Posts in ELCA
Prompts for Prayers of Intercession: 1/22/2023
Prompts for Prayers of Intercession: 1/22/2023

  • For the safety of women and children kidnapped in Burkina Faso…

  • For those killed by gang violence in Goshen, California and all whose lives are affected by gangs…

  • For people of Asian descent who continue to face anti-Asian hate crimes…

  • For the families of those killed in a plane crash in Nepal …

  • For flooding in California, Western Australia, and all places with too much water …

  • For transgender people who fight for their right to live around the world and especially in Scotland …

  • For chicken farmers battling avian flu in their flocks …

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ELCA, PrayersBrian FlatgardELCA Worship, For What Shall We PrayComment
Repairing homes and spirits
Repairing homes and spirits

From helping those in need to team-building to deepening people’s faith to improving a congregation’s self-esteem, Resurrection’s disaster-relief ministry is a robust and holistic one. For this Cincinnati congregation, disaster relief is a passion. The 400-member congregation has made 19 trips to help rebuild homes after disasters, including several visits to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

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ELCA, NewsBrian FlatgardLiving Lutheran, Lutheran Disaster ResponseComment
ELCA Hunger Advocacy Fellows Devotional: Breathing Out Justice
ELCA Hunger Advocacy Fellows Devotional: Breathing Out Justice

A specific song came to mind when I began reflecting on Micah 6:8. I often find that when I’m searching for the words to express my thoughts and feelings about something, music is my source of guidance.

These words from the opening of the song Spark by The City Harmonic join breath and justice: When I breathe in hope, And breathe in grace, And breathe in God, Then I’ll breathe out peace, Breathe out justice, Breathe out love, Oh, this little light’s gonna shine With just a spark light a fire…

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ELCA, Worship ResourcesBrian FlatgardAdvocacy, ELCA AdvocacyComment
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity begins January 18, 2023
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity begins January 18, 2023

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity begins today, bridging the feasts of St. Peter and St. Paul. This year, the resources jointly published by the Commission on Faith and Order of World Council of Churches and the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, have been prepared by the Minnesota Council of Churches. Rev. Dr. Kelly Sherman Conroy, the ELCA’s first Indigenous (Lakota) woman PhD, and Rev. Antonio Machado, were involved in the process.

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ELCA, NewsBrian FlatgardEcumenical and Inter-Religious Relations, 2023 Week of Prayer for Christian UnityComment
Prayers for the Fulfillment of King’s Dream by Rev. Dr. Andrea L. Walker
Prayers for the Fulfillment of King’s Dream by Rev. Dr. Andrea L. Walker

I was 4 years old when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. I was too young to understand the import of his words while he lived. Yet I remember the importance of those words, his struggles and his assassination to the Black community as I grew up in Chester, Penn. The community felt he was one of theirs. Not only was he a marvelous young African American preacher and civil rights leader, but he was also educated at Crozer Theological Seminary, just up the road in Upland, Penn.

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ELCA, LettersBrian FlatgardRacial Justice Ministries, ELCA Racial Justice Ministries, Racial JusticeComment
Faith Lens: The Moment Your Life Changes
Faith Lens: The Moment Your Life Changes

Nelly Chiboi grew up in Mogotio, Kenya in an impoverished village. “I know the pain of poverty,” says Cheboi, now 29.  “I never forgot what it was like with my stomach churning because of hunger at night.” Her mom ensured that despite their poverty Nelly received an education. Nelly worked hard in school and received a full scholarship to attend college. She graduated from the ELCA’s Augustana College in 2012.

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Worship Resources, ELCA, ResourcesBrian FlatgardYouth and Young Adult, Faith LensComment
Season 2 of Talks at the Desk continues February, 2023
Season 2 of Talks at the Desk continues February, 2023

African Descent Ministries of the ELCA celebrates Black History Month with “Talks at the Desk,” a four-part video series that will explore diverse expressions of the church. Watch the trailer here or in this post.

A new video will premiere each Wednesday in February at 6:30pm MST, 5:30 PST. Watch them live on Facebook, stream them on YouTube or download them at https://ELCA.org/ADM.

