The GCS Stewardship Team invites you to film and submit a “story of generosity” as part of the Generosity Film Festival. Your video will be featured on the GCS website the week of Thanksgiving. Our hope is for an abundance of stories from across our synod, overflowing with heart-felt testimonies of generosity.
Read MoreThe ELCA Fund for Leaders scholarship program supports students of promise attending ELCA seminaries. Pray that we will generously support this program to make seminary more affordable, to enable more future ministers to study and to help them graduate with less debt as they respond to God’s call to serve as the church needs and the Spirit leads.
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.
Download a Word doc, or PDF for letter size printout or legal size printout, or view the ELCA resource page.
Read MoreAccording to articles by Foundation for Economic Education, a libertarian think tank, and Fox News, The World Health Organization (WHO) has revised its position to say that countries around the world should not rely on lockdowns to stop outbreaks of the coronavirus.
The advice comes as the number of new COVID-19 cases is rising in the United States and across Europe, with some leaders considering new lockdowns to bring the numbers down.
Read MoreGive thanks that, though we have sinned and fallen short of God’s expectations, God has set things right with us and restored our relationship through the gift of grace we have in Jesus Christ. Pray that throughout our baptismal journeys we will spread the hope and good news of God’s merciful love for humankind.
Read MoreAs we brace for colder weather and the regular flu season, Bishop Eaton reminds us to respect the disease, respect science and trust God.
Read MoreHighlighted in the Arizona Republic, Bishop Hutterer was one of four Arizona faith leaders from diverse traditions who spoke at an online panel last week in Phoenix about how different faiths address human responsibility to the environment.
“From our Lutheran tradition, we have this idea of care of creation, the interdependence of each one of us, and the fact that without caring about creation, we have actually denied our neighbors,” Bishop Hutterer says in the article in Arizona Central. “Our lives depend on the life that surrounds us.”
Read MoreNormally, our synod assembly is the time when we honor rostered leaders of the Grand Canyon Synod who have died since the last gathering. This year, in this video In Memoriam, we remember and celebrate their lives as part of the Bishop’s Fall Gathering as well as All Saints Day.
Almighty God, you have knit your people together in one communion in the mystical body of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Grant us grace to follow your blessed saints in lives of faith and commitment, and to know the inexpressible joys you have prepared for those who love you, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Read MorePray for the Spirit to deepen our understanding of what being a Lutheran Christian means, through prayer, Scripture, reflecting on our creeds and teachings, being renewed and united through the sacraments, and opening ourselves to God’s voice and guidance in an ever-changing society and world.
Read MoreReformation Sunday Praise God for the gift of grace that sets us free to change and be changed, to form and reform as the body of Christ for the sake of humanity, serving our neighbor and doing God’s work in the world.
Read MorePray for students, teachers, school staff and parents as they continue to adapt to the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on school environments and distanced learning.
Read MoreWe pray for Pastor Tom Dunham and the people of Streams in the Desert, Tucson, part of the Sunrise Conference. View their Facebook page.
Read MoreNow through November 31, 2020, Spirit in the Desert is delighted to take your very welcome donations for for Lutheran World Relief’s Quilts and Kits of Care. Drop off between 9 am and 4 pm, Monday through Friday. Get more info on quilts and kits.
Read MoreThe stress we are experiencing these days is real. Bishop Eaton shares with us an exercise reciting the words from Psalm 46 – Be still and know that I am God. Breathing in and out, believing that promise is true.
Read MoreThe Weekly Online Gathering for ELCA Leaders continues every Wednesday, 1 pm Central, 11am MST. Links to the meeting at elcacoaching.org as well as archives.
Preaching is a risky business, and now more than ever. How do you preach the Word of God that you have been called to without worrying that the goodwill of your congregation, and perhaps even your job, could be at stake?
Read MoreToday’s the final day to apply for funds for new and renewing ministries, and other ministry outreach projects. Grant info available at gcsynod.org/grants.
Priority funding this year will be given to projects that seek to mitigate the effects of the current pandemic.
Read More“Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it,” for God is great, powerful and wondrous. Sing praise to God!
Read MoreYou’re invited to “Introduction to Strategic Posturing” by Pr. Scott Simmons of Lydia Way on Saturday, October 31st, 2020 from 9am-12pm via zoom. Register for this meeting here.
Strategic Posturing is a set of spiritual practices that help faith communities identify their gifts, discern the Spirit’s activity and call in their particular context, and step forward in trust, even when the future is unclear.
Read MoreIn their webinar, “Generosity Storytelling 101,” the Grand Canyon Synod Stewardship Team shares best practices on how to share a story of generosity. The team also invites you to film and submit a story of generosity as part of the Grand Canyon Synod Film Festival.
Read MoreWe pray for Pastor Don Lorfing, Pastor Scott Hove, and the people of Good Samaritan Lutheran Church in Las Vegas (Facebook, Instagram).
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