What are some adjectives that we use to describe our Egg Hunt and Resource Fair? Well it was wild and it was joyful.
We were able to serve about 380 children from 240 families with multiple resources! It was on the local news on NBC channel 3, CBS channel 8, and Fox 5 (see clip here). Thanks to everyone that made this happen; it was an example of many people coming together to help under served families and children. View a video recap here.
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The ELCA mission support memo for March, 2023 is available as PDF, as a Word doc, or in this blog post. They also provide access to a presentation on Where is Mission Interpretation Now. Click here to view the presentation with this passcode $3xKqLkn.
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The Office of the Bishop continues to plan for assembly, and travel to various congregations and ministries around our synod.
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This week we celebrate the ordination anniversaries of:
Rev. Charles Newman, Crossroads, San Tan Valley, who celebrates 18 years on April 15.
Rev. Nelson Sulouff, who celebrates 64 years on April 16.
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.
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Central Arizona Shelter Services (CASS) provides more than just a safe place to sleep. The chaplaincy program at CASS cares for people experiencing homelessness who have a spiritual hunger.
Lay and rostered leaders are encouraged to volunteer their time with the chaplaincy program at CASS to teach Bible Studies and serve as outreach coordinators. Volunteer duties take two to three hours per week. Contact John Thurston john.thurston39@gmail.com or check out azchaplaincyforthehomeless.org to learn more.
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The first episode of Faith+Lead's Pivot Podcast season 4 is available, and they’re kicking off the season by exploring the rise of micro-Christian communities and their impact on the traditional church model. Listen here.
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Luther Seminary’s Faith+Lead offers Dare to Lead for Church Leaders, and it’s based on the research and teaching of Dr. Brené Brown. Over six immersive sessions, our facilitator, Rev. Sarah Ciavarri, will apply these Dare to Lead principles to church leadership. Click here to learn more and register.
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Blessed Tomorrow shares their April, 2023 newsletter. Blessed Tomorrow is a coalition of diverse religious partners working to advance climate solutions in faithful service to God. Learn more.
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Join The Islamic Speakers Bureau of Arizona (ISBA) and presenter Casey Salas for a Zoom event, The Jewish Expulsion from Spain: Rethinking Religion and Society, Tuesday, 4/25/2023 at 6:30pm MST/PDT, 7:30pm MDT. Click here to register.
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Our synod’s ELCA Foundation planners—Lisa Higginbotham and Josh Kerney—share their monthly charitable giving tip. This month: blended giving! Considering a gift now that complements a gift at death can be requires just the right recipe which is personal to you.
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Faith+Lead is excited to announce a brand-new way to learn about faith from anywhere at any time with the first on-demand Faith+Lead Academy course: The Gospel of Matthew. Experience the life and teachings of Jesus through art, reflection, and application. Sample the Gospel of Matthew Course here.
Led by author, theologian, and cartoonist Steve Thomason, this is more than a course, it’s an experience of refreshment and connection with God.
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The North East Valley Consortium and the Grand Canyon Synod are hosting an upcoming event, Leading Faithful Innovation, with Lutheran Seminary on Saturday, April 29, 2023, 1-5pm, at Living Water Lutheran Church, 9201 E. Happy Valley Road Scottsdale, AZ 85255. View more in this post or this PDF flyer.
To register for free, please visit bit.ly/3Z8ErQh or follow the QR code by April 18, 2023. A virtual option will also be available. Please call 651-641-3431 with questions. Join us at Living Water Lutheran Church for an afternoon of learning, led by Luther Seminary Vice President of Innovation and Professor Dwight Zscheile.
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The Installation of Pastor Doug Moffat will take place on Sunday, April 23, 2023, 9:30am, at Faith Lutheran in Yuma (2215 S 8th Ave., Yuma, AZ 85364). Bishop Hutterer will preach and preside. A livestream will be available on their Facebook page. A reception will follow.
Read More![[re]imagine Lent: 4/10/2023 Holy Monday](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bc35f5d7980b31e1c91ba1c/1681147190152-7SX6LL1R07W01EDCK997/unsplash-image-__Hw50q04FI.jpg)
On this Holy Monday, I offer the words of Rob Bell, from his book titled, Love Wins.
“Do we get what we want?”
..the answer to that is a resounding, affirming, sure, and positive yes.
Yes, we get what we want.
God is that loving.
![[re]imagine Lent: 4/9/2023 Easter Sunday](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bc35f5d7980b31e1c91ba1c/1681147406522-9BC9UHAZPTPOBBPBK2UF/image.png)
Christ is Risen!
Christ is Risen, Indeed!
Alleluia!
![[re]imagine: 4/8/2023 Vigil of Easter](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bc35f5d7980b31e1c91ba1c/1681147582845-BKUKFK1G74LACADLUU37/unsplash-image-ZPRgmVqgPj0.jpg)
The sky is still dark
or maybe it has come
and gone again.
this is a vigil,
but not for Easter.
![[re]imagine: 4/7/2023 Good Friday](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bc35f5d7980b31e1c91ba1c/1680882311251-EN6CVTK22NU2LQXXO5GF/unsplash-image-LxTlqCsaL-8.jpg)
In one of the mystical traditions of the early church, it was thought that Jesus gave birth – literally – as he died on the cross, the birth marked by the blood and water that flowed from his side. But what, exactly, is born? I’m afraid, sometimes, of this ‘awesome mystery,’ and its implications because of what I sometimes begin to comprehend, even in the merest of glimpses.
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