For some of us, the phrase “sermon prep” can create a sense of panic. It seems like there’s never enough time to give planning, writing, and revising your undivided attention. Besides, your work is among the people, and that’s hard to do if you’re holed up in your office.
Sermon Camp offers preachers the chance to refresh and be empowered for a better way forward.
Read MoreThank you, to those of you who have already registered! For those who haven’t, you can still register and receive the early-bird rate of $245 through April 21, 2023. You will need to book hotel and travel separately. Highlights of the gathering, and more information are available at elca.org/rmg.
If you like to welcome people, help with registration, or have the gift of hospitality, please connect with Pastor Doug Dill: pastordoug@centrallutheranaz.org or 402-235-6969. Click here to register as a volunteer at elca.org.
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 find this Jesus, the suffering servant, to be welcoming and comforting – one who stretches his arms wide on the cross, willingly bearing suffering and evil knowing that the resurrection dawn will certainly come.
Read MoreThe Office of the Bishop participates in the Installation of Rev. Dan Potaznick, (Apr 1, 2023, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM, St. John’s, Glendale) in multiple ways, and continues to prepare for assembly and other meetings. We also share photos from the High Country Conference Spring Gathering, as well as the Installation of Rev. Scott Klimke.
Read MoreOther than Apache, 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 MoreThis week we celebrate the following ordination anniversaries:
Deacon Glenda Blegen, who celebrates 17 years on April 2.
Rev. Adele Resmer, who celebrates 36 years on April 5.
This year the suffering servant text struck me differently – struck me almost in the way Rocky Balboa gets struck over and over in the famous movie franchise Rocky.
Read MoreIn anticipation of Palm Sunday, and in the aftermath of yet another shooting, today’s devotion is a poem written b Pr. Katy Stenta. Hosanna, a dangerous prayer indeed.
Read MoreWe welcome Rev. Dr. Anthony Bateza as our special guest at the 2023 Grand Canyon Synod Assembly. Dr. Bateza is a specialist in Martin Luther, moral theology and Christian ethics.
At St. Olaf College, he is the: Associate Professor of Religion; Department Chair of Race, Ethnic, Gender and Sexuality Studies; and Director of Race and Ethnic Studies. Learn more in this post or on our 2023 assembly special guests page.
Read MoreWe are pleased to welcome Rev. Sara Cutter as our ELCA churchwide representative at the 2023 Grand Canyon Synod Assembly. She serves as the Senior Director for Operational Effectiveness in the Christian Community and Leadership Home Area of the ELCA’s churchwide organization. Learn more in this post or on our 2023 assembly special guests page.
Read MoreAll members of the Grand Canyon Synod are invited to participate in a Q-&-A Zoom presentation of the 2024-2025 Mission Plan, hosted by Erik Rehms, our Synod Treasurer, and Barbara Carl, our Synod Vice-President. Each session is the same, with two dates to choose from. View the proposed plan here.
Tuesday, 5/16/2023, 5pm MST/PDT, 6pm MDT. Click here to register.
Saturday, 5/20/2023, 9am MST/PDT, 10am MDT. Click here to register.
Someone said to me just the other day, “The church mayyyyy be broken.”
I can’t say I totally disagree, as there is so much about our church that simply doesn’t work anymore, or that sorta, kinda works, but desperately needs transformation.
Read MoreLuther Seminary's Faith+Lead is proud to announce a new online learning experience for all of those leading in rural and small-town settings. This new offering, the Rural Curiosity Learning Community, starts April 20, 2023.
Ready to get all the details? Click here to find out more.
Read MoreThe tAble is a pre-event to the 2024 ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans for youth living with a wide range of physical, cognitive and emotional disabilities. The Rev. Jonathan Vehar (he/him), the director of the tAble, shares an invitation to be a part of this faith formation event. To learn more about the 2024 Gathering, visit elca.org/Gathering and watch the video in this post.
Read MoreIt has been a difficult few weeks for me, particularly as I watch the civil rights of my LGBTQ siblings stripped away. It has been difficult to assure my children that it will be ok when they saw the news report of Russia’s downing of a US drone when I have no power to give that assurance. Or to again think of the thousands living in the aftermath of earthquakes and war, to hear stories of Afghani women and girls still banned from education and work.
Read MoreThe 40 days of Lent are drawing to a close, and so, too, is our journey through the psalms. From the plaintive cries of Psalm 32 to the quiet comfort of Psalm 23, we have glimpsed the spiritual depth of these hymns and reflected on what they might mean for us today, centuries after they were first recorded.
Read More[Jesus] cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. - John 11.43
Read MoreYes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world. These words are familiar – the creed we speak in community, boldly proclaimed as one when the body of Christ gathers in worship.
Read More
![[re]imagine Lent: 3/31/2023](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bc35f5d7980b31e1c91ba1c/1680284452840-HKJ533NL2SKCS0QT48IB/unsplash-image-y2-FG8oiSiQ.jpg)
![[re]imagine Lent: 3/30/2023](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bc35f5d7980b31e1c91ba1c/1680199647482-FN9AJSO39QDDVKIUW1IU/unsplash-image-ig7vN6OkGNE.jpg)
![[re]imagine Lent: 3/29/2023](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bc35f5d7980b31e1c91ba1c/1680107401393-IEN9VWZYQ5C6W8ADQU6C/image.png)
![[re]imagine Lent: 3/28/2023](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bc35f5d7980b31e1c91ba1c/1680021105349-MULXNOF46OYWOPIHEZEP/unsplash-image-0pLC6IlKWqI.jpg)
![[re]imagine Lent: 3/27/2023](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bc35f5d7980b31e1c91ba1c/1679947945880-6JJVS4IFQ6I6BDFWQS8R/unsplash-image-3DR1XzQfOfs.jpg)
![[re]imagine Lent: 3/26/2023](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bc35f5d7980b31e1c91ba1c/1680054944759-SBKL04KZ2734QFY7U48M/image.png)
![[re]imagine Lent: 3/25/2023](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bc35f5d7980b31e1c91ba1c/1680055531897-NQMRPQZZRBMLYXILSFNP/unsplash-image-rzmQOng8h8I.jpg)