Congregations invited to pledge to the Growing Generosity Appeal
Congregations invited to pledge to the Growing Generosity Appeal

Having already raised over $500,000 to fund our Growing Generosity Appeal, let’s create possibilities together. With your help, we can top our next goal to raise another $250,00 by the end of 2023 through gifts from congregations, foundations, endowments, and individuals!

The plans for these additional funds will benefit Lutheran Campus Ministries, new & emerging ministries, and our advocacy efforts. In this post we explore Growing Financial Viability: Planting seeds of financial support for pastors and congregations through 3E Lilly Grants and programs.

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Grand Canyon Synod, NewsBrian FlatgardGrowing Generosity Appeal, Lilly 3EComment
Revitalize your congregation's preaching ministry
Revitalize your congregation's preaching ministry

Revitalize your congregation's preaching ministry by making the practice of preaching more collaborative and participatory. These six Zoom sessions will be held October 2, 2022, through January 8, 2023, and led by Rev. Dr. Shaunna Hannan, Professor of Homiletics at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary (of California Lutheran University). Interested? Fill out this form, bit.ly/LayPreachingCLU, and view more info in this post and this PDF flyer.

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Grand Canyon Synod, News, Region 2, ResourcesBrian FlatgardRegion 2, California Lutheran University, Pacific Lutheran Theological SeminaryComment
Grand Canyon Synod Manna Grants deadline: 7/31/2022
Grand Canyon Synod Manna Grants deadline: 7/31/2022

Thanks to a gift from Ascension Lutheran Church in Paradise Valley honoring the legacy of member Orpha Hoganson, Manna Grants are available for new and continuing projects that work to alleviate hunger and demonstrate a commitment to diversity and inclusion in leadership and decision-making.

All organized congregations, New Starts, Synodically Authorized Worshipping Communities (SAWCs), and Special Ministries of the Grand Canyon Synod are eligible to apply by the 7/31/2022 deadline. More info at gcsynod.org/manna-grant.

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Grand Canyon Synod, NewsBrian FlatgardManna Grant, Grants, HungerComment
Don't be fooled by fake email scams from the Office of the Bishop
Don't be fooled by fake email scams from the Office of the Bishop

We’ve received reports of emails from a fake Gmail account purporting to be Bishop Hutterer, which you can ignore. Better yet, use your report spam button to flag it and get it shut down.

You will likely be asked for a contribution of gift cards or something else of that nature. You will notice that it is not coming from her official email address. The Bishop will never send such a message or solicit funds in this way.

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News, Bishop Hutterer, Grand Canyon SynodBrian FlatgardComment
Rev. Howard Wennes: A season of lament
Rev. Howard Wennes: A season of lament

We share a Living Lutheran post from Rev. Howie Wennes, written at the start of the pandemic.

Once a month I do a Bible study for inmates at the Ventura County Jail. I once asked them, “Do you know where the ‘Complaint Department’ is in the Bible?” Surprised to hear that, they asked, “Where?”

I told them that the best example is in the book of Psalms. There are 150 psalms and 50 of them fit into the lament category. Laments are cries of pain and pleas for God to notice and help.

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ELCA, LettersBrian FlatgardHowie Wennes, Living LutheranComment
Ordination celebrations: 7/15/2022-7/21/2022
Ordination celebrations: 7/15/2022-7/21/2022

  • Rev. Stephen Hilding, Tanque Verde, Tucson, who celebrates 5 years on July 15.

  • Rev. Sherwood Glover, who celebrates 49 years on July 15.

  • Rev. James Price, who celebrates 25 years on July 15.

  • Rev. Erin Morris, Resurrection, Oro Valley, who celebrates 3 years on July 15.

  • Rev. Rick Alpers, who celebrates 36 years on July 16.

  • Rev. Mark Huggenvik, who celebrates 50 years on July 16.

  • Rev. Alan Field, who celebrates 37 years on July 18.

  • Rev. Karn Carroll, Our Saviour’s, Phoenix, who celebrates 23 years on July 18.

  • Deacon Lana Neighbors, Honor Health, Scottsdale, who celebrates 25 years on July 20.

  • Rev. Robert Jones, Santa Cruz, Tucson, who celebrates 39 years on July 21.

  • Rev. Dennis Nelson, who celebrates 48 years on July 21.

  • Rev. Harold Kriesel, who celebrates 54 years on July 21.

  • Rev. Richard Miller, who celebrates 54 years on July 21.

