The Executive Committee of the ELCA Church Council has acted on Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton’s recommendation to appoint Carlos Peña as the ELCA’s interim vice president, effective immediately.
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Risk levels for unvaccinated people in the synod continue to grow.
Extremely high risk counties for unvaccinated people in our synod include Clark, Coconino, Gila, Greenlee, Graham, Maricopa, Mohave, Navajo, Pinal, Yavapai, Yuma and Washington counties.
Very high risk counties include Apache, Cochise, La Paz, Pima, and Santa Cruz.
The Office of the Bishop team meets with leaders around the synod regarding collaborations, preaching, campus ministry, and stewardship.
View all the details for each team member in this post.
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The Gathering is an integral part of the ecology of faith formation and call narrative in the ELCA. There are those who question the value of specialized ministries such as the Gathering, especially in a time of declining church attendance and difficult budget cuts. But I am not one of them, especially after fresh research has demonstrated the importance of several crucial ministries in the ELCA. I also know the impacts first-hand.
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With the Afghan crisis shining light on the refugee resettlement program’s inadequacies, Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest gathered 675 letters for Senators and Representatives in support of the refugee resettlement program.
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Amid the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, local nonprofits expect large numbers of Afghan refugees to be coming to the U.S. and to Phoenix. Read and watch the story on AZfamily.com featuring Connie Phillips, president and CEO of Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest.
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We pray for Rev. Joaquin Garcia and the people of Iglesia Luterana Vida Nueva in Glendale, part of the Capital Conference. Visit their site at facebook.com/Ilvidanueva.
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During this week of devastating news, Bishop Eaton encourages us to take a brief pause in silence, that we may be able to hear the voices of those affected by tragedy, listen for God, and respond to suffering in our world.
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This Gathering webinar provides information about the registering your congregational group for the 2022 Gathering. Registration opens on September 22, 2021 via the Gathering’s website (elca.org/Gathering/Register). For information about the 2022 Gathering, “boundless: God beyond measure,” visit elca.org/Gathering.
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“This isn’t a soup kitchen where people get in line and are getting whatever we give you,” said chef and kitchen manager Angelique Gilyard. “We give the people the choice in what they have. You can have your sandwich toasted if you want, the whole sandwich or just the bread. If you want to take your meal home, that’s fine.”
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The Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber was installed this weekend as the first pastor of public witness for the ELCA.
She was called to the role of pastor of public witness by the Rocky Mountain Synod, whose bishop, Jim Gonia, has supported her ministry since she first applied to seminary.
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We pray for Rev. Mary Louise Frenchman and the people of Trinity Lutheran Church in Phoenix, part of the Capital Conference. Visit their site at tlcphx.org, and their social media pages on Facebook.
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The Wisdom Keepers Program is an exciting new way to communicate Jesus, connect people, and create possibilities. It is an amazing opportunity for accompanying the local community as we rediscover the Gospel as interpreted through Navajo culture, traditions, and language.
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The Navajo Lutheran Mission’s new partnership with St. Mary’s Food Bank is quickly becoming a blessing for Rock Point families.
Twice each month, a semi-load of critical meat, vegetables and other foodstuffs is delivered to the mission's new, huge, walk-in cooler and freezer.
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Spirit in the Desert presents a leaders' retreat to learn & apply the basic concepts in real-life family, church and work settings. Sunday, April 24, 2022 - Wednesday, April 27, 2022.
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Ken Carder learned that when people with dementia are isolated from their community, their condition worsens. He recognized that people with dementia weren’t at the center of his own pastoral care efforts.
Seeking to change the status quo and demonstrate how congregations can join in ministry with people who have dementia, Carder created a class at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, S.C., where he serves as guest professor, called “Dementia Through a Pastoral Theological Lens.”
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For many, taking time to rest—whether it’s an extended retreat or simply a pause in a busy workday—can be a challenge.
“So many of our society’s dominant narratives mitigate against rest,” said Cynthia Moe-Lobeda, a professor of theological and social ethics at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Berkeley, Calif. “I really think that the capacity to hear the Spirit and to [flourish] as a person are built partly by having rest.”
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From AP and Religion News Service: David Hufford learned that an extreme storm had flooded a suburban Detroit church with more than 7 feet of water, striking the boiler, electrical system, elevator and more.
But this repairman wasn’t called to fix anything ordinary at St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran in Grosse Pointe Farms. Hufford’s mission: get the music flowing again from the church’s 63-year-old pipe organ.
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For many years, I gave little thought to the complexity of my being Osage, Lutheran and gay. Growing up in the Osage nation and learning about my Osage ancestors, history and customs; following my path to self-acceptance as a gay man; embracing the Lutheran Christian faith—these seemed to be three quite different aspects of my story. And though they overlapped chronologically, they didn’t always connect.
Now, after years of reflection and with more experience interpreting my own story, I have begun to understand how all this made me who I am.
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Allen Nohre facilitates Spirited Book Club's discussion of his book of personal essays on family, fate and life titled A Soul from Minnesota. Presented online by Spirit in the Desert Retreat Center.
Click either date for more info and registration: Thursday, 9/9/2021, 2–3 pm MST/PDT or Thursday, 9/23/2021, 2–3 pm MST/PDT.
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