Join us as Bishop Eaton discusses her family’s nativity scene traditions and offers a prayer for your family’s nativity scenes.
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“Attending the most recent annual UN climate change conference in Glasgow, COP26, was great for the ELCA living out its public witness and social teachings. Our ELCA delegation was diverse and included frontline people – folks most impacted by climate change,” said Ruth Ivory-Moore, ELCA program director for environment and Corporate Social Responsibility. Hear also from Lutheran leaders who give us a sense of what it meant to be there.
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In July of 2021, the American Indian/Alaska Native Lutheran Association (AIANLA) asked the whole ELCA to remember and lament the children who died in Indian boarding schools in the United States and residential schools in Canada.
As the church observes the Feast of the Holy Innocents*, the Saint Paul Area Synod, the Minneapolis Area Synod, and the Advocates for Racial Equity offer this service of prayer and lament (on Vimeo) for use by individuals and congregations.
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Saturday, December 18, was International Migrants Day, a day set aside by the United Nations to raise awareness and focus attention on the 281 million people around the world where are on the move, in search of peace, stability, security and an opportunity for new life. In 2020, more than 3.6% of people around the world were migrants.
In this podcast, Giovana Oaxaca, the ELCA’s program director for migration policy, joins Ryan Cumming of ELCA World Hunger to talk about the realities of migration and immigration policy.
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We share December’s Advocacy Connections from the ELCA advocacy office in Washington, D.C., which includes: Human Infrastructure, Housing In Federal Budget, Climate Risks, Cuba Policy, and Immigration Policy Provisions.
We also share the December Update: UN and State Edition, and fully excerpt the Arizona update from LAMA in our post.
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We are nearing the end of Advent and the start of that special holiday, Christmas. In the United States, stores have been filled with seasonal music for six months now (it feels that way, at least), garlands and lights are draped over homes and lampposts, and pine trees are adorned with baubles of all shapes and sizes. In many countries, Christmas markets have taken over city squares. As the old carol says, “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.”
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For relief and recovery efforts after tornadoes and storms, and for all left scared and grieving…
For the work of emergency responders and relief agencies, including Lutheran Disaster Response…
For the peace of Jerusalem, and throughout the Middle East…
For all who are facing a first Christmas without someone they love…
For all celebrating the holidays with a new perspective, new job, new home, or new family…
For musicians, volunteers, and lay leaders who enable and enhance our celebration of the incarnation…
Chances are you are looking at these words on a screen or that you looked at them on a screen prior to printing them out. According to a study released by the JAMA Pediatrics in November 2021, screen time for teenagers has increased during the pandemic from 3.8 hours per day to 7.7 hours per day. The 7.7 hours per day is for recreation (gaming and videos) and social interaction (social media and texting). That does not include online schooling, which can represent another 5-7 hours per day.
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Islamophobia and anti-Muslim discrimination is not a joke; it is dangerous and it can be deadly. Fueling fear and spreading hate and misinformation about Islam and Muslims can and must be condemned by our nation’s leadership as a bipartisan effort. Disagreeing politically does not give us license to dehumanize one another
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After a two-year pause, the ELCA’s Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) program is preparing to send volunteers out into the world again! Applications are now open, and you can invite young adults on this journey abroad for the 2022-2023 program year.
Encourage them to apply for YAGM by the deadline of Feb.1, 2022. (Priority deadline is Jan. 15, 2022.) Learn more at ELCA.org/YAGM.
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Since the beginning of November, refugees from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria have been stuck at the Belarus-Poland border. They are experiencing a lack of food, medical supplies and shelter and are facing winter weather with no place to go.
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Bring your grief, fear and loss to WELCA’s second annual Blue Christmas service via Zoom, Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021 at 6pm MST, 5pm PST.
As a community of women, we have committed ourselves to promote healing and wholeness in the church, the society and the world. We will gather for prayer, reflection, and quiet music on the longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere—the Winter Solstice—December 21. Register now to participate in the Blue Christmas Service.
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Women of the ELCA is offering scholarshipsfor Lutheran laywomen and ordained ministry. Scholarship applications are due before 4/5/2022. Learn more about Women of the ELCA Scholarships.
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We are very excited to see you next July for the 2022 Multicultural Youth Leadership Event (MYLE) and happy that we get to lead the brand new MYLE team called Cultural Awareness.
We have heard stories about microaggressions and other harms that have happened at past MYLEs. These stories break our hearts, and we are working hard to help people do better and for everyone to have a better experience at MYLE, in their faith communities and in the world.
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Lutheran Disaster Response is collaborating with the Indiana-Kentucky Synod and other partners in the area to assess the damage and develop an immediate and a long-term response plan. Your gifts to support these response efforts will empower our partners to meet survivors’ immediate and long-term needs.
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For all who lack warm shelter or adequate clothing…
For all impacted by inclement weather and severe winter storms…
For all experiencing loneliness or exacerbated grief this holiday season…
For the moments of joy and hope that illumine the shadows of our soul…
For victims of gun violence…
For rescue and recovery efforts following the eruption of Mount Semeru in Indonesia…
Right off the bat we see why Hallmark has a robust industry in Christmas cards and not Advent cards. “Happy Advent, You Brood of Vipers” might not sell too well as a holiday card, but these words are certainly a wake-up call for the audience of John the Baptizer.
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After a two-year pause during the COVID-19 pandemic, ELCA’s Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) program is getting ready to send volunteers out into the world again!
Young adults aged 21 to 29 can apply now for an international service year that will shape their faith, career, identity and understanding of how they fit into God’s work in the world. Watch the video in this post and then more and apply at ELCA.org/YAGM.
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You are invited to join ELCA Coaching at 1pm Central on Wednesday, December 15, as we host faith leaders (both rostered and lay) across the nation for a unique experience exploring Courageous Leadership with two faith leaders with over 60 years between them! We are honored to have Rev. Arne Jessen and Baird Linke as ELCA Coaches as well. Log-in info here.
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The ELCA has posted guidance for congregations who received ballots or who are otherwise entitled to vote on the Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy plan. Please note that this is not legal advice and that, due to the nature of our polity, the ELCA cannot dictate what congregations do.
Click here for the Summary of Select Information about the Boy Scouts of America Bankruptcy Case, updated December 6, 2021. You can find this and more sexual misconduct resources on the ELCA legal resource page.
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