Prayers for the Hamlin family
Prayers for the Hamlin family

We pray for the family of Jayne Hamlin, widow of Pr. Dick Hamlin, who died Monday morning, 12/13/2021, at Mayo Hospital in Scottsdale. There will be a memorial service on Thursday, 1/6/2022 at 3pm MST at Resurrection Lutheran Church, 4950 E. Greenway Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85254.

Pastor Hamlin was a long-time Grand Canyon Synod clergy member and former pastor of Shepherd of the Valley in Phoenix. With several other retired pastors , the Hamlins were largely responsible for starting our synod’s Retirees’ Retreat.

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Prayers, Grand Canyon SynodBrian FlatgardShepherd of the Valley Phoenix, Capital ConferenceComment
Song sung for climate justice critical for people of faith
Song sung for climate justice critical for people of faith

“Attending the most recent annual UN climate change conference in Glasgow, COP26, was great for the ELCA living out its public witness and social teachings. Our ELCA delegation was diverse and included frontline people – folks most impacted by climate change,” said Ruth Ivory-Moore, ELCA program director for environment and Corporate Social Responsibility. Hear also from Lutheran leaders who give us a sense of what it meant to be there.

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ELCA, NewsBrian FlatgardELCA Advocacy, Advocacy, Climate ChangeComment
Allie Papke-Larson: A reflection on a drawing by Sister Grace Remington
Allie Papke-Larson: A reflection on a drawing by Sister Grace Remington

When I first saw this image I felt a wave of release of personal judgement and connection to these two women, a wave full of humanness and grace.

It felt like the meeting of the selves, for me, almost in the way Martin Luther speaks about each person being concurrently Sinner and Saint.

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LettersBrian FlatgardAllie Papke-Larson, High Country Conference, LCM NAU, Shepherd of the Hills Flagstaff, Advent and Christmas, 2021 Advent and Christmas Comments
Remembering the Children: Feast of the Holy Innocents
Remembering the Children: Feast of the Holy Innocents

In July of 2021, the American Indian/Alaska Native Lutheran Association (AIANLA) asked the whole ELCA to remember and lament the children who died in Indian boarding schools in the United States and residential schools in Canada.

As the church observes the Feast of the Holy Innocents*, the Saint Paul Area Synod, the Minneapolis Area Synod, and the Advocates for Racial Equity offer this service of prayer and lament (on Vimeo) for use by individuals and congregations.

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ELCA, Resources, Worship ResourcesBrian FlatgardAdvent and Christmas, 2021 Advent and Christmas, American Indian Alaska Native Lutheran Association, American Indian and Alaska NativeComment
Migration Policy: Hunger Policy Podcast December 2021
Migration Policy: Hunger Policy Podcast December 2021

Saturday, December 18, was International Migrants Day, a day set aside by the United Nations to raise awareness and focus attention on the 281 million people around the world where are on the move, in search of peace, stability, security and an opportunity for new life. In 2020, more than 3.6% of people around the world were migrants.

In this podcast, Giovana Oaxaca, the ELCA’s program director for migration policy, joins Ryan Cumming of ELCA World Hunger to talk about the realities of migration and immigration policy.

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ELCA, NewsBrian FlatgardHunger, ELCA World Hunger, Advocacy, Immigration and RefugeesComment
Rev. Ron Rude: Amending the Christian Story
Rev. Ron Rude: Amending the Christian Story

Amending the Christian Story: The Natural Sciences as a Window into Grounded Faith and Sustainable Living, by Ron Rude is now available at wipfandstock.com, bookshop.org, or Amazon. A press kit is newly available here.

After several years of research and writing and teaching, with worldview-altering insights into Nature's natural sciences and life's experience, "Amending the Christian Story" reframes and recasts God's story of life and God's story of Jesus.

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News, Grand Canyon SynodBrian FlatgardComment
We’ve failed our planet. This is an SOS.
We’ve failed our planet. This is an SOS.

The New York Times produced “Postcards From a World on Fire” a remarkable report from each of the 193 United Nations member states. Some of these stories may seem small, like an ancient drawing flaking off a cave wall in Indonesia; others are undeniably harrowing, like the stories of hungry people fleeing their homes in Guatemala; others may even seem hopeful, like the move toward building wooden skyscrapers in Norway.

Read the introduction here, experience the full project here.

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Read · Watch · ListenBrian FlatgardComment
Covid-19 exposure risk: 12/16/2021
Covid-19 exposure risk: 12/16/2021

The Arizona Department of Health Services reports 94 percent of beds in the state are full, with Covid-19 patients making up about a third of those hospitalized.

All but two counties in our synod continue to have extremely high levels of risk for unvaccinated people.

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News, Grand Canyon SynodBrian FlatgardCoronavirusComment
Advent Hymns from Lutheran World Federation’s Hymns of Advent and Christmas
Advent Hymns from Lutheran World Federation’s Hymns of Advent and Christmas

The Lutheran World Federation’s Hymns of Advent and Christmas continues with offerings from around the world: Evangelical Lutheran Church in Botswana, "Re tsamaya Lesedingla Modimo" ("Walk in the Light of God"); Evangelical Lutheran Church in Guyana, "Come O Come, Emmanuel"; The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zambia, "How Beautiful"; Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saxony, "Veni, veni Emmanuel"; Evangelical Lutheran Church in Colombia, "Bella María"; Bangladesh Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church, "E Dhorom Isại Hoṛ"; Malagasy Lutheran Church, "Fa zaza no teraka" ("A child is born to us"); Union of Protestant Churches of Alsace and Lorraine, "Il est né le divin enfant" ("A Divine Child is Born").

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Resources, Worship ResourcesBrian Flatgard2021 Advent and Christmas, Advent and Christmas, Lutheran World FederationComment
Advent 2021: Week Four Study Guide and Children’s Sermon
Advent 2021: Week Four Study Guide and Children’s Sermon

We are nearing the end of Advent and the start of that special holiday, Christmas. In the United States, stores have been filled with seasonal music for six months now (it feels that way, at least), garlands and lights are draped over homes and lampposts, and pine trees are adorned with baubles of all shapes and sizes. In many countries, Christmas markets have taken over city squares. As the old carol says, “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.”

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ELCA, Resources, Worship ResourcesBrian FlatgardHunger, ELCA World Hunger, 2021 Advent and ChristmasComment
Prompts for Prayers of Intercession: December 19, 2021
Prompts for Prayers of Intercession: December 19, 2021

  • For relief and recovery efforts after tornadoes and storms, and for all left scared and grieving…

  • For the work of emergency responders and relief agencies, including Lutheran Disaster Response…

  • For the peace of Jerusalem, and throughout the Middle East…

  • For all who are facing a first Christmas without someone they love…

  • For all celebrating the holidays with a new perspective, new job, new home, or new family…

  • For musicians, volunteers, and lay leaders who enable and enhance our celebration of the incarnation…

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ELCA, PrayersBrian FlatgardELCA Worship, For What Shall We PrayComment