ELCA Churchwide Assembly honors Indigenous people
ELCA Churchwide Assembly honors Indigenous people

The 2022 Churchwide Assembly of the ELCA will honor and celebrate Indigenous people through presentations and worship during this weeklong event.

In addition to opening with a land acknowledgment, on Wednesday, 8/10/2022: participants are invited to wear red recognize and publicize the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls; Rev. Marlene Whiterabbit Helgemo will be remembered; Holy Communion will utilize words and music from Native American sources; and the offering will support the Pine Ridge Reservation initiative.

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ELCA, NewsBrian FlatgardAmerican Indian and Alaska Native, American Indian Alaska Native Lutheran Association, 2022 Churchwide AssemblyComment
File your annual corporate report to protect your congregation’s legal standing
File your annual corporate report to protect your congregation’s legal standing

A reminder to visit Arizona Corporation Commission, Nevada Secretary of State Businesses, or Utah Commerce Division of Corporations and file your annual report.

Failure to maintain the congregation's corporate status can put contracts, giving, and property ownership in jeopardy, as some of our congregations have discovered. Please check your status now to avoid future complications!

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Grand Canyon Synod, News, Leader ResourcesBrian FlatgardComment
Rev. Peter Heide: Our wholeness is in Jesus Christ
Rev. Peter Heide: Our wholeness is in Jesus Christ

I remember a particular Sunday in October 1962. It was the first anniversary of me being blind, and I was pretty proud of myself. I remember this Sunday so specifically because the sermon text was on the healing of Blind Bartimaeus, and the import of the sermon was, “If you believe strongly enough God can do anything.”

After worship, for the first time I remember, but certainly not the last, I remember the man who came up to me and said, “I know that if you believe enough God will heal you.”

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ELCA, LettersBrian FlatgardDisability Ministries, ELCA Disability MinistriesComment
Ordination celebrations: 7/29/2022-8/4/2022
Ordination celebrations: 7/29/2022-8/4/2022

  • Rev. Matthew Wiswall, Resurrection, Scottsdale, who celebrates 32 years on July 29.

  • Rev. Mateo Chavez, San Juan Bautista, Tucson, who celebrates 4 years on July 29.

  • Rev. Anton Tony Scheer, Spirit of Hope, Mesa, who celebrates 22 years on July 30.

  • Rev. Rebecca Boardman, U of A LCM, Tucson, who celebrates 18 years on July 31.

  • Rev. James Schubert, who celebrates 32 years on July 31.

  • Rev. Clifford Hanus, Mount Cross, Payson, who celebrates 35 years on August 1.

  • Rev. Sharon Brown, Spirit of Joy, Clarkdale, who celebrates 9 years on August 2.

  • Rev. Mark Perry, Sierra Evangelical, Sierra Vista, who celebrates 36 years on August 2.

  • Rev. Thomas McFarland, who celebrates 36 years on August 3.

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Grand Canyon Synod, NewsBrian FlatgardOrdination AnniversariesComment
COVID-19 community levels: 7/28/2022
COVID-19 community levels: 7/28/2022

Cases, hospitalizations and deaths are all higher than they have been at nearly any point this summer as the BA.5 variant continues to spread across the United States.

In our synod, a continued wave of high level counties: Apache, Clark, Coconino, Gila, La Paz, Maricopa, Mohave, Navajo, Pinal, Yavapai and Yuma.

Medium level: Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, Pima, Santa Cruz and Washington.

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News, Grand Canyon SynodBrian FlatgardCoronavirusComment
Bishop Eaton issues thank you letter to President Biden
Bishop Eaton issues thank you letter to President Biden

In a July 18, 2022 letter to President Joseph R. Biden, the Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), expressed gratitude for his July 15 visit to the Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH) in East Jerusalem and his announcement of a $100 million multiyear commitment to the East Jerusalem Hospital Network (EJHN), of which AVH is a member.

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Global Church, ELCA, News, LettersBrian FlatgardAugust Victoria Hospital, Lutheran World FederationComment
Prompts for Prayers of Intercession: July 31, 2022
Prompts for Prayers of Intercession: July 31, 2022

  • In gratitude for and solidarity with members of our community living with disabilities…

  • For communities harmed by earthquakes in the Philippines and threatened by wildfires in California…

  • For the life of Rev. Marlene Whiterabbit Helgemo, the first Native American woman ordained in the Lutheran church…

  • For European and world leaders in discernment and negotiations over energy resources…

  • For volunteer election judges across the country, as they train and give of their time to ensure the integrity of the election process in the U.S…

  • For farm workers suffering the effects of climate change and recent extreme weather…

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ELCA, PrayersBrian FlatgardELCA Worship, For What Shall We PrayComment
8/5/2022 is final day of Lutheran Social Services of Nevada's Back-to-School Drive
8/5/2022 is final day of Lutheran Social Services of Nevada's Back-to-School Drive

Here’s your chance to help out with Lutheran Social Services of Nevada's Back-to-School Drive. You can donate socks, donate school supplies, volunteer, or give online at lssnv.org/donate. Read more in this post or contact martin@lssnv.org for more info.

Drop off items Monday-Friday, 9am–4pm at LSSN: 4323 Boulder Highway, Las Vegas, NV, 89121, by Friday, 8/5/2022.

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Grand Canyon Synod, NewsBrian FlatgardLutheran Social Services of Nevada, Colorado River ConferenceComment
WELCA Retreat: Empowering Women…Stories That Change Lives
WELCA Retreat: Empowering Women…Stories That Change Lives

Save the date—October 21 & 22, 2022— for a retreat at Spirit in the Desert organized by Grand Canyon Synod Women of the ELCA. View PDF flier. Click here to register online. Or click here to download and print the paper registration form.

Scholarship opportunities available. The deadline to receive applications is 9/23/2022. View a fillable application form here.

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Grand Canyon Synod, NewsBrian FlatgardGCS WELCA, Spirit in the Desert Retreat CenterComment
Prayers for Jamie Williams and family
Prayers for Jamie Williams and family

We pray for Jamie Williams and her family, including her husband Taylor and their three children, as well as her parents, retired pastor Jim Price and wife Cathy of Sun City West. After a diagnosis in February, Jamie continues breast cancer treatments and surgeries for the next six months.

Rev. Jim Price updates us with news that Jamie’s recent surgery could not have gone better, with testing showing no further cancer and the progress schedule being updated by many weeks. “Our thanks to everyone that held our one and only daughter up in prayer because the ‘prayers changed things!”’ Thanks be to God! ❤️🙏🏻

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Grand Canyon Synod, PrayersBrian FlatgardComment
Thriving Leadership Formation (TLF): Contemplative Action Cohorts Forming Now!
Thriving Leadership Formation (TLF): Contemplative Action Cohorts Forming Now!

Thriving Leadership Formation (TLF) is currently recruiting leaders and participants for the next round of Cohorts this Fall! Watch this video to hear from those who have found community and meaning through their Cohort. Click here if interested in joining a cohort. Click here if interested in serving as a Leader.

The goal of the Contemplative Action Cohorts is to foster and equip spiritual leaders for new models of ministry and church.

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Region 2, Grand Canyon Synod, NewsBrian FlatgardThriving Leadership Formation Program, Region 2, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, California Lutheran UniversityComment