Church & Society

Recent federal spending cuts to Medicaid, refugee resettlement, and disaster response are already impacting Lutheran ministries across the country. In this Living Lutheran Voices of Faith column, Debra Madaris Efird reflects on how these changes affect agencies like Lutheran Services Carolinas—and asks what it means for us, as Lutherans, to respond with compassion, advocacy, generosity, and prayer. This timely reflection invites congregations and individuals alike to discern faithful action rooted in our shared call to love our neighbors. Read the full article at Living Lutheran.

This week’s LAMA newsletter highlights urgent advocacy opportunities to protect creation, upcoming hunger and advocacy gatherings, and faith-based responses to pressing public issues. With key deadlines this week and important events ahead, now is the time to act. Read the full update and take part in advocacy grounded in Lutheran faith.

The ELCA’s Advocacy and Migration Policy team has released a new conversation guide, Created in the Image of God, equipping faith communities to recognize and respond to dehumanizing language—particularly language directed at immigrants and forcibly displaced people. Grounded in Scripture and ELCA social teaching, the guide calls Christians to affirm the imago Dei in every person and to resist rhetoric that erodes empathy, dignity, and justice.

This timely resource invites congregations and individuals to engage difficult conversations with curiosity, compassion, and faith, using personal stories and theological grounding to challenge harmful narratives. Read the full reflection and download the conversation guide.

Following a deadly shooting at Brown University that claimed two lives and injured many others, Presiding Bishop Yehiel Curry calls the church to prayer, lament, and faithful public action. The statement names gun violence as a symptom of deeper brokenness in our common life and rejects its normalization in U.S. society.

Drawing on the ELCA’s social message on gun violence, Bishop Curry urges evidence-based, life-saving measures alongside sustained advocacy and accompaniment. In this Advent season, the statement affirms that God meets us in suffering and calls the church to work for justice, compassion, and peace. Read the full statement and prayer from Bishop Curry.

Presiding Bishop Yehiel Curry has issued a statement following a deadly terror attack on the Jewish community gathered for a Hanukkah menorah lighting at Bondi Beach in Australia. Writing on the Third Sunday of Advent, Bishop Curry condemns antisemitism, reaffirms the ELCA’s commitment to opposing anti-Jewish hatred, and calls the church to concrete acts of solidarity, love, and peace with our Jewish neighbors.

Grounded in God’s irrevocable covenant and the hope of Advent, the statement invites prayer and faithful action as an antidote to fear and violence. Read the full statement and prayer from Bishop Curry.

This week’s LAMA newsletter features an urgent call for Christmas volunteers with LSS-SW, new advocacy events through mid-January, and the release of LAMA’s 2026 Policy Priorities. You’ll also find updates on H.R. 1’s potential impact in Arizona, resources for congregations, and opportunities to support Lutheran Day at the Legislature. Read the full newsletter to stay connected with the advocacy ministry of the Grand Canyon Synod.

A small but resolute group of Asian and Pacific Islander (API) Lutheran leaders and community members gathered outside the Adelanto ICE Processing Center to pray for the release of Evi Sarlita Sihomping, a longtime ELCA member detained since June 7. Led by Pacifica Synod Bishop David Nagler and organized alongside the API Leaders Migration Justice Training, the vigil lifted up Evi’s humanity, rejected the “model minority” myth, and insisted that immigration policy must be shaped by empathy, not punishment.

The article from Living Lutheran highlights the broader advocacy of API ministries, AMMPARO, and ELCA leaders who refuse to stay silent as families are separated. It also shares practical ways to support Evi—including sending cards and contacting elected officials. Read the full story on Living Lutheran ›

LAMA’s latest newsletter highlights urgent #GivingTuesday news—after surpassing its $5,000 goal, LAMA is aiming for $10,000. It also includes key December advocacy events, volunteer opportunities, ELCA Action Alerts, and updates on issues impacting Arizona communities. Plus: Christmas service opportunities, a save-the-date for Lutheran Day at the Legislature 2026, and the launch of LAMA’s new T-shirt Design Contest. Read the full newsletter here.

