Posts in News
Sierra Pacific Synod: Bishop’s Report to the Church
Sierra Pacific Synod: Bishop’s Report to the Church

After listening to the concerns of this church, careful review of the report of the Listening Team and other accompanying documents, consultation with outside legal counsel, and prayerful reflection and discernment, I have decided not to bring disciplinary charges against Bishop Rohrer.

While I am not inaugurating formal disciplinary processes at this time, there remain enough serious concerns that influence Bishop Rohrer's ability to remain impactful in their role that I have asked Bishop Rohrer for their resignation, which I believe to be in the best interest of all parties involved. Leer también en español…

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Bishop Eaton, ELCA, Letters, NewsBrian FlatgardSierra Pacific Synod, Region 2, Bishop Rohrer Comment
COVID-19 community levels: 5/26/2022
COVID-19 community levels: 5/26/2022

According to the CDC’s COVID-19 Community Levels, Clark County is the first to be at medium level after months of low levels in our synod.

All of our synod’s remaining counties are low level: Apache, Cochise, Coconino, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, La Paz, Maricopa, Mohave, Navajo, Pima, Pinal, Santa Cruz, Washington, Yavapai, and Yuma.

The United States is averaging more than 105,000 new cases each day, the most since February, when the first Omicron wave was subsiding. Cases are rising in most states, and since many cases go uncounted in official reports, the true toll is higher than these figures show.

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News, Grand Canyon SynodBrian FlatgardCoronavirusComment
ELCA Foundation workshops
ELCA Foundation workshops

Lisa Marie Higginbotham, CFRE, one of our Regional Gift Planners with the ELCA Foundation is presenting virtual workshops on three related topics: planned giving, stewardship, and endowment. Use the links below to join the meetings.

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Grand Canyon Synod, News, Leader ResourcesBrian FlatgardStewardship, ELCA FoundationComment
Response to the School Shooting in Uvalde, Texas
Response to the School Shooting in Uvalde, Texas

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America grieves with the families of the 19 students and two teachers killed in Tuesday's mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Mass shootings in this country over the past two weeks have deepened the wounds of grief and sorrow. This follows the racially motivated shooting of 10 people in Buffalo, N.Y.; the shooting in Laguna Woods, Calif.; and the 27 other school shootings that have occurred in 2022. Many of the shooters have targeted children and older adults — some of the most vulnerable in our society.

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ELCA, Letters, NewsBrian FlatgardGun ViolenceComment
May & June 2022 Update: Advocacy Connections
May & June 2022 Update: Advocacy Connections

Read the May and June updates from the ELCA advocacy office in Washington, D.C., by The Rev. Amy E. Reumann, Senior Director, ELCA Witness in Society.

The May/June issue of ELCA Advocacy Connections was prepared for distribution on May 25, 2022. While these brief updates on activity in which our ELCA Witness in Society federal staff is engaged are never an expansion of national news or a complete picture, today especially we are aware they don’t touch our corporate reflections, including on the horror of the shooting in Uvalde, Tex. and on observance of the second anniversary of the death of George Floyd.

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ELCA, NewsBrian FlatgardAdvocacy, ELCA Advocacy, Gun ViolenceComment
25 years of Fund for Leaders
25 years of Fund for Leaders

For over 25 years, Fund for Leaders has supported church leaders of tremendous promise. So far, your gifts to Fund for Leaders have made a difference in the lives of over 1,100 seminary students, allowing them to serve the church where they are needed most. Together, we are working toward our ultimate goal: a future in which every rostered minister can graduate without the burden of financial debt. ELCA.org/FundforLeaders25

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ELCA, NewsBrian FlatgardELCA Fund for LeadersComment
ELCA statement on the Buffalo mass murders
ELCA statement on the Buffalo mass murders

Our hearts grieve for those who have been killed and our souls cry out against more lives lost to the hatred birthed by racism. As we mourn those lives lost as a result of the racially motivated killings in Buffalo, we ask God to ease the continued suffering and trauma of our Black siblings throughout the nation and in our church. We are one body in Christ, so when one part suffers, we all suffer.

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ELCA, News, LettersBrian FlatgardRacial Justice, Gun ViolenceComment
Review the proposed 2023-2024 Mission Spending Plan
Review the proposed 2023-2024 Mission Spending Plan

As part of our assembly, we’ll be approving our proposed 2023-2024 Mission Spending Plan. Visit this page to explore the plan in depth as we provide different ways of seeing this data.

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Grand Canyon Synod, NewsBrian Flatgard2022 Synod AssemblyComment
ELCA Churchwide Assembly
ELCA Churchwide Assembly

The 2022 ELCA Churchwide Assembly will take place Aug. 8-12 in Columbus, Ohio. Under the theme “Embody the Word,” the assembly will meet around word and water, wine and bread, to carry on its work on behalf of the entire church.

A key action during the assembly will be electing a vice president. Live video of worship and plenary sessions will be accessible at Churchwide Assembly — Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (elca.org).

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ELCA, News, Leader ResourcesBrian FlatgardAdministration Matters, 2022 Churchwide AssemblyComment
In Memoriam: Heidi Gerrish
In Memoriam: Heidi Gerrish

5/27/2022 update: more info from Heidi’s father, Paul, and links a GoFundMe page and to CaringBridge health updates for Justin and Katherine.

We lift up in prayer the friends and family of Heidi Gerrish. Heidi died at the scene of an automobile accident Saturday morning, May 21, 2022, while traveling to her sister Julie’s graduation from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary. Also in the car were her partner Justin, and her brother and sister-in-law, Stephen and Katherine.

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Grand Canyon Synod, In Memoriam, NewsBrian FlatgardLutheran Social Services of the Southwest, LCM U of A, Gerrish family Comments
Special assembly guest: Rev. Roberto Trejo Haager of Mexican Lutheran Church (ILM)
Special assembly guest: Rev. Roberto Trejo Haager of Mexican Lutheran Church (ILM)

After numerous Covid-thwarted attempts to arrange a visit, we are blessed that our 2022 Synod Assembly features a visit from Rev. Roberto Trejo Haager, Pastor President of the Mexican Lutheran Church (Iglesia Luterana Mexicana, ILM).

We look forward to worshipping with Pastor Trejo Haager and hearing updates on our companions in Mexico.

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News, Grand Canyon Synod, Global ChurchBrian FlatgardRoberto Trejo Haager, 2022 Synod Assembly, Mexican Lutheran ChurchComment