Hello dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
Here in Senegal we have just come through the season of harvest celebrations, weddings, and church festivals. To connect you with my ministry and life and with YAGM Senegal, here is the February 2020 Newsletter.
Read MoreThis year at the ELCA Churchwide Assembly the body gathered – including a huge number of young adult voting members – called on the ELCA to get serious about its commitment to care for creation.
The #NoplasticsforLent initiative, led by young adults across the church, calls us to prayer for creation, to lament the ways we have been complicit in the degradation of the earth, and to action to care for our neighbor in fasting from the things that are hurting our planet.
Read MoreJoin staff from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, and Wartburg Theological Seminary for an evening reception and conversation: Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, Phoenix, Monday March 9th from 6-8 pm.
This event will include food, fellowship, prayer, and an opportunity for candidates (anybody at any point in life discerning a call to ministry) and candidacy committee members to engage in conversation about faith, vocation, call, and the diverse seminary programs available today.
Read MoreFrom the ELCA Advocacy office in Washington, D.C. – the Rev. Amy E. Reumann, director, comes the February Update of Advocacy Connections: Travel Ban | Girl’s Education | Disaster aid for Puerto Rico | Fair Housing Rule | Census 2020
Read MoreI am thrilled to have the opportunity to serve as one of the Gathering Hosts for the 2021 ELCA Youth Gathering in Minneapolis, MN. This will be my third Gathering and I can’t wait!
Each Gathering has been different and brought something new to my faith. I am so excited to see what God and the Gathering teams have in store for each of us in 2021 and in these next 16 months leading up to it.
Read MoreIn the last couple of months, it seems like there has been even more political news in front of us than usual. A presidential impeachment, Brexit in Europe, a cabinet shakeup in Russia – all of these events stacking on top of one another. Thanks to social media, we see much of these events as they happen. However, as technology improves, brand new problems are cropping up which we have to anticipate and deal with. Boston University professor, Danielle Citron, is tackling one of these problems: the rise of “deepfake” video clips.
Read MoreWe pray for the family of Bob Malde, who passed away at 2:40pm Monday, February 17, 2020. Bob is the father of Karen Kallevig, who is married to Pastor Jeff Kallevig, Our Saviour’s, Tucson.
Pastor Kallevig writes, “He was surrounded by his family and blessed by God’s grace. Yesterday morning he listened to the worship service of his home congregation on the radio and his family sang hymns of worship along with the congregation that was holding him in prayer, as were many of you. May God grant him everlasting peace, and may the everlasting light of Christ shine upon him.”
A memorial service celebrating his life is tentatively being planned for 1:pm Saturday, 2/22 at First Lutheran Church, Ellensburg WA.
Read MoreGive thanks for ELCA Global Mission programs, relationships, opportunities and partnerships with global companions that bring us together as the body of Christ for doing God’s work in the world.
Read MorePray for our president, legislators and other public servants, that their decisions and actions will be guided by a spirit of compassion and justice, a commitment to peacemaking and building relationships globally, and a determination to work across ideologies and political divisions for the well-being of our communities and of people in need.
Read MoreTrusting in God’s grace and forgiveness, pray that we will be repentant and humble when we consider our daily actions, words and thoughts, as well as what we fail to do. Ask God to redirect our lives so we might follow God’s ways and commandments, resist comparing ourselves to others and avoid citing cultural norms to rationalize contrary behavior.
Read MoreWhen it comes to responding to homelessness in our congregations, often there is a will but not a way. We would help if we only knew how to do it safely, if we could guarantee that our money was not going to support an addiction, if we had more time to understand best practices and so on. Fear causes us to freeze and walk or drive past the neighbor in need on our everyday Jericho roads.
Read MorePray that we will take to heart Jesus’ teachings that love is not weakness and that power does not equal force or superiority. Pray that we will follow Jesus’ example by being humble, loving servants in the world and will trust in the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us and through us.
Read MoreWe pray for the family of Pastor Jeff Kallevig and wife Karin, Our Saviour’s, Tucson, who inform us that Karin’s father, Bob Malde, has been in the end-stage of liver cancer for some time. Bob has now stopped chemo and entered home hospice in Washington, where Karin is now.
Pastor Kallevig writes: “We have been blessed by many holy moments over the last two years of his struggle with cancer. So in this time there is a deep sense of gratitude and peace, mixed with the sorrow. Thank you all for your ongoing care and support. Please continue to keep our family in your thoughts and prayers.”
“Almighty God, your love never fails, and you can turn the shadow of death into daybreak. Help us to receive your word with believing hearts, so that, confident in your promises, we may have hope and be lifted out of sorrow into the joy and peace of your presence; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.”
Read MoreAmid our worries and turmoil, we ask for God’s help in seeking freedom for the oppressed, sharing our food resources with the hungry, sheltering the homeless and attending to the cries of people in poverty.
Read MoreI am an ordained pastor and serve on staff at a Lutheran Church, but I am not an ordained ELCA pastor. My background is Presbyterian. My first Gathering experience was in New Orleans for the 2009 Gathering, Jesus Justice Jazz. I didn’t know what to expect. I’d never been to Louisiana before, I’d never attended such a large youth event before, I was afraid of what it would be like to lead a group of a couple dozen youth and adults around a city that I had never visited. Why did I agree to do this anyway?
Read MoreIn the February issue of Living Lutheran, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton reminds us of our uniquely Lutheran understanding of the gospel and renews her call for studying Martin Luther’s Small Catechism. “Luther said he needed to study it every day—and he wrote it! Let’s do the same.” Read her column in English at https://bit.ly/2uhqshX and in Spanish athttps://bit.ly/2vXv90F.
Read MoreFour of our first call pastors—Pastors Nannette Christofferson, David Sivecz, Mateo Chaves, Abel Arroyo—joined Pastor Jacqui Pagel and 48 other newly-rostered pastors and deacons at the Mercy Center in Burlingame, CA. This conference covered the topic of conflict and encouraged participants to use better language, self-reflection, and continued dialogue to strengthen our congregations and be better church together.
Read MoreSt. Andrew Lutheran Church, Phoenix, is seeking a well-organized Office Administrator. This position will provide a warm and welcoming atmosphere to all who contact the church and will help to facilitate the ministries and the day to day business of the congregation. View job description.
To apply, submit a cover letter, resume, along with three personal references to officeadmin@saintandrewaz.org.
Read MoreCurrently, the Wuhan coronavirus is one of the biggest stories in world news. At the time of this writing, the number of confirmed cases in China has surpassed 20,000, with at least 207 other cases being reported in over two dozen countries. Doubtless ,by the time you are reading this, many more people will have been sickened by this potentially deadly disease.
Read MoreRefugees and their supporters, including Bishop Deborah Hutterer, went to the Arizona Capitol on Monday to urge the state Legislature to pass a resolution welcoming those who escape violence and persecution.
Among them was Jolie Nabigondo from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She explained at a news conference that she was imprisoned in the late 1990s and tortured. Nabigondo later fled to Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya before coming to the United States.
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