Stay up to date with Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona through this week’s newsletter, featuring an urgent Action Alert for World AIDS Day, upcoming December events, new blog posts, and preparations for Lutheran Day at the Legislature. Read the full newsletter to connect with statewide justice efforts, prayer opportunities, and ways your congregation can support LAMA’s ministry.

This week’s LAMA newsletter highlights an urgent ELCA Action Alert supporting FEMA reform, multiple advocacy and interfaith events, the AFN Annual Gathering, and new blog updates on immigration, climate justice, and Lutheran Day at the Legislature. Read the full newsletter at LAMAz.org.

When migrants and other neighbors are labeled “invasion,” “animals,” or “illegals,” our faith compels us to respond. This AMMPARO reflection names dehumanization as sin and calls Lutherans to “faithful resistance” in our words, actions, and hearts, grounded in Scripture’s witness that every person bears the image of God.

Read how this resistance takes shape in daily life—through language, advocacy, and humble service rooted in Micah 6:8—by reading the full article from AMMPARO.

The latest newsletter from Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (LAMA) calls us to faithful advocacy on behalf of our neighbors and creation. This week’s Action Alert urges Lutherans to contact legislators and advocate for U.S. participation in global climate talks (COP30).

Upcoming events include the Power of Hello workshop on community safety (Nov. 17), the LAMA Liaison Roundtable (Nov. 17), Bread for the World regional meetings (Nov. 18–19), and the Grand Canyon Synod Hunger Leaders Network (Nov. 25).

The newsletter also features the LAMA T-Shirt Design Contest, ELCA World Hunger’s Daily Bread Grants, and a Save the Date for Lutheran Day at the Legislature 2026 (Feb. 23). Read more at lamaz.org and join the movement for justice and compassion in Arizona.

Explore highlights from BJC’s November Faith Freedom Dispatch, including the 2025 Shurden Lectures on sanctuary and migrant justice, new clergy organizing efforts to confront Christian nationalism, and Season 7 of the Respecting Religion podcast. Additional updates include a new BJC merch shop, national news coverage of religious liberty, and upcoming Supreme Court advocacy. Read the full newsletter here.

Join Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest for a Refugee Services Update Webinar on Friday, November 14, at 11 a.m. Hear directly from Connie Phillips, President & CEO, and key staff about the state of refugee resettlement in Arizona and what’s ahead in 2026. Learn how congregations and individuals across our synod continue to walk alongside refugee families with compassion and hope. Register here.

King of Glory Lutheran Church, Tempe, will host a community conversation on Christian Nationalism on Tuesday, November 18, 2025 (6:30–8:00 p.m.) with guest speakers Rev. Caleb Campbell and Rev. Ellie Hutchison. All are invited to explore what Christian Nationalism is, why it matters, and how people of faith can respond with humility, grace, and Gospel-centered love. Learn more at kogaz.org/events. View PDF flyer here.

Stay informed and engaged with Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (LAMA) in this week’s update, featuring an urgent SNAP Action Alert, events for faith-based advocates, and new blog stories on hunger, refugee policy, and Reformation courage.

Read the full LAMA Newsletter for November 4, 2025 to learn how you and your congregation can take part in advocacy for justice, hunger relief, and faithful civic engagement.

In a new episode of Here I Pod, Lutheran Disaster Response staff and partners share their recent conversations with legislators in Washington, D.C., urging stronger FEMA reform to support disaster-affected communities. Listeners also hear practical ways to take action and strengthen congregational preparedness. Listen and read more on Living Lutheran: Here I Pod: Lutheran disaster responders speak to FEMA legislation.

King of Glory Lutheran Church, Tempe, will host a community conversation on Christian Nationalism on Tuesday, November 18, 2025 (6:30–8:00 p.m.) with guest speakers Rev. Caleb Campbell and Rev. Ellie Hutchison. All are invited to explore what Christian Nationalism is, why it matters, and how people of faith can respond with humility, grace, and Gospel-centered love. Learn more at kogaz.org/events. View PDF flyer here.

