One of my favorite Lenten memories is as a little girl growing up in St. Paul, Minnesota. My congregation, Arlington Hills, hosted a weekly 6:30 a.m. breakfast and bible study to nourish body and soul. On Friday mornings, I would walk to my friends homes to pick them up.
Looking back on these memories has caused me to ponder the different ways that we invite others to come to Christ’s community.
Read MoreIn this bonus episode, Three Sides features Wendy Davidson, president of US Specialty Channels at the Kellogg Co. In her full interview from the “Women Who Lead” episode, Davidson shares insight on the intersection of her faith journey and leadership development through challenges, learnings and utilizing her seat at the table for change.
Read MoreIn the previous session, we learned how Martin Luther wrote that repentance consists in two things: contrition for sins and “taking hold of the promise.”
The “promise” here is the gift of grace through faith in Jesus Christ. It is the promise of new life in the fullness of God’s reign. It is the promise of the gospels and the prophets, the promise our ancestors in the faith clung to, and the promise that carries the people of God today into communities around the world, accompanying neighbors amid staggering challenges of poverty, hunger and injustice.
Read MoreThe Rev. Robert C. Blezard continues to provide a “Stewardship Toolkit” for congregations. It consists of an original newsletter article and RCL-based “stewardship snippets” that they can cut and paste into their publications. It also has resources to explore the theme set out in the newsletter article. This month’s theme is “Stewardship of God’s ‘very good’ creation.”
You can use this permanent URL, https://bit.ly/2EHozvX, for the toolkit. Rob will keep the URL the same but refresh it with the new content every month.
Read MoreWe are facing the world’s worst refugee crisis in recorded history with over 25 million refugees, over half of whom are children. In response, last year the Administration agreed to welcome 45,000 refugees to the U.S. But only 22,491 refugees were accepted in, leaving 22,509 refugees behind.
Help Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest send a total of 1,018 postcards to all Arizona members of Congress. One postcard for every refugee who never made it to Arizona last year. One postcard for every reason refugees are important to our communities.
Read MoreThe Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) stands with and holds up in prayer the people of Venezuela during the current multifaceted crisis within their nation. We care about the consequences of this crisis as already felt in neighboring countries and about its wider impact on international peace and security.
Read MoreIn her March column for Living Lutheran, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton reflects on prayer. She reminds us that prayer is not about the technique—the how or why we pray. Prayer is an invitation to divine love. Prayer is about relationship with God. Prayer is God seeking us. Read her column in English at https://bit.ly/2TdwTh7 and in Spanish at https://bit.ly/2TcUiPG.
Read MoreDLM Food and Resources at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Akron, Ohio, is a place where families find nourishing food, warm clothes and an equally warm welcome.
“At first glance, it’s not much different from any well-run, client-choice food pantry,” said Deacon Marla Wood Kay, director of congregational ministries at Holy Trinity.
But, Wood Kay said, “the idea for this ministry was born in a hospice room,” where Holy Trinity member Debra Manteghi was dying of cancer.
Read MorePray, fast and give during ELCA World Hunger’s 40 Days of Giving – for the good of our families, our neighbors and communities around the world.
This Lent, you’re invited to join together with fellow members and supporters of ELCA World Hunger to study, reflect and give during ELCA World Hunger’s 40 Days of Giving. Experience how the grace of Christ moves us to engage in transformative works of love around the world as God calls us into the ministry of hope, liberation and restoration for our world.
Read MorePray, fast and give during ELCA World Hunger’s 40 Days of Giving – for the good of our families, our neighbors and communities around the world. Watch the video or learn more at http://ELCA.org/40Days.
Read MoreAs 2019 begins, the world is becoming more religious, not less. Faith from diverse traditions grows as population expands throughout most of the Global South. Last year, nearly 50 million more Christians were added in Africa, making it the continent with the most adherents to Christianity in the world, 631 million.
In the U.S., a narrative of religious decline and growing secularism is now culturally popular. The percentage of “nones” — those claiming no religious affiliation — is growing, particularly among millennials. But what are the deeper trends and challenges, beneath the headlines, that are likely to shape the future of faith?
Read MoreFind daily ideas for how to engage in the Lenten disciplines of self-examination, repentance, prayer and fasting, sacrificial giving, and works of love with the ELCA’s devotional calendar.
Read MoreLent is a story of the journey of the people of God. It is the story of us, or more appropriately “God with us.”
During the season, we remember the ancient Hebrews’ journey from slavery in Egypt and a generation spent wandering in the wilderness. We also re-enact, in our own small ways, Jesus’ journey into the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil. The fast that many Christians commit to during Lent is a reflection of the 40- day fast Jesus undertook during this time.
Read MoreThe 40 Days of Giving weekly email series is designed to help supporters of ELCA World Hunger diver deeper into the content provided in our Lenten resources. Subscribe to engage further in your Lenten practices this season and explore the connections between our faith and our shared ministry to end hunger and poverty.
Read MoreDear Partners in Mission,
It is with mixed emotions that we need to inform you that on Feb 23, 2019 the Grand Synod Council voted to sell the building that is currently occupied by Vida Nueva Lutheran Church located at 4901 W. Indian School Road, Phoenix AZ. Although the property will be sold, the congregation will continue in a new site. The Grand Canyon Synod is currently working closely with the congregation to find a new worship location.
Read MoreDeepen your engagement throughout the season of Lent with the ELCA’s weekly study and learn more about how your gifts to ELCA World Hunger are at work in the world.
Read MoreAsh Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a season when God calls us to reflect on the meaning of Christ’s death and resurrection. The imposition of ashes – when you receive ashes in the sign of the cross on your forehead – sets the tone for Lent. Each moment you encounter your reflection, your ashes are a striking reminder that “you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19b). But the cross, a symbol of Jesus’ crucifixion, offers hope.
A Lenten prayer: Gracious God, out of your love and mercy you breathed into dust the breath of life, creating us to serve you and our neighbors. Call forth our prayers and acts of kindness, and strengthen us to face our mortality with confidence in the mercy of your Son, Jesus Christ.
Read MoreIn this episode of the Three Sides podcast we hear from three women from within the ELCA who hold leadership positions in three different fields – religion, business and the nonprofit world.
In the three segments of Three Sides, we’ll introduce you to ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton; Dr. Sylvia Sloan Black, a retired professor and now an executive coach; and Wendy Davidson, president of US Specialty Channels at the Kellogg Co.
Read MoreThe story of a detention camp that became the symbol of perhaps the largest mass incarceration of children not charged with a crime since the WWII internment of Japanese Americans.
Read MoreBishop Hutterer invites rostered leaders to the Bishop’s Fall Convocation, Monday, Oct 21-22, 2019, at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Chandler.
The guest speaker on Monday will be Dr. Tod Bolsinger, author of Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory. We are working on getting a copy of this book for each active rostered leader. More information to follow.
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