Extended network provides refrigerator for ​Hózhó Café
Extended network provides refrigerator for ​Hózhó Café

Pastor David Brandfass, Christ Lutheran, Sedona, shares how during a pandemic, your community connections can come in handy.

Hearing Hózhó Café at the Navajo Evangelical Lutheran Mission needed a new refrigerator, a grapevine of help sprouted to get the job done, involving the Arizona Community Foundation of Sedona, the Sedona Chamber of Commerce, and a Sedona resident with a truck. “God’s Work,” quips Brandfass, “and sometimes ‘our hands’ might be beyond our congregation’s four walls.”

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Stories of HopeBrian FlatgardChrist Sedona, High Country Conference, Navajo Evangelical Lutheran MissionComment
A Week to Remember Interconnectivity of All Life
A Week to Remember Interconnectivity of All Life

What do a Malayan Tiger, Santa Catalina Island Rattlesnake, Ridgeway Hawk, Hawksbill Turtle and Eastern Black Rhino have in common? Each of these animals is classified as critically endangered – that is, facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild due in large part to human activity.

In the ELCA resource, “Why Lutherans Care for Creation,” we are reminded that the key tenet of Lutheran ethics has been faith active in love. More »

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ELCA, News, Leader ResourcesBrian FlatgardELCA Advocacy, Climate ChangeComment
Lutheran Church of the Foothills carries on
Lutheran Church of the Foothills carries on

Janis Richert with the GCS Stewardship Team writes that Lutheran Church of the Foothills in Tucson has: “carried on as servants in ministry during the pandemic,” with weekly recorded gospel readings, pastor sermons, emailed bulletins and retired pastors sharing messages as well. Help serving the homeless at Primavera Men’s Shelter has continued, and since they began utilizing Vanco several years ago, “online giving in this time of worshiping at home is quite easy and greatly appreciated!”

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Stories of HopeBrian FlatgardLutheran Church of the Foothills Tucson, Kino ConferenceComment
Effective COVID-19 Crisis Communication
Effective COVID-19 Crisis Communication

Dr. Michael T. Osterholm, Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at University of Minnesota, introduces us to their Effective COVID-19 Crisis Communication report. They stress six key principles:

  1. Don’t Over-reassure

  2. Proclaim Uncertainty

  3. Validate Emotions—Your Audience’s and Your Own

  4. Give People Things to Do

  5. Admit and Apologize for Errors

  6. Share Dilemmas

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Z Covid-19Brian FlatgardDr. Michael T. OsterholmComment
7-day average state coronavirus cases: 5/21/2020
7-day average state coronavirus cases: 5/21/2020

Looking at the jumping daily charts of coronavirus cases and deaths can be confusing. Long-term declines and increases are easier to see when you look at graphs which use 7-day averages, where each plot point is the average of a day and the previous six days of data. The New York Times as done just that each state in our synod: Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. We’ve also compiled the relevant graphs side-by-side for comparison.

As of May 21, 2020:

  • Arizona: 15,315 cases and 763 deaths

  • Nevada: 7,386 cases and 378 deaths

  • Utah: 7,717 cases and 90 deaths

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Z Covid-19Brian FlatgardComment
A Traditional View on Seasons of Hardship
A Traditional View on Seasons of Hardship

Daudi Msseemmaa, the ELCA’s regional representative in East Africa, writes: “During a severe drought in 2008-2009, I spent time in dusty villages where the carcasses of livestock littered the ground and hungry children fainted in class. There was a lot of suffering. But I did not encounter hopelessness, even among malnourished mothers whose couldn’t provide enough breast milk for their infants. They had a saying – God is far, but he is very near.”

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LettersBrian FlatgardLutheran Disaster ResponseComment
Situation Report 5: COVID-19 Pandemic International Response
Situation Report 5: COVID-19 Pandemic International Response

As of May 17, 2020, over 4.5 million people have been infected and over 307,000 have lost their lives due to the rapid spread of COVID-19. The pandemic is affecting all aspects of life for people across the globe.

Lutheran Disaster Response is supporting partners around the world during this time. Since January 2020, LDR International has contributed over one.1 million in 26 countries in response to the pandemic.

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Stories of HopeBrian FlatgardLutheran Disaster ResponseComment
Pastor Ben Bergren: Do I Love My Neighbor?
Pastor Ben Bergren: Do I Love My Neighbor?

Pastor Ben Bergren with Community, Las Vegas shares his writings: “As I write this one of our church members is dying of COVID-19.”

“Most likely by the time you read this, they will have passed. The thought of this both saddens and exhausts me because it reminds me of the selfishness and brokenness of humanity. This is not a political issue at all. This is a condition of the heart.” Read the full article »

Pastor Bergren also shares an article this week entitled “Rehoboam’s Folly.”

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LettersBrian FlatgardCommunity Las Vegas, Colorado River Conference, Pastor Ben BergrenComment
Singing, the Church, and COVID-19
Singing, the Church, and COVID-19

Heather R. Nelson, Ph.D.​, is a music director at a mid-sized Baptist church in Missouri usually reads voice research in her spare time. “Yes, I am just that nerdy,” she writes. “But it’s also riveting. The voice is one of the most wonderful creations that God has bestowed upon us.”

The more Nelson read about the safety of public singing during COVID-19, she saw the decision to do so “would be the most important decision I have made in ministry so far.”

So, she compiled all the reliable research and distilled it into a single document.

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Z Covid-19Brian FlatgardComment
Eric Simonson named Executive Director at Spirit in the Desert Retreat Center
Eric Simonson named Executive Director at Spirit in the Desert Retreat Center

Paul Evenson, Board Chair and the entire Board of Directors and Staff of Spirit in the Desert are pleased to announce their new Executive Director, Eric Simonson.

We are thankful for God’s provision at this time for filling this vacancy and giving us a new leader with a heart for the Lord and the mission of Spirit in the Desert. Welcome Eric and Michelle to the “Spirit Family” — we’re glad you are here!

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Brian FlatgardSpirit in the Desert Retreat Center Comment
Censuses can still be submitted
Censuses can still be submitted

April 1, Census Day, is a key reference date for the 2020 Census—not a deadline. You can still respond after that date, and the deadline has been moved to fall of 2020.

The Arizona and Nevada Census 2020 websites, loaded with resources, are https://census.nv.gov and https://azcensus2020.gov/be-counted.

Bahney Dedolph, Deputy Director with the Arizona Council of Human Service Providers, shares words of encouragement on how we can lift our low response rates.

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Leader ResourcesBrian FlatgardCensusComment