Pray for patience, comfort and courage: “O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me. With your faithful help rescue me from sinking in the mire; let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters. Do not let the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up.”
Read MorePastor Kristin Engstrom, the Country Coordinator for the ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) program in Senegal, provides a video sermon (also in PDF) for use for either Sunday, July 5 or 12, 2020.
Pastor Engstrom will use the texts from the ELCA Global Church Sunday Resources. We encourage synod churches to adapt the resources to celebrate this virtual visit from Pastor Engstrom. View this post for multiple ways to access the video.
Read MorePray for our global companions, their ministries and the people they serve in this time of sickness and death, economic upheaval, social uncertainty and slow recovery.
Read MoreLiving as children of God and followers of Christ is not always easy or well received by others. Pray that we will find comfort and courage in knowing that God abides with us, knows our every struggle and joy, and surrounds us with love and peace that are impossible to break or obstruct.
Read MoreMany of you know that the ELCA’s publishing ministry, 1517 Media, is located in Minneapolis. As employees gathered online to pray after the murder of George Floyd, the following prayer from All Creation Sings gave us words for this moment.
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 George Floyd. We commend him to your wounded hands, and his 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.
Read MoreAugsburg Fortress summer music clinics provide opportunities for musicians to learn new seasonal music, attend workshops, participate in hymn festivals and more. Pray that these participants will be inspired, equipped and strengthened, using their musical gifts to enrich our faith communities and reveal the glory of God.
Read MoreGod made us, and as God’s people we enjoy the blessings of God’s enduring love, faithfulness to every generation and redeeming presence. Lift up prayers of joy, thanksgiving and praise to God.
Read MorePastors Shari Bernau and Mark Rossman with Living Water, Scottsdale, join us in this week’s Tech Lab for a quick conversation on their use of technology and adaptation during this time of change.
Use the link bit.ly/gcstechlab to access the Zoom meeting every Wednesday at 10 am, or email bflatgard@gcsynod.org to get an email invite. Visit gcsynod.org/tech-lab where we’ll archive resources from each week.
Read MoreLutheran Services in America is a network of Lutheran social ministry organizations that connects over 300 health and human services providers throughout the country. Pray that we will engage with and support their work in serving the diverse needs of our nation’s most vulnerable people, from infants to elders.
Read MoreJuneteenth is a holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. While President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, Texas and Louisiana finally got the good news on June 19, 1865.
This resource may be used in whole or adapted based on your local traditions. Additional assembly song may reflect the theme and text of the day.
Read MoreThere is terror all around. Violence and destruction, too. Telling the truth about that condition of the world, however, has always been unpopular. Jeremiah experienced rejection. Even more, Jesus was killed.
And Jesus calls us to follow him, to be countercultural like Jeremiah, to value the gospel of Jesus Christ even more than what the world counts as family values, to tell the truth openly about human sin and God’s mercy.
Read MoreJune 17 marks the fifth anniversary of the shooting at Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C. The ELCA Prayer Service for Commemoration of the Emanuel Nine is available on the ELCA website or on YouTube. You can also download a version of the commemoration video.
To honor this day, the 2019 ELCA Churchwide Assembly adopted a resolution to establish June 17 as "Emanuel 9 Day of Repentance," commemorating the martyrdom of the Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney, Cynthia Marie Graham Hurd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lee Lance, Depayne Middleton-Doctor, Tywanza Sanders, the Rev. Daniel L. Simmons, Sharonda Coleman-Singleton and Myra Thompson by Dylann Roof, who grew up in the ELCA. Pinckney and Simmons were graduates of Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary.
Read MoreGive thanks that, by God’s grace through Jesus Christ, our relationship with God is restored and that we can share in the glory of God without uncertainty or fear.
Read MorePraise God for the work we accomplish together through ELCA Advocacy and for the faith-driven voice carried to our local, state and national leaders and legislators ― a common voice advocating attention, justice and compassion for those neighbors and communities whose needs and concerns are too often ignored or marginalized.
Read MoreThe Zoom link each week will be posted on the home page of ELCA Coaching, where you’ll also find recordings from each week.
Join us on June 17 for a time of Lament and Accountability. We will be joined by the following gifted presenters: Judith E. B. Roberts, Solveig Nilsen-Goodin, and Dr. Don Eisenhauer.
Read MoreMore Days for Praise, a resource for the church’s festivals and commemorations is designed for home devotions. Remembering those saints who have lived through a host of challenging times and situations reminds us of our connection to a great cloud of witnesses.
Read MoreThank God for opportunities to enjoy nature, whether in a wilderness area, urban park, community garden or forest preserve. Give thanks for how nature and fresh air renew us and lift our spirits, and pray that our neighbors with mobility challenges can get outdoors to experience and enjoy the blessings of creation.
Read MorePray that we will respond eagerly when God calls us into the world together as disciples to carry on the difficult work of Jesus, sharing the good news, caring for our neighbors in their suffering and need, bringing hope where there is despair and bearing God’s truth and light.
Read MoreIn the absence of summer camp programs, pray for the leaders and staff of our outdoor ministries as they seek new ways to sustain their organizations’ vitality, share the gospel and serve people of all ages in congregations and communities.
Read MoreTake time to reflect on nature, humankind, the earth and the heavens above ― everything God has made ― and pray that we will stand in awe and thanksgiving to God, proclaiming God’s creation to be very good.
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