The Grand Canyon Synod Covid Service of Lament is available in this blog post and on our Facebook, YouTube, and Vimeo. Download available on Vimeo.
We thank our participants: Rev. Alan Field; Carol Paulsen; Diakonia participants, Bill Aurand, Tina Gilson, Cheryl Pridgeon, and Cindy Stein; Bishop Hutterer; music from organist Lars Andersen and vocalists Sherri McClellan and Jennifer Wortman from Tanque Verde Lutheran in Tucson; and Pastor Sarah Stadler from Grace Lutheran in Phoenix.
Read MoreSave the date for two upcoming services, available for use on Monday of Holy Week, March 29, 2021. We’ll share additional details as we receive them.
In the Grand Canyon Synod, a Good Friday service is in the works, a project led by Pastor Jason Adams, Reformation Lutheran, Las Vegas.
A Region 2 worship for Easter 2 will be available, with Dr. Shauna Hannan, Professor of Homiletics at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, as the preacher.
Read MoreThe Asian and Pacific Islander Association of the ELCA recently issued a statement, affirmed by the ELCA Conference of Bishops, calling on the church to declare a day of lament during Lent to express solidarity with, help in healing and support Asian American victims of violence.
Sunday, March 21, has been named as the common date, though worshiping communities may choose a different date as appropriate for their context. Worship resources are available in this PDF.
Read MoreThree cheers (and a gift) for LWR quilters! National Quilting Day is Saturday, March 20, and we have some special events planned for our quilting community, including an online gathering to show our thanks. Please make sure your fellow quilters see this so they can join in the festivities.
Read MoreLutheran Social Services of Nevada’s March, 2021 newsletter features the grand opening of their 3,000 square feet DigiMart, which opened on February 16, 2021. The expanded food pantry — made possible by a $490,000 Impact Grant awarded by Nevada Women's Philanthropy — enables LSSN to serve 5,000 additional households and capacity to store 80,000 pounds of food.
Read MoreCreation care looks different at different stages of our lives. College is a transitional time for many of us. We are in the process of figuring out our independent adult lives outside of the family we grew up in. This means not only determining what values and ideas to prioritize, but also figuring out what resources we have to put towards those priorities.
Read MoreOur guest blogger picks up the 2021 IWD call, #ChooseToChallenge. Bringing Central European experience to helping forge a gender equal world, Rev. Dr. Marta Ferjová urges women to “start talking.” Coordinated with the Lutheran Office for World Community, Rev. Dr. Ferjová will take part in the 65th session of the Commission on the Status of Women taking place March 15-26, 2021.
Read MoreDuring Women’s History Month we honor and commemorate the many ways women have shaped history. In her message, Bishop Eaton reminds us that at this time we also recommit ourselves to the work of gender justice and working to seek justice and equity for all.
Read MoreI recently heard a story about a young man with a disability who works in a grocery store. During his work hours, there are people who will wait in that checkout line even if others are available because they have come to know him, not as a person with a disability, or even a grocery clerk, but as a friend. Wouldn’t it be great if that were the norm for all people with disabilities?
Our theme at Mosaic is about CONNECTION.
Read MoreYou are warmly invited to join a Zoom call for the ELCA Word and Service community scheduled for Wednesday, March 17, 2021, beginning at 10:30 am MST and PDT.
If you are a candidate, an active leader under call, on leave from call, or retired, you are welcome to participate in this online gathering!
Read MoreThis Lent, Bishop Eaton invites us to participate in the Global Survey on Being Lutheran (en Español: Encuesta Mundial Sobre lo Que Significa Ser Luteran). We also ask that you invite others in your churches to participate. The survey will be open through March 31, and responses gathered will help to shape the 13th LWF Assembly in 2023.
Read MoreFuture Church: In her March column for Living Lutheran, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton reflects on the meaning behind “evangelical” in our name and the future of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Read her column in English or in Spanish.
Read MoreIs your congregation eligible for a Paycheck Protection Program loan? The deadline for the second round of PPP loans is quickly approaching. Applications submitted by March 22, 2021, will be processed in time to meet the federal deadline on March 31, 2021. Learn more and apply now.
Read MoreJoin the National Lutheran Choir and guest artists, the Keith Hampton Singers, for a FREE virtual program blending spoken reflections, songs and familiar hymns of joy and hope with new music that speaks to our present time, inviting all people of faith to sing in joy together! Sunday, March 14 @ 1pm MST/PST @ NLCA.com.
Read MoreWe pray for the family of Pastor Kristin Rice, All Saints Lutheran Church, Phoenix, after her father-in-law died last week in Alabama.
Eternal God, your love is stronger than death, and your passion more fierce than the grave. We rejoice in the lives of those whom you have drawn into your eternal embrace. Keep us in joyful communion with them until we join the saints of every people and nation gathered before your throne in your ceaseless praise, through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Read MoreThe first and only program of its kind, the National Fund for Sacred Places is a matching grant program that offers technical assistance and financial support to actively worshiping faith communities who are working to preserve their historic houses of worship. Letters of Intent are due March 15, 2021. Apply here.
Read MoreAt the Office of the Bishop, we are blessed to be continually flooded: with prayers, with mission support from congregations and individuals, with unexpected fruits of the Spirt, with companionship from ministry partners, and with joyful work from so many volunteers and church leaders. On Sunday morning, we were finally flooded with actual water.
Read MoreWe pray for the people of Senegal and our companion church, the Lutheran Church of Senegal (Eglise Lutherienne du Sénégal), as this normally stable nation goes through a period of unrest. Rev. Adama Faye, president of the Lutheran Church of Senegal, reports he is safe and is grateful for our prayers.
Eternal God, amid all the turmoil and changes of the world your love is steadfast and your strength never fails. Guide the leaders of Senegal with your wisdom, comfort those in distress, and grant us courage and hope to face the future; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
Read MoreWe pray for Rev. Patsy Koeneke and the people of Lutheran Church of the Foothills in Tucson, part of the Sunrise Conference. Visit their site at foothillslutheran.org, and their social media on YouTube.
Read MoreDuring this Lenten season, I am discovering new meanings in the Lord’s Prayer. This common prayer, known to so many throughout the world, yields new treasures upon repetition.
When I prayed this prayer today, I was profoundly moved how each petition turns our attention away from heaven and toward our neighbor on earth. This is a justice prayer.
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