Posts in Resources
Faith Lens: Signs of the Kingdom
Faith Lens: Signs of the Kingdom

On Halloween night in the UK, three children stopped to trick or treat at the house of Brenda Burdon, 86. Brenda apologized because she did not have any treats ready to give out. The youth replied, “It’s OK, because sometimes making people happy and getting a nice big smile is reward enough.”

They returned the next day with muffins and chocolates, a card which they had decorated with pumpkins and doodles. Brenda Burdon’s grandson later said, “She was just lost in happiness that total strangers could leave such a wonderful impression” and that it was the best Halloween of her life.

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Worship Resources, ELCA, ResourcesBrian FlatgardFaith Lens, Youth and Young AdultComment
Churches Beyond Borders releases devotional inspired by United Nations anti-violence efforts
Churches Beyond Borders releases devotional inspired by United Nations anti-violence efforts

Working alongside the United Nations' "16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence" campaign, the four member churches of Churches Beyond Borders have compiled a 16-day devotional focusing on the campaign's theme opposing intersectional violence against women. View/download the devotional in PDF format here.

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ELCA, News, ResourcesBrian FlatgardEcumenical and Inter-Religious Relations, Churches Beyond Borders, American Indian and Alaska Native, The Episcopal Church, Anglican Church of Canada, Evangelical Lutheran Church in CanadaComment
Workshop on Anger Issues in our Faith Community
Workshop on Anger Issues in our Faith Community

Many bishops and rostered ministers have reported an increase in anger in our faith communities. Covid issues over the past two years have made ministry more complicated.

Barbara Keller, with ELCA’s Misconduct Prevention, presents a 1-hour zoom workshop for rostered ministers. It focuses on understanding the origin of anger and ways to help rostered ministers and congregations deal more effectively with anger. Tuesday, 11/30/2021, 9 am MST, 8 am PST. Register here.

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ELCA, News, ResourcesBrian FlatgardComment
Church constitution workshop
Church constitution workshop

Can seasonal members vote in our annual meeting? Can I hold an electronic meeting? Where do I find the ELCA model constitution? How do I revise our congregation constitution?

Join ELCA Secretary Deacon Sue Rothmeyer and Pastor David Brandfass for a Zoom workshop on congregation constitutions. All congregational leaders are invited: Thursday, 12/2/2021, 5-6:15 pm MST, 6-7:15 pm PST. Click here to register by 11/29/2021.

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News, Resources, Grand Canyon SynodBrian FlatgardComment
Generations of faith: How intergenerational ministry can sustain the church
Generations of faith: How intergenerational ministry can sustain the church

The October 2021 issue of Living Lutheran focuses on Intergenerational Ministry, with several articles and perspectives on the topic. The primary article shares many resources, including an interview with Linda Staats of the Generosity Project, as well as photos from the Grand Canyon Synod.

View the article online or in its magazine format, and find the study guide here.

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ELCA, Resources, Stories of HopeBrian FlatgardThe Generosity Project, Living Lutheran, StewardshipComment
Faith Lens: Inventing With a Purpose
Faith Lens: Inventing With a Purpose

In late September the MacArthur Foundation announced that Joshua Miele is a genius grant recipient. Miele designs adaptive technologies that allow blind and visually impaired (BVI) people to use the technologies that permeate society. For instance, Miele developed YouDescribe, which allows sighted volunteers to create audio descriptions of any video on YouTube.

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Worship Resources, ELCA, ResourcesBrian FlatgardFaith Lens, Youth and Young AdultComment
Songs from the 2021 Bishop's Fall Gathering
Songs from the 2021 Bishop's Fall Gathering

Three songs from our 2021 Bishop’s Fall Gathering are available for your listening pleasure: A Story For All People, For All the Faithful Women, and I Love to Tell the Story. Listen and watch in this post.

Thanks to vocalist Karin Gunderson and pianist Jerry Gunderson for sharing. Jerry isDirector of Worship & Music Ministry, All Saints Lutheran Church, Phoenix.

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Resources, Worship Resources, Grand Canyon SynodBrian FlatgardAll Saints Phoenix, Capital Conference, 2021 Bishop's Fall GatheringComment
Worship resources for Veterans Day
Worship resources for Veterans Day

A worship resource for Veterans Day includes prayers, hymn suggestions, and other ideas. Both PDF and Word versions are available at elca.org/Resources/Worship#Liturgy.

The resources may be used and adapted as needed for Veterans Day observances or in weekly worship on the Sunday closest to November 11. To learn more about caring for returning veterans, resources are available from the ELCA Federal Chaplaincy Ministries.

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ELCA, ResourcesBrian FlatgardWorship Resources, VeteransComment
Resources for Crafting Prayers of Intercession
Resources for Crafting Prayers of Intercession

When the church gathers, we pray for the needs of the world. Like preaching that is both rooted in scripture shared across time and space and attentive to the local assembly at the present moment, the sense of “praying for the world” is expansive but also attentive to a particular context.

Evangelical Lutheran Worship encourages that “The prayers [of intercession] are prepared locally for each occasion” (ELW. p. 105). How can this be done? What practices are useful? What resources can help? Listed in this post are several resources from ELCA Worship or Augsburg Fortress.

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ELCA, Prayers, ResourcesBrian FlatgardFor What Shall We PrayComment