At the ELCA Youth Gathering in Houston in 2018, I told the story of being immunosuppressed and going to Rwanda. What I didn’t say was that in Rwanda, when I was 23, I got typhoid fever. About six months after that, I got malaria. I thought I was going to die.
Read MoreThese reflections are a part of ELCA World Hunger’s Sermon Starter series which is published via email every Monday.
The enigmatic poet Emily Dickinson’s famous words are appropriate for a sermon that hangs off the Hebrew Scripture assigned to the day: Tell the truth, but tell it slant…
Read MoreIt is important for each congregation and its leaders to understand what political activity is permissible to maintain the congregation’s tax exemption. Being a Public Church is a guidance for churches and clergy participating in the electoral process, an effort to expand the role of the church in encouraging faithful and non-partisan voter participation by providing faith-based resources around voting.
Read MorePray that our church’s understanding of the theology and practice of accompaniment will deepen as we walk together with Lutheran, ecumenical and interfaith sisters and brothers around the world.
Read More“Psalm 104 celebrates the way in which water pours… This flowing water serves, in the psalm, as a sign of God’s overflowing blessings on creation, pouring down from God to the earth and giving life to creatures,” writes Benjamin M. Stewart in A Watered Garden: Christian Worship and Earth’s Ecology (p. 28).
Read MoreDid you know World Water Day is March 22? Use ELCA World Hunger’s Walk for Water to educate yourself and your community about the link between clean water and a just world where all are fed. View this Walk for Water guide.
Read MoreGive thanks that God equips us and uses our unique abilities and gifts to care for the physical and spiritual needs of our neighbor. Ask God to grant us courage, patience and confidence in the gospel when we experience resistance, anger or condemnation in response to our advocacy and acts of compassion and justice.
Read MoreWith daily developments in the spread and scope of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), our anxiety and uncertainty tempt us to curve inward and fixate on self-preservation.
As a church for the sake of the world, committed to God’s call to love and serve our neighbor, we must turn our attention to those who will be most impacted by what may be massive disruptions.
Read MorePraise God that we will be changed inside and out by God’s love “poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.” Pray that the love and reconciliation we have received from God through Jesus Christ will transform us to be passionate witnesses, disciples and bearers of the gospel for all who long for good news and hope.
Read MoreIn the midst of pandemic, we need to remember that the fear of scarcity or vulnerability did not start with the novel coronavirus; it merely widened in scope.
Read MoreGod is good and great and the creator of all that exists. Sing praises to the Lord and make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Read MoreWe present two ELCA doctors who share very important messages of sobering reality as well as hope.
Dr. Karen Kibler attends Holy Trinity Lutheran in Chandler, AZ, and is working on a coronavirus vaccine in her role as professor at ASU. She says,“I believe that if Christ were here today, he would preach from a distance, minister to groups of only two or three, and find ways to provide basic needs to those who cannot seek them on their own.” View Dr. Kibler’s full interview in this post or view a PDF.
Dr. Erica C. Bjornstad of the Southeastern Synod is an epidemiologist with extensive experience in disaster relief settings. Her letter to ELCA leaders urges swift action, including: cancelling gatherings, planning for remote funerals, weddings, and baptisms; and planning for how to function when pastors become ill or die. View Dr. Bjornstad’s letter in this post, or view a PDF, and her YouTube video.
Read MoreGive thanks for the ELCA Lay Schools for Ministry network and the Select Learning program, partner ministries that equip us for our baptismal vocations and create opportunities for lifelong learning, sharing multigenerational stories of faith and nurturing biblical and theological literacy.
Read MoreMy how things have changed in just one week and how they will continue to change in the coming days.
For today, please remember that we are church together for the sake of the world. We are better together. We get to model a different kind of community than one that is motivated by fear and hoarding.
Read MoreLent is a time in which we see God’s creations of nature change and show their seasonal differences. As nature’s seasons change, so do the seasons of the human life.
Different in the seasonal human change, unlike nature, especially Lent when all things appear new again, our bodies age. Hopefully, our minds are renewed each season to the point of maturity revealing the beauty of Godly wisdom.
Read MoreELCA Advocacy has many updates, including our first ever update from Solveig Muus and the newly formed Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (LAMA).
The March update includes: U.N. | Arizona | California | Colorado | Delaware | Kansas | Minnesota | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Southeastern | Texas | Washington | Wisconsin. Advocacy connections include COVID-19 | Landmines | Hmong and Laotian Deportations | FY2021 Budget | Fair housing rule.
Read MoreConnecting Through Social Distancing is a series of important conversations with Cal Lutheran faculty on topics that keep us connected. Register for this presentation from Dr. Bruce Gillies on Thursday, March 19, 2020 at 12:00 pm.
Read MoreWe often see what we expect to see and miss other things because we are not looking for them. A famous experiment illustrates this. A group of people is passing balls around. Observers are asked to count the number of passes made. During the time the group is passing the balls around, a person in a gorilla suit walks into the group, struts around, then moves away. About half the observers say they did not see a gorilla. You can see an illustration of this experiment here.
Read MoreCan you name a ministry that, using a comprehensive approach, draws on the strengths of its community to break the cycle of poverty and hunger — for good?
Invite that ministry to apply for a 2020 ELCA World Hunger Domestic Hunger Grant! Registration: March 18 – May 20. Application: April 1 – May 22.
Read MorePray for people who are grieving the loss of a loved one or a member of their community. Ask God to help us be present with them through our empathy, care, support and faith; ask the Holy Spirit to help us kindle comfort, hope and peace when the fragility and brevity of life feel overwhelming.
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