With all eyes on turkeys this week, let’s not forget about chicken women. Check out this new video from ELCA World Hunger about Manna From Heaven, a ministry meeting the needs of its neighbors in Kentucky with support from ELCA World Hunger.
Read MoreIn his book, Silence the Power of Quiet in a World Full of Noise, Thich Nhat Hanh talks about two kinds of knots. The first knot is our notions, ideas, concepts, and knowledge. These things are not bad, but when we get stuck on them we miss out on the truth of life.
The second knot is our afflictions, fears, anger, discrimination, despair, and arrogance. Thich Nhat Hanh believes that until these knots are undone we remain bound up and not truly free.
Read MoreThe housing allowance is an important tax advantage for clergy. However, your congregation must officially designate the amount in writing each year, before compensation is earned, that might be used for housing expenses. As you look ahead to 2022, be sure to take action to document this amount. Learn more on the Portico site when you sign in with your EmployerLink.
Read MoreThis study guide for the social statement Faith, Sexism, and Justice: A Call to Action has six sessions that guide participants to engage the social statement and discern ways to take action.
In this post we share Bishop Eaton’s invitation to participate. View the study guide here.
Read MoreAdvent Pilgrimage in Palestine: a four-week virtual pilgrimage from the ELCA’s Peace Not Walls and Young Adult Ministry teams featuring young adult voices from the ELCA and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land.
Read MoreThe Rev. Bertha Godfrey Munkhondya recently became the first woman ordained to the ministry of Word and Sacrament in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malawi (ELCM). She studied theology at the Tumaini University Makumira in Arusha, Tanzania, with the help of an ELCA International Leaders Program scholarship. Read more about the Rev. Munkhondya here.
On Oct. 16, the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland (ECACP) voted to allow women to be ordained as pastors. Presiding Bishop Jerzy Samiec of the ECACP said: “I believe it’s a good decision and we will see good fruits come of it. It has been a long process for the church, and now we will find a way of walking together into the future.” Read more about the landmark decision here.
Read MoreFor all affected by flooding in the Pacific Northwest…
For all who are lonely or grieving a first holiday without a loved one…
For those in power, whose decisions effect the well-being of others…
For all who are experiencing anxiety and worry…
For all who struggle with strained family relationships
For lament over injustices perpetuated against American Indian and and Alaska Native peoples…
Wondering how you can make a positive impact in the world right now? With ELCA Good Gifts, you can choose from more than 50 charitable gifts to give in honor of friends and loved ones.
Start your holiday shopping now and order free, customized cards for each gift you give. Print-at-home and online cards are also available instantly at any time. Shop now…
Read MoreELCA World Hunger Education and Networking Grants fund projects that educate participants about hunger — and how to end it. The application for 2021 Education and Networking Grants is open until Dec. 1, 2021. Visit the ELCA World Hunger blog to learn more.
Read MoreA.J. Striffler, a Navy chaplain, served onboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower last year. Because the ship avoided port to prevent spread of COVID-19, it set a record for the longest consecutive time at sea for any naval vessel. Read his letter in this post.
Read MoreAdvent is just around the corner! Have you ordered ELCA World Hunger’s resources for your congregation yet? View online versions of the resources or order them on their website: ELCA.org/HungerAdvent.
Read MoreELCA Advocacy shares their November, 2021 updates. The first is from the ELCA Advocacy office in Washington, D.C., and the second is the UN and state edition, updates shared from submissions of the Lutheran Office for World Community and state public policy offices (sppos) in the ELCA Advocacy Network this month.
Read MoreLutherans Restoring Creation share their Good Green Newsletter for October, 2021.
Their upcoming Connections Call is Tuesday, 11/23/2021 at 6pm MST, 5pm PST. The topic is Gratitude. Come to the “table” with what and who you are grateful for as we ready ourselves for the work ahead. Zoom link to use on 11/23.
Read MoreIn her November column for Living Lutheran, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton reminds us that God has given all of us a mission to invite more people into the way of Jesus. Read her column in English at https://bit.ly/3DrbK6p and in Spanish at https://bit.ly/3os6PeU .
Read MoreOn Halloween night in the UK, three children stopped to trick or treat at the house of Brenda Burdon, 86. Brenda apologized because she did not have any treats ready to give out. The youth replied, “It’s OK, because sometimes making people happy and getting a nice big smile is reward enough.”
They returned the next day with muffins and chocolates, a card which they had decorated with pumpkins and doodles. Brenda Burdon’s grandson later said, “She was just lost in happiness that total strangers could leave such a wonderful impression” and that it was the best Halloween of her life.
Read MoreSince February 2020, the Church has been enduring unprecedented seismic shifts. In response, a new Hybrid version of the grassroots Ignite the Church Conference will gather February 8-10, 2022—in-person in sunny Orlando AND Online—to reflect on the theme: SEISMIC SHIFTS: Where Do We Go From Here?
To register and learn more about the presenters, workshop options, and other details go to IgniteTheChurch.net. Register by November 30, 2021, to access the lowest $99 In-Person rate. Online option is free.
Read MoreIt’s a sunny day in the Wind River Range of Wyoming. A group of Indigenous people and I form a circle to burn tobacco and offer a prayer of thanks to the Creator for the plants we’re gathering today. Once we pray and provide an offering to Mother Earth, we scatter across the wide-open space to dig up roots and collect berries.
For five years I’ve been listening, learning, collecting plants and building relationships with the Restoring Shoshone Ancestral Food Gathering (RSAFG) group from the Wind River Indian Reservation.
Read MoreOver 13 years ago a group of staff at the ELCA churchwide organization got together with an idea. They wanted to offer church leaders a tool that would provide support in facilitating the management and administration of their congregations and ministries. So, Administration Matters was born. Read the November 2021 issue in this post.
Read MoreWhen Kevin T. Jones of Mason City, Iowa, was elected bishop of the Northeastern Iowa Synod on June 12, the thought that everything had just changed hit him with a thud as the results of the fifth ballot were announced.
“It was a relief to know that my sound was muted and my camera off at that moment,” said Jones. “It was stunning and humbling and overwhelming, and my brain didn’t turn off for more than two months. It still is all that, but my brain takes the occasional break now and again.”
Read MoreWorking alongside the United Nations' "16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence" campaign, the four member churches of Churches Beyond Borders have compiled a 16-day devotional focusing on the campaign's theme opposing intersectional violence against women. View/download the devotional in PDF format here.
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