“What is it that makes Good Friday good? [...] Christ’s self-giving calls the church to avoid turning inward and instead sacrifice itself for the good of others. Indeed, the church lives not for itself, but for the world.”
Good Friday message by Rev. Dr Yonas Yigezu Dibisa, President of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, and LWF Executive Committee member.
Read MoreBlessings as we enter holy week! Many of you have journeyed with ELCA World Hunger through Lent as we have reflected on the Psalms and what meaning that vast collection of hymns, poems, laments and prayers might have for hunger ministry today. As the season comes to a close, thank you for being part of the 40 Days of Giving!
Read MoreThis post, “Dear ELCA, We Must Speak and Act for Trans Lives,” by Jamie Bruesehoff, is reprinted in full by permission of the author, originally posted to the author’s blog on March 27, 2023.
Read MoreWe’ve entered Holy Week, and Bishop Eaton hopes and prays that we will not skip from the hosannas of Palm Sunday right to the hallelujahs of Easter Sunday. It’s important, as we travel through this week, to see not only incredible sacrifice and love that God has shown us in Jesus Christ, but all of the human condition that comes out during this week.
Read MoreAs we move through our Lenten journey into Holy Week, I find myself thinking of the theme of our spring gatherings: From Worry to Wonder.
The journey of the church involves becoming something new, not returning to the past. The path forward is to move together, exploring worries and shifting from a posture of worry to a posture of wonder.
Read MoreThe Great Commandment calls us to love our neighbor as ourself, and God teaches us to honor every person’s dignity. On Transgender Day of Visibility, Bishop Eaton affirms that transgender and nonbinary siblings are children of God, created in God’s image, who are embraced in God’s unconditional love. We stand together, advocating for the full humanity and dignity of all people.
Read MoreI’ve always wanted to be a pastor. When I was 15 years old and visited a classmate’s church, I saw with my own eyes that a grown-up girl could be a pastor. The church had me at “hello.”
My parents, on the other hand, were not so inclined. I remember my father telling me, “The best way to help poor people is to not become one of them. Be an attorney. Make some money.”
Read MoreIn observance of the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, Bishop Eaton reminds us to tell the stories of our historical truth: stories of suffering and pain, but also stories of awe-inspiring resistance and hope.
Read MoreIn the last few months, I have had the privilege of traveling to various border regions around the world. These visits have left a deep impression on me, as I have seen firsthand the harm caused by physical walls and checkpoints. And now as we go through our Lenten journey, I am also reminded of the emotional and spiritual walls that exist within us.
Read MoreAs we approach March 31, many people are preparing to recognize Transgender Day of Visibility, an international day to celebrate the contributions of transgender people and raise awareness about the deadly injustices they face.
As bishop of this church, I am concerned that the rights of transgender and nonbinary Americans have been targeted all over this nation.
Read MoreFor many months we have seen an alarming spike in anti-Jewish, anti-Muslim and white supremacist hate. It has been reported that extremist groups are planning a national "Day of Hate" tomorrow, targeting Jews. This evening, as the sun sets and Shabbat begins, our Jewish neighbors are living in fear.
As Christians, we are called to love our neighbors and to be peacemakers.
Read MoreBlack History Month started as a week-long celebration in 1926 and has grown to a month-long event. But what does this month mean for us in the ELCA? In this video, Bishop Eaton shares some contributions of a few Black Lutherans around our church.
Read MoreI was telling my granddaughter the other day that a good portion of artistic skill lies in how you see things. I have an artistic eye, but because of my tremor, I don't do much with it anymore. However, it got me thinking there are other things that are so much in how we see things, like generosity.
Read MoreAs the nation watches another video exposing police violence against a Black man after a traffic stop, there will be great suffering and despair emerging from across the United States. In just over a week we have witnessed mass gun violence in California – twice – and the shooting of a protester at a future police training site in Atlanta. Each of these tragedies inspires grief, not only for the lives lost and forever altered but also for our loss of confidence in a system that continues to fail us, over and over.
Read MoreWe stand together as Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders in the United States to condemn the recent rise in anti-Christian hate in the Holy Land, including the vandalism of a Protestant cemetery on Jan. 1, and graffiti threatening "Death to Christians" that appeared last week both in and near the Armenian quarter in Jerusalem.
These and other actions taken to erase the presence of Christians in the Holy Land, which would be devastating to us all. May the God of Abraham, Sarah and Hagar comfort our Christian siblings in the place we all believe is holy and give us courage as we speak with one voice against religious bigotry.
Read MoreOn Sunday the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) will for the first time ordain a woman into pastoral ministry, Sally Azar. I invite you to join in the celebration by watching this short documentary about what women’s ordination means for the ELCJHL, and the livestream of the ordination service, which will begin at 7 a.m. Central time.
Read MorePastor Katie Langston, pastor of mission and outreach at New Promise Lutheran Church in St. George, Utah, shares her adventures in delivering cookies to the church’s neighbors.
“Operation Cookie Conversations” was the product of the question, “What would happen if we tried to talk to the neighbors near us?”
Read MoreKing’s theology is many things. It is dynamic, revolutionary and loving. But above all, his theology was actually lived, providing us with a theological legacy of a Christian answer to racism, segregation, violence and other evils. King’s daughter, Bernice, describes his life as a “walking sermon inspired by God.”
Read MoreI was 4 years old when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. I was too young to understand the import of his words while he lived. Yet I remember the importance of those words, his struggles and his assassination to the Black community as I grew up in Chester, Penn. The community felt he was one of theirs. Not only was he a marvelous young African American preacher and civil rights leader, but he was also educated at Crozer Theological Seminary, just up the road in Upland, Penn.
Read MoreIn the winter of 1959, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his wife, Coretta, came to India for a month-long stay as guests of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. He had long wanted to visit the land of Gandhi, the man he considered to be the father of nonviolent protest.
According to Isabel Wilkerson, author of the book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, Dr. King was taken to visit high school students who came from Untouchable families. There he received the following introduction from the principal. “Young people, I would like to present to you a fellow untouchable from the United States of America.”
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