12 News has started a conversation with the African American community on the lived experiences and perspectives on race relations in the Valley.
We invite you to watch this film as part of our next open conversation about race, 9/8/2020, 6:30 pm. Learn more at gcsynod.org/open-talks.
Read MoreA Time for Burning is a 1966 American documentary film which explores the attempts of the minister of Augustana Lutheran Church in Omaha, Nebraska, to persuade his all-white congregation to reach out to "negro" Lutherans in the city's north side.
We invite you to watch this film as part of our next open conversation about race, 9/8/2020, 6:30 pm. Learn more at gcsynod.org/open-talks.
Read MoreA beautifully written feature by Helen McDonald declares and asks, “Swifts spend all their time in the sky. What can their journeys tell us about the future?” A few beautiful lines:
Swifts have, of late, become my fable of community, teaching us about how to make right decisions in the face of oncoming bad weather.
I have always thought ‘vesper flights’ the most beautiful phrase, an ever-falling blue.
In all its glory, the opening to the TV series, Davey and Goliath, first aired in 1961, complete with horns playing A Mighty Fortress is our God in front of the Luther rose. Episodes are free with Amazon Prime and available on DVD through Amazon.
The show was produced first by the United Lutheran Church in America and later by the Lutheran Church in America. Art Clokey, Ruth Clokey, and Dick Sutcliffe created the series. Fun fact: Art Clokey also created Gumby!
Read MoreIn a Harper’s article, A Litany for Survival, Naomi Jackson begins with: “When I was a girl, my Bajan grandmother insisted that I recite Psalm 23 every night before bed. I didn’t yet know what death was, but I knew that there was something sinister and brave about repeating the words.
My parents emigrated to the United States from Barbados and Antigua in the late 1970s. They were determined to cloak their children in an armor of education, etiquette, and religion—to protect us from a world that, in the words of Audre Lorde, ‘we were never meant to survive.’ “
Read MoreFrom The Atlantic, Long-Haulers Are Redefining COVID-19 explores the months-long problems that plague some sick with COVID-19. “Without understanding the lingering illness that some patients experience, we can’t understand the pandemic.”
Read MoreInterested in creating a community of equity and justice? A new Being Academy course Promoting Diversity, Creating Inclusion, featuring educator Aparna Rae, can help. Portico believes the tools and topics are of value for church leaders in this important time.
Portico members with ELCA-Primary health coverage can access the course here or via myPortico. The course available at no charge to everyone for a limited time to support learning and promote equity.
Read MoreMarcie Gest, a nurse and member of University Lutheran in Tempe, was recently featured on ABC 15’s news in an item entitled Lessons learned from COVID-19 hotspots, where she discusses working in New York and New Jersey during their peak infections.
Read MoreOne of the common hymns sung on Pentecost Sunday is “O Day Full of Grace” from our hymnal Evangelical Lutheran Worship #627.
In celebration of Pentecost and as a gift to the Lutheran Church, the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians performed a stunning arrangement of this hymn virtually, each of the 1300 organists, violinists, and singers performing in their own home but melding with the gift of technology to share “…bring light from our God that we may be abundant in joy this season. God, shine for us now in this dark place; you name on our hearts emblazon.”
Read More‘R-naught’ represents the number of new infections estimated to stem from a single case of coronavirus. We will be hearing a lot about this as we decide how to reopen society.
Read MoreMartin Molin—who spends long days alone in his workshop creating an elaborate marble music machine—shares this meditation on how he learned to find focus and satisfaction from the work of each day. He has been working four years on his current project, since the completion of first marble machine four years ago (143 million views).
As we seemingly work alone in creating new ways of making song, he advises turning off the dopamine of constant news and finding comfort in things like silence and walking.
Read MoreFrom The New York Times Daily podcast we hear how a pastor quickly puts together an online funeral for his wife. The service, punctuated with technical difficulties and expressions of deep love, reveals the new rituals we are creating in crisis.
He was a pastor. She was a poet. They found a second chance at love and traveled the world together, visiting Antarctica, Mount Sinai and Alaska. We hear how he memorialized her life when she died in quarantine.
Read MoreCarey Nieuwhof writes about the trick of online analytics: “So now that your church (along with almost every other church) is online, you’re probably asking: how exactly do I track ‘attendance’?
One of the remarkable stories of the global pandemic is that suddenly, 49% of churches are reporting that their online attendance is higher or much higher than their in-person attendance.”
Read MoreNow the world’s primary method of communication is the clunky, awkward video call. Nobody wants to come across to their co-workers and friends as a dimly lit basement troll. The only thing that can save you is good lighting.
From The Wirecutter, get tips from a professional video producer working from home.
Read MoreAs the coronavirus pandemic limits people’s ability to mourn, they are finding new ways to say goodbye.
Read More“We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return: we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again.,” Queen Elizabetth II speaking to Commonwealth citizens around the world in a broadcast recorded at Windsor Castle.
Read MoreFrom 1991 through 2019, photographer Deanna Dikeman took a photo of her parents waving goodbye after each visit to their home in Sioux City, Iowa. This portrait series doubles as a family album, compressing nearly three decades of her parents’ adieux into a deft and affecting chronology.
Read MoreOn his 90th birthday, the Washington Post takes a look at the civil rights leader’s childhood name change.
“It was a big deal for [King’s father] to go [Germany], to the birthplace of Protestantism,” said Carson, who edited “The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.,” which was compiled and written after King’s assassination. “That probably implanted the idea of changing his name to Martin Luther King.”
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