Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton gives her weekly message during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on the gift of God’s creation.
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Daudi Msseemmaa, the ELCA’s regional representative in East Africa, writes: “During a severe drought in 2008-2009, I spent time in dusty villages where the carcasses of livestock littered the ground and hungry children fainted in class. There was a lot of suffering. But I did not encounter hopelessness, even among malnourished mothers whose couldn’t provide enough breast milk for their infants. They had a saying – God is far, but he is very near.”
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Pastor Ben Bergren with Community, Las Vegas shares his writings: “As I write this one of our church members is dying of COVID-19.”
“Most likely by the time you read this, they will have passed. The thought of this both saddens and exhausts me because it reminds me of the selfishness and brokenness of humanity. This is not a political issue at all. This is a condition of the heart.” Read the full article »
Pastor Bergren also shares an article this week entitled “Rehoboam’s Folly.”
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A thriving church is one so convinced of the resurrection that we’re free to give our lives in service to others. Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton shares how the ELCA continues to thrive in country churches, cityscapes and places with no walls in this message for 2020 Synod Assemblies. Watch in our blog post, YouTube or Facebook.
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In a time of physical distancing due to the coronavirus, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton reminds us that we aren’t islands—we are united in baptism.
In her May column, she writes: “We don’t have to go it alone. In fact, we cannot, because, in Christ, we are knit into one body. And just as surely as Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one—this wildly mysterious community of the Trinity—so are we one.” Read her column in English at https://bit.ly/2Wh5fjr and in Spanish at https://bit.ly/2yAdqxW.
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Colter Murphy, Director of Youth and Service at Faith Lutheran Church in Chico, CA, writes: “The North Fork of the Flathead River is the most beautiful river on earth. This, of course, is a personal opinion, but anyone who has spent time on the river would likely agree. The splendor of the North Fork makes it a natural place to talk about the Creator.”
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Rev. Paul S. Tché writes: “I am confident COVID-19 will bring radical changes to our lives. But the difference after COVID-19 would not be as dramatic if we were to colonize Mars . . . or would it?”
“It may be helpful for us—especially many religious folks like me who lack imagination because of our long tradition—to simulate religious practice on Mars to stimulate our creativity and inspire more unique adaptations of post-COVID-19 faith life.”
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Wayne Gallipo, a pastor serving St. Dysmas Of South Dakota, an ELCA congregation inside the walls of the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls, SD, writes: “The men in my congregation come from a wide variety of backgrounds. South Dakota is approximately 87% white and 9% native but the statistics in prison do not even come close to reflecting that ratio.”
“One interesting thing about serving a congregation inside the walls of prison–is that the men that worship at St. Dysmas come from many different religious backgrounds.”
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Peter Severson, Director, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-Colorado, writes: “It seems almost trite to point out the deep and intense division in our modern political landscape in the United States.”
“It feels easier to just take it as a given, rather than to ask how it might be reconciled. It is a very tough environment in which to be a church premised on God’s reconciliation and love.”
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In this video, Bishop Eaton lets us know how God is working, through a church activated in many new ways. One bishop describes people as having “a cross in one hand, and a bag of groceries in the other.”
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During the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, I am encouraged by your resilience and creativity in our witness to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I am also inspired by your generosity. This is a trying time for us all.
At the same time, we know that a disproportionate burden of illness, death, discrimination and harassment falls on communities of color. This pandemic has exacerbated racism and racial inequities deeply entrenched in society and across the church. We see this in the growing anti-Asian racism and the disproportionate number of deaths in black, American Indian and Latinx communities.
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Mental illness is not a sin. It is not a moral failing. And it is not a sign of weakness. God wants us to be whole people – emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually – and God will journey alongside us especially as we are feeling depressed, anxious and hopeless. Be well, dear church.
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We all want to go back to in-person worship. We also want to be safe. We want our neighbors to be safe. Many have asked me when we can gather for in-person worship.
In a time of so many unknowns with so much at risk, I feel it would be ill-advised to project yet another date. As we decide when to proceed, I suggest we wait for the CDC guideline of a “downward trajectory of documented cases within a 14-day period.”
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Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton gives her weekly message during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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I see the sacrifices you are all making: giving up birthday parties, giving up attending funerals, sacrificing your freedoms by staying inside, giving up certainties and plans you once had about your futures, regular schedules that help keep you sane, getting together with those you love.
We are sacrificing these things for our community, to keep each other and ourselves healthy. In a very real way, we are protecting our neighbors.
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Many of us think of Easter as one day—a day of colorful clothes, full churches, and glorious music as we celebrate the Risen Christ. This year, we did not receive that glorious Sunday we expected.
As we swim through the Eastertide of this year, perhaps we can see we are being gifted with an Easter season rather than just one day, an Easter that continues to expand.
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As we journey through this Easter season, we are beginning to hear the question: when can we gather again?
In the midst of changing restriction policies across the three states of our synod, when and how will we worship in person as church? Some ask with concern, hoping that we not gather in person too soon. Others ask with excitement, because they miss the face-to-face community.
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On April 28, 2020, the Nevada judicatory leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, The United Methodist Church, the United Church of Christ, and The Episcopal Church jointly sent the following letter to Governor Steve Sisolak.
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Whether born of fear, ignorance, or bigotry, the calumny and actual harm that the Chinese American community has suffered is morally reprehensible. The same is true for those of other communities who are assumed to be Chinese. Any sense of isolation that might be compounded by our silence only adds to the pain and offense.
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God is bringing about something new for the world and for the church - and we have hopes and dreams for that - but we are waiting for God to reveal that. So, in the meantime, in our anxiety, in our joy, in our hope, let's remember: Christ is risen! Christ is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
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