In “Hunger at the Crossroads,” a new webinar series hosted by ELCA World Hunger, we will explore the intersections and the ways we can be part of God’s promise of a just world where all are fed.
“Sexuality, Gender Identity and Hunger” with Rev. Heidi Neumark (Trinity Lutheran Church, New York, New York) and Rev. Joe Larson (Fargo, North Dakota) – August 12, 2021 at 4pm MST/PDT. Register here.
Read MoreU.S. representatives regularly return to their home districts to stay engaged with their constituents. Lawmakers are likely busy during this period with Town Halls, arranged meetings, and other contact points that give you a window to raise your experiences and policy concerns while they are local.
Bring your own questions to policy makers or raise the ones in this post about hunger, housing and homelessness, infrastructure and climate change, Covid-19 vaccine access, reimagining US asylum and immigration policy, and tribal/US government relations.
Read MoreA majority of United States counties were experiencing moderate to high Covid-19 transmission in early July. The map above shows the current risk for unvaccinated people in each county.
Extremely high risk counties for unvaccinated people in our synod include Clark, Mohave, and Washington counties.
High risk counties: Apache, Cochise, Coconino, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, La Paz, Maricopa, Navajo, Pima, Pinal, Santa Cruz, and Yavapai.
Yuma County is at moderate risk.
The Open Doors initiative was launched to support ELCA congregations interested in meeting new people during this time of transition and re-gathering in physical spaces. ELCA congregations were invited to share their concrete, actionable ideas for meeting new people during this critical time.
Read MoreInterested in leading or more fully participating in the life of the church? The Diakonia program (diakoniaaz.org) equips lay leaders with foundational knowledge of the Bible, Lutheran doctrine, and church history.
Information sessions will be held in July and August in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Tucson, and online.
Read MoreChristians Against Christian Nationalism has released a a new curriculum based on their “Democracy and Faith Under Siege'' webinar conducted in the aftermath of the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
This curriculum is a guide for churches and other small discussion groups to take a deeper dive into the dangers of this ideology.
Read MoreHear as Deacon & Farmer, Sarah Bowers reflects on her experiences and come to the table with a story from your journey. Lutherans Restoring Creation Connections Call: July 15, 2021, 5pm MST/PDT. Sign up for their Good Green News emails to receive the zoom link or come back to this post to see the recording by July 17th.
Read MoreThe Spiritual Direction Certification Program at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary of Lenoir-Rhyne University begins its sixth year of participants in January 2022. Learn more in this PDF.
Read MoreGuided by Tod Bolsinger, the Online Adaptive Capacity Cohort from Fuller Church Leader Institute is an 18-month cohort process starting in October of 2021.
Twenty church teams will discover how to be attentive and strategic about experimenting on the edges and re-shaping the culture within your church in order to more effectively BE the church for a changing world. Lilly Endowment grants available, more info here.
Read MoreBishop Hutterer encourages you to join in this series as we consider the future of the church. Forced to scramble to go online in just a few weeks during the COVID pandemic, the church has discovered the online world is a place where genuine community and real ministry happens.
Hosted by the Southwestern Texas Synod, all congregations (rostered and lay leaders) are invited to this 5-week FREE series on Monday evenings beginning July 26, 2021. Get more info and register here.
Read MoreThe summer 2021 issue of Mosaic’s premiere, national magazine, Promise, is now online and ready to read. Read the latest issue by clicking here.
Read MoreThe Evangelical Lutheran Education Association (ELEA) is collecting information from all ELCA Schools and Learning Centers that will become a powerful resource tool. Through this survey, ELEA will gather accurate student, administration and staff demographics, budgetary and general information. Take the survey here.
Read MoreTheresa Thornburgh, the Director of Administration and Events for the Grand Canyon Synod, will be on vacation 7/16-7/23/2021. During that time our office hours continue to be Monday–Thursday, 9am-5pm, with visits by necessity or appointment only. Our office phone, 602-957-3223, will continue to be monitored.
The office@gcsynod.org email will not be monitored, and processing of checks will be on hold until Theresa’s return. You can find contact information for the full staff at www.gcsynod.org/contact.
Read MoreWith more and more Covid-19 cases being spread by the vastly more contagious Delta variant, it’s good to know vaccination rates in your area. Learn more about Delta in this podcast, and check vaccination rates by county and age group here.
Only four counties in the Grand Canyon Synod have half their residents vaccinated. The percentage of residents age 12+ that are fully vaccinated in each county are:
Over half: Santa Cruz 75%; Apache 58%; Coconino 55%; Pima 51%
Half to 1/3: Navajo 48%; Yuma 47%; Cochise 45%; Gila 45%; Graham 44%; Maricopa 41%; Clark 39%; Pinal 37%; La Paz 36%; Yavapai 35%
Under 1/3: Greenlee 31%; Mohave 30%; Washington 28%
After selling out in May, Luther Seminary brings back one of their most talked-about courses: Hybrid Ministry in a Post-Pandemic Church, from Ryan Panzer. Click here for all the details (including a course breakdown) and a chance to register before it fills up again.
Read MoreSpiritual PopUp: Creating Your Own Memorial Service Leader's Guide and Participant's Guide are now available on Amazon. Published by New Song Anthem in Henderson, Nevada, by authors Sheila Choate Siino, Elizabeth Baldizan, and Patricia Rusch Duffey.
Read MoreYou are invited to join ELCA Coaching at 11 am MST/PDT on the third Wednesday of July and the first and third Wednesday of August to learn some possibly surprising, and some definitely humorous, things about Courageous Leadership.
The schedule (starting July 21) and login information can be found on the ELCA Coaching website.
Read MoreThe Congregations Lead Initiative is a new, two-year program that will gather a cohort of 50 congregations from across the ELCA to unleash and harness their collective genius and discover new and useful ministry innovations. Beginning on July 8, 2021, your congregation is invited to apply to join the Congregations Lead Initiative. Learn more at ELCA.org/CongregationsLead or this PDF flyer.
Read MoreThe second meeting of the Grand Canyon Synod Hunger Leaders Network is Tuesday, July 27, 2021, 6:30pm MST/PDT. Click here to join the Zoom meeting when it's in progress.
Petra Rickertsen, Networks Manager from ELCA World Hunger will share how other synod networks work and will also update us on Hunger Grants.
Read More
