More Days for Praise, a resource for the church’s festivals and commemorations is designed for home devotions. Remembering those saints who have lived through a host of challenging times and situations reminds us of our connection to a great cloud of witnesses.
Read MoreI have written a few times about how and when to introduce phases of in-person worship. I continue to encourage no in-person gathering until the deaths or cases of newly infected decrease for a minimum of 14 days in your area. This letter is a follow up about in-person worship and Holy Communion.
Read MoreThank God for opportunities to enjoy nature, whether in a wilderness area, urban park, community garden or forest preserve. Give thanks for how nature and fresh air renew us and lift our spirits, and pray that our neighbors with mobility challenges can get outdoors to experience and enjoy the blessings of creation.
Read MorePray that we will respond eagerly when God calls us into the world together as disciples to carry on the difficult work of Jesus, sharing the good news, caring for our neighbors in their suffering and need, bringing hope where there is despair and bearing God’s truth and light.
Read MoreIn the absence of summer camp programs, pray for the leaders and staff of our outdoor ministries as they seek new ways to sustain their organizations’ vitality, share the gospel and serve people of all ages in congregations and communities.
Read MorePresiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton gives her weekly message during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read MoreWe pray for first responders, who over the next several days will work around the clock and in increasing heat to contain the Bighorn Fire in Tucson. We lift up in prayer the people in the Catalina Foothills who are evacuating their homes in a time of pandemic.
“O God, where hearts are fearful and constricted, grant courage and hope. Where anxiety is infectious and widening, grant peace and reassurance. Where impossibilities close every door and window, grant imagination and resistance. Where spirits are daunted and weakened, grant soaring wings and strengthened dreams. All these things we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen”
Read MoreTake time to reflect on nature, humankind, the earth and the heavens above ― everything God has made ― and pray that we will stand in awe and thanksgiving to God, proclaiming God’s creation to be very good.
Read MorePlease keep Danny Pugh, husband of Pastor Chon Pugh of Bethlehem Lutheran in Mesa, in your prayers as he battles fast growing prostate cancer. May his doctors and their support staff be blessed with the wisdom and guidance to treat this.
By your power, great God, our Lord Jesus healed the sick and gave new hope to the hopeless. Though we cannot command or possess your power, we pray for those who want to be healed. Mend their wounds, soothe fevered brows, and make broken people whole again. Help us to welcome every healing as a sign that, though death is against us, you are for us, and have promised renewed and risen life in Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen.
Read MoreThe Rev. Dr. R. Guy Erwin, who was elected in 2013 as the fourth bishop of the Southwest California Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and elected to a second term in 2019, will be leaving the bishopric as of July 31, 2020 and, beginning August 1, will serve United Lutheran Seminary in Philadelphia, PA as its next president.
Read MoreIn a segment entitled, “As a heat wave rolls through Phoenix, a church offers resources,” Fox 10 interviews Pastor Sarah Stadler on Grace Lutheran, Phoenix, adapting their heat respite program in time of coronavirus.
Read MoreDr. Julia Lambert Fogg, Professor of Religion at California Lutheran University, has published a book: Finding Jesus at the Border, Opening Our Hearts to the Stories of Our Immigrant Neighbors. More info here »
Read MoreBecause of coronavirus safety concerns, the 2020 Campformation planned for Camp Pine Rock in Prescott the week of July 5- 10, 2020, has been cancelled. For more info, visit the Campformation site.
Read MoreEsperanza Lutheran, Phoenix, has part-time openings for a Youth Ministry Coordinator.
For the youth ministry coordinator, they are seeking an engaging person who loves Jesus and teens to work directly with kids and also with other adults who serve in this ministry. More info in this Word doc.
Read MoreThe Grand Canyon Synod Tech Lab is a weekly online Zoom conversation designed to spark possibilities as our church rapidly changes. Join us every Wednesday at 10 am with the link bit.ly/gcstechlab to access the Zoom meeting.
We’re all over-Zoomed, and Tech Lab is quick. Drop by for ten minutes or stay the full forty. Each lab starts with a ten-minute presentation, then a ten-minute Q&A with the presenter. The final 20 minutes are open forum.
Our first contributor is Pastor David Drach-Meinel, with Christ the Servant in Henderson, who has enough tech knowledge to present every Wednesday for a year. We’ll see what he can fit in ten minutes! More info: gcsynod.org/tech-lab.
Read MoreFor 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: 31,283 cases and 1,130 deaths.
Nevada: 10,403 cases and 458 deaths.
Utah: 12,986 cases and 128 deaths.
Navajo Nation: This week, 6,275 cases and 292 deaths. Last week, 5,661 cases and 259 deaths.
Hopi Nation: This week, 145 cases. Last week, 104 cases.
Dr. Michael Osterholm—certainly on everybody’s top 5 Lutheran epidemiologists list—has a weekly podcast through the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy.
In the latest episode, Dr. Osterholm and host Chris Dall discuss the role that asymptomatic individuals might play in COVID-19 transmission, the issue of repeat PCR testing and "chronic infection," the latest updates on masks, and studies assessing the effectiveness of shutdowns in reducing illness. The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Play.
Read MoreELCA Advocacy shares updates from submissions of the Lutheran Office for World Community and state public policy offices. U.N. | Arizona | California | Colorado | Minnesota | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Texas | Washington | Wisconsin
Solveig Muus, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (LAMA) director, writes in part: “LAMA’s policy team continues to reach out to each of our 85 Arizona congregations to learn how we might serve their needs. One church at a time, we are learning what each is passionate about, what community ministries each supports, and where there might be an advocacy call to action.”
Read MoreBishop Eaton notes that the “restrictions imposed by the pandemic have made it clear that people are searching for hope and meaning and love.” As those restrictions are eased, she urges us to assess the ways our congregations are witnesses to the transcendent, keeping in mind all those who worshiped with us online but may not walk into our churches.
“The problem comes when people confuse the sacred space with the Sacred,” she writes. “We must take care that our congregations don’t become idols.” Read her column in English at https://bit.ly/3hgd0yo and in Spanish https://bit.ly/2YqYMSy.
Read MorePray for God’s wisdom and guidance as we work together and journey into the future as a thriving church, spreading the gospel and deepening faith for all people.
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