Join us next week on Wednesday, February 15, 2023, when we welcome back the "Wonder-twins" Danielle Groth and Rev. Victoria "Vicky" Lovell. We will focus on this verse from Matthew 22:37-39, "Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.'" Wednesday at noon MST, 11am PST. Log in info is on the ELCA Coaching website.
Read MoreWith deep gratitude, we are happy to announce that recent gifts put our total to $675,737 in gifts and pledges to our Growing Generosity Appeal. We have now only $74,263 to reach our $750,000 total. Thank you!
Stay tuned for stories of how these gifts have already been put to use. We invite you to help raise our final $75,000 by the end of 2023 through gifts from congregations, foundations, endowments, and individuals!
Read MoreThis week, the Office of the Bishop travels and preaches, attends the synod council meeting, and keeps the data flowing. We also share photos from last week’s Colorado River Conference Spring Gathering, at Christ Lutheran in Las Vegas .
Read MoreConditions are improving in most of the country, with reported cases and hospitalizations both falling by more than 20 percent nationally in the past two weeks.
Note: our updates can be a week behind due to our news cycle overlapping with Thursday updates. View the latest CDC and NYTimes updates here.
Read MoreThe Psalms become our words when we don’t know how or what to pray. They give hope when all we have are sighs. This month, however you’re feeling—at home, work or school—take time to sit with your feelings. Ask your family how they’re feeling, listen to one another and trust that God holds you, no matter how you feel.
Read MoreWelcome to Episode 2 of the series, Talks at the Desk, season 2. We travel to the U.S. Virgin Islands and visit several of the oldest Lutheran churches in the Western hemisphere. This episode explores the history and impact of colonialism both past and present.
We meet wise and courageous people of faith who remind us about sacred struggles of the past and the presence of God and ancestors today in the work that remains to be done.
Read MoreLutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (LAMA) is co-sponsor of the Anti-Hunger Alliance Advocacy Day at the Capitol on March 13th, 2023, from 11:30 am – 1:00 pm at the Wesley Bolin Plaza. Complimentary lunch included. Please join us! Learn more on the lamaz.org site.
Read MoreWe had an AMAZING response to our most recent opportunity to receive a grant from ELCA Disability Ministries! Our review team will soon begin the process of narrowing down the first 30 applications we received to the top 5 that will receive grants of up to $10,000.
We also wanted to share that the Youth Gathering will waive fees for the first 200 registrants who attend the tAble.
Read MoreImagine measuring congregational vitality by how alive people and faith communities feel in their gathering and in their interactions with their neighbors, instead of determining success by counting the number of people attending worship or the number of dollars collected.
That’s what congregations are doing, or learning to do, throughout the ELCA in programs funded through grants awarded by Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Thriving Congregations Initiative. Congregations can apply for the Nourishing Vocation Project.
Read MoreIt’s brave and smart to seek help if you’re living with stress, depression, anxiety, or mental health struggles – but accessing an in-person counselor isn’t always easy or even possible.
That’s one reason the ELCA-Primary health plan EAP benefit has expanded to include Talkspace, digital confidential online counseling with licensed therapists via text, video, or audio. Read more on myPortico.
Read MoreIn this post from Lutheran World Relief, find a suite of resources to help you guide your congregation in their response, and more info at lwr.org/quake.
Read MoreThe Extravaganza, an annual gathering of children, youth and family ministry leaders from across the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, took place Feb. 3-6 in Anaheim, Calif. The event was hosted by the ELCA's Youth Ministry Network.
Read MoreOver the weekend, the ELCA Youth Gathering team announced that "the registration fees for the first 1,000 registrants for the ELCA MYLE and the first 200 registrants for the tAble will be waived by the Gathering for the 2024 cycle." These events are in New Orleans, 7/13-7/16/2024.
The Multicultural Youth Leadership Event (MYLE) is a gathering for youth of color that happens just before the ELCA Gathering, and The tAble is a gathering for young people who live with a range of physical, cognitive and emotional disabilities. Be on the lookout for more details coming soon!
Read MoreThe annual Report to the Bishop is an opportunity for you to connect directly with Bishop Hutterer. She looks forward to your responses and feedback. Completion of this required report is one of the commitments rostered ministers are invited to make upon entering the synod.
The report is due back to Bishop Hutterer by February 28, 2023. Access the report in this post or on our rostered minister report page.
Read MoreYou are invited to join us for an Interfaith Prayer Gathering of inspirational stories of hope. Experience “Finding Hope in New Beginnings,” a virtual zoom community bringing people of different faiths and perspectives together to share stories of hope and inspiration.
Wednesday, 2/15/2023, noon MST, 11am PST, featuring Susan Masood with Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest.. Click here to register and get the Zoom link. Hosted by Northeast Valley Consortium & Fountain Hills, AZ, Interfaith Alliance. More info in this post, as PDF, or email HopeInOurWorldNow@gmail.com.
Read MoreThis lecture will present an overview of the CRISPR revolution and the various uses of CRISPR, a powerful gene editing tool. The questions and issues raised by the scientific, ethical, and religious communities amidst this CRISPR revolution are more important than the answers provided.
Wednesday, February 15, 2023, 10am-12pm MST, 9-11am PST. If you are planning to attend in-person, please register at this link. If you are planning to attend online, please register at this link. Presented by Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and California Lutheran University.
Read MorePlease share your congregation’s plan for 2023 Mission Support by February 15, 2023 so the Synod Council can plan for the coming year. Thank you!
In this post, we share a letter (English, Spanish) from Bishop Hutterer and Synod Vice President Barbara Carl, thanking you and our synod’s congregations for continued mission support, half of which is passed to ELCA churchwide for ministry in the larger church.
Read MoreELCA Disability Ministries began accepting grant applications on 12/12/2022, and will officially close the application process on 2/15/2023, for funding to ministries that are committed to inclusion and accessibility. Read more about these grants in this letter from coordinator Rev. Lisa Heffernan.
Read MoreAll active Grand Canyon Synod rostered ministers are required to participate in professional boundary training every three years. Retired rostered ministers are not required. The Office of the Bishop has partnered with CongregationU to provide Boundary Awareness Training for $29.00.
Click here to take this course by 2/15/2023, and email your certificate of completion to office@gcsynod.org by 2/28/2023. Learn more in a letter from Bishop Hutterer in this post.
Read MoreThe Arizona Faith Network’s February, 2023 newsletter is available online, featuring Black History Month and AFN's Stone of Hope web page; meeting schedules; a Simplicity and Interfaith Gathering; Environmental Day at the Capitol; Black History Month Film Festival; Faith Rooted Advocacy Leadership Series; Human Trafficking Awareness Webinar; the Connection to Nature Interfaith Family Event; and much more.
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