Posts in Bishop Hutterer
Congregation Statements of Intent due 2/15/2023

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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2023 Lutheran Day at the Legislature Recap

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.

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Thank you for being Church Together through mission support

12/1/2022 update: We learned there was a problem with form functionality, and now provide new statements of intent from Churchwide for your use. (view as PDF in English or Spanish)

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.

Read More
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2023

Join Bishop Hutterer along with other Arizona judicatory heads for the statewide celebration of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (WPCU) 2023. This Prayer Service will be held Friday, January 20, 2023 to celebrate the Annual WPCU, and we are delighted to welcome everyone back to our first in-person gathering in 3 years.

Arizona’s statewide gathering for the celebration will take place at 6:00 p.m. Friday, January 20, 2023, at Phillips Memorial Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, 1401 E. Adams St., Phoenix, AZ 85034.

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2023 Spring Gatherings: From Worry to Wonder

Worried about your congregation today? Wondering what the future holds? You are not alone.

People throughout the church are experiencing doubts, fears, and uneasiness about the future. Bishop Hutterer would like to talk with you about the worries and wonders you are experiencing. If you are invested in our Church’s future, join the conversation at one of our upcoming 2023 spring gatherings.

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Bishop Hutterer: Thank you for the many blessings of 2022!

Before you review our year-end newsletter, I want to express my deep gratitude for all you have done through your actions and ministries to make our synod and our world a better place. As you scroll through each month’s highlights, I hope you’ll vividly see all the ways we are Church Together.

I also want to thank all of you for your generous giving and support to our synod through your benevolence dollars, half of which goes to our ELCA Churchwide organization. In your name, the three expressions of the ELCA acts around the world, as well as in your local ministries. Your generosity has allowed us to continue the important work of communicating Jesus, connecting people, and creating possibilities.

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Christmas Season Greetings from the Office of the Bishop

In this Christmas season, we extend our warmest wishes and blessings to you and your loved ones. May this special season be filled with joy, love, and peace as we celebrate the birth of Jesus.

We are grateful for the gift of your presence in our synod, and for the ways in which you accompany us in our shared ministries. May the love and grace of Christ continue to guide and inspire you in the year ahead.

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Bishop Hutterer: The liminal season

We are in the midst of Advent, our season of waiting. In our church calendar of birth, death, and resurrection, we are entering a new year. We are waiting for prophecies to be fulfilled in the form of a lowly birth. In our secular calendar, our norms are interrupted by the holidays, friends, families, and year-end projects. We are waiting for the New Year, hoping for better. And we are a people who do not like waiting.

There is a concept that describes these in-between times and places, called a liminal space.

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