Category: Protestant

Today’s blog post comes from Rev. Lisa Heffernan, ELCA Disability Ministries coordinator I’m just going to be honest here. All month I’ve been procrastinating on writing this blog post. Why? I’m not sure, I guess. Perhaps it’s because it asks for a bit of vulnerability on my part. You see, it’s October, and October is spina bifida awareness and disability awareness month. Spina bifida is the neural tube disorder I was born with, so I can tell you all that I am intimately “aware” of it every day. Do I hate it? No. Not at all. Are there challenges/frustrations that…

Josh Kestner, Clemson, SC Warm-up Question Who are some people that you look up to in your life? What have they done to make you respect them? Tell about a time when your faith and values did not line up with your experience of reality. How did you feel? What did you do? Resilient Women I am in awe of the Muslim women involved in protests surrounding the wearing of the hijab. They are heroes who are showing strength and resilience in the midst of persistent pushback. One of the things that has struck me is that there is no…

“Energy blackmail” The European Union is a world leader when it comes to replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy. The World Economic Forum reported early in 2022 that the EU had “passed another milestone in the race towards a zero-carbon future,” sourcing 22 percent of its energy from renewables in 2020 – ahead of the 20% target the bloc had set in 2009. But that won’t be enough to keep Europe warm this winter, as a fuel crisis the likes of which hasn’t been seen since World War II grips the continent. Officials have warned of potential rolling blackouts, manufacturing…

from the ELCA advocacy office in Washington, D.C. – the Rev. Amy E. Reumann, Senior Director Partial expanded content from Advocacy Connections: October 2022 GLOBAL MALNUTRITION PREVENTION AND TREATMENT ACT PASSES!  |  DACA-RELATED DECISION STILL INDICATES NEED OF PERMANENT PROTECTIONS  |  INFLATION REDUCTION ACT AND CHURCH BUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE  |  ACUTE AWARENESS OF DISASTER RESPONSE NEEDS  |  ELECTION DAY IS ALMOST HERE GLOBAL MALNUTRITION PREVENTION AND TREATMENT ACT PASSES: We celebrate that the bipartisan Global Malnutrition Prevention and Treatment Act recently passed the Senate following spring passage by the House and thank the many Lutherans who used their voices to encourage this…

Steve Peterson, Saulk Rapids, MN Warm-up Question Has there been a time in your life when you longed for someone, or God, to have a little mercy on you?   Lord Have Mercy Sometimes 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. We think ourselves justified in considering…

CeCee Mills, Greensboro, NC Warm-up Questions What is the difference between being persistent and being annoying? How do you decide when to push harder and when to pull back? Persistence I keep thinking about the people’s determination in the Ukraine. It has been nearly eight months since the invasion began. Ukraine’s population is forty-four million compared to Russia’s one hundred forty-four million. I watch President Volodymyr Zelensky and I feel inspired. I am sure it was not a surprise that they were attacked – but I wonder what the citizens feel. I assume they feel displaced, angry, scared, and untethered….

These prompts are provided for worship leaders as they prepare the prayers of intercession for weekly worship. The prompts are prepared by several leaders in the ELCA and reflect current world and national events. You are encouraged to adapt and add other concerns for your local context, including staying informed of events and concerns in your synod. Intercession prompts: For the victims and families of the mass shooting at a daycare center in Thailand… For peace amid the escalating conflict between Palestine and Israel… For the victims and rescue workers in the aftermath of a landslide in Venezuela… For the…

Situation: On Sept. 27, Hurricane Ian made landfall in Cuba, causing severe flooding and an island-wide power outage. The next day, it hit Florida as a high-end Category 4 hurricane. A dangerous storm surge, coastal flooding and strong winds damaged buildings and infrastructure, making rescue efforts more difficult. In total, at least 137 people died, with 126 of those deaths in Florida. St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church in Fort Myers, FL       Response: Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) is coordinating a response with the Florida-Bahamas Synod. The synod is providing small relief grants to impacted families and will continue…

Situation: Since June 2022, Pakistan has experienced historic monsoon weather, with rainfall leading to torrential flooding. The flooding is causing a widespread humanitarian crisis, with people losing homes, crops and livestock. Millions of people are displaced and in need of humanitarian assistance, such as food, temporary shelter, health services and other supplies.       A makeshift shelter in Pakistan. Photo: Community World Service Asia       Response: Lutheran Disaster Response is contributing to an appeal from ACT Alliance to address the monsoon flooding in Pakistan. The implementing partner, Community World Service Asia (CWSA) will provide cash assistance so impacted…

Kris Litman-Koon, Mount Pleasant, SC Warm-up Question What determines the borders of the space where you are now gathered? For instance, if you are in a room, the answer would  be the walls.  What about beyond that? What determines the borders of the property on which you are located? The municipality? Borderlands Many physical places serve as a transition between two other spaces. In locations where outdoor temperatures can be frigid, some homes have a vestibule, which is an enclosed entryway that serves as a buffer between the warm interior and the cold exterior. (In South Carolina, with its moderately…