Just over two years ago, after decades of working, Susan became disabled. “I was newly poor and relatively terrified,” she wrote. “With literally everything stripped from the budget except a roof over our heads and very modest transportation, the monthly budget showed a balance of negative $5. The meaning of food insecurity became abundantly clear.”
Read MoreConfession: mornings are not always my best time. And Sunday mornings, when I’m trying to get myself and my children up and moving, are especially not always my best. As much as I am loathe to admit it, there are many Sunday mornings when we finally get to the car after having yelled myself and my children there.
Read MoreThese words are hitting differently this year as we reimagine faith. In fact, these verses are so well-known to those of us who have been Christians for any length of time, I wonder if their power has diminished for us. Or at the very least, if we have stopped getting curious about how they speak to our lives.
Read MoreSometimes Paul can get so wordy, and the 4th and 5th chapters of Romans are prime examples of this! However, in this two-verse nugget, I was struck today by how my faith comes to me as a gift in part because of one person – Abraham – who trusted God’s unbelievable promise.
Read MoreThe Lord will preserve you from all evil and will keep your life. The Lord will watch over your going out and you're coming in, from this time forth forevermore. —Psalm 121.7-8
Read MoreFor the most part, living as we do in a wealthy country with virtually anything we could want within a click, it is easy to get lulled into a sense of self-reliance. In fact, self-reliance has become a value in our culture, as we hear of people living the American dream wherein they start with nothing and become anything they want to be through hard work and persistence.
Read MoreWhat's faith-based living got to do with civic life?
The ELCA invites you and your congregation to explore this and other questions by using "A Study Curriculum on Civic Life and Faith." View a video on this question in this post, along with a PDF guide.
Read More[Jesus answered,] The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” ~ John 3.8
Do you hear it?
This lent, the LWF invites Lutheran churches worldwide to pray for peace in seven countries and regions worldwide. The hashtag #7weeksforpeace will highlight current emergencies and protracted conflicts and how the LWF responds and supports.
Deep breaths, time with loved ones, a good night’s sleep … what are your best practices for keeping yourself centered and healthy?
If you’re looking to expand your toolbox, and you have ELCA-Primary health benefits, check out Learn to Live’s new course focusing on building resilience. Take the initial assessment and then enroll in the self-guided program at no out-of-pocket cost to you: learntolive.com.
Read MoreThis week we celebrate the following ordination anniversaries:
Rev. Jeremy Nausin, Holy Spirit, Las Vegas, who celebrates 8 years on March 1.
Rev. Elaine Watskey, , who celebrates 20 years on March 1.
Rev. Timothy Wright, Community of Grace, Peoria, who celebrates 39 years on March 4.
Rev. Jonathan Linman, Faith, Phoenix, who celebrates 34 years on March 4.
Other than Maricopa County, which is at a medium level, all of our synod’s counties are at at low levels.
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 Office of the Bishop travels this week. We also share photos of the Spring Gathering for Cactus, Capital, Fiesta, Northeast Valley & Rio Salado Conferences, Feb 26, 2022.
Read MoreCelebrate this vital ministry and mission of the ELCA ! The Evangelical Lutheran Education Association (ELEA) is a recognized ministry of the ELCA. For more info, view elcaschools.org, read Bishop Eaton's message, and find ELCA schools by clicking here.
Read MoreSaturday, March 4, 1– 2:30pm PST, Christ the Servant Lutheran Church, 2 S Pecos Rd, Henderson, NV 89074. Please email office@cslconline.org or call 702-263-0802 if you will be attending.
Lutheran Engagement and Advocacy in Nevada (LEAN) and Lutheran Social Services of Nevada present “Living with Hunger in Nevada.” We will share in activities to consider our attitudes about food and what it might be like to not have easy access to healthy options. Martin Malmberg from Lutheran Social Services of Nevada will be with us to share about how LSSN is making a difference.
Read MoreIn this message to congregations, current International Women Leaders (IWL) scholarship recipients share what their scholarships mean to them and their communities. International Women’s Day is March 8. The ELCA celebrates this day by uplifting the IWL program, which provides scholarships for emerging women leaders from our companion churches around the world to study at ELCA colleges and universities, ELCA seminaries and other institutions. The following Sunday, congregations are encouraged to take a special offering for IWL. Give to IWL at: http://ELCA.org/SupportIWL
If faith for Abram looked like taking the next right step into an unknown future, then Nicodemus coming to ask about Jesus was certainly a great act of faith – stepping out in the dark of night to learn more about who Jesus was.
Read MoreHow much did Abram lose when he responded to God’s command to leave his home and family, trusting that ‘the land God would show him’ would provide a future? I imagine the grief was palpable, and the fear great. Yet, in faith, Abram did the next right thing. He took the first step, then the next, and then the next. He couldn’t see the future, didn’t know what it held, but he knew who held it.
Read MoreJoin us as we celebrate the beginning of the upcoming month of Ramadan with an Interfaith Iftar Dinner, inviting teens of many faiths to come together in peace to learn about each other to build communities of mutual respect. Monday, 3/13/2023, 5pm, at the Islamic Center of the Northeast Valley (12125 E Vía Linda, Scottsdale, AZ 85259).
Register at isb-az.org/iftar by March 8, 2023. Contact: iftar@isb-az.org for more info.
Read MoreExplore the economic, cultural, political, and ecological contours of the systemic crisis we face, and grow in the knowledge, skills, spiritual strength, and community that are so vital to forging the paths toward climate justice.
Register here for this event facilitated by Dr. Cynthia Moe-Lobeda at Spirit in the Desert Retreat Center, Friday, March 10 - Sunday March 12, 2023.
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