As we approach the fifth anniversary of the martyrdom of the Emanuel Nine, ELCA congregations are encouraged to reaffirm their commitment to repenting for the sins of racism and white supremacy, which continue to plague this church.
An online ELCA prayer service, including leaders from across the church and Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton as preacher, is being planned for June 17, 2020, to mark this fifth anniversary. More is available at elca.org/emanuelnine.
Read MoreRemember in prayer people who depend on seasonal employment for their livelihoods or who live with the uncertainty and anxiety of unemployment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pray that the Spirit will make us creative and tireless in supporting and caring for others, especially our neighbors in greatest need ― locally and globally.
Read MoreAs of June 3, over 6.2 million people have been infected and over 379,000 people of lost their lives due to the rapid spread of COVID-19. The pandemic is affecting all aspects of life for people across the globe.
Read MoreBishop Eaton’s weekly video: It is so clear that life is not equal in this country. But we believe in and serve a God who brings about good even out of evil, who brings healing out of pain, and brings life out of death. This is a call to repentance, dear church, and also to action based in the hope of the reconciliation we have already experienced in Jesus Christ.
Remember to reserve June 17, 2020 as a day to commemorate the Emanuel 9.
Read MoreStarting this week, Arizona Faith Network and the Sema Foundation invite you and your family to a series of Virtual Interfaith Prayer Vigils for Global Health & Peace. Join us each Thursday night throughout June from 7 - 8 p.m. as interfaith and community leaders throughout Arizona offer prayers of strength, hope and healing.
The events will be offered in a Zoom webinar format, live streamed to Facebook, and then later posted to YouTube. View all June events here.
Read MoreGive thanks for our LGBTQIA+ siblings in Christ and ask that the Spirit empower us, individually and together as a church, to grow more welcoming and intentionally inclusive, to value the faith and gifts of all people, and to advocate for justice and respect for people who are marginalized and excluded in the church and society.
Read MoreIn this time of world-wide crisis, congregations throughout this church are not able to gather for worship as the body of Christ. While you cannot be together in person, we can hear the word of God and hold each other in prayer. We offer this brief resource as an aid for prayer in the home. As with our prayers in the gathered assembly for worship, you are encouraged to prepare or adapt them locally for your context.
Read MoreRemember and give thanks for the influence and example of people who have been martyred for their faith and courageous witness in the world. Pray that our own boldness of faith and service will dispel the fear of ridicule, persecution and death.
Read MoreThese are daunting moments.
To be honest, I don’t know where to start. I can’t find adequate words to address the deep anger, anxiety, anguish, and grief spreading through our world today, growing from a mix of COVID-19 deaths, political turmoil, and repeated episodes of racial injustice.
Read MoreOn June 17, 2015, a white man named Dylann Roof entered a historic Black church in Charleston during a prayer meeting and opened fire, killing 9 people and wounding 3 more. He overtly and explictly espoused white supremacist beliefs and targeted the people of Mother Emanuel Church because of their race and commitment to civil rights. I felt my stomach sink when I found out that Roof was raised in an ELCA church.
Read MoreHymnody resources for worship at home can be found through The Hymn Society. For your devotional time, you might be interested in knowing about the Community Video Hymn Sing FaceBook page led by Paul and Elizabeth Damico-Carper.
Read MoreThis month has the most daylight of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the least daylight of the year in the Southern Hemisphere. Give thanks that the gift of sunlight sustains all life on Earth and that the light of God’s love and truth, shining through Jesus, gives us the gift of new life, purpose and direction as children of God.
Read MoreBishop Eaton has called on the church to join with faith communities across the United States in lament and remembrance, and on our elected leaders to observe Monday, June 1, as a day of mourning to honor the more than 100,000 people who have died from COVID-19.
The day of mourning calls on all religious communities to come together in observing this historic moment in their own traditions and practices. A toolkit and other resources are available for local religious leaders and mayors.
Read MoreOne of the common hymns sung on Pentecost Sunday is “O Day Full of Grace” from our hymnal Evangelical Lutheran Worship #627.
In celebration of Pentecost and as a gift to the Lutheran Church, the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians performed a stunning arrangement of this hymn virtually, each of the 1300 organists, violinists, and singers performing in their own home but melding with the gift of technology to share “…bring light from our God that we may be abundant in joy this season. God, shine for us now in this dark place; you name on our hearts emblazon.”
Read MoreWhat does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8).
In a statement signed by many bishops of The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, including Bishop Hutterer, the ELCA reaffirms its commitment to combating racism and white supremacy following the recent murders of Black Americans. Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Dreasjon (Sean) Reed, and George Floyd were our neighbors.
Read MoreDay of Pentecost Lift up prayers of joy and thanksgiving for how we are united in one Spirit yet manifest diverse gifts, abilities and wisdom for sharing the gospel, building up the body of Christ and serving our neighbor.
Read MoreToday, we, the Jewish People, have finished counting and fulfilling seven weeks of seven days, forty-nine days since Pesakh and the liberation from slavery in Egypt-Mitzrayim. As the Torah records, we were freed from slavery in the sight of all the world.
Every human being is created in the Tselem Elokhim, the Image of God. And into every human being has God breathed the breath of life. As we remember the last words of George Floyd, “Please, I can’t breathe!”
Read MorePray that our church’s endeavors to foster understanding and unity between Lutherans, other Christian denominations and other faiths will yield abundant fruit for the glory of God and for healing our rifts and our brokenness.
Read MorePastor Carol Breimeier with Esperanza Lutheran Church, Ahwatukee, shares a a video about of an assistance effort put together by Dr. Jayne Peterson and her husband, Dr. Todd Peterson, carrying supplies to the Navajo Nation. Jayne and Todd are members of Esperanza in Ahwatukee.
Posted by Arati Pandya, the video provides touching story of a Navajo patient cared for at Banner University Medical Center - Phoenix, an inspiring collaboration amongst U of A College of Medicine medical students, and the Arizona community to support the Navajo Nation during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
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