Lutherans Restoring Creation share their Good Green Newsletter for October, 2021.
Their upcoming Connections Call is Tuesday, 11/23/2021 at 6pm MST, 5pm PST. The topic is Gratitude. Come to the “table” with what and who you are grateful for as we ready ourselves for the work ahead. Zoom link to use on 11/23.
Read MoreIn her November column for Living Lutheran, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton reminds us that God has given all of us a mission to invite more people into the way of Jesus. Read her column in English at https://bit.ly/3DrbK6p and in Spanish at https://bit.ly/3os6PeU .
Read MoreOn 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.
Read MoreFriday, 12/3/2021 7pm through Sunday, 12/5/2021, 11am. All ages welcome!
We will have archery, hiking, crafting, devotions, and other camp activities sprinkled throughout the day Saturday. Everything we offer is optional. You are also allowed to nap all weekend if that is the refresher you need! Click here to register.
Read MoreWith much gratitude, we share the good news of reaching $402,912 in gifts and pledges to our Growing Generosity Appeal.
Growing Generosity, launched at June’s 2021 Synod Assembly, has a $500,000 goal by the end of 2023. Please prayerfully consider how you’d like to be involved, and learn more about Growing Generosity here.
Read MoreWe pray for Rev. David Drach-Meinel, Rev. Diane Drach-Meinel and the people of Christ the Servant Lutheran Church in Henderson, part of the Colorado River Conference. Visit their site at cslconline.org, and their social media pages on Facebook and Youtube.
Read MoreThe itinerary for the Grand Canyon Synod Holy Land Trip is now available: January 2-11, 2023. The trip also includes an optional 3-days post-tour excursion to Jordan, January 11-14, 2023.
View information on the trip here and view a PDF here. Led by Bishop Deborah K. Hutterer and Rev. Mark Holman.
Read MoreSince February 2020, the Church has been enduring unprecedented seismic shifts. In response, a new Hybrid version of the grassroots Ignite the Church Conference will gather February 8-10, 2022—in-person in sunny Orlando AND Online—to reflect on the theme: SEISMIC SHIFTS: Where Do We Go From Here?
To register and learn more about the presenters, workshop options, and other details go to IgniteTheChurch.net. Register by November 30, 2021, to access the lowest $99 In-Person rate. Online option is free.
Read MoreIt’s a sunny day in the Wind River Range of Wyoming. A group of Indigenous people and I form a circle to burn tobacco and offer a prayer of thanks to the Creator for the plants we’re gathering today. Once we pray and provide an offering to Mother Earth, we scatter across the wide-open space to dig up roots and collect berries.
For five years I’ve been listening, learning, collecting plants and building relationships with the Restoring Shoshone Ancestral Food Gathering (RSAFG) group from the Wind River Indian Reservation.
Read MoreOver 13 years ago a group of staff at the ELCA churchwide organization got together with an idea. They wanted to offer church leaders a tool that would provide support in facilitating the management and administration of their congregations and ministries. So, Administration Matters was born. Read the November 2021 issue in this post.
Read MoreWhen Kevin T. Jones of Mason City, Iowa, was elected bishop of the Northeastern Iowa Synod on June 12, the thought that everything had just changed hit him with a thud as the results of the fifth ballot were announced.
“It was a relief to know that my sound was muted and my camera off at that moment,” said Jones. “It was stunning and humbling and overwhelming, and my brain didn’t turn off for more than two months. It still is all that, but my brain takes the occasional break now and again.”
Read MoreThis week, Bishop Eaton comes to you masked and vaccinated from Church Council as they gather to make important decisions for this church.
Read MoreWorking 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.
Read MoreMore counties in our synod increased to extreme levels for unvaccinated people.
Extremely high risk counties for unvaccinated people in our synod include Apache, Cochise, Coconino, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, Maricopa, Mohave, Navajo, Pima, Pinal, Washington, and Yavapai counties.
Very high risk counties include Clark, La Paz, Santa Cruz, and Yuma.
We pray for the family of Pastor Pat Reed and her husband Mike. Early this morning Pastor Pat Reed’s mother, Teresa Nigro, passed peacefully into the arms of Jesus.
We mourn with her and Mike at this tender time, and we pray that God holds them in the peace that passes all understanding that guards hearts and minds.
Read MoreThe team preaches at churches in Phoenix and Tempe, the Bishop flies to the Ordination of Pastor Ruby Myers at Zion Lutheran in Tinley Park, IL, as we tend to our other various ministries of the Grand Canyon Synod.
Read MoreOn November 11, 2021, the nation will observe Veterans Day. It is a day set aside to recognize veterans’ service in the Armed Forces, past and present.
Congregations across the ELCA have chosen to recognize veterans in worship. Others have chosen not to. Both choices are faithful expressions of people’s deepest convictions. I want to offer why all congregations should consider acknowledging veterans in their worship services around Veterans Day this year.
Read MoreEver-living God, strengthen and sustain federal chaplains or chaplain candidates for the U.S. military, Veterans Affairs hospitals and federal correctional institutions, that with patience and understanding they may love and care for your people. Grant that together they may follow in the way of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Read MoreArizona is home to more than 500,000 service members, veterans and their families. Many of these valued members of our community turn to their faith for support, healing and connection.
That is why the Arizona Coalition for Military Families is partnering with members of the faith community around the state to build the Be Connected Faith Network. Read this post or this PDF or visit www.ConnectVeterans.org/Faith for more info.
Read MoreAlmighty God, we commend to your gracious care and keeping all the men and women of our armed forces at home and abroad. Defend them day by day with your heavenly grace; strengthen them in their trials and temptations; give them courage to face the perils that surround them; and grant them a sense of your abiding presence wherever they may be; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
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