Lately I’ve been wrestling with why the ELCA is the second-most white denomination in the United States, followed only by the National Baptist Convention. The ELCA is 95% white, in a country that is 72% white. It just doesn’t make sense to me that our churches do not reflect our country, neighborhoods, or workplaces.
Read MoreGive thanks for the creeds and confessions of our church that have helped us proclaim, teach and affirm our Christian faith throughout the ages. Pray that when we recite the creeds during worship, we will reflect on our membership in the body of Christ and on the truths central to our faith.
Read MoreFourth Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary 13, June 28, 2020: 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.
Read MoreJohn the Baptist Sometimes we think of John the Baptist as a little wild and fanatical in sharing the good news of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Give thanks for whoever introduced you to Jesus, and pray for confidence and enthusiasm in sharing your faith and talking about Jesus in your own words.
Read MoreOur first Grand Canyon Synod Tech Lab contributor is Pastor David Drach-Meinel, with Christ the Servant in Henderson. For many years Pastors David and Diane have embraced new technologies, and since March transitioned to full online worship using a recording studio set up in their home. “This is not something we do while we wait to go back,” Pastor Drach-Meinel says. “This is what we’re doing because this is ministry now.”
In this blog post, we share a portion of the video, tips and tricks, and a full resource list.
Read MorePray for patience, comfort and courage: “O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me. With your faithful help rescue me from sinking in the mire; let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters. Do not let the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up.”
Read MorePastor Kristin Engstrom, the Country Coordinator for the ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) program in Senegal, provides a video sermon (also in PDF) for use for either Sunday, July 5 or 12, 2020.
Pastor Engstrom will use the texts from the ELCA Global Church Sunday Resources. We encourage synod churches to adapt the resources to celebrate this virtual visit from Pastor Engstrom. View this post for multiple ways to access the video.
Read MoreSpirit in the Desert hosted an open dialogue, The Racial Divide in America, featuring Joel Bjerkestrand and Sarah Naylor, Thursday June 25, 2020, 4:00-5:30 PM.
View the video at facebook.com/SpiritInTheDesert/.
Read MorePray for our global companions, their ministries and the people they serve in this time of sickness and death, economic upheaval, social uncertainty and slow recovery.
Read MoreLiving as children of God and followers of Christ is not always easy or well received by others. Pray that we will find comfort and courage in knowing that God abides with us, knows our every struggle and joy, and surrounds us with love and peace that are impossible to break or obstruct.
Read MoreMany of you know that the ELCA’s publishing ministry, 1517 Media, is located in Minneapolis. As employees gathered online to pray after the murder of George Floyd, the following prayer from All Creation Sings gave us words for this moment.
Lord Jesus Christ, your own mother looked on when your life ended in violence. Our hearts are pierced with grief and anger at the death of George Floyd. We commend him to your wounded hands, and his loved ones to your merciful heart, trusting only in the promise that your love is stronger than death, and that even now, you live and reign forever and ever. Amen.
Read MoreAugsburg Fortress summer music clinics provide opportunities for musicians to learn new seasonal music, attend workshops, participate in hymn festivals and more. Pray that these participants will be inspired, equipped and strengthened, using their musical gifts to enrich our faith communities and reveal the glory of God.
Read MoreThe George Floyd memorial on 38th and Chicago in Minneapolis is holy ground where people gather. Gather to pay their respects, gather to lay down flowers, gather with advocacy organizations and gather around food and water. The words and artwork are a balm for the wounds that I, a white woman, cannot even begin to imagine.
Read MoreAs church we are called to confess the sin of racism, condemn the ideology of white supremacy, and strive for racial justice and peace. Beyond statements and prayers, we are called to also act and respond to injustices. Take the ELCA Anti-Racism Pledge.
Sign the pledge, “I commit to study, prayer and action to become an anti-racist individual in an anti-racist church,” and share your participation on social media using #ELCA4justice.
Read MoreDr. Michael Olsterholm, epidemiologist and Lutheran, talks with Terry Gross how the coronavirus will be with us for months and “may come and go, but it will keep transmitting until we get at least 60 or 70% of the population infected and hopefully develop immunity.”
Olsterholm is far more concerned with transmission through the air rather than surfaces, stressing it’s how much time you spend in enclosed spaces.
And he dislikes the term social distancing. "It's physical distancing…don't socially distance. If there was ever a time when we all need each other, it's now," he says. "We need to start an epidemic of kindness right now to take on this pandemic of this virus."
Read MoreWe pray for the first responders, residents, and creatures of God who are affected by the wildfires across the synod: the Bush Fire, Bighorn Fire, Bringham Fire, Dry Lake Fire, Blue River Fire, Sawtooth Fire and the Mangum Fire.
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: This week, 43,494 cases and 1,284 deaths. Last week, 31,283 cases and 1,130 deaths.
Nevada: This week, 12,160 cases and 475 deaths. Last week, 10,403 cases and 458 deaths.
Utah: This week, 16,015 cases and 152 deaths. Last week, 12,986 cases and 128 deaths.
Navajo Nation: This week, 6,747 cases and 322 deaths. Last week, 6,275 cases and 292 deaths.
Hopi Nation: This week, 204 cases. Last week, 145 cases.
The New York Times provides an exploration of Juneteenth, a podcast if you’d rather listen than read, and a poem about today’s America.
In How We Juneteenth, writers reflect on the meaning of the holiday; the traditions kept alive in black names; rest as reparations, and more.
The Daily podcast provides history and meaning to Juneteenth.
In Weather, the poet Claudia Rankine writes about the climate in America in this moment.
Read MoreJuneteenth commemorates a day when my ancestors could breath a little more freely. On June 19, 1865, in Galveston, Texas, enslaved Africans were read federal orders that they were freed, even though the Emancipation Proclamation was signed over two years prior. They didn’t know they were free because, in spite of the law, they were still brutalized by those who weaponized power.
Today, families of African descent throughout the United States celebrate this Freedom Day, which gave us a brief moment to inhale deeper than before.
Read MoreGod made us, and as God’s people we enjoy the blessings of God’s enduring love, faithfulness to every generation and redeeming presence. Lift up prayers of joy, thanksgiving and praise to God.
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