From the Bishop’s Desk: Refugee Sunday
Dear friends,* I invite you to remember Refugee Sunday on June 22, 2014 in your prayers and your worship. At our synod's annual gathering last year we adopted and sent on to the ELCA Churchwide Assembly a memorial about Refugee...
Young leaders head to Australia for AIDS2014
Richard Adkins (left) and Elishua Greenwood (top) are ELCA Youth Delegation members to AIDS2014 “Change can’t happen without a catalyst,” says Richard Adkins, dedicated volunteer with Youth Haven, a program of Lutheran Social Services of the...
Shout-out for Team ELCA: A call to all for greater, deeper and unapologetic participation in this church
A MONTHLY MESSAGE FROM THE ELCA PRESIDING BISHOP We are in the middle of synod assembly season. All synods will meet, vote, discuss, worship and sing. I will be at five of these and can assure you that, though there...
Local Lutherans share concerns from Oromia region
Local Oromo congregations have called our community to prayer. Link to Prayers for Peace found in the Evangelical Lutheran Worship. “I mourn the death of our youngsters,” says the Rev. Teka Obsa Fogi of dozens of casualties...
Rewriting the unemployment story
by S. W. Senghor We knew each other by sight; some of us, even by name. But we had no idea that we were each at sea, adrift on our own boats. The church community should have been a place...
Mums for mom & other Malaria Day observances
Many moms will proudly wear a chrysanthemum corsage on Mother’s Day at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Virginia because its purchase matched the purchase of a mosquito net. On World Malaria Sunday, April 27, 2014, orders were taken for...
Sharp sword, polished arrow: God equipped prophets – and continues with us – to bring hope to God’s people
A MONTHLY MESSAGE FROM THE ELCA PRESIDING BISHOP Picture this: Surrounded by an alien culture; worried about keeping young people engaged; a nonfunctioning government; a religious establishment in disarray; the economy is a mess; competing and beguiling demands on people’s...
Act of indescribable beauty: Crucifixion led to defeat of sin, death – only through death, resurrection of Jesus
A MONTHLY MESSAGE FROM THE ELCA PRESIDING BISHOP In 2010, I was part of the Northeastern Ohio Synod/Roman Catholic Diocese of Youngstown pilgrimage to Germany and Italy. We visited Martin Luther sites and then traveled to Rome. It was an...
No one is invisible to God
"Jesus saw Mary. Jesus knew Mary. Jesus spoke 'Mary.' It was being completely seen, utterly known and lovingly called that opened Mary Magdalene to the hope of the resurrection and into a deeper relationship with Christ. Because she was seen...
From the Bishop’s desk: Listening to Noah*
You probably know this already, but Noah is very popular again just now. A new movie has brought the man with the ark and the animals back into the cultural conversation. THE MAN, THE MOVIE Nancy Ann and I saw...