Ask God to comfort those grieving the loss of loved ones from COVID-19, and pray that we will not forget them amid our new concerns and routines as communities and states open up again.
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Bishop Eaton provides her sermon and Gospel reading for Sunday, June 7, The Holy Trinity, available on YouTube (view) and Vimeo (download). Links to the written transcript and videos with subtitles are posted in the video description in English and Spanish.
Worship resources for a Service of the Word are available in PDF and DOC formats. For congregations encouraging home devotions, the weekly “Worship in the Home” series on our worship blog includes a link to the sermon.
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Pray that we will hear and respond to God’s call to be disciples in the world, just as Jesus directed his disciples to visit every nation, make disciples, baptize the faithful, teach the ways and commandments of God, and spread the good news of God’s ever-present love and mercy.
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Rev. Kwame Pitts, pastor to Crossroads Lutheran Church in Amherst, New York, reflects on the Emanuel 9, five years later.
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We are a nation in distress. We are a church in distress. The coronavirus has killed 103,000 of us. The virus of racism has taken hundreds of thousands more throughout our history. Now these two deadly viruses converge. Under this distress the veneer of equality has cracked and we see the pain, anger and frustration of those who have been denied the rights and dignity so many of us expect and often take for granted.
I have heard it said that slavery ended with the Civil War. Why don't people of color "just get over it." Here is the question we need to ask, "How do you get over something that isn't over?"
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In this season of storms and flooding, pray that our neighbors and communities will be safe and that we will stand ready to respond when disasters strike and leave our neighbors vulnerable, grieving and wondering where to begin rebuilding their lives. Give thanks for the work we do together through Lutheran Disaster Response bringing God’s hope, healing and renewal to people whose lives have been disrupted by disaster.
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You are invited to join weekly meetings designed to provide encouragement and support for ELCA leaders in all realms. Participants will hear topical presentations related to how we are called to be Church in the time of COVID-19, as well as an opportunity to be in small group discussions with an ELCA group coach facilitating the conversation.
The Zoom link each week will be posted on the home page of ELCA Coaching. Recordings from each week are posted here: https://www.elcacoaching.org/covid19.
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Pray for God to send the Spirit into our midst and renew humanity and all creation.
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The Episcopal Diocese of Arizona will be livestreaming a prayer vigil this Friday night, June 5, at 6 pm, and we encourage everyone to join us in prayer on our YouTube account.
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For quick comparison, we are using New York Times 7-day average graphs for each state in our synod: Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. As of June 4, 2020:
Arizona: 22,753 cases and 998 deaths
Nevada: 9,118 cases and 429 deaths
Utah: 10,856 cases and 117 deaths
Navajo Nation: 5,661 cases and 259 deaths
Hopi Nation: 104 cases
As COVID-19 spreads around the world, refugee communities in Arizona and worldwide are among the most vulnerable. Many refugees that you serve at LSS-SW work in industries especially devastated by the crisis and have high rates of unemployment, hunger, and poverty.
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Beginning a Culture of Generosity (BCG) and is a timely program presented by 3E and the Grand Canyon Synod, designed to guide congregations through their fall stewardship appeal in this challenging year.
The program aims for congregations to stabilize current 2020 year giving to 2019 (pre-Coronavirus) levels, with modest growth for 2021. Registration is open through August 15th.
3E and GCS are offering a $500 scholarship for each congregation toward the program cost of $650.
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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.
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Remember 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.
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As 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.
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Bishop 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.
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Starting 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.
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Give 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.
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In 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.
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Remember 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.
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