In this season of Labor Day and “God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday, our nation and the ELCA focuses on the nature of work. As the pandemic and natural disasters continue, our call to do God’s work becomes clearer, louder, and more urgent.
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The 2021 Bishop’s Fall Gathering (October 18-19, 2021) will occur online via Zoom. This decision to gather online was difficult to make, as we were excited for the long-awaited chance of in-person camaraderie.
With Covid uncertainties, we made this choice out of an abundance of caution. We hope an online gathering brings in more people as it eliminates travel requirements and choices for our special guests and attendees (all active rostered ministers, retired ministers serving as interim pastors, and synod council.)
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The Center of Addiction & Faith is hosting a webinar on harm reduction, featuring best-selling author Maia Szalavitz and her new book, Undoing Drugs: The Untold Story of Harm Reduction and the Future of Addiction.
You'll learn more about the origins of Harm Reduction as a movement and how it has contributed to saving lives and promoting health. Thursday, 9/9/2021, 5-6pm MST/PDT, with follow-up 30 minute Zoom discussion. Register now.
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Each week Religion News Service presents a gallery of photos of religious expression around the world. View the slideshow here.
This week’s photo selection includes the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake, the Hindu Brahmin community and more.
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We pray for Rev. Kevin Meyer and the people of Covenant Lutheran Church in Quartzsite, part of the Cactus Conference. Visit their Facebook page.
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As part of our Growing Generosity Appeal, we present this video on growing future ministries in the Grand Canyon Synod, planting seeds for Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona ($70,000) and Lutheran Engagement and Advocacy in Nevada ($30,000). Learn more at gcsynod.org/generosity/fervent-voices.
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Hey, everyone! My name is Vanessa Young, and I’m excited to serve as the Team Leader for Gathering Synod Coordinators (GSCs) for the 2022 ELCA Youth Gathering in Minneapolis.
Have you met your Gathering Synod Coordinator yet? If you don’t know who they are, you can send them an email on the “Find Your Synod Coordinator” feature on the Gathering website.
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This month I chose to write about sabbath-keeping because I thought it could be a therapeutic activity that might even lead to firmer sabbath disciplines in my life.
I considered my sabbath day to be my day off—one that instantly filled with errands, doctor appointments, housework, quality time with family and maybe a true-crime show on TV. My so-called sabbath day was packed with activity. My “day off” from church was actually a “day on” at home.
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For 2022, the Grand Canyon Synod is offering two categories of grant applications: Project Support Grants, and Adapting, Connecting, Transforming, and Sustaining (ACTS) Grants. More info at gcsynod.org/grants.
Grant Application Q&A Webinar: September 7, 2021, 5:00 pm MST/PDT
Grant Application submission window opens: September 13, 2021
Grant Submission deadline: October 15, 2021
The Executive Committee of the ELCA Church Council has acted on Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton’s recommendation to appoint Carlos Peña as the ELCA’s interim vice president, effective immediately.
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Risk levels for unvaccinated people in the synod continue to grow.
Extremely high risk counties for unvaccinated people in our synod include Clark, Coconino, Gila, Greenlee, Graham, Maricopa, Mohave, Navajo, Pinal, Yavapai, Yuma and Washington counties.
Very high risk counties include Apache, Cochise, La Paz, Pima, and Santa Cruz.
The Office of the Bishop team meets with leaders around the synod regarding collaborations, preaching, campus ministry, and stewardship.
View all the details for each team member in this post.
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The Gathering is an integral part of the ecology of faith formation and call narrative in the ELCA. There are those who question the value of specialized ministries such as the Gathering, especially in a time of declining church attendance and difficult budget cuts. But I am not one of them, especially after fresh research has demonstrated the importance of several crucial ministries in the ELCA. I also know the impacts first-hand.
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With the Afghan crisis shining light on the refugee resettlement program’s inadequacies, Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest gathered 675 letters for Senators and Representatives in support of the refugee resettlement program.
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Amid the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, local nonprofits expect large numbers of Afghan refugees to be coming to the U.S. and to Phoenix. Read and watch the story on AZfamily.com featuring Connie Phillips, president and CEO of Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest.
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We pray for Rev. Joaquin Garcia and the people of Iglesia Luterana Vida Nueva in Glendale, part of the Capital Conference. Visit their site at facebook.com/Ilvidanueva.
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During this week of devastating news, Bishop Eaton encourages us to take a brief pause in silence, that we may be able to hear the voices of those affected by tragedy, listen for God, and respond to suffering in our world.
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This Gathering webinar provides information about the registering your congregational group for the 2022 Gathering. Registration opens on September 22, 2021 via the Gathering’s website (elca.org/Gathering/Register). For information about the 2022 Gathering, “boundless: God beyond measure,” visit elca.org/Gathering.
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“This isn’t a soup kitchen where people get in line and are getting whatever we give you,” said chef and kitchen manager Angelique Gilyard. “We give the people the choice in what they have. You can have your sandwich toasted if you want, the whole sandwich or just the bread. If you want to take your meal home, that’s fine.”
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The Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber was installed this weekend as the first pastor of public witness for the ELCA.
She was called to the role of pastor of public witness by the Rocky Mountain Synod, whose bishop, Jim Gonia, has supported her ministry since she first applied to seminary.
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