From Forbes, we share this article. Members of the clergy and other student loan borrowers engaged in religious-oriented work may now qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program after being excluded for over a decade.
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Especially as temperatures and wildfires are soaring all over the country, it is clear that our climate crisis is reaching a tipping point. Our Christian call and vocation include caring for creation, and Bishop Eaton encourages us to find ways to be part of the solution to this dire situation. Start with a read or re-read of the ELCA Social Statement, Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope and Justice.
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In a culture that says bigger is better, it is subversive to take tiny, lasting steps toward learning and growth. Ellie Roscher, author of 12 Tiny Things, will guide you through curating and cultivating your own tiny things practice. Friday, 1/28/2022 - Sunday, 1/30/2022 at Spirit in the Desert Retreat Center.
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In this post, we share a summer update from Iglesia Luterana Vida Nueva in Glendale, full of images and good news.
Thank God, Iglesia Luterana "Vida Nueva" survived Covid 19 and starting in May with new strength. We continue to minister to Christian people, the Hispanic community and in a special way to immigrants. We thank God and the Grand Canyon Synod for the spiritual and financial support that you give us, so we can continue the ministry of the Church, serve the community and be able to plan for growth and become self-reliant.
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As part of our Growing Generosity Appeal, we present this video on growing future ministries in the Grand Canyon Synod, planting seeds for Lutheran Campus Ministry ($100,000) and new & emerging ministries ($150,000). Learn more at gcsynod.org/generosity/future-ministries.
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Deconstructing the faith of one's childhood can be a lonely undertaking. For many of these church exiles, TikTok has filled the gap. Read more at Religion News Service.
“The TikTokers — known as creators — within this community come from different religious backgrounds and have different beliefs. But together, they are dissecting and rethinking the Christian theology they grew up with — a process many progressive Christians and former evangelicals call ‘deconstruction.’”
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The company is intensifying formal partnerships with faith groups across the United States and shaping the future of religious experience. Read more in the New York Times.
“Months before the megachurch Hillsong opened its new outpost in Atlanta, its pastor sought advice on how to build a church in a pandemic.
From Facebook.”
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A religion scholar explains how evangelicalism in the US is not a monolith. It includes a variety of churches, theologies and practices. Read more in this article from Religion News Service.
“A precipitous decline in the number of Americans identifying as white evangelical was revealed in Public Religion Research Institute’s 2020 Census on American Religion. In 2006, almost a quarter of the American population identified as white evangelical, but only 14.5% the population does so today.”
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“Living with people who have lots of problems helped me see my own dark side,” said the Rev. Tom Lumpkin, who spent 40 years serving Detroit’s homeless. Read the article from Religion News Service.
“My claim to fame is that I’m the only diocesan priest in the world who has as his diocesan assignment the Catholic Worker Movement,” said Lumpkin, who was assigned to a Catholic Worker house by his bishop.
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After reflecting on the 10,000 Year Clock and speaking with a prominent Lutheran theologian, Elise Seyfriend anticipates the future with optimism.
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The Grand Canyon Synod Council meeting is this weekend, and our rostered staff continues to visit churches. Highlighted meetings are Bishop Hutterer’s visit with retiring pastor Al Cassel, Pastor Jacqui’s meeting with first call pastors, and Pastor Miguel’s meeting with other Director for Evangelical Mission (DEM) deans.
View all the details for each team member in this post.
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Nationwide, the Delta variant continues to drive case and death numbers up across the country. Daily caseloads have increased tenfold since late June. Death reports, which can lag well behind case data, have doubled. More coronavirus patients are hospitalized than at any point since February.
Risk levels for unvaccinated people in the synod are either very high or extremely high.
Extremely high risk counties for unvaccinated people in our synod include Clark, Greenlee, La Paz, Maricopa, Mohave, Navajo, Pinal, Yavapai, Yuma and Washington counties.
Very high risk counties include Apache, Cochise, Coconino, Gila, Graham, Pima, and Santa Cruz.
Sunday, August 8, 2021 launched an exciting new era at the Navajo Lutheran Mission, as local Navajo leadership is being developed at the Mission’s House of Prayer.
The new Hodza Yaa Ahalyani (Wisdom Keepers) are Rock Point residents Patty Charley, Patterson Yazzie, and Benedict Bedoni, who were affirmed in ceremonies by Bishop Hutterer, Reverend Jacqueline Pagel, and Mission Pastor Kate Adelman.
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Collin Hansen, editor in chief of The Gospel Coalition and co-author of Rediscover Church: Why the Body of Christ Is Essential, writes in this essay:
“Christians need to hear the babies crying in church. They need to see the reddened eyes of a friend across the aisle. They need to chat with the recovering drug addict who shows up early but still sits in the back row. They need to taste the bread and wine.” Read more at New York Times.
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We pray for Rev. Steven Kruse and the people of New Covenant Lutheran Church in Scottsdale, part of the Northeast Valley Conference. Visit their site at newcovenantaz.church, and their social media pages on Facebook and Instagram.
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The Lutheran World Federation Council has elected Estonian theologian Anne Burghardt as the next general secretary of the global communion of Lutheran churches. We share her Living Lutheran profile in this post.
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Each year the Evangelical Lutheran Education Association (ELEA) publishes a Devotional Guide. View/download as PDF here.
The weekly devotions follow the lectionary beginning in August. The devotions are for professional educators, pastors, and ALL who work with children and youth and their families in any capacity.
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A Time of Remembrance, Thanksgiving, and Reflections for the lives and faith and leadership of:
The Rev. David Walter Preus, Presiding Bishop of the American Lutheran Church, Parish Pastor, Author
The Rev. Dr. Peter Louis Steinke, Parish pastor, Educator, Author, Therapist, Congregational Systems Consultant
The Rev. Walter Martin Wangerin, Jr., Author, Parish Pastor, Professor, Educator, Radio Announcer
Thursday, August 12, 2021, 4:00 p.m. Click here to attend the Zoom.
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The next meeting of the Grand Canyon Synod Hunger Leaders Network is Tuesday, 8/24/2021, 6:00pm MST/PDT.
If you have any questions please contact Melanie Hobden, Pastor Karn Carroll or Pastor Jacqui Pagel.
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Rally in the Valley was an annual event that engaged seniors through speakers, discussion groups, fellowship, and worship. Their treasurer, Dennis Haugan, recently presented the Bishop a $6,842.42 check towards our Growing Generosity Appeal.
This amount represents the entire balance of the funds in their treasury, as their organization will no longer be active. Their planning team voted unanimously to give the funds to the Synod for the appeal designated toward LAMA with the focus of advocating on behalf of seniors.
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