Gail Hamp, a member of Sierra Vista Evangelical Lutheran, writes of visiting with a refugee family from Tanzania: “We were blessed to have the opportunity to provide support for this lovely family.”
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Pastor Craig Corbin from Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, Lake Havasu City, writes that they have choir risers available. “Dimensions: 18-18.5 feet wide, 3.5-4 feet deep when recessed against the wall. When extended 18 ft wide by 11-12 feet. Like new, hardly used. The price is right, as in, give us an offer.” Contact, Rev. Craig M. Corbin, 928-855-2299 (O) or email revcmcorbin@gmail.com, text 715-338-2325.
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Exhibitor display tables are an important part of the Synod Assembly. They give our ministry partners an opportunity to tell people in our synod about their ministries. Would you be interested in helping coordinate the display tables? The coordinator would work in tandem with the synod office to contact the list of exhibitors, get them registered and provide our guidelines for tables. This would take place in February and March. The coordinator would also oversee the set-up of the display table space at the Synod Assembly in June. Please contact Norine Floyd at office@gcsynod.org or 602-957-3223 for more details.
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What is a vocation? I used to think that a vocation was some big thing. A one true grand calling in life with which we are somehow anointed. But as I reflect on this quote from Martin Luther during this season of Epiphany, I am reminded that this is not the case.
Any work done in faith can be a vocation. We are all made holy through baptism in Christ to do holy work.
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Members of Desert Cross Lutheran Church, in Tempe, Arizona, helped their friends Curt and Freida Hahn move back to Arizona. Their story is featured in January’s Living Lutheran magazine. Read the full story here.
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Save the date for our Synod Assembly, June 14 & 15, 2019. Our theme this year is “Sing to the Lord a New Song!” We gather at Love of Christ Lutheran Church, 1525 N. Power Rd., Mesa, AZ 85205.
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When: Wednesday, February 20th, 2019 – 12:00 – 1:00pm
Where: Olive Garden – 1010 W. Elliot Rd., Tempe, AZ
Topic, Cancer & The Church: Cancer needs are more complex to minister to because of typical short hospital stays yet long term treatment. Karen Tripp, MS, LMFT will offer strategies for volunteers to develop successful cancer ministries to impact your church and community through the Cancer Companions Program.
Speaker: Karen Tripp MS LMFT Christian Counselor, Author and President of Cancer Companions.
Who: For anyone interested in impacting cancer in their church and community. Lay members, Pastors, Parish nurses, Cancer survivors, Caregivers, Chaplains, Hospice workers, Stephen Ministers, Care teams.
To Register and for more Information: https://www.cancer-companions.org/events/arizona/ or info@cancer-companions.org or 314-814-0044. Come join us for lunch and learn more about Cancer Companions.
Saturday March 9th 9:30 am - 11:00 am MST. You are invited to participate webcast on stewardship topics to enhance vitality in your congregation. The webcast will introduce a new resource: Generosity 365. On the morning of March 9, simply go to https://www.elca.org/stewardship and click on the widget titled “stewardCast2019.”
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Active and Rostered Leaders, forms for your annual reports to the Bishop are available on the Grand Canyon Synod website. Bishop Hutterer looks forward to your responses. Please complete by March 8, 2019.
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The synod office will be closed on Monday, 1/21/19 in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
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The Nominating Committee is starting the process that will result in elections at the 2019 Churchwide Assembly. How can you help? By encouraging people you know to submit their names for the position or positions that interest them, or submit your own name. This workbook has all the info you need.
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I wonder what Simon, a professional fisherman, thought when he received this command from Jesus. Was he inspired and eager? Or petulant and cynical? He was probably tired from working all night. He might have been discouraged and sad that he didn’t catch anything.
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Living Lutheran's January cover story looks at how wellness programs enrich and extend congregations’ ministries. Read the article and participate in discussion with a corresponding study guide.
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Although the 12 days of Christmas are coming to a close, the gift of Christ's birth into our world is not over. God came into this world and calls us from its darkness.
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I was having coffee with a hiking friend the other morning and we were talking about Christmas. My friend recently joined an ELCA congregation after many years of questioning her faith in the Gospel.
She shared her joy at re-discovering Christ's birth this Christmas. In the midst of shopping, parties, and festivities, she has valued the quiet times and pausing to gaze upon the Christ-child in the manger.
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We are very excited about our new website, and we thank you for your patience as we rebuild it. If there’s something you can’t find or a feature you’d like, please let us know.
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The days are surely coming. This week we begin a season of waiting and anticipation. 4 weeks to prepare ourselves and get ready. Waiting for promises to be realized. 4 weeks of hope.
We live in a world where justice and righteousness are not always present. But hope grows in the soil of possibilities with God, not the dirt of life’s present circumstances. Hope is the deep conviction that God is working powerfully in our lives and in the world. It is not based on what we can do or see. Hope is anchored in the faithfulness of God.
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After my husband Gary was diagnosed with ALS in 2010, it was hard to feel grateful.
We went home, questioning how we would get through this. We prayed that God would give us what we needed, and the eyes to see that God had provided. Each day we thanked God for being with us even when we couldn’t recognize all that had been provided.
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One hundred years ago this Sunday, November 11, the most terrible war the world had ever known came to an end.
Sadly, Armistice Day did not mark the end of all wars. Human affairs among nations fail and natural disasters strike. Violence, cruelty, and injustice overwhelm us. And God raises up people who are willing to put their lives in harm’s way on behalf of their country.
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