For the first time in decades we are witnessing a confluence of significant religious holy days and cultural traditions during the month of April. Kristen L. Opalinski shares her thoughts in Perspectives, a new ELCA ecumenical and inter-religious blog. She also shares these links:
This April, Chicago has a rare opportunity for interfaith cooperation
The Confluence of Holy Seasons: An Opportunity to Grow Together
“We must be vigilant today and always, because, like Mary, the Risen One also calls us and challenges us to open our eyes and recognize him in our surroundings and in our neighbors,” Lutheran World Federation Council member Rev. Karla Steilmann Franco, says in this year’s Easter message. Read the Easter message in English, Spanish, German, or French.
Read MoreWe share this simple and ingenious testimony of Easter created by Working Preacher, fom the Center for Biblical Preaching at Luther Seminary.
Read MoreIn this year’s message for Good Friday, Lutheran World Federation’s vice president for the Central Western European region, Pröpstin Astrid Kleist, reflects on the Gospel of Luke’s account of the Crucifixion, as Jesus is nailed to the cross to die between two criminals. Read the Good Friday Message in English, in Spanish, in French, or in German.
Kleist, a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany, reflects on the meaning of Jesus’ death for those killed, injured, uprooted and bereaved by Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian towns and cities.
Read MoreFrom the latest Zoom meeting on April 9, 2022, the Grand Canyon Synod Council brings you Easter greetings.
Read More“He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!”
In my life, the amount of hope I find Easter morning has always been related to the depth of the Lenten journey before. The glorious Sunday morn is not possible without the nights of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.
Two Easters ago, the reality of the pandemic truly hit the church. And if you look at Lent through the lens of giving something up, it can feel as if we’ve had two years of Lenten fasting from normalcy.
Read MoreThe announcement of the Biden administration of an end date for Title 42 is a welcome step forward towards restoring access to the right to seek asylum. Rather than promote a safe, orderly or humane process, Title 42 wound up increasing risk and vulnerability.
Read MoreWhen it comes to making choices that help the earth, one writer shares what she and her family do to live more sustainably. What actions do you take?
Read the article by LeeAnn Pomrenke in Café, a publication of the Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (WELCA).
Read MoreAs we enter the third year of this pandemic, we see the signs of stress and incivility, even the signs of war and disease in Ethiopia and Sudan, in Europe. It might seem like death still has sway, but Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton reminds us to declare confidently on this Easter and all times "I know that my Redeemer lives.”
View in this post, on YouTube, or download the video here. Read the message as PDF in English or Spanish.
Read MoreAs the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), we assure our Muslim neighbors of our love and respect and reaffirm our commitment to working together in our shared communities for the common good.
As people who know that we live by the grace and in the sight of the one, almighty, and merciful God, we have confidence that our engagement will result in mutual learning, growth, and enrichment. Read the full declaration here.
Read MoreAs I approach the end of my Lenten journey, I see the Grand Canyon Synod has many places of holy ground. I have experienced holy ground when in conversation with candidates hoping to enter seminary and with candidates near graduation, waiting to interview with a congregation.
I am on holy ground when I visit our various congregations to preach, preside, meet church leaders, and participate in conversations in special congregation meetings.
Read MoreOn April 4, 2022, the Patriarchs and Heads of Local Churches in Jerusalem released this statement about the Little Petra Hotel, which stands on the pilgrim route for the millions of Christians who visit Jerusalem each year. “It represents Christian heritage, and speaks of our very existence in this place.”
Read MoreIn this post we share an update from Rev. Kyle & Ånna Svennungsen, ELCA missionaries in Slovakia.
We are writing to you from Bratislava, Slovakia. At Bratislava International Church, our theme for Lent is ‘Walking with Jesus: Repentance, Reconciliation, Restoration.’ This theme was chosen before the war in Ukraine began and it has taken on a whole new meaning in these last four weeks.
Read MoreAs we prepare to celebrate Earth Day later this month, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton shares some examples of how Lutherans are caring for creation and addressing climate justice.
God calls us to be stewards of the earth, and to fully integrate creation care into our love of God, neighbor and everything in our environment. Learn more at https://elca.org/environment.
Read More“We are stewards of something greater than our monetary wealth. Paul tells us we are stewards of God’s mysteries. We have a new stewardship campaign at our church. We are pledging to invite people into these mysteries.” Read in this post or view as PDF.
Read MoreLent is a practice of pouring myself out. An act of emptying out all I have collected in my heart.
Well, at least this is what I am praying for: that I might pour myself out before God and the World, and then be filled up through the promise of Easter.
Read MoreHello world. My name is Tammy Jones West. I am a Deacon in this church, from North Carolina, and I am serving as the Program Director for the 2024 ELCA Youth Gathering. I am honored to have been asked to serve in this way and a little terrified at the responsibility and scope of the work.
Read MoreIn this letter, former Bishop Lowell G. Almen encourage pastors, deacons, and congregations to remember with gratitude the 35th birthday of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) on April 30, 2022.
Read More“For those of you who are wondering about the particulars of the process to address the issues that arose in the Sierra Pacific Synod, I want to give you an update on the ways in which we are moving forward.” (This update is provided in English and en español.)
Read MoreRev. Tim Wright, pastor of Community of Grace Lutheran Church in Peoria, recently wrote an opinion piece in the Arizona Republic/AZ Central, saying we must stand up to those who speak hate.
“The war against Christianity is not being waged by anti-Christian elites or the politically correct or the Woke crowd. It’s being waged by people vomiting hate-filled rhetoric in the name of Jesus and/or by people who wrap that hate-filled speech in Christian clothes and/or by far too many Christians who fail to stand up and say that this is not who Jesus is.”
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