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ELCA, NewsBrian Flatgard2023 Black History Month, African Descent Ministries, Racial JusticeComment
40 Days of Giving Lent Resources available
40 Days of Giving Lent Resources available

The 40 days of Lent are a season to reflect and remember, to look forward and ahead. We invite you to continue your work by connecting your congregation to the church’s global work to end hunger and poverty during ELCA World Hunger’s 40 Days of Giving, which begins on Ash Wednesday, February 22.

To prepare, visit ELCA.org/40Days and download or order resources from ELCA World Hunger today.

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ELCA, Resources, Worship ResourcesBrian FlatgardHunger, ELCA World Hunger, 2023 LentComment
Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church nominations are open Jan. 9 – March 9, 2023
Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church nominations are open Jan. 9 – March 9, 2023

Read more about the Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church at ELCA.org. The nomination process is open until March 9, 2023. More information about the commitment and expectation of serving on the CRLC can be found here. Interested individuals who wish to be nominated or to nominate another person should complete and submit the nomination form.

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ELCA, NewsBrian FlatgardCommission for a Renewed Lutheran ChurchComment
YAGM priority deadline is 1/15/2023
YAGM priority deadline is 1/15/2023

The priority deadline to apply for Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) is Jan. 15, 2023. The final application deadline is Feb. 1, 2023.

Now even more communities are ready to welcome you. The YAGM team recently announced that the Mexico and Central Europe country programs will be reopening in 2023. Volunteers will have the opportunity to serve there and in four other country programs. Learn more at ELCA.org/YAGM.

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ELCA, NewsBrian FlatgardYouth and Young Adult, Global Mission, Young Adults in Global MissionComment
Prompts for Prayers of Intercession: 1/15/2023
Prompts for Prayers of Intercession: 1/15/2023

  • For the continued healing of Damar Hamilin and all athletes who suffer injuries to body and spirit…

  • For parts of California and the West Coast affected by massive amounts of rainfall this week…

  • For Abby Zwerner and all victims of school shootings…

  • For victims of the Tonga tsunami and the efforts to rebuild …

  • For those continuing to die from Covid-19, especially in China as transmission increases …

  • For the people of Brazil and their president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as they struggle for continued democracy …

  • For the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and all who continue the work for civil rights …

  • For those injured and grieving following a bus crash in Senegal…

  • For those injured in a Paris train station attack…

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ELCA, PrayersBrian FlatgardELCA Worship, For What Shall We PrayComment
Faith Lens: Come and See
Faith Lens: Come and See

During the first quarter of the Monday Night Football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills safety, Damar Hamlin, collapsed on the field after making a tackle. Medical personnel quickly rushed on field to administer CPR. Both Hamlin’s teammates and opponents were visibly upset as they looked on: some with tears in their eyes, others kneeling to pray.

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Worship Resources, ELCA, ResourcesBrian FlatgardYouth and Young Adult, Faith LensComment
ELCA Coaching: Courageous Leadership – Story Telling Engagement
ELCA Coaching: Courageous Leadership – Story Telling Engagement

Join us Wednesday, January 11, 2022, when we will hear from three avid story engagers: Karen Kretschmann, ELCA National Coordinator for Mission Interpretation & Former Delaware-Maryland Synod Director for Evangelical Mission; Nick Kiger, ELCA Director for Mission Support; and Victoria Flood, ELCA Senior Director for Misson Support.

Join ELCA Coaching every Wednesday at noon MST, 11am PST, as we practice Courageous Leadership. Log in info is on the ELCA Coaching website.

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ELCA, NewsBrian FlatgardCoaching, ELCA CoachingComment
Prompts for Prayers of Intercession: 1/8/2023
Prompts for Prayers of Intercession: 1/8/2023

  • For all experiencing winter storms and significant weather events…

  • For the Colorado river as it faces continued drought and all places facing a shortage of water…

  • For all places in our nation and across the world without access to safe water…

  • For the eternal rest of Pope Emeritus Benedict and for all who mourn his death…

  • For those hurt and killed around the world in violent acts on New Year’s Eve…

  • For those grieving tragic injuries and deaths across our nation and world…

  • For those recovering from earthquakes in Northern California…

  • For the rebuilding of relationships and open borders between Colombia and Venezuela…

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ELCA, PrayersBrian FlatgardELCA Worship, For What Shall We PrayComment