Category: Protestant

Each month ELCA Worship highlights resources and events from other organizations and institutions. These Lutheran and ecumenical partner organizations work alongside the ELCA to support worship leaders, worship planners, musicians, and all who care about the worship of the church. ELCA Worship also features resources from Augsburg Fortress Publishers in a monthly blog post. Lutheran Summer Music Academy & Festival Transforming and connecting lives through faith and music since 1981. 2025 LSM Musical Advent Calendar Nov. 30 – Dec. 24 Experience the fifth annual Musical Advent Calendar from Lutheran Summer Music with daily musical meditations to inspire reflection throughout the season….

November is Native American Heritage Month. Racial Justice Ministries seeks to lift up the voices and work of our Indigenous siblings by highlighting the many events hosted by the ELCA’s Indigenous Ministries and Tribal Relations. We especially want to draw attention to the following two events:   15th Annual Vine Deloria Jr. Symposium Oct 11-15, 2025 Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (online)     National Day of Mourning November 27, 12pm Patuxet, MA     For more information visit: http://elca.org/indigenous                 ELCA Blogs

Prepare This reading begins with a question about the afterlife from the Sadducees, a group of leaders who did not believe in the resurrection. This is important to note because the question is not really about the resurrection at all, but about trapping Jesus. The Sadducees want him to give an answer that somehow “convicts” him. Keep in mind that this gospel lesson comes just one chapter after Jesus has made his final entry into Jerusalem, what we celebrate as Palm Sunday. So this conversation takes place sometime between Sunday and Thursday, before the Last Supper. To clarify the question,…

“For what shall we pray?” is a weekly post inviting individuals, groups, and congregations to lift up our world in prayer. This resource is prepared by a variety of leaders in the ELCA and includes prayer prompts, upcoming events and observances, and prayer suggestions from existing denominational worship materials. You are encouraged to use these resources as a starting point, and to adapt and add other concerns from your local context. More information about this resource can be found here.   Prayer prompts: For an end to war and conflict, and for places of political unrest or contention, especially Gaza,…

Augsburg Fortress is the publishing ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Each month ELCA Worship highlights resources from Augsburg Fortress Publishers that support worship leaders, worship planners, musicians, and all who care about the worship of the church. ELCA Worship also features resources from other partners in a monthly blog post. Unbridled Presence: Sanctuary Scribes, Series 1 Ever feel like kids’ worship activities are more distraction than devotion? Sanctuary Scribes flips the script with interactive booklets for worship that keep kids engaged—not just entertained. Sanctuary Scribes is a collection of 40 booklets designed to engage children during worship….

Prepare Luke is the only gospel in which we find the story of Zacchaeus. Luke often shares stories of people who are marginalized, oppressed, or looked down upon and shows how Jesus’s love changes them. Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector and would have been shunned by his own people because of his profession. In those days, taxes imposed by Rome took a large portion of people’s money, leaving many poor.  And as was the practice of tax collectors, Zacchaeus was likely skimming a little extra for himself too, aggravating people even more. Zacchaeus became wealthy through his position in…

“For what shall we pray?” is a weekly post inviting individuals, groups, and congregations to lift up our world in prayer. This resource is prepared by a variety of leaders in the ELCA and includes prayer prompts, upcoming events and observances, and prayer suggestions from existing denominational worship materials. You are encouraged to use these resources as a starting point, and to adapt and add other concerns from your local context. More information about this resource can be found here.   Prayer prompts: For an end to war and conflict, and for places of political unrest or contention, especially Gaza,…

In celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month which is celebrated in the United States September 15- October 15, we share this message from the Associate of Latino Ministries of the ELCA. Credit: This image is from the October 10, 2024 Living Lutheran Magazine online post entitled “Thoughts for Thursday during National Hispanic Heritage Month” which can be found here. For more information on the Association of Latino Ministries of the ELCA:  AML de la ELCA For more on the Latino Community of the ELCA:  Latino For more on Hispanic Heritage Month from Living Lutheran, check out these recent articles:  2025,…

In celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month which is celebrated in the United States September 15- October 15, we share this message from the Associate of Latino Ministries of the ELCA. Credit: This image is from the October 10, 2024 Living Lutheran Magazine online post entitled “Thoughts for Thursday during National Hispanic Heritage Month” which can be found here. For more information on the Association of Latino Ministries of the ELCA:  AML de la ELCA For more on the Latino Community of the ELCA:  Latino For more on Hispanic Heritage Month from Living Lutheran, check out these recent articles:  2025,…

Prepare In Jesus’ day, the Jewish people lived under Roman rule. Even though Jews were allowed to worship Jehovah, the true God, life under an occupying empire often brought tension and resentment. Some Jews worked for the Roman administration, collecting taxes or overseeing trade. These tax collectors, often seen as collaborators who took more than what was due, were widely disliked and regarded by many as sinners or outsiders within their own community. At the other end of the spectrum were the Pharisees – Jewish leaders who devoted themselves on obeying not only the ten commandments, but also many ceremonial…