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.
Read MoreAttend a 1-hour online briefing on the Energy Efficiency Materials Pilot Program on Thursday, 12/8/2022, 2pm MST, 1pm PST, to learn how to prepare to apply for Department of Energy grants of up to $200,000 for your congregation’s energy efficiency work. Register here.
As people of faith and conscience, reducing the climate impact of our houses of worship is an opportunity to care for one another and for our common home.
Read MoreIn recent weeks, our country has been rocked once again by gun violence targeting the LGBTQIA+ community. On the eve of the Transgender Day of Remembrance, a lone gunman walked into Club Q—an LGBTQ friendly nightclub in Colorado Springs, CO—and opened fire, killing 5 people and wounding 17 more.
Read MoreAdvent Pilgrimage in Palestine is a four-week virtual pilgrimage from the ELCA’s Peace Not Walls, Young Adult Ministry, Arab and Middle Eastern ministry, and ALAMEH featuring young adult voices from the ELCA and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land.
Read MoreAre you looking for stewardship resources to fuel your ministries and your imagination? Here are three places to find guidance and support:
Public figures, from social media influencers to celebrities to politicians, talk about how “woke” they are. The term has developed more layers of meaning in the past few years.
Read MoreELCA Worship shares their news for November, 2022, featuring: Prompts for Prayers of Intercession, Readings for the Assembly (Emended) is available for provisional use; All Creation Sings; Resources for multi-religious ministry; Common prayer at the World Council of Churches, 11thAssembly; Lutheran Summer Music Program; Music that Makes Community, and worship resources from Augsburg Fortress.
Read MoreTaking Faith Home (TFH) is an annual resource that provides a weekly guide for faith-filled conversations during the church year. Here are some of its key features:
Based on the Revised Common Lectionary used by many congregations
Gives examples of each of the Four Key faith practices (caring conversations, devotions, service, and rituals and traditions)
Includes a weekly prayer, Bible verse, mealtime prayer, and blessing
Offers suggested daily Bible readings and Hymn for the week
Executive certificate in religious fundraising from the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving, Wednesdays from Jan. 4 through March 8 (except for Ash Wednesday), with a smaller cohort meeting an additional day each week. The course is offered at a steep discount for parish deacons and ministers, at only $550. Contact Rev. Larry Strenge or Rev. Timothy Brown with questions. Learn more here.
“Learning Donor Motivations” stewardship webinar, Monday, Jan. 30, 2023, 6 p.m. Central time.
According to Wikipedia, politics, from the Greek politika (“affairs of the city”), is the set of activities associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. It’s jarring to see such a definition because politics is currently far from what it was intended to be.
Read MoreWe’ve updated our Congregations in Transition page with an updated manual (PDF, Word) created by a joint effort of the Grand Canyon and Rocky Mountain Synods.
Read MoreA common challenge regarding stewardship is finding organic ways to speak about it. The following upcoming readings this Advent and Epiphany are just a few hooks on which a stewardship thought might hang: Matthew 24:36-44, Nov. 27; Matthew 3:13-17, Jan. 8, 2023; and Matthew 5:13-20 | Feb. 5, 2023.
Read MoreThe gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke all have sections where Jesus makes dramatic predictions about things that will happen in the future. Because these things seem to be hidden from general knowledge and are being revealed as special information to Jesus’ followers, they are called “apocalyptic” sayings. These terms “apocalypse” and “apocalyptic” are Greek words meaning “uncovering” or “revealing.”
Read MoreWelcome to the first issue of “Where Your Heart Is,” the new stewardship newsletter of the ELCA (subscribe here).
In the coming months and years, I hope we not only dig into some of the things valued in our lives, both personal and collective, but also highlight the important and honest fact that all of life is an act of stewardship, from our first breath to our last. How do we use our days?
Read MoreIn this Living Lutheran article, 1517 Media’s Dawn Rundman recommends three books: The Wit of Martin Luther; Baptized, We Live: Lutheranism As a Way of Life; and Luther the Reformer.
Read MoreA worship resource for Veterans Day includes prayers, hymn suggestions, and other ideas. Both PDF and Word versions are available at elca.org/Resources/Worship#Liturgy.
The resources may be used and adapted as needed for Veterans Day observances or in weekly worship on the Sunday closest to November 11. To learn more about caring for returning veterans, resources are available from the ELCA Federal Chaplaincy Ministries.
Read MoreAs we prepare for the upcoming election season, the ELCA understands government as a means through which God works to preserve creation and build a more peaceful and just social order in a broken world. We share resources to help clarify how churches can appropriately be involved in elections and advocacy.
Read MoreThe ELCA provides this PDF resource, provided to assist congregations in this time surrounding a national election. The readings, prayers, and assembly song suggestions could be used in settings such as prayer vigils, as part of Morning or Evening Prayer, as part of regular weekly worship in the weeks preceding or following an election, or devotions at home or in other settings.
Read MoreI’ve lived in both cities and in the country–and in a few different states. There are commonalities among people everywhere I’ve lived. Most people want the best for themselves, their families, and the world. But we disagree on what that looks like and how we can bring it about.
Read MoreSometimes we experience a tension in life. We want to see ourselves in a position of superiority, thinking of ourselves as better than “other kinds of people”. But we also feel a pull toward humility and a stance of shared humanity with all people. Resentment may come into play. We are tempted to dehumanize those we resent, maybe even punish them.
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