Explore this week’s LAMA advocacy update, including an ELCA Action Alert urging Congress to protect international food aid in the upcoming Farm Bill. You’ll also find upcoming events—on hunger ministry, public lands, Christian nationalism, civic engagement—and new reflections from the LAMA blog. Read the full newsletter, event details, and action links here.

Federal shutdown delays have stalled this year’s refugee admissions, and SNAP food assistance has been halted for both refugees and all current recipients statewide. Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest continues serving resettled families and invites you to advocate with legislators for restored SNAP funding and refugee protection. The ELCA has provided an easy tool to contact Congress—learn more and take action.

Nearly every ELCA bishop—including Bishop Deborah Hutterer—has signed a letter calling Lutherans to be a public witness of love and justice in a time of fear and division. The letter affirms that Christian Nationalism distorts the gospel and urges faithful action grounded in God’s inclusive love.

Read the bishops’ full letter on the LAMA site.

Advocacy is more than policy—it’s a faithful response to God’s grace. The Southeastern Synod models a Lutheran approach grounded in Scripture and accompaniment: engaging congregations in justice work, equipping them with tools to act, and empowering leaders to advocate for the vulnerable. Their work embodies the call to love our neighbors through advocacy rooted in baptismal vocation. Read the full story at LAMA.

A new proposal could restrict voter registration by requiring costly and hard-to-access documents like passports—potentially excluding 21 million eligible Americans. The Election Assistance Commission is taking public comments until October 20. Add your voice as a person of faith who believes every vote is sacred. Read the full post and submit your comment today.

Critical programs that protect clean air, water, soil, and wildlife are facing deep federal budget cuts. As people of faith, we’re called to safeguard creation so that all life may flourish. Join ELCA Advocacy and Lutherans across the country in urging Congress to maintain funding for essential environmental programs like the EPA, Clean Water State Revolving Funds, and Superfund cleanups. Read the full Action Alert and contact your members of Congress.

As the 2024 Farm Bill expires, critical hunger and rural support programs face uncertainty. ELCA Advocacy urges lawmakers to pass a new bill that strengthens food security, supports farmers, and upholds faith-based commitments to caring for creation. From SNAP benefits to global food aid, the Farm Bill affects ministries that serve vulnerable communities daily. Learn how Lutheran voices are advocating for policies that ensure all are fed—in body and spirit.

Read the full article on ELCA Advocacy.

This week’s BJC newsletter highlights advocacy against Texas’s new Bible-infused school curriculum, previews the October 21–23 Shurden Lectures on sanctuary and migrant justice, and covers an upcoming Supreme Court case on religious freedom in prisons. Readers will also meet Rabbi David Segal, BJC’s new Policy Counsel, and find the latest Report from the Capital addressing how threats to religious freedom are becoming reality. Read the full issue for details and ways to engage.

This week’s BJC newsletter highlights advocacy against Texas’s new Bible-infused school curriculum, previews the October 21–23 Shurden Lectures on sanctuary and migrant justice, and covers an upcoming Supreme Court case on religious freedom in prisons. Readers will also meet Rabbi David Segal, BJC’s new Policy Counsel, and find the latest Report from the Capital addressing how threats to religious freedom are becoming reality. Read the full issue for details and ways to engage.

This 4-part video course from ELCA World Hunger introduces the role of a “Hunger Leader”—a person who builds bridges between need and abundance in our communities. Open to everyone, this module offers inspiration and practical steps to step deeper into anti-poverty ministry rooted in Jesus’ call to love and serve. Click here to take the course.

In moments of political violence or misinformation, faith leaders play a vital role in calming tensions and promoting safety. This guide from the Safe Communities Coalition (of which GCS is a member) offers best practices for communication that de-escalates harm, respects victims, and strengthens democratic norms. Click here to read the full guide.

Faith leaders across Arizona are invited to sign a public letter denouncing political violence and affirming peaceful civic engagement. The Arizona Faith Network will publish signatures alongside the statement on the International Day of Peace, Sept. 21. All clergy and faith leaders are encouraged to sign. Click here to read and sign the statement.