Prompts for Prayers of Intercession: 12/18/2022

For all experiencing storms and extreme weather conditions…
For peace among the nations of the world…
For those in the retail and service industries this season…
For our Jewish siblings celebrating Hanukkah…
For the homecoming of Brittney Griner, and for health and justice for all prisoners and prisoners of war…
For victims of gun violence, especially in Mississippi, as well as families marking the 10 year anniversary of Sandy Hook…
For those in North Carolina still facing outages following a power grid attack…
For those enduring the longest night of the year in grief and loss…
For cleanup and mitigation efforts following landslides in California…
For the LGBTQ+ community in Russia and for all oppressed by new legislation…

ELCA, PrayersBrian FlatgardDecember 14, 2022ELCA Worship, For What Shall We PrayComment

Lutherans Restoring Creation: Good Green News, December 2022

Lutherans Restoring Creation shares their Good Green News for December 2022, featuring their Actions Speak Loudly program, a call for Board of Directors nominations, and upcoming Connection Calls.

ELCA, NewsBrian FlatgardDecember 14, 2022Climate Change, Lutherans Restoring Creation, Good Green NewsComment

Café: December, 2022

The December, 2022 version of the Women of the ELCA’s monthly newsletter Café is available, featuring Advent reflections on being overwhelmed, as well as the importance of sharing conversations during Advent. View all posts at boldcafe.org.

ELCA, Grand Canyon Synod, NewsBrian FlatgardDecember 14, 2022Women of the ELCA (WELCA), Café, 2022 Advent and ChristmasComment

I’m a Lutheran: Norma Frances “Tootsie” Tomanetz

Living Lutheran shares an interview with Norma Frances "Tootsie" Tomanetz, an associate member at Grace Lutheran Church, in Giddings, Texas, as well as the 87-year-old pitmaster at Snow’s BBQ in Lexington, Texas. Tomanetz’s episode of Chef’s Table: BBQ is available on Netflix.

ELCA, NewsBrian FlatgardDecember 13, 2022Living LutheranComment

ELCA Advocacy Connections: November/December 2022

We share ELCA Advocacy Connections for November/December 2022, from the ELCA advocacy office in Washington, D.C. – the Rev. Amy E. Reumann, Senior Director. Highlights include: Homelessness And Affordable Housing Awareness; Global Food Security Action; Status Of Title 42; World Aids Day Demands Attention; and Respect For Marriage Act.

ELCA, NewsBrian FlatgardDecember 13, 2022Advocacy, ELCA Advocacy, Homelessness, Hunger, Immigration and Refugees, LGBTQIA+Comment

ELCA introduces Journi

The ELCA is pleased to introduce Journi, a web-based tool designed to help people discern their call to leadership in the ELCA. Explore the site at Journi.faith.

"Journi encourages all of us to seek out and inspire gifted people in our congregations and communities to consider a call to ministry of the gospel," said the Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, ELCA presiding bishop.

ELCA, News, ResourcesBrian FlatgardDecember 13, 2022Journi, CandidacyComment

Information for all congregations, SAWCs, and new starts about annual congregation report

Each year the ELCA asks congregations to provide information about their people and activities. Though each congregation is much more than these numbers, the information contributes to a greater knowledge of overall trends in the ELCA.

Your congregation may wish to begin compiling information for the annual congregation report before you receive the packet through the mail. You can access electronic versions of the forms and instructions here.

ELCA, NewsBrian FlatgardDecember 13, 2022Comment

ELCA Global Mission: December, 2022 Global Links

ELCA Global Mission shares their December, 2022 Global Links, featuring: an Advent reflection from Daudi Msseemmaa, regional representative to East Africa; news around the world; mission personnel; new global mission directory available; and how to get involved.

ELCA, News, Global ChurchBrian FlatgardDecember 13, 2022Global Mission, 2022 Advent and ChristmasComment

Faith Lens: With honor and gentleness

Just before midnight on November 19, 2022, a gunman entered Club Q, an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and opened fire. Five people died and at least 18 were injured. .

As a queer person who began coming out just before the 2016 mass shooting at Pulse, an LGBTQ nightclub in Florida, I am inspired by the bravery of the people at Club Q who confronted the gunman and almost certainly saved lives in the process.

Worship Resources, ELCA, ResourcesBrian FlatgardDecember 13, 2022Youth and Young Adult, Faith LensComment

A therapeutic camp for Ukrainian children in Slovakia

Lutheran Disaster Response shares this story of a children’s therapeutic camp for children from Ukraine who lost one or both of their parents in the war.

