Please mark your calendars for next year’s Bishop’s Fall Gathering, which will be held October 23-25, 2023. We will return again to the Franciscan Renewal Center in Scottsdale. We are looking forward to seeing you there. Visit our 2022 Bishop’s Fall Gathering page for a recap of this year.
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We pray for Rev. Jill Doherty, Rev. Joseph Doherty, Rev. Katie Langston and the people of New Promise Lutheran Church in St. George, part of the Colorado River Conference. Visit their site at newpromiseelca.org/, and their social media pages on Facebook and YouTube.
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We hope you will be able to attend the Eighteenth Annual Grand Canyon Synod Retirees Retreat to be held on October 31 - November 2, 2022 at Spirit in the Desert Retreat and Conference Center in Carefree, Arizona.
Please view and download this flyer for all the important details and registration information.
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Rev. Ron Rude and the Office of the Bishop presents a free Zoom presentation based on his book, Amending the Christian Story: The Natural Sciences as a Window into Grounded Faith and Sustainable Living." Click here to register for this event on Tuesday, 11/8/2022 8, 2022 at 6pm MST, 5pm PST.
After several years of research and writing and teaching, with worldview-altering insights into Nature's natural sciences and life's experience, "Amending the Christian Story" reframes and recasts God's story of life and God's story of Jesus.
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Pastor David Lose presents “Why don't my children and grandchildren go to church? (And what can I do about it),” a free event at All Saints Lutheran Church (15649 North 7th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85022), on Wednesday, 11/2/2022, at 10am MST/PDT, 11am MDT. This event will also be live-streamed on the All Saints Facebook page. Coffee and treats available prior to the event.
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Join Bread for the World’s Rev. Eugene Cho, Lutheran advocates and friends at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (739 W. Erie St., Chandler, AZ 85225) for the third annual Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (LAMA) Summit on Saturday, November 5, 2022 from 9:00 am - 12:00 pm to learn and to share, as we voice our common needs in the public square, activating our faith in love. Click here to register.
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We continue our series of weekly reflections on the 2022 Churchwide Assembly with thoughts from Pastor Matthew Metevelis of Living Hope Lutheran in Las Vegas.
“The ELCA stands right now between a storied past and an uncertain future. Voting members at the ELCA’s 2022 Churchwide Assembly gathered at a crossroads. We worshipped in the very room where our predecessor bodies merged in 1987.”
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The Spirited Book Club discusses New York Times bestselling author Anne Lamott’s Almost Everything: Notes on Hope. The online club is FREE, register here for the Thursday, 11/3/2022 event from 2-3pm MST/PDT, 3-4pm MDT.
From Anne Lamott, the New York Times-bestselling author of Dusk, Night, Dawn and Help, Thanks, Wow, comes the book we need from her now: How to bring hope back into our lives.
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Opportunity to join Desert Cross Lutheran Church Staff in Tempe, Arizona, as our Church Office Administrator. If interested, please send your resume to councilpresident@desertcross.org. View job description as Word document or PDF.
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The Office of the Bishop staff travels for meetings and worship, and facilitates upcoming grants. We also share photos from the Bishop’s Fall Gathering at the Franciscan Renewal Center.
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Rev. David Swan, who celebrates 49 years on October 21.
Rev. Mitchell Eickmann, Pan de Vida, El Mirage, who celebrates 38 years on October 22.
Rev. Amalia Vagts, Our Saviour’s, Tucson, who celebrates 1 years on October 23.
Rev. Sarah Stadler, Grace, Phoenix, who celebrates 16 years on October 25.
Rev. John Lillie, who celebrates 42 years on October 26.
Rev. Daniel Valasakos, Mount Zion, Tucson, who celebrates 26 years on October 26.
We pray for Rev. John Biggs and the people of Saved By Grace Lutheran Church in Pahrump, part of the Colorado River Conference. Visit their site at savedbygraceelca.com and their Facebook page.
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We pray for Rev. Brian Cain and the people of Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church in Gilbert, part of the Rio Salado Conference. Visit their site at spiritofjoygilbert.org, and their social media pages on Facebook and YouTube.
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We continue our series of weekly reflections on the 2022 Churchwide Assembly with thoughts from Synod Vice President Barbara Carl.
“At Churchwide Assembly, I gained a deeper appreciation that we of this church, the ELCA, are deeply connected. We are truly church together.”
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We share the video and resources from our Creating Communications Connections webinar on Tuesday, 10/11/2022. Brian Flatgard, Director of Communications, presented an overview of communications basics and strategy. Watch the webinar here with the passcode: 0mCcG5?g
View ELCA congregational communication tools and branding, view our synod’s communication guidelines, and this great principles of design article.
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The Ordination and Installation of Verónica Alvarez as Associate Pastor of Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church/ Iglesia Evangélica Luterana La Fe (801 E. Camelback Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85014) will take place on Reformation Sunday, October 30, 2022 at 4pm with a reception following. Bishop Deborah Hutterer will preach and preside.
Alvarez is the first Grand Canyon Synod Diakonia graduate to be ordained. She graduated in May, 2022 from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary.
Rostered ministers are invited to vest and be part of a procession. The color of the day will be red. Rostered ministers can send RSVPs to worship@faithalive.com for further instruction around arrival time and where to meet.
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Thanks to a gift from Ascension Lutheran Church in Paradise Valley honoring the legacy of member Orpha Hoganson, Manna Grants were awarded for new and continuing projects that work to alleviate hunger and address the root causes of hunger within the Grand Canyon Synod. A full list of recipients is in this post.
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The Northeast Valley Consortium is hosting "Hope in a Troubled World," an interfaith prayer gathering, on Wednesday, 10/26/2022 at noon MST/PDT, 1pm MDT. Email HopeInOurWorldNow@gmail.com to register and receive the Zoom link.
Agnieszka Godfrejow-Tarnogorska, Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland, shares powerful stories from the war in Ukraine.
Ryan Cummings, Program Director, ELCA World Hunger, shares inspiring stories about our hunger crisis.
Rabbi Sara Mason-Barker, Executive Education, Congregation Beth Israel, shares hopeful stories of faith amidst troubled times.
Ron Bonnstetter shares Native American flute music.