ELCA Receives Lilly Grant to Support Compelling Preaching Initiative

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has received a $1 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help establish the ELCA Compelling Preaching: Transformed Listeners Initiative.

The goal of the initiative is to cultivate persuasive preaching by inviting ELCA ministry leaders to review research findings about current preaching settings; propose innovative ways to apply those learnings in their individual ministry contexts; participate in funded cohort learning initiatives; and produce successful preaching foundations for all lay leaders and rostered ministers seeking to transform lives through the gospel.

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The Christmas Story, read by Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton

Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton reads the Christmas story from Luke 2:1-20. Merry Christmas and a blessed Advent! This is a season of preparation. As we prepare for family gatherings, homecooked meals, and Christ’s birth, let us take a moment to relax, breathe, and receive the Christmas story. Merry Christmas, dear church!

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Ordination of Pastor Dan Weichart at Emmanuel Lutheran in Granbury, Texas

Pastor Dan Weichart will be ordained at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Granbury, Texas, on Saturday, 12/10/2022 at 1pm MST, 2pm PST. He served his internship with the Grand Canyon Synod. View this post for Zoom log-in to join remotely. You can read Pastor Dan’s story here: Former software developer follows calling to Acton church.

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Interfaith Winter Night

The Rt. Rev. Jennifer A. Reddall, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona, invites us to an Interfaith Winter Night. Trinity Cathedral is hosting the Arizona Faith Network’s “Interfaith Winter Night” of prayer, song, and reflection: Monday, December 12th, 6:30 pm, 100 West Roosevelt Street, Phoenix Arizona 85003.

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Prompts for Prayers of Intercession: 12/11/2022
  • For rail workers and all struggling to make a just wage…

  • For those who are alone or grieving during this season…

  • For people, plants, and animals in the path of Mauna Loa and Mount Semeru’s eruptions…

  • For the celebration of the feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe…

  • For political turmoil and transition, especially in Peru…

  • For those without homes who face harsh climates and harsh local governments…

  • For those who are overworked and for those who are underemployed…

  • For an end to human trafficking and modern slavery…

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Bishop Hutterer: The liminal season

We are in the midst of Advent, our season of waiting. In our church calendar of birth, death, and resurrection, we are entering a new year. We are waiting for prophecies to be fulfilled in the form of a lowly birth. In our secular calendar, our norms are interrupted by the holidays, friends, families, and year-end projects. We are waiting for the New Year, hoping for better. And we are a people who do not like waiting.

There is a concept that describes these in-between times and places, called a liminal space.

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Faith Lens: Like me, like Christ

Shoppers across the country are buying toys for Christmas presents for the children in their lives. While many toy manufacturers have increased the racial diversity of their dolls and action figures, there is a segment of children who still don’t see themselves in the toys they find under the tree on Christmas day. Children with disabilities and medical conditions.

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