For our 2023 assembly, we are sharing last year’s great symposium on Parliamentary Procedure and Robert’s Rules of Order by David Swartling. View the PDF handout here, and the presentation is available for viewing here with passcode: TQgC5E!7
Special thanks to our amazing guest, David Swartling, for providing this valuable information.
Read MoreEach year the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) asks congregations to provide information about their people and activities. The process to do so closes on May 31, 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 MoreTaylor Swift and The National have both been very influential musical artists. But they have typically appealed to very different audiences. Swift is the epitome of a pop star, mining her personal struggles for inspiration and pairing them with catchy tunes which have stadiums of adoring fans singing along.
In contrast, The National has been the poster child for an indie-rock band, more at home in a grungy after hours club than an arena. If Swift’s lyrics often sound like a teen’s diary, The National’s are brooding and obscure to the the point of incomprehensible.
Read MoreEach month ELCA Worship highlights resources and events from other organizations and institutions. These Lutheran and ecumenical partner organizations work alongside the ELCA to support worship leaders, worship planners, musicians, and all who care about the worship of the church. Read more here.
Read MoreUPDATE: We have 20 spots remaining for pastors, deacons, and lay leaders, especially congregational council members.
Best Skills, Best Churches, offered online, is a graduate/executive level certificate program designed to advance rostered ministers' and lay leaders’ knowledge and skills for effective management of congregations and ministries. Enroll here for Best Skills, Best Churches, which begins July 11, 2023. The cost is only $150 per participant, a $775 value made possible by the 3E Lilly Grant. View a PDF flyer here.
Questions? Contact Rev. Miguel Gomez-Acosta, Director for Evangelical Mission and Bishop’s Associate for Congregational Vitality.
Read MoreThe ELCA Mission Support Team shares their April, 2023 memo, featuring ELCA Ministry with Children and Luther Seminary Faith+Lead year-round stewardship practices. View as a PDF here.
Read More“Teens who trust the news they read on social media feel less stress” It’s not what you know, it’s who you know, or – rather – who you trust. Researchers at Cornell University recently published results of a study showing that trust in the news on social media can make a big difference in a teenager’s well-being.
Read MoreJesus starts this part of John with the words “Do not let your heart be troubled.” In the original Greek, the pronoun is plural (like “y’all”) and the heart is singular. Jesus assumes that the disciples, though many, share one heart. They’re a unified community. Whatever may come they’re in it together.
Read MoreThe use of cannabis (marijuana) and whether it should be legal remains a hotly debated issue in our country, with different states reaching different conclusions. One persistent fear is that cannabis is a “gateway drug” leading its consumers to use harder drugs. In an article for Forbes, Dario Sabaghi traces the dubious history of this concern, noting that several studies not only challenge this idea but also suggest that cannabis may also lead users away from opioids.
Read MoreELCA Worship shares their news for March, 2023.
Alleluia! Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed. Alleluia!
The ELCA churchwide organization is hiring a part-time Worship intern for the remainder of 2023. Learn more about the position here.
Read MoreAt the Silver Jubilee Celebration, marking 70 years of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, Richard Griffin, a Royal Protection Officer assigned to protect her, told an amazing story of two Americans’ unsuspecting brush with fame. The hikers on a walking holiday met the Queen and Griffen in a picnic area, but had no idea who they were.
Read MoreBarbara Keller, Consultant for the Prevention of Sexual Misconduct at ELCA, is leading a one hour zoom seminar for rostered ministers on “How to Work with Sex Offenders in Your Congregation.”
Thursday, 4/27/23, 1pm MST/PDT, noon MDT. Register by emailing kate.schnaath@elca.org.
Read MoreOur current news cycle is full of debates around the validity and protections of the LGBTQ+ community, particularly our transgender siblings. While no one’s lives and identities should be used for political fodder, we many shape these conversations around demonizing trans folks, and more specifically weaponizing what God thinks about the diversity God has created.
Read MoreOn this Holy Monday, I offer the words of Rob Bell, from his book titled, Love Wins.
“Do we get what we want?”
..the answer to that is a resounding, affirming, sure, and positive yes.
Yes, we get what we want.
God is that loving.
Christ is Risen!
Christ is Risen, Indeed!
Alleluia!
The sky is still dark
or maybe it has come
and gone again.
this is a vigil,
but not for Easter.
In one of the mystical traditions of the early church, it was thought that Jesus gave birth – literally – as he died on the cross, the birth marked by the blood and water that flowed from his side. But what, exactly, is born? I’m afraid, sometimes, of this ‘awesome mystery,’ and its implications because of what I sometimes begin to comprehend, even in the merest of glimpses.
Read MoreThis Maundy Thursday, I invite you to reflect on how God has shown up in your own life. Who are the people who loved you into healing and wholeness? Who are those who welcomed you or showed you unconditional love? And who is God calling you to show up for?
Read MoreHad it been up to me, Holy Week would have already ended – with Palm Sunday – the day we celebrated Jesus’ triumph over sin, death, and the devil.
And yet, here we are, edging closer and closer not to a triumphant victory over earthly powers, but to a violent execution and act so selfless and loving that not even the powers of hell could stand against it.
Read MoreA study by Christian publisher Lifeway showed that while most people (66%) say they believe the biblical accounts of the physical resurrection of Jesus are completely accurate, most young people ages 18 to 34 (59%) say they don’t believe the physical resurrection really happened.
Read More
![[re]imagine Lent: 4/10/2023 Holy Monday](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bc35f5d7980b31e1c91ba1c/1681147190152-7SX6LL1R07W01EDCK997/unsplash-image-__Hw50q04FI.jpg)
![[re]imagine Lent: 4/9/2023 Easter Sunday](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bc35f5d7980b31e1c91ba1c/1681147406522-9BC9UHAZPTPOBBPBK2UF/image.png)
![[re]imagine: 4/8/2023 Vigil of Easter](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bc35f5d7980b31e1c91ba1c/1681147582845-BKUKFK1G74LACADLUU37/unsplash-image-ZPRgmVqgPj0.jpg)
![[re]imagine: 4/7/2023 Good Friday](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bc35f5d7980b31e1c91ba1c/1680882311251-EN6CVTK22NU2LQXXO5GF/unsplash-image-LxTlqCsaL-8.jpg)
![[re]imagine Lent: 4/6/2023 Maundy Thursday](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bc35f5d7980b31e1c91ba1c/1680801607039-ENMDP4S1NA4P8QIKZSI5/unsplash-image-UK61KZPnpyY.jpg)
![[re]imagine Lent: 4/5/2023](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bc35f5d7980b31e1c91ba1c/1680707119702-4UW7OPEI48XUBQXDAGR8/unsplash-image-HdLKEri3mm8.jpg)
