Category: Protestant

Ecumenical Advocacy Days (EAD) is an annual gathering of Christian advocates and activists. People attending EAD worship, review advocacy best practices, dive deeper into issues of their selection around the central theme, take Lobby Day action, and network with people of faith passionate about the difference policy can make in peoples’ lives. Lutherans in attendance have denomination-specific opportunities to get to know one another and vision what we can do together! #EAD2022 is a virtual gathering, held Wednesday through Friday, April 25-27, 2022. The schedule is posted to advocacydays.org.   THEME IN 2022 This year’s theme, “Fierce Urgency: Advancing Civil…

Situation: On Feb. 24, armed conflict broke out between Russia and Ukraine, causing a humanitarian crisis. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 2 million people are seeking refuge in neighboring countries, including Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Romania and Moldova. There are major humanitarian concerns for both internally displaced people and refugees.        Response: Lutheran Disaster Response is supporting these member churches through Lutheran World Federation: German Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ukraine Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovakia Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in…

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 all in crisis as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues… With gratitude for the first combined heart and thymus transplant, for all advances in the field of organ transplantation, for all organ donors… For all who suffer in the wake of…

ELCA World Hunger’s 40 Days of Giving Lent 2022 In English and en Espanol Week 2: Wandering in the Wilderness “I must be on my way” (Luke 13:33). Read Genesis 15:1-12;17-18 Psalm 27 Philippians 3:17-4:1 Luke 12:31-35 Reflect As we saw in the reflection for Week 1, Lent is a story of the journey of God’s people. It is our story, or more appropriately the story of “God with us.” During Lent, we remember the ancient Hebrews’ journey from slavery in Egypt and a generation spent wandering in the wilderness, as recounted in the offering of the “first fruits” in…

ELCA World Hunger’s 40 Days of Giving Lent 2022 Week 1: Journey in the Wilderness “A wandering Aramean was my ancestor” (Deuteronomy 26:5). Read Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Psalm 91:1-2, 9 -16 Romans 10:8b-13 Luke 4:1-13 Reflect We have a curious set of readings for this first Sunday of Lent. Biblical scholars believe that Deuteronomy 26:5-10 is a script for someone making an offering of what was called the “first fruits,” a religious practice for farming communities. Following the first harvest that the Israelites reaped in the Promised Land, they were to gather a basket of select produce from the fields and…

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: March 6, 2022 For the people of Ukraine, for conscripted Russian soldiers, for war zone reporters, for the leaders of the nations…that all your beloved might live in safety and freedom from fear… For bold, adaptive leadership in the face of…

By the Rev. Amy E. Reumann, ELCA Senior Director for Witness in Society “Why should it be said among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’” (Joel 2:17) The prophet Joel doesn’t hold back when sounding the alarm about the coming Day of the Lord in today’s Ash Wednesday reading. It will be “a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness spread upon the mountains a great and powerful army comes; their like has never been from of old, nor will be again after them in ages to come.” Joel goes on to remind…

  After heads of churches in the Holy Land voiced their objections to a proposal to expand Jerusalem Walls National Park to include property owned by several churches in the city, Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority announced on February 21 that it was freezing the plan. The text of the Feb 18 letter from Patriarchs about the Mount of Olives can be found here. The Feb 23 World Council of Churches article about the situation can be found here.   ELCA Blogs

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 peace to prevail, especially between Russia and Ukraine… For all firefighters working to contain destructive wildfires in Argentina… For all members of the LGBTQIA+ community, especially beloved transgender women and girls at the heart of recent legislation… For an end…

from the ELCA advocacy office in Washington, D.C. – the Rev. Amy E. Reumann, Senior Director Partial expanded content from Advocacy Connections: February 2022 2022 ELCA FEDERAL POLICY PRIORITIES  |  HOUSING IN FEDERAL BUDGET  |  AFGHAN REFUGEE ADVOCACY   |  FOREIGN ASSISTANCE  |  HOLY LAND CHURCH LEADERS’ CONCERN   2022 ELCA FEDERAL POLICY PRIORITIES:  Our annual identification of policy priorities on the federal horizon for ELCA advocacy action is available. Find listing on the ELCA Advocacy Blog, with a downloadable version from the ELCA advocacy resource page. Shaped by the ELCA’s social teaching documents and the experiences of its congregations, ministries…