ELCA, NewsBrian FlatgardDecember 13, 2022Lutheran Disaster Response, Russia and Ukraine WarComment

Current sign-on letters from ELCA Advocacy

One timely way we can act as ELCA is to sign on with others to offer pointed comments to decision makers when developments demand. ELCA Advocacy shares this updates list of sign-on letters.

Letters, News, Resources, ELCABrian FlatgardDecember 13, 2022Advocacy, ELCA AdvocacyComment

Adult Lutherans Organized for Action (ALOA) seeks Executive Director

ALOA seeks a high-energy, experienced individual with a passion for older adult ministry to serve as its new Executive Director. View more info in this PDF.

ELCA, Grand Canyon Synod, NewsBrian FlatgardDecember 12, 2022Adult Lutherans Organized for Action (ALOA), helpComment

New grant opportunities from ELCA Disability Ministries

ELCA Disability Ministries begins 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.

ELCA, NewsBrian FlatgardDecember 12, 2022Grants, Disability Ministries, ELCA Disability MinistriesComment

Hunger Advocacy Fellows loaded with skills and opportunities

In the 2022-23 cycle, three leaders are placed through funding of ELCA World Hunger in California, Ohio and Washington, D.C. where they’ve expressed eagerness to connect, learn and grow as they help work for a world where all are fed.

ELCA, NewsBrian FlatgardDecember 12, 2022Hunger, ELCA World Hunger, Advocacy, ELCA AdvocacyComment

Disaster Response and Human Rights

On December 10, 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), written to address the atrocities committed during World War II.

Every year, International Human Rights Day is observed on December 10. To celebrate, we are reflecting on a few of the articles in the UDHR in the context of disaster response and recovery.

ELCA, NewsBrian FlatgardDecember 12, 2022Lutheran Disaster ResponseComment

ELCA Receives Lilly Grant to Support Compelling Preaching Initiative

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has received a $1 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help establish the ELCA Compelling Preaching: Transformed Listeners Initiative.

The goal of the initiative is to cultivate persuasive preaching by inviting ELCA ministry leaders to review research findings about current preaching settings; propose innovative ways to apply those learnings in their individual ministry contexts; participate in funded cohort learning initiatives; and produce successful preaching foundations for all lay leaders and rostered ministers seeking to transform lives through the gospel.

ELCA, NewsBrian FlatgardDecember 12, 2022Lilly EndowmentComment

The Christmas Story, read by Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton

Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton reads the Christmas story from Luke 2:1-20. Merry Christmas and a blessed Advent! This is a season of preparation. As we prepare for family gatherings, homecooked meals, and Christ’s birth, let us take a moment to relax, breathe, and receive the Christmas story. Merry Christmas, dear church!

Bishop Eaton, ELCA, Worship ResourcesBrian FlatgardDecember 12, 20222022 Advent and ChristmasComment

Prompts for Prayers of Intercession: 12/11/2022

For rail workers and all struggling to make a just wage…
For those who are alone or grieving during this season…
For people, plants, and animals in the path of Mauna Loa and Mount Semeru’s eruptions…
For the celebration of the feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe…
For political turmoil and transition, especially in Peru…
For those without homes who face harsh climates and harsh local governments…
For those who are overworked and for those who are underemployed…
For an end to human trafficking and modern slavery…

ELCA, PrayersBrian FlatgardDecember 7, 2022ELCA Worship, For What Shall We PrayComment

Give a goat: a powerful four-legged solution to poverty

You may have heard of Lutheran World Relief’s Gifts of Love catalog and what awesome Christmas gifts you can find there. But did you know the gift of a goat can start the wheels of change in a BIG way? Not just for families in need but for entire communities. Transform the future, and give a goat!

ELCA, NewsBrian FlatgardDecember 7, 2022Hunger, 2022 Advent and Christmas, Lutheran World ReliefComment

ELCA World Hunger: Go & Do News, December 2022

The December, 2022 edition of Go and Do News, a newsletter from ELCA World Hunger, is available. This edition features Advent resources, a Lifelines article, updates from the Horn of Africa, resources, the Sea-Eye rescue ship, webinar info, advocacy focus, and many more featured resources.

ELCA, News, ResourcesBrian FlatgardDecember 7, 2022Hunger, ELCA World HungerComment

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