As of May 17, 2020, over 4.5 million people have been infected and over 307,000 have lost their lives due to the rapid spread of COVID-19. The pandemic is affecting all aspects of life for people across the globe.
Lutheran Disaster Response is supporting partners around the world during this time. Since January 2020, LDR International has contributed over one.1 million in 26 countries in response to the pandemic.
Read MoreCharles Zoll, Music Director with Holy Trinity in Chandler, shares a music video of congregants helping neighbors during the shelter in place order. Watch at youtu.be/O-ETLui0EOs.
Read MoreOn April 26, 2020, the Grand Canyon Synod was awarded $10,000 from the ELCA’s COVID-19 Response Fund to assist GCS Native American and Latino ministries with food, water and basic hygiene items.
On April 28, Bishop Deborah Hutterer shared this good news and issued a challenge to match this amount for even greater impact. As of this writing, we have exceeded the initial challenge by $3,700, raising $13,700 in one week. We celebrate the generosity of this synod.
Additional gifts from congregations and individuals can still be made to this appeal through online giving or checks with the designation of GCS Daily Bread Grants. Grateful for how God does good through you.
Read MoreAllie Papke-Larson provides this update from the Shepherd of the Hills Youth Ministry in Flagstaff, which “has been discovering how to be a youth ministry in a time of COVID-19.”
“We have been gathering once a week as a middle school and high school group over Zoom, playing games, checking in with each other, and praying together. We began a youth community art project based on Micah 6:8, written letters to seniors living in lockdown, and are staying connected through sharing pictures and videos on a social media platform. While this time has been challenging, it has also allowed for connecting in new ways.”
Read MoreYesterday for #GivingTuesdayNow, LSSN set an ambitious goal: to raise $10,000, the cost of only one of our biweekly COVID-19 Emergency DigiMart Distributions, in a single day. Thanks to your generosity and love for LSSN, we not only met but exceeded this goal, raising $15,369.24 in total!
Read MoreSynod members shared various stories of hope with us recently, and please remember to share yours. Some highlights:
Pastor Robert Jones with Santa Cruz Lutheran Church, Tucson, shares a Facebook album of a "Six Car Easter Parade," with 14 drive-by visits to homebound members and friends in neighborhoods on the west side of Tucson.
Pastor Carol Breimeier with Esperanza Lutheran Church, Ahwatukee, notes that the Ahwatukee Foothills News highlighted efforts by Esperanza folks for sewing masks and providing meals for healthcare workers.
Carol Brezina, Outreach Chair at Christ Lutheran, Sedona, let us know that 288 personal care kits were packed there on behalf of Lutheran World Relief.
Finally, Claire Crum, Church Council President at Grace Lutheran Church in Kingman shares they are creating CDC approved face masks utilizing their own material, machines, and, of course their time and talent.
Read MorePerhaps you read The Christian Century and saw Peter Marty’s piece on Lutheran Pastor Martin Rinkart who in 1636 wrote the hymn “Now Thank We All Our God”.
It was during the 30 years war. There was famine and pestilence. He was doing 50 plus funerals a day sometimes, and often more than 400 each week. In the midst of trying times, he wrote the hymn as a table grace for parishioners who likely had little on their tables.
Read MorePastor Dana Reardon writes, “First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mesa has partnered with Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest for years in feeding our hungry neighbors. Many of our volunteers are elderly and high-risk, so we are getting help from Robert Sanders, regional director of LSS-SW and the National Guard.”
Read MoreDavid Pavesic of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, Tucson, writes: “More than hospitals need masks, though the needs are different. We have been sewing simple masks to be used by caregivers and other helpers of the most vulnerable. They can be worn by those helping with Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest, and local food pantries and other social service agencies.”
Read MoreFor Pastor Miguel Gomez-Acosta, comfort is found in Psalms: “As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God.”
Read MoreFor Pastor Jacqui Pagel, the story of the loaves and fishes reminds us that the seeds of today’s miracles are in the smallest of acts.
Read MoreGloria de Cristo Lutheran Church, Yuma, AZ, now has a Mental Health Ministry Team that has received a $10,000 grant from the ELCA Division of Disability Ministries.
This new Mental Health Ministry will foster greater awareness and understanding within our congregation, and facilitate our work in reaching out to those with mental illnesses and their families.
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