Don’t Forget! Choose Your Synod Assembly Voting Members at Your Annual Meeting
Don’t Forget! Choose Your Synod Assembly Voting Members at Your Annual Meeting

Elect your voting members for the 2025 Synod Assembly! As congregations hold annual meetings, now is the time to choose those who will represent you at the June 12-13, 2025, assembly in Las Vegas, NV. Remember to include one youth or young adult and one person of color or whose primary language is not English to reflect the diversity of God’s people. Voting members are vital to shaping the ministry and mission of our synod—don’t miss this opportunity to prepare your congregation. View our page with all the info you need for determining voting members for your congregation.

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Grand Canyon Synod, NewsBrian Flatgard2025 Synod AssemblyComment
Presiding Bishop Eaton Issues Pastoral Message on Syria
Presiding Bishop Eaton Issues Pastoral Message on Syria

In the ELCA, we recognize that some of our members are of Syrian nationality or heritage. Through ecumenical bodies such as the Middle East Council of Churches, we have long been in relationship with the Syrian Christian communities, which date back to the earliest days of the church and whose members live and worship today as a religious minority that is not always welcomed or accepted. These Christians hope that a new Syria will include a place of safety, security and freedom of worship for them and their neighbors. Syria’s diversity is integral to the fabric of Syrian society and should be protected.

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ELCA, Bishop Eaton, NewsBrian FlatgardBishop Eaton Letters, Syria, Association of Lutherans of Arab and Middle Eastern Heritage (ALAMEH)Comment
Planning for Your Future: Protecting Families in Uncertain Times
Planning for Your Future: Protecting Families in Uncertain Times

What happens to LGBTQIA2S+ families if marriage equality is overturned? Join Central Lutheran Church on January 4, 2025, at 2:00 PM for Planning for Your Future in Uneasy Times. Estate Attorney Aaron Fransua, Esq., will share essential steps to safeguard your family and rights in uncertain times. This vital event is open to all—come and learn how to protect what matters most.

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Grand Canyon Synod, NewsBrian FlatgardCentral Arizona City, Fiesta Conference, LGBTQIA+Comment
December 2024 Mission Support Memo
December 2024 Mission Support Memo

In our December 2024 Mission Support Memo hear from Bishop Laurie Larson Caesar of our Oregon Synod, telling her story of joyful and important accompaniment with the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland. Explore the eight enlightening things she learned about Poland and Polish Lutherans.

We are grateful how Mission Support connects us globally. You can also find out about an exciting series on aligning your pocketbook with your values, so learn how to join January 13th to explore “6 Weeks on Money.”

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ELCA, NewsBrian FlatgardMission Support, ELCA Mission Support Team, StewardshipComment
Arizona Faith Network wraps up 2024 Annual Gathering
Arizona Faith Network wraps up 2024 Annual Gathering

AFN would like to thank the many people who made the 2024 Annual Gathering a success. We'd especially like to thank the generous sponsors and exhibitors who made the event possible and enabled people to connect with many important organizations and resources.

If you weren't able to attend, here's a link to the Annual Gathering Program and here's a YouTube recording of the program portion of the event (here's a link starting at the beginning of the keynote address from Rev. Eugene Cho).

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Grand Canyon Synod, NewsBrian FlatgardArizona Faith Network, Ecumenical and Inter-Religious RelationsComment
From Stewardship to Solar: Churches Embrace Creation Care and Cost Savings
From Stewardship to Solar: Churches Embrace Creation Care and Cost Savings

Faith communities across the U.S. are embracing solar power to care for God’s creation and reduce energy costs. Federated Community Church in Flagstaff has cut its energy bills by 96%, while Lutheran congregations nationwide are becoming leaders in climate justice through solar adoption. Supported by incentives like the Inflation Reduction Act, congregations are proving that collective faith can inspire real change. Explore how solar energy helps churches live out stewardship and care for future generations.

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Grand Canyon Synod, News, Leadership ResourcesBrian FlatgardBlessed Tomorrow, Climate Change, Interfaith Power & LIghtComment
Living Lutheran Print Magazine is Coming Back in 2025
Living Lutheran Print Magazine is Coming Back in 2025

Living Lutheran is returning to print! After hearing from many of you, the ELCA is relaunching the beloved magazine with four print issues per year beginning in 2025. Individual subscriptions are $19.95 annually, with group plans available for congregations. Sign up today at livinglutheran.org/subscribe to stay connected to our shared stories of faith. Read the article in Living Lutheran here.

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ELCA, NewsBrian FlatgardLiving LutheranComment
Your Help Needed! Grand Canyon Synod Prepares for Churchwide Assembly 2025
Your Help Needed! Grand Canyon Synod Prepares for Churchwide Assembly 2025

The Grand Canyon Synod will host the 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Phoenix from July 28–August 2, 2025. We’ll need up to 100 volunteers to assist with this significant event, held at the Phoenix Convention Center. More details and sign-up forms will be available soon. For early inquiries, contact Mary Beth Baron at mbbaron@gcsynod.org. Save the date and help us welcome the wider ELCA church to Phoenix!

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Grand Canyon Synod, NewsBrian Flatgard2025 Churchwide AssemblyComment
Know Your Rights: A Resource Guide for Immigrant Accompaniment and Advocacy
Know Your Rights: A Resource Guide for Immigrant Accompaniment and Advocacy

In times of heightened uncertainty, our immigrant neighbors need support and accompaniment. The ELCA’s AMMPARO ministry offers critical tools to understand and assert rights during encounters with law enforcement or ICE. This guide includes Red Cards, family preparedness plans, and multilingual resources to help families stay informed and safe. Access the full list of tools and share them with your community as we walk together in faith and advocacy. Read more at ELCA.org.

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ELCA, NewsBrian FlatgardAMMPARO, Advocacy, ELCA Advocacy, Immigration and Refugees, Church and SocietyComment
Rick Steves’ Gift to the ELCA: A Beautiful Christmas Video for Worship
Rick Steves’ Gift to the ELCA: A Beautiful Christmas Video for Worship

Rick Steves, a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Seattle, has shared a beautiful 2-minute video of the Christmas story from Luke, illustrated with stunning European art. Offered as a free gift to the ELCA, the video can be used in worship services, concerts, or celebrations with no need for attribution. Watch the video on YouTube here or download it here and enrich your community’s celebration of this holy season.

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ELCA, NewsBrian FlatgardRick Steves, 2024 Advent and ChristmasComment
Bishop Hutterer: Teranga, Hospitalidad, and the Spirit of Generosity
Bishop Hutterer: Teranga, Hospitalidad, and the Spirit of Generosity

This Advent season, as we wait in hopeful anticipation for the gift of Christ’s birth, I find myself reflecting deeply on gifts and generosity. Not just the kind we wrap in paper and ribbons, but the kind we experience through the Spirit—the gifts of love, grace, and community that bind us together as one church, one body of Christ.

In the past months, I’ve been blessed to witness firsthand how the Holy Spirit moves through our shared ministry, both within our synod and across the globe. During recent visits to two of our companion churches—the Lutheran Church of Senegal (LCS) and Iglesia Luterana Mexicana (ILM)—I saw acts of generosity that have left me humbled and inspired.

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Bishop Hutterer, Letters, Grand Canyon SynodBrian FlatgardBishop Hutterer Letters, 2024 Advent and ChristmasComment