“We love those who others fear to love,” said Nestor Cruz, pastor of Hungry Church in El Salvador. The church serves gang members who have been deported from the United States, providing them with safe places to stay, income, job skills training and other support.
Read MoreView the September, 2022 edition of Seeds Monthly, featuring Celebrate World Food Day with Rick Steves.
Join ELCA World Hunger for a celebration of World Food Day with Rick Steves. This event will be streamed online, so you can celebrate with ELCA World Hunger wherever you are! Join the celebration Oct. 16, 2022 at 6pm MST/PDT, 7pm MDT. Registration is not required; simply visit the ELCA's Facebook or YouTube page to attend.
Read MoreLutherans Restoring Creation will host a conversation with eco-theologian H. Paul Santmire regarding his newest book, EcoActivist Testament. September 27th, 2022, 5pm MST/PDT, 5pm MDT. Click here for more info, and click here to register.
In 1993, Paul was a main contributor to the ELCA's initial Social Statement regarding the Care of Creation.
Now we have a Social Message drafted for our review and comment: Earth's Climate Crisis. Please be sure to offer dedicated time in your church community to read and submit comments before 12/2/2022.
Resourceful Servants is launching the Grants for COVID Emergencies program. Through a generous grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc., this program provides up to 200 ELCA leaders with one-time grants of $1,000 and membership in the ELCA Federal Credit Union. The due date to complete the application is Oct. 23, 2022.
Read MoreThe mission of the Concert series of Pinnacle Presbyterian Church is to provide a vital community outreach that enriches the lives of all ages spiritually, culturally, and educationally through music. To learn more and see upcoming concert season, visit their website or view this PDF.
Read MoreELCA Advocacy shares their September, 2022 updates, in a U.N. and State Edition as well as Advocacy Connections from the ELCA advocacy office in Washington, D.C.
In this post we highlight the update from Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (LAMA), where Director Solveig Muus shares info on the Arizona Anti-Hunger Alliance, the Becoming Conference, the LAMA summit, and the LAMA Liaison Roundtable.
Read MoreIn 2021, Musa Filibus, archbishop of the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria (LCCN), asked Ann Svennungsen, bishop of the Minneapolis Area Synod (the LCCN’s companion synod), to consider raising $500,000 for the establishment of the LCCN-run Lutheran University Nigeria. The synod raised $535,000 and secured a $150,000 ELCA World Hunger grant in just three months.
Read MoreOur advocacy takes many forms with long-term and immediate aims, and ELCA Witness in Society staff are active equipping members, building influential relationships with policy makers, networking strategically with other concerned partners, researching policy pieces and their impacts and inviting our ELCA Advocacy Network to action at impactful moments.
One timely way we can act as ELCA is to sign on with others to offer pointed comments to decision makers when developments demand.
Read MoreThe Liaison Roundtable for Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (LAMA) will meet the third Monday of the month at 6:30pm (Arizona) via Zoom, with the first meeting on Monday, 10/17/2022, 6:30pm MST/PDT, 7:30pm MDT.
These discussions offer an opportunity to discuss a wide range of topics about congregational engagement in advocacy.
Read MoreThe Office of the Bishop presents a free Creating Communications Connections webinar on Tuesday, 10/11/2022, at 5pm MST/PDT, 6pm MDT. Click here to register.
Whether you’re a beginner or a pro, join Brian Flatgard, Director of Communications, for an overview of communications basics and strategy, followed by a question-and-answer discussion. Tailored to the ministries, congregations and organizations of the Grand Canyon Synod, we’ll use real-life examples for clarity and inspiration.
Read MoreNew resources are now available from ELCA World Hunger to enrich the life of your congregation in Advent 2022 and Lent 2023! The theme for the new seasonal materials is "A Journey Through the Psalms With ELCA World Hunger." Download free versions at ELCA.org/hunger/resources.
Read MoreThe Office of the Bishop attends the Synod Council and Dean Retreat this weekend, in addition to ongoing meetings and day-to-day operations.
Read MoreWe celebrate the following ordination anniversaries this week:
Rev. Gary Ulrich, who celebrates 43 years on September 24.
Rev. Ryan Hersch, Peace, Peoria, who celebrates 19 years on September 27.
Rev. Carl Braaten, who celebrates 64 years on September 28.
For communities In Puerto Rico and the Caribbean dealing with the damage caused by Hurricane Fiona…
For communities in Alaska in the wake of Typhoon Merbok…
For communities In Japan in the wake of Typhoon Nanmadol…
For communities in Papua New Guinea impacted by the September 11 earthquake…
For communities In Pakistan dealing with the effects of summer monsoon flooding…
In thanksgiving for siblings of Hispanic & Latinx heritage…
For Synod Council Members across the church…
ELCA World Hunger announces two more “Hunger at the Crossroads” webinars on conflict and hunger and health and hunger. You are invited to join ELCA World Hunger staff and experts to learn about the intersections of these important topics. Learn more and register here or in this post. Watch the recordings of previous “Hunger at the Crossroads” webinars here.
Read MoreAs a thank you to the Grand Canyon Synod for their support of Lutheran Campus Ministries, the students of Arizona State University and the University of Arizona share a beachside video update from the 43rd Annual Labor Day Weekend Retreat in San Diego.
Read MoreOur Northeast Valley Consortium chose foster children as the focus of service projects for “God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday, 9/11/2022. In this post, the consortium shares photos and the story of their work for the non-profit Arizona Helping Hands.
“Together we packed 440 personal hygiene kits for Arizona Helping Hands. All five churches — New Journey Lutheran (Fountain Hills), Christ the Lord Lutheran (Carefree), Living Water Lutheran (Scottsdale), New Covenant Lutheran (Scottsdale), and Ascension Lutheran (Paradise Valley) — collaborated to support Arizona’s leading provider of necessities to young children, teens, and infants who are making transitions to foster care or among foster care placements.”
Read MoreAgain, we are gathering.
For those of us who are blessed with the health to gather in-person, we are increasingly finding ourselves grouped up again: in meeting rooms, around altars, in schools and universities, and around dinner tables. We look ahead to busy seasons of Thanksgiving and Advent with familiar feelings of hope and sometimes dread, along with some new emotions.
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