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“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 peace among nations… For safe return of hostages and for protection for migrants… In lament over…

“What is man that thou are mindful of him . . . ?” King David, as he stood before the grandeur of God, as He reflected upon God’s handiwork in creation, asked an age-old question, with reference to the who of humanity. In this instance, he wasn’t necessarily attempting to peer into the entailments of a theological anthropology, but instead simply standing in awe at the bigness of God relative to God’s compassion for us small little human beings here on the flatland. For the rest of this piece, I want to think about what it means to be human…

Leslie Weber, Chesapeake, VA Warm-up Question What makes a thing valuable? What makes a person valuable? Mattering According to Dr. Gordon Flett, “mattering is a ‘core, universal human need,’ a necessary component for well-being.” Mattering is more than feeling like you belong or having good self-esteem, it is about feeling valued by others and believing that you add value to the lives of those around you. Research shows all kinds of benefits for people who feel like they matter,  which lead to better relationships with themselves and with others. A “lack of mattering is associated with burnout, self-criticism, anxiety, depression,…

“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 peace among nations and an end to violence, especially in Israel and Palestine, Russia and Ukraine,…

“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 peace among nations and for military de-escalation… For safe return of hostages and for attentiveness to…

There is no Faith Lens posting this week Now thank we all our God with hearts and hands and voices, who wondrous things has done, in whom this world rejoices; who, from our mother’s arms, has blest us on our way with countless gifts of love and still is ours today. All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given the Son and Spirit blest, who reign in highest heaven, the one eternal God, who earth and heaven adore for thus it was is now, and shall be evermore. (Evangelical Lutheran Worship, 839)       ELCA Blogs

Situation: Augusta Victoria Hospital in Jerusalem. Photo: Albin Hillert/Life on Earth The humanitarian crisis continues to worsen – almost 70% of Gazan residents are displaced, and resources such as food, water and medical supplies are in short supply. The death toll has far surpassed those of previous conflicts in the region in recent decades.     Response: Lutheran Disaster Response is supporting: Augusta Victoria Hospital. The hospital is procuring medical supplies and providing accommodation for patients and staff unable to return to their homes in Gaza. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land. The church is providing…

Issue 90 of Administration Matters Who would steal from us? Misappropriation of church funds can engender a crisis of confidence in your congregation, so proper handling of donations is a critical responsibility. Keep a would-be thief out of the collection plate by developing the financial controls needed to prevent theft and embezzlement in your congregation. >More Supporting our leaders with financial, emotional, physical and pumpkin spice benefits Portico seeks to support its plan members’ whole-person health and well-being with benefit options for every season of life — including pumpkin spice season. This fall a dietician at one of Portico’s partner…

Vine Deloria Jr. Theological Symposium In 2013 the annual American Indian and Alaska Native Symposium at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago was renamed in honor of Vine Deloria Jr., an alum of Augustana Seminary, Rock Island, Ill., a predecessor school of LSTC. The symposium has been held in November each year since it began 15 years ago and is co-sponsored by the Pero Center for Intersectionality Studies at LSTC and the ELCA’s Indigenous Ministries and Tribal Relations. All events will be accessible online, and the theme is tribal sovereignty. At the height of the American Indian Movement and beyond,…

By Stephen Deal With three traveling companions, we were nearing the end of a long drive from Santo Domingo (the capital of the Dominican Republic) to Dajabon on the Dominican border with Haiti. Our trip had been marked by delays: the morning rush-hour traffic as we left Santo Domingo, a major traffic tie-up at a toll booth where the electronic payment system was down, a herd of cows blocking the highway. We thought the worst was behind us when we rounded a curve and came upon the scene of a recent truck accident. A large crane was just beginning to…