Grace Lutheran Church, Phoenix, shares their 2021 update.
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In the Congregation Transition Team’s report, Dr. Jerry Kingston, Rev. Doris Nolan, Rev. Patricia Reed detail how the synod entered into a collaborative partnership with the Rocky Mountain Synod in our ministry to congregations in transition.
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Celebrating their fifth anniversary as a financial ministry of the ELCA, the ELCA Federal Credit Union is open to every ELCA member, synod, congregation and ministry—and their employees.
In this update we hear how in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, as congregations and ministries closed their doors, the Credit Union responded swiftly to growing needs for financial assistance.
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Emmanuel Sudanese Lutheran Church, Glendale shares the gifts of song and praise in their 2021 update.
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Amidst the changing landscape of the pandemic, California Lutheran University shares how over 4,000 students learn virtually or in hybrid classrooms in several different centers in California.
A member of the Network of Colleges and Universities of the ELCA, Cal Lutheran equips graduates who are called and empowered to serve the neighbor so that all may flourish.
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In his 2021 update, Rev. Miguel F. Gomez-Acosta, Director for Evangelical Mission and Bishop’s Associate for Congregational Vitality, reflects on the abundant generosity and innovation in a year like no other.
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Brian Flatgard, Director of Communication, reports on a very busy year of communications for our synod.
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View this fresh 2021 introduction to Spirit in the Desert Retreat Center in Carefree, Arizona. Through interviews with staff, guests and friends, viewers learn what is unique about the retreat center, and why Spirit in the Desert is a holy place where people experience the love of God, joyful hospitality and renewal of their callings in the world.
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Myrna Wells-Ulland, President of the Grand Canyon Women of the ELCA, shares their 2021 update in a letter and video message.
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In her 2021 update, Rev. Jacqueline Pagel, Bishop’s Associate for Candidacy and Faith Formation, gives a brief overview of the different ways ministry intersected as we grow the our synod into a great place to express the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
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Paul Gryniewicz, Synod Council Vice President, asks what it means to be church in a year of accelerated change in his 2021 update.
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Hear the voices of Pastor Gary McCluskey and the students and leaders of ULC in this video update.
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Arizona Faith Network shares their 2021 update in this video.
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One-fifth of the world’s Lutherans were left homeless by 1945, at the end of the Second World War. That same year, Lutheran churches in the U.S. mobilized to help in Europe through a new agency called Lutheran World Relief. Within a decade, the mission expanded, sending love where needs were greatest, often to places off the radar of the rest of the world. And you have continued to draw on God’s strength, responding to God’s call to be the Body of Christ in the world, reaching further, staying longer, standing faithfully alongside our neighbors in need. This year, we celebrate 75 years of faithful impact — and the work that lies ahead.
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As we look back, I am grateful for the ways you have embraced the world as it is, not as you want it to be. You ensured that the witness of the church continued even when it was not safe to gather in-person.
Through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, you went well beyond what you might have imagined possible. Through uncertainty, you spoke words of hope and offered reminders that nothing will separate us from the love of God.
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Most Americans incorrectly assume that federal laws will protect someone being evicted from their home or turned away from a place of business for the sole reason of being part of the LGBTQ+ community. There are no such laws.
But there could be. The Equality Act, a landmark piece of legislation which has already been passed in the U.S. House, would add the words “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the Civil Rights Act, affording protections in employment, housing, public accommodations, federal funding, credit, the jury system and more.
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This Pride Month, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton gives thanks for the blessings of our LGBTQIA+ siblings and prays that we will all have a sense of pride in being part of this fearfully and wonderfully made family.
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The latest version of the The Official Gathering Handbook: Tips & Tricks for Adult Leaders, a resource filled with helpful resources and guidance for having an amazing Gathering experience.
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We’re happy to introduce a new monthly column, A Cup of Generosity, from Pastor Dana Karen Reardon and the Grand Canyon Synod Stewardship Team.
My dad was a drunk. Not a mean drunk, but maybe a cynical one. Then he got sober. And God changed him more than I knew.
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Bishop Eaton offered the sermon for Lutherans Restoring Creation’s Good Shepherd Sunday service in celebration of Earth Day 2021. She also accepted our request to take some follow-up questions collected by the network.
Here are portions of their time with her that we encourage you to share with your congregation as these are questions we are all meant to wrestle with.
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