The Office of the Bishop will be closed on the upcoming Thursdays and Fridays: December 24 and 25, as well as December 31 and January 1st.
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With prayerful sighs of relief and expressions of gratitude, give thanks for God’s covenant to grant humankind love, forgiveness, new life and redemption through the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ.
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On Wednesday, 12/23/2020, we will practice holding space together, similar to a support group or grief group. Jill Beverlin and Tammy Devine will facilitate. For more personal matters, you may request a breakout room with a coach for up to 15 minutes during the hour-long gathering, subject to availability.
The Weekly Online Gathering for ELCA Leaders continues every Wednesday, 1 pm Central, 12pm MST. Links to the meeting at elcacoaching.org as well as archives.
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We give thanks for the work of Rev. Mark Holman, who for the last two years has served as the Bishop’s Associate for Mobility and Leadership. At the end of 2020, Pastor Holman will attempt retirement for the third time.
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On December 27, 2020 the people of Desert Streams Lutheran Church in Surprise, Arizona, will gather for the last time as a congregation.
Please hold the people of Desert Streams and their interim pastor, Jose Valenzuela in your prayers.
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Listen to devotional music available through Augsburg Fortress: “O Laughing Light;” “Nunc Dimittis;” “All Praise to Thee.”
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Find a peaceful place to pray, perhaps a table. You may wish to light a candle near where you pray and incorporate other symbols of Christmas.
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Remember in prayer the approximately 26 million refugees, immigrants and asylum-seekers around the world and at our borders, awaiting entry into safe, welcoming countries and communities so that they can rebuild their lives without threats of conflict, persecution, violence or economic crisis. Pray for their safety, that their spiritual, physical and emotional needs will be met, that they will find caring advocates, and that their faith and hope will be strengthened and sustained by siblings in Christ and our faith communities.
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In this difficult year, please join us in a Service of the Longest Night, which will be available for viewing Monday, December 21, 2020, at 5pm MST, 4pm PST, on our Facebook, Youtube, Vimeo, and gcsynod.org/longest-night.
Worship will be enhanced if you have four candles that you can light along the way as you will be invited. The order of worship is below, or view/download as PDF.
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My only prayer for the year was for health and stability. Why would you do this to us again, God? Why is there so much suffering?
Other Christians might have framed my husband’s cancer journey as an expression of God’s faithfulness, but during that difficult year, my trust in God had frayed significantly. Read more at Living Lutheran…
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Palestine is a very dear place to my heart. Visiting Palestine became a reality for me when I was trained to be a Peace Not Walls trip leader.
As a Black man in America I have experienced a great deal of oppression. While in Palestine I quickly learned that their oppression mirrors my own on many levels.
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Winter solstice On this day with the least amount of daylight, observed as the beginning of winter, pray that we will be drawn to the eternal light of Christ born into the world — a gift for all people and all generations that illuminates God’s redemptive love for us and God’s desire and intent for how we might live together.
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We pray for Rev. Mark Perry, Intern Pastor Annela Rova, and the people of Sierra Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sierra Vista, part of the Sunrise Conference. Visit their site at selcaz.org, and their Facebook page.
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Join Presiding Bishop Eaton as she lights the candles and says a prayer for the fourth week of Advent.
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This PDF resource, Let's Talk Faith and Climate: Communication Guidance for Faith Leaders, is designed to be useful to both experienced and novice climate change and faith communicators.
From the ELCA and ecoAmerica, this guide synthesizes the latest academic research and message testing on climate communications into a practical guide to support meaningful discussions on climate change and faith among individuals and groups.
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Pray that we will be receptive to angels and divine beings sent by God to guide us and bring us good news, as the angel Gabriel did to Mary and Elizabeth. Pray that we will hear God’s assurance that “nothing will be impossible with God” and that our response will echo Mary’s: “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”
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In this week’s Story of Faith in Action (SOFIA), we follow Ed Ramirez’s journey to find a church, filled with disappointments. Ramirez, who uses the pronouns they/them, wanted a place where they could feel at ease and fully accepted, but nothing they’d encountered in the Los Angeles area fit.
Ramirez’s search led them to Hollywood Lutheran Church, where Joseph Castañeda-Carrera served as pastor.
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“The Lord has done great things for us.” Rejoice, laugh and shout with joy!
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We pray for Rev. Kari Williamson and the people of St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Phoenix, part of the Capital Conference. Visit their site at saintandrewaz.org, and their Facebook page.
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The 13 bishops of the class of 2019 will be leading a joint synodical Epiphany of Our Lord service on Jan. 6, 2020, 6pm MST, 5pm PST. This worship service will air via the Southeastern Synod’s Facebook page, YouTube channel, and website.
Join in as we confess, lament, lean into the light of God shining brightly in Holy Scripture, proclamation of the Word, and musical offerings from across the church.
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