Hackler and the people of Spirit of Grace Lutheran Church in Surprise, part of the Cactus Conference. Visit their site at spiritofgrace.com, and their social media pages on Facebook and YouTube.
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We pray for Rev. Patricia Lowe and the people of Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Prescott Valley, part of the High Country Conference. Visit their new site at elcpvaz.org, and their social media pages on Facebook and YouTube.
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Under a new name, Lutheran Faith Community Nurse Association (LFCNA) shares information for faith community nurses (PDF) and invites communities to start a faith community nurse ministry (PDF).
Formerly known as the Evangelical Lutheran Parish Nurse Association (ELPNA) , their current website is at elpna.org but will be moving to lutheranfcna.org.
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The ordination of Luis Ochoa will be Saturday, 1/21/2023, 4pm MST, 3pm PST, at Holy Trinity Lutheran in Chandler (739 W Erie St, Chandler, AZ 85225). Rev. Ruben Duran, the ELCA’s Director for New Congregational Development, will preach, and Bishop Deborah Hutterer will preside.
Rostered leaders will process, the color of the day is red. A dinner will follow. The event will be live-streamed on Holy Trinity’s YouTube channel.
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