Bishop Eaton spoke ahead of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day about the importance of recognizing and addressing systemic inequalities before healing and unity can begin.
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Similar to how God brought Jonah to Nineveh, I felt dragged to the 2015 ELCA Youth Gathering in Detroit. I loved church, but doubted whether the ELCA was right for me. I was one of the only young Lutherans regularly active in my congregation and community. Older members dominated the conversation. Could I be a leader in this church?
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Last Wednesday afternoon, after a day of virtually meeting and planning with Metro Chicago Synod (MCS) pastoral staff, I closed the Zoom window on my computer.
After a few moments, I glanced at my phone. Friends, family, and colleagues, many of whom are of African descent, had reached out to me, shocked. Many texted me similar words. “They would have shot us,” they said, again and again.
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In the days since the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the words of the 61st chapter of Isaiah have accompanied me as a prayer and as a promise. It is one of the texts I turned to as I fearfully watched the violent mob of President Trump’s supporters, bent on overturning the election results, breach the doors on January 6 and overrun the seat of American democracy.
I prayed the words as the fuller horror emerged, including the tragic death of a Capitol Police officer and of rioters, details about the imminent danger to people I care about and destruction in a place that I love.
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Renee reflects on her international service year in the Jerusalem & the West Bank country program with Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM). If you are a young adult ages 21 to 29, you can apply for YAGM. The deadline to apply is Jan. 15, 2021, for service beginning in August 2021. Learn more at ELCA.org/YAGM.
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As the season of Lent quickly approaches, we come full circle on a year of worship during a pandemic.
You have found new and surprising ways to celebrate all of our major church seasons and festivals except one—Ash Wednesday, February 17, 2021. Some of you have asked, during a pandemic, how should we handle the imposition of ashes?
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A few months ago I was privileged to present a webinar on trauma-informed pastoral care (TIpC) for the Southeastern Synod.
One may wonder how trauma impacts our faith life and why LGBTQ+ people are in desperate need of a trauma-informed approach when seeking pastoral care.
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Believer and non-believer. Educated and uneducated. Rich and poor. Democrat and Republican. Male and female… How numerous are the binaries with which we live!
In many ways 2020 was the year of binaries. Our world seems to be turning-in on itself. Yet we know we are inextricably connected.
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Reflecting on the Day of Epiphany and events in Washington, Bishop Eaton asks that we consider our own epiphany, recognizing the brokenness of our country and how we can become part of the solution.
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Get to know Scott Peters, a member of Christ Lutheran Church, San Diego, and representative for California’s 52nd Congressional District. Peters shares about growing up in the church as a pastor’s kid, his vocational journey and his passion for environmental justice.
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Bishop Eaton and the Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon, executive director of Churches for Middle East Peace and a pastor in the Evangelical Covenant Church, recently co-authored an op-ed published in Religion News Service.
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Responding to events at the U.S. Capitol, Bishop Eaton reminds us that “this is not a protest. This is not only breaking the law but it is a threat to our democracy.” We pray for peace and safety for all who are in harms way.
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Deja reflects on her international service year in the Argentina & Uruguay country program with Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM). If you are a young adult ages 21 to 29, you can apply for YAGM. The deadline to apply is Jan. 15, 2021, for service beginning in August 2021. Learn more at ELCA.org/YAGM.
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Tony and Tabby reflect on their international service year in the Central Europe country program with Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM). If you are a young adult ages 21 to 29, you can apply for YAGM. The deadline to apply is Jan. 15, 2021, for service beginning in August 2021. Learn more at ELCA.org/YAGM.
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Sometimes parents resist the news that their child is, or may be, autistic. Why do we need to label children so young? What good could possibly come of it?
As an autistic adult who was diagnosed at age 22, I wish my diagnosis had come much earlier in my life, because so much good has come of it. Getting diagnosed with autism is, quite simply, one of the best things that has ever happened to me.
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The ELCA joined 16 Christian denominations and organizations in calling for the incoming Biden administration to change the course of U.S. policy and undertake renewed efforts to bring peace to the Holy Land.
The letter requests that the administration take six concrete steps to “build towards a future where human rights violations are ended and there is equality between Palestinians and Israelis.”
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An earthquake, mass displacement, low-latitude tropical cyclones, COVID-19, a plague of locusts – 2020 has been a year of calamities in East Africa like no other. Among the most destructive and widespread for ELCA companions in the region was flooding, explored here in this letter by Daudi Msseemmaa.
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Native theologian Kelly Sherman-Conroy—a minister of social justice and advocacy for children, youth and family—shares a reflection on her experience serving as convener of the Twin Cities Movement Chaplains, part of a Living Lutheran series focusing on the personal stories of the ways in which Lutherans are striving for racial justice in the world today.
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Niveen Sarras, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Wausau, Wis., was born and raised in Bethlehem. In Living Lutheran, she shares a Palestinian interpretation of the nativity.
“The nativity of Jesus Christ was a subversive attack on Rome’s imperial power and unjust peace. Jesus’ birth stands against all kinds of systemic injustices and military occupation. It is a message of solidarity with the disadvantaged.”
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In March, I didn’t imagine we’d be grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic at Christmastime. On top of the usual challenges and joys of the season, grief and uncertainty from this pandemic may weigh heavily.
Yet, I keep watching my children, who show me Christmas is still coming, Jesus will still be born and the light of the world will not be extinguished.
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