Our sister synod in Region 2, the Rocky Mountain Synod, recently gathered online for their synod assembly. What was initially to be an assembly spread over five cities became an assembly in 300 homes. Rev. Jason Chesnut provided this well-produced keynote, which we hope you’ll enjoy.
Read MoreRev. Jacqui Pagel, Bishop’s Associate for Candidacy and Faith Formation with the Grand Canyon Synod, brings greetings, the Gospel, and a sermon for the seventh Sunday of Easter. The Gospel, John 17:1-11, can be found at the beginning of the video. The greetings and sermon start at 2:00.
Read MoreGive thanks, praise and glory to God for restoring our relationship with our Creator and unifying us ― beloved children of God ― through the love and sacrifice of Jesus.
Read MoreUnder the headline “Sun City West church preserves a vital lifeline during a pandemic, one worshipper at a time,” Lord of Life Lutheran, Sun City West, was featured prominently on a front page article of the Arizona Republic (subscription may be required), a well-produced video story on YouTube, and an AZ Central photo gallery.
Read MoreIn an ELCA blog post, ELCA World Hunger provides one-page guides for each state to help families apply for benefits and access resources. Click to download PDFs of the guides for Arizona, Nevada, and Utah.
Each one-page guide shares info for unemployment insurance, SNAP, WIC, LIHEAP, rental and housing resources from HUD, and child care assistance. In addition, each sheet has contact information for the National Suicide Hotline, the National Domestic Violence Hotline and the Farmer Crisis Hotline.
Read MoreThink about the blessings, wisdom, revelations and gifts you have received by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ; give thanks for each one.
Read MorePresiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton gives her weekly message during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on the gift of God’s creation.
Read MorePastor 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.”
Read MoreFrom the Rev. Amy E. Reumann in the ELCA Advocacy office in Washington, D.C. we get the update of Advocacy Connections: May 2020
NEXT COVID-19 RESPONSE BILL | DACA CONCERNS | NORTHERN TRIANGLE FUNDS | DEBT RELIEF FOR COUNTRIES | VIRTUAL EAD
Read MoreWhat 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 »
Read MoreRemember in prayer our ELCA missionaries, global companions and international leaders. Pray for their health and well-being as well as their continuing witness and service in the world even though some of
our work together may have been temporarily suspended.
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!”
Read MoreThese petitions are offered as guides to prayer for the global, social and outreach ministries of the ELCA, as well as for the needs and circumstances of our neighbors, communities and world. Thank you for your continued prayers for the life and mission of this church. Download a Word doc, or PDF for letter size printout or legal size printout, or view the ELCA resource page.
Read MoreDr. 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:
Don’t Over-reassure
Proclaim Uncertainty
Validate Emotions—Your Audience’s and Your Own
Give People Things to Do
Admit and Apologize for Errors
Share Dilemmas
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
Cathy Cermak, with New Spirit Lutheran in Tucson, shares this story of ELCA World Hunger Daily Bread Grants being added to New Spirit’s work to feed 24 students for a year through Blessings in a Backpack.
Read MoreDaudi 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.”
Read MoreAs 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.
Read MorePastor 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.”
Read MoreA thriving church is one so convinced of the resurrection that we’re free to give our lives in service to others. Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton shares how the ELCA continues to thrive in country churches, cityscapes and places with no walls in this message for 2020 Synod Assemblies. Watch in our blog post, YouTube or Facebook.
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