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Grand Canyon Synod, NewsBrian FlatgardOrdination AnniversariesComment
Prompts for Prayers of Intercession: July 17, 2022
Prompts for Prayers of Intercession: July 17, 2022

  • Prayers of thanksgiving for the good and faithful work of our siblings in both the Episcopal Church and the Presbyterian Church (USA) during their recent national gatherings…

  • For ELCA Churchwide staff, bishops, lay and clergy voting members, guests, and all preparing for Churchwide Assembly next month…

  • For the incomprehensible expanse of creation, glimpses of which have been made possible by the technology of the James Webb Space Telescope…

  • For those facing down a new, more contagious variant of the COVID virus…

  • For healthcare workers feeling overwhelmed and burnt out…

  • For nations facing political and civil unrest, uncertainty, and transition, including Sri Lanka, Japan, and the ongoing conflict in Russia/Ukraine…

  • For all those living the effects of climate change: those facing heat waves in China, Eastern Eurpoe, and Texas; those facing droughts in Italy and the southwestern United States; those battling wildfires in Portugal…

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ELCA, PrayersBrian FlatgardELCA Worship, For What Shall We PrayComment
The 2022 Summer Edition of ‘Promise’ is available
The 2022 Summer Edition of ‘Promise’ is available

The summer 2022 edition of Promise, Mosaic’s national magazine, is now on their website for easy reading. Click here to read the latest edition.

As the end of our Called to be Bold multi-year, comprehensive fundraising campaign closes, we share more stories in this issue of how heartfelt donor generosity continues to enable those we serve to lead BOLD lives in the way they choose–and on their own terms.

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Grand Canyon Synod, NewsBrian FlatgardMosaic, Disability MinistriesComment
Open Call to Faithful Arizonans: Be a Poll Worker in 2022
Open Call to Faithful Arizonans: Be a Poll Worker in 2022

RSVP for Poll Monitor Training & Poll Worker Introduction via Zoom. Click a date to RSVP: July 13th, 14th, 19th, and 23rd, 2022. This workshop will be given by the Election Protection AZ Partners: All Voting is Local, Arizona Democracy Resource Center, and Native Vote.

From ELCA Votes: “We are called to conversation and prayer around our role as U.S. residents and as people of faith in ensuring our election systems promote dignity and respect for all.”

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Grand Canyon Synod, NewsBrian FlatgardLutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (LAMA), Advocacy, Elections and Voting RightsComment
In Memoriam: Rev. Robert Kleinke
In Memoriam: Rev. Robert Kleinke

We update this post with news of a memorial service to be held at Central Lutheran (12921 Sunland Gin Rd, Arizona City, AZ 85123), on Tuesday, August 9, 2022, 11 am. A luncheon will follow the service. All clergy are invited to arrive by 10:30 am to vest and process. Color of the day will be white.

We pray for Rev. Robert Kleinke’s family and friends, especially his wife Joanne, after his death on July 12, 2022, following hospitalization while visiting family in Minnesota. He passed peacefully with his family alongside at St. Luke Hospital, Duluth MN. Pastor Bob Kleinke was recently an interim pastor at Central Lutheran in Arizona City and Casa Grande.

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Grand Canyon Synod, News, Prayers, In MemoriamBrian FlatgardBob Kleinke Comments
In Memoriam: Rev. Howie Wennes
In Memoriam: Rev. Howie Wennes

We pray for the family of Rev. Howard E. Wennes, especially his wife Mary, after his death on July 12, 2022, following a recent hospitalization. Pastor Howie Wennes is bishop emeritus of the Grand Canyon Synod (June 20, 1987 – August 31, 2001), and president emeritus of California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks.

7/14/2022: We update this post with obituary and service information, as well as a letter of remembrance from Lori E. Varlotta, Ph.D., President of California Lutheran University.

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Grand Canyon Synod, News, Prayers, In MemoriamBrian FlatgardHowie Wennes Comments
Campformation returns to gathering in-person
Campformation returns to gathering in-person

On Sunday, July 3rd, Camp Pinerock in Prescott, AZ welcomed fifty- five students (6th-11th grade) from the Grand Canyon Synod to Campformation 2022. In addition, twenty-four young adults (11th grade-22yrs) served as counselors; leading small groups, worship, Bible study discussions, and guiding campers throughout the week.

During the week students also had the opportunity to meet and worship alongside Bishop Deborah Hutterer and Assistant to the Bishop, Rev. Jacqui Pagel. More info and lots of photos in this post…

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Grand Canyon Synod, NewsBrian FlatgardYouth and Young Adult, Campformation, Outdoor MinistryComment
Rev. Jay Alanis: “Embody the Word” online Bible study series
Rev. Jay Alanis: “Embody the Word” online Bible study series

We share the video from Rev. Jay Alanis’ reflection titled, The Walk to Emaus, La Caminata a Emaús. It is the first pre-event of the ELCA Churchwide Assembly 2022.

In preparation for the 2022 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, ELCA members are encouraged to participate in a series of online Bible studies that will explore the assembly theme, "Embody the Word," from Luke 24. Register here for the live Bible study series held on Zoom.

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ELCA, News, ResourcesBrian Flatgard2022 Churchwide AssemblyComment
Situation Report: Ukraine and Eastern Europe
Situation Report: Ukraine and Eastern Europe

Lutheran Disaster Response has raised over $10 million in support of refugees and internally displaced people in Ukraine and surrounding countries. New partnerships in Eastern Europe include L’Arche, International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), and Lutheran World Federation.

This post also has a partner update from the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovakia (ECACS).

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ELCA, NewsBrian FlatgardRussia and Ukraine War, Lutheran Disaster Response, Lutheran World Federation, International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC)Comment