The prophet Joel doesn’t hold back when sounding the alarm about the coming Day of the Lord in our Ash Wednesday reading. This year Joel’s alert sounds above the horror of the Putin regime’s invasion of Ukraine, a great and powerful army conducting an unprovoked attack against a neighboring state.
Read MoreBecause congregations and clergy have unique reporting requirements, Portico offers complimentary access to two annually updated guides: Federal Reporting Requirements for Churches PDF and Clergy Tax Return Preparation Guide PDF.
Read MoreThe Russian church hopes to reunite with the independent Ukrainian branch under a single patriarch in Moscow that would allow it to control the holiest sites of Orthodoxy in the Slavic world.
If Ukraine prevails against the Russian invasion, the Moscow church will all but certainly be ejected. If Russia wins, the Ukrainian church is unlikely to survive inside Ukraine. Read the full article at the New York Times.
Read MoreWe share a letter from Ambassador Daniel Speckhard, President and CEO of Lutheran World Relief, encouraging emergency gifts to deliver urgent support and care.
We also share a message from Rev. Lisa Kipp, with Lutheran World Relief’s Congregational Engagement, announcing that Nelsonville Lutheran Church in Wisconsin will double all gifts from congregations – up to $100,000 – for our neighbors suffering in the Ukraine crisis. You can give online at www.lwr.org/match.
Read MoreWe have a curious set of readings for this first Sunday of Lent. Biblical scholars believe that Deuteronomy 26:5-10 is a script for someone making an offering of what was called the “first fruits,” a religious practice for farming communities. These verses fit well with this somber season. Lent is, if nothing else, a time of looking backward and a time of looking forward.
Read MoreWe share Pastor Sarah Stadler’s letter to the Grace Lutheran congregation in Phoenix. We appreciate the letter’s thoughtfulness on the Ukraine conflict as we enter Lent, and the specific calls to action from Grace members’ brainstorming sessions.
Read MoreOn Feb. 24, 2022, Russian forces invaded Ukraine, launching land, sea and air attacks. Millions of civilians fleeing the violence are heading toward Ukraine’s western districts and neighboring countries.
In this post we share a letter from The Rev. Daniel Rift, Director, ELCA World Hunger and Lutheran Disaster Response Fund. You can support Urkainians and others by giving here.
Read MoreBishop Eaton provides a prayer as we enter Lent, and invites us to explore Now Is the Time: A Study Guide for ELCA Declaration to People of African Descent and ELCA World Hunger’s 40 Days of Giving at ELCA.org/40Days.
Read MoreIt started in Canada. They called it the Freedom Convoy. Truckers driving in a convoy (a line of trucks all traveling in the same direction) began a noisy, horn-honking, but originally peaceful protest against the government’s requirement of COVID vaccinations for workers.
Read MoreWorshipWell offers a Turning, worship resources based on the Gospel of John. “Poring over the Lenten texts from John’s Gospel, we are dizzied by all of the turning: God turning toward humanity’s pain as Jesus weeps at raw and unbearable grief; Jesus turning Lazarus’ death into something confusingly hopeful; Jesus turning into a servant, turning clear water brown with the disciples’ gathered dust, turning them toward loving their neighbor.” Read an overview here and visit worship-well.com where this series is available at no cost.
Read MorePastor Kristin Engstrom, ELCA Global Missionary with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zambia, is glad to share with us her arrival in Zambia, “to begin my new call as an ELCA global missionary with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zambia (ELCZa). Thank you for all your prayers and support over these past months of waiting and anticipating my deployment to Zambia. I've written a new blog post about my first week in Zambia. You can find it here.”
Read MoreWe pray for Rev. Scott Hackler and the people of Spirit of Grace Lutheran Church in Surprise, part of the Cactus Conference. Visit their site at spiritofgrace.com, and their social media pages on Facebook and YouTube.
Read MoreKrish O’Mara Vignarajah, President and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS), writes: “The humanitarian implications of a full Russian invasion must be a central consideration in the U.S. and international response. Thousands could lose their lives, and millions more could lose the only home they have ever known. The U.S. and its allies must prepare to respond to the very real possibility of a mass exodus of Ukrainian refugees. Protecting the displaced cannot merely be an afterthought.”
Read the full statement in this post or on LIRS.org.
Read MoreAs we prepare to enter the season of Lent, we want to invite you to join ELCA World Hunger’s 40 Days of Giving. At ELCA.org/40Days, you’ll find these downloadable resources to enrich the life of your congregation and family this season.
Read MoreIn their most recent newsletter, Navajo Lutheran Mission Executive Director and Pastor Kate Adelman shares how sustainable solutions are created when love reframes the conversation.
Read MoreAs we prepare for our 2022 Grand Canyon Synod Assembly on June 10-11, 2022, we again ask your help in sharing your story. Mission and ministry partners to the Grand Canyon Synod are asked to provide your ministry’s story in a way that works best for you.
We’ll again feature our stories as stand-alone news items in the lead-up to our 2022 assembly. Each story will appear in our blog, Facebook page, and weekly newsletter. We’ll also have an assembly page compiling all our stories. Bonus points if you work in our assembly theme: Stirred Up in the Spirit!
Read MoreBillions of people on every continent are suffering because of climate change, according to a major new United Nations report released on Monday. And governments must do a better job of protecting the most vulnerable communities while also rapidly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Read the article or give a 3-minute listen on NPR.org.
The New York Times has five takeaways from the U.N. Report on Climate Hazards:
Climate hazards have worsened significantly in the past decade.
If warming isn’t slowed, the dangers will multiply.
Societies have not done enough to adapt and stay safe.
As warming continues, it will become harder and harder to cope.
Poor countries face much bigger challenges than rich ones.
Released February 9, 2022, this report is the most complete accounting to date of how Christian nationalism contributed to the events leading up to January 6 and the day of the attack itself, and it looks at responses to January 6. A recording of the webinar presenting the report is also available online.
Featuring contributions from scholars, historians, advocates, and researchers, this report was a joint project of Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (BJC), Freedom From Religion Foundation, and Christians Against Christian Nationalism.
Read MoreWe pray for Rev. Patricia Lowe and the people of Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Prescott Valley, part of the High Country Conference. Visit their site at emmanuellutheranpv.org, and their social media pages on Facebook and YouTube.
Read MoreAs part of our Monday meetings, the Office of the Bishop staff recently discussed The Forgotten Luther, a series of three books edited variously by Carter Lindberg, Paul Wee, Ryan P. Cumming, and Conrad Braaten.
True to its name, the premise of the series is to reclaim the Martin Luther’s oft-forgotten voice for socio-economic justice. Martin Luther addressed the crises of the day on the basis of Scripture with pioneering theology. The series calls us to do the same.
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