We pray for Pastor Chris Stoxen, Pastor Louis Ochoa, and the people of First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mesa, part of the Rio Salado Conference. Visit their site at firstevlutheran.com, and their Facebook page.
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You are invited to join us for an Interfaith Prayer Gathering of inspirational stories of hope. Experience “Finding Hope in New Beginnings,” a virtual zoom community bringing people of different faiths and perspectives together to share stories of hope and inspiration.
Wednesday, 2/15/2023, noon MST, 11am PST, featuring Susan Masood with Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest.. Click here to register and get the Zoom link. Hosted by Northeast Valley Consortium & Fountain Hills, AZ, Interfaith Alliance. More info in this post, as PDF, or email HopeInOurWorldNow@gmail.com.
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This lecture will present an overview of the CRISPR revolution and the various uses of CRISPR, a powerful gene editing tool. The questions and issues raised by the scientific, ethical, and religious communities amidst this CRISPR revolution are more important than the answers provided.
Wednesday, February 15, 2023, 10am-12pm MST, 9-11am PST. If you are planning to attend in-person, please register at this link. If you are planning to attend online, please register at this link. Presented by Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and California Lutheran University.
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Please share your congregation’s plan for 2023 Mission Support by February 15, 2023 so the Synod Council can plan for the coming year. Thank you!
In this post, we share a letter (English, Spanish) from Bishop Hutterer and Synod Vice President Barbara Carl, thanking you and our synod’s congregations for continued mission support, half of which is passed to ELCA churchwide for ministry in the larger church.
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ELCA Disability Ministries began accepting grant applications on 12/12/2022, and will officially close the application process on 2/15/2023, for funding to ministries that are committed to inclusion and accessibility. Read more about these grants in this letter from coordinator Rev. Lisa Heffernan.
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All active Grand Canyon Synod rostered ministers are required to participate in professional boundary training every three years. Retired rostered ministers are not required. The Office of the Bishop has partnered with CongregationU to provide Boundary Awareness Training for $29.00.
Click here to take this course by 2/15/2023, and email your certificate of completion to office@gcsynod.org by 2/28/2023. Learn more in a letter from Bishop Hutterer in this post.
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The Arizona Faith Network’s February, 2023 newsletter is available online, featuring Black History Month and AFN's Stone of Hope web page; meeting schedules; a Simplicity and Interfaith Gathering; Environmental Day at the Capitol; Black History Month Film Festival; Faith Rooted Advocacy Leadership Series; Human Trafficking Awareness Webinar; the Connection to Nature Interfaith Family Event; and much more.
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Our synod’s ELCA Foundation planners—Lisa Higginbotham and Josh Kerney—share a monthly bible verse and charitable giving tip. This month’s verse is Galatians 6:6-10, and we explore planned giving.
Also known as Legacy Planning, Estate Planning, and Gift Planning, Planned Giving is a proactive action of love and consideration to include our beloved charities and congregations in our end-of-life plans.
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As part of the latest Stories of Faith in Action, we share UP Wild Brings Worship Outdoors (view online or as PDF). Located in the town of Marquette in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, UP Wild Church is among the newest ministries in the growing movement of “wild” outdoor worship communities.
View all the Stories of Faith in Action here, and how your offering becomes mission support.
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How Is God’s invitation to discipleship lived out in a democracy?
The ELCA invites you and your congregation to explore this and other questions by using "A Study Curriculum on Civic Life and Faith." View a video on this question in this post, along with a PDF guide.
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ELCA Global Mission shares their Global Links newsletter for January, 2023, featuring: new family ties in Senegal, news around the world, mission personnel, and how to get involved.
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The 11th Asian Lutheran International Conference (ALIC) was held in Chiang Rai, Thailand, Jan. 12-17, with the theme “Comfort, Comfort My People: Prophetic Justice and Healing.” Sivin Kit, Lutheran World Federation interim director for the Department for Theology, Mission and Justice, spoke to this theme by asking, “Have we lost touch with the experience of pain and suffering in our churches and our world?”
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Luther Seminary's Faith+Lead Bookhub for February, 2023 is 2/16/2023, entitled Work that Means Something: Experiencing God’s invitation in the ordinary. Learn more and sign up here, and check out the three featured books:
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Lutherans Restoring Creation shares their February 2023 Good Green News, featuring: The Ants & the Grasshopper Screening; Earth Day Virtual Service 4/23/2023; and upcoming connections calls Lead-Free Superhero, and Pollinator Projects.
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At its November 2022 meeting, the ELCA Church Council authorized the establishment of a Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church (CRLC) to consist of no more than 35 voting members and directed the Executive Committee of the Church Council to initiate the process of forming the Commission.
Each synod is being asked to submit two nominees. Read more in this post about this process and how to nominate yourself or others.
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What a day! For photos and a full recap, please visit lamaz.org. Highlights below.
Nearly 100 advocates from 23 of Arizona’s 30 districts gathered at the State Capitol for a day of advocacy on January 30, 2023
Sen. Raquel Terán (D), Senate Minority Leader from LD26 and Rep. Tim Dunn (R) from LD25 (Yuma) were featured speakers, along with Ashley St. Thomas, Arizona Food Bank Network; Jessie Gruner, Pinnacle Prevention; and Connie Phillips, Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest.
Participants met with their legislators in support of anti-hunger bills HB2211 and HB2142
Bishop Hutterer led the invocation in the Senate, advocates were introduced in the House gallery by Rep. Jennifer Pawlik (D), LD13 and in the Senate by Sen. Raquel Terán (D), LD26.
Advocates attended the Health & Human Services Committee to hear testimony in support of HB2211, which received a 9-0 due pass recommendation.
The Office of the Bishop travels to Las Vegas as part of Synod on the Move, preaching at various churches and attending the Colorado River Conference Spring Gathering, Feb 4, 2023, 11:00 AM – 1:30 PM. We also share photos from last week’s Synod on the Move in the Tucson area and Lutheran Day at the Legislature.
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This week we celebrate the following ordination anniversaries:
Rev. Katie Langston, New Promise, St. George, who celebrates 1 year on February 4.
Rev. Shari Bernau, Living Water, Scottsdale, who celebrates 18 years on February 5.
Rev. Pam A. Reynolds, Lord of Life, Sun City West, who celebrates 2 years on February 6.
Rev. Mark Wickstrom, Living Hope, Las Vegas, who celebrates 37 years on February 9.
Deanna Branch is an activist for lead-poisoning awareness. She is a mother, a member of Hephatha Lutheran Church (ELCA) and a resident of Milwaukee, Wis. Vice President Kamala Harris invited Deanna to attend the recent White House Lead Pipe Summit.
Deanna Branch and her sons, Jaidyn and Aidan are featured in "Blessed are the peacemakers," the first episode of the new season of "Talks at the Desk" video series.
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