People are lonely. A January 2020 survey from Cigna found that three in five US Americans are lonely, and we know loneliness only got exponentially worse during the COVID-19 pandemic.
So, what does that mean for a church that believes in a relational God?
Read MoreJesus taught us that when we welcome the stranger as a person made in God's image, we also welcome God. Our lives, ministries and congregations have been blessed by many immigrants and refugees over the years — from many of our ancestors to those we welcome among us today.
Read MoreAs cases of the Delta variant of COVID-19 increase, it may seem like we are in a never-ending wilderness. Bishop Eaton reminds us of the exodus of God’s people, who wandered in the wilderness for forty years searching for the land that God had promised them. God never left them, and God has not left us.
Read MoreIn this letter, the American Indian Alaska Native Lutheran Association invites congregations to hang orange banners in solidarity with Indigenous people throughout North America and in remembrance and lament of Native children that never made it out of residential schools. View the letter in this post or as a PDF.
We also encourage you to learn more about Orange Shirt Day (September 30), a Canadian statutory holiday. Religion News Service also provides these articles on US churches reckoning with the traumatic legacy of Native schools and the new spiritual movement aiming to recognize the official US apology to Native American people.
Read MoreBefore I was a pastor, I was a pediatric intensive care nurse. I remember the the first time I saw a gray and sickly baby turn pink before my eyes as an ECMO machine started doing its job.
This is my metaphor for what tithing does for us. Tithing opens our hearts enough to let the love flow freely. And perhaps as with ECMO, it hooks us up to breathe in the Spirit.
Read MoreThis week, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton reminds us that peace is not the absence of struggle or strife, but the complete presence of a loving God.
Read MoreJuly 16, 2021, marks the bicentennial of Christian Science founder, Mary Baker Eddy’s birth.
In this blog post reflecting on the bicentennial, Shirley Paulson, PhD., writes: “People often wonder if all their ecumenical and interreligious efforts are worth it. I want to tell you why I think you have done good work.”
Read MoreLutheran Disaster Response shares God’s hope, healing and renewal to people whose lives have been disrupted by disasters in the United States and around the world. When the dust settles and the headlines change, we stay to provide ongoing assistance to those in need. An update from Program Director John Byron.
Read MoreAs an avid gardener, Bishop Eaton admits that tending a garden isn’t easy work. But she reminds us that gardening is fundamental to our whole understanding of God tending this good, green earth.
Read MoreBishop Eaton joined faith leaders from many traditions during a National Council of Churches press conference urging Congress to bring HR40 to the House floor before the summer recess.
HR40 is a bill that would establish a federal commission to study the lasting impacts of slavery in the U.S. and develop a set of recommendations for advancing reparations for affected people of African descent.
Read MoreOn June 24-25, 2021, a delegation of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) visited the Vatican as part of the journey from conflict to communion, that began over 50 years ago.
The visit of the LWF delegation in Rome launched the next stage of the journey, looking ahead to the 500th Anniversary of the Augsburg Confession.
Read MoreAs we look to the future of the ELCA and invite new people to know Jesus, Bishop Eaton asks, “how would you describe what it means to be a Lutheran Christian?”
Read MoreSeveral years ago in my last congregation someone came to me with the question of whether Jesus advocated wealth redistribution. They had read something written by Jim Wallis and wanted me to confirm their mistrust of anything he had to say as he was much more liberal than they.
Read MoreThis week, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton introduces us to some of our Lutheran family from across the globe.
Read MoreIn this conversation for the ELCA World Hunger blog, John Johnson, director of domestic policy for the ELCA, joins Ryan Cumming, program director for hunger education with ELCA World Hunger, to talk about the expanded Child Tax Credit, a huge step forward in addressing child poverty in the US this year.
Read MoreAs children of God, we give thanks for all of the LGBTQIA+ people who experience God's calling to the holy work of parenting. In particular response to the June 17 Supreme Court ruling on Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, the ELCA stands with our LGBTQIA+ siblings in Christ and reaffirms our commitment to equal protection, opportunities and responsibilities under the law (Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust, p. 33).
Read MoreBishop Eaton greets us from the Vatican, where, promoting Christian unity, she participated in Lutheran World Federation meetings with the pontifical council and Pope Francis. As we gather in our own congregations, the bishop asks us to remember that we are part of a large Lutheran family and an even larger Christian one.
Read MorePresiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton shares her annual synod assembly letter. View in this post or as PDF in English or PDF in Spanish.
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