Category: Protestant

Catalyst Question If you were living on a desert island for a year, with enough food and water to last indefinitely, what is one thing you would want to bring to make it the best life possible? Peace with a Purpose In John 20:19-31, a resurrected Jesus appears to his disciples twice. Often, when we read this passage, we focus on Thomas. He wasn’t present the first time Jesus showed up, and so was skeptical until Jesus appeared a second time. Some call him Doubting Thomas. Others emphasize Thomas’s devotion because he would only settle for the real Jesus and…

“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 justice and peace among nations where war and violence rage, especially Ukraine and Russia, Palestine and…

Catalyst Question What kind of evidence do you need to believe something is true? Evidence of Life Recently, the possibility of life on another planet hit the news. While studying a planet 124 light years away from Earth, scientists made a surprising discovery. Thanks to NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and an advanced understanding of physics, scientists identified two gasses in this plant’s atmosphere that, in our experience, are only produced by bacteria and phytoplankton. How could anyone know that these particles exist from such a distance? The telescope can identify the composition of the planet’s atmosphere by studying the…

Catalyst Question How do you identify the heroes in your life? Joy Amidst the Sorrow We’re at a turning point in the season. The long journeys we’ve been on are finally coming to a conclusion, identifying the heroes and champions, as well as the wannabes and villains. Though the wait has been long, we can finally see the finish lines. This could be about sports. After all, we just wrapped up both the Men’s and Women’s NCAA tournaments, crowning two champions (Florida and UConn, respectively). With few cinderella stories and the top-8 seeds in both Final Fours, these playoffs felt…

“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 justice and peace among nations where war and violence rage, especially Ukraine and Russia, Palestine and…

The following is shared from the Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania (LAMPa) newsletter for Wednesday, April 9, 2025.  Commemorating Bonhoeffer, Living into his Legacy Today, April 9, marks the 80th anniversary of the death of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor-theologian who resisted the Nazi regime and was executed at Flossenbürg Concentration Camp just weeks before the end of WWII.   Over the past year Lutherans, advocates, and those committed to justice on behalf of their neighbor have been steeped in the legacy of Bonhoeffer and the lessons his theology and life have to offer us as disciples also working at…

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. Let It Be With Me According to Your Word Seminar on Lutheran Liturgy Minneapolis, Minn., August 13-15 Registration is open now at www.seminarliturgy.org. Lutheran Summer Music Academy & Festival Transforming and connecting lives through faith and music since 1981. Lutheran Summer Music 2025 Valparaiso University,Valparaiso, Ind. June…

Due to the historic misuse of “the Jews” in John’s passion to justify anti-Judaism, please consider how this gospel is read and heard in your assembly’s worship. The Consultation on Common Texts, the ecumenical body that curates the Revised Common Lectionary has provided the following paragraph. You are invited to include it in printed worship folders or read it aloud before the gospel is proclaimed.  Throughout Christian history, references to “the Jews” in scripture—particularly in John and Acts—have been used to perpetuate negative stereotypes and falsely assign blame for the death of Jesus. These references gloss over significant distinctions among…

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. The Three-Day Feast: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Recent decades have witnessed the revival of the ancient liturgies of the Three Days—Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil. In this book Gail Ramshaw gives a little history and a lot of suggestions about how these services can enrich the worship life of your entire assembly.     Using…

“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 justice and peace among nations where war and violence rage, especially Ukraine and Russia, Palestine and…