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  In March 2023, countries in southeastern Africa were hit by one of the most powerful cyclones in memory. Tropical Cyclone Freddy moved across Madagascar, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Malawi, bringing torrential rain and powerful winds. Freddy was one of the longest-lasting tropical cyclones and most intense cyclones on record, generating accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) that the World Meteorological Organization has said was equivalent to a full North Atlantic hurricane season. A church building damaged by Cyclone Freddy The storm created new challenges and worsened existing challenges in the country of Malawi, where over 70 percent of the population lives…

Following are updates shared from submissions of the Lutheran Office for World Community and state public policy offices (sppos) in the ELCA Advocacy Network this month. Full list and map of sppos available.   U.N. | CALIFORNIA  | MINNESOTA | OHIO | PENNSYLVANIA | WASHINGTON | WISCONSIN   Lutheran Office for World Community (LOWC), United Nations, New York, N.Y. – ELCA.org/lowc Christine Mangale, Director LOWC engaged and monitored the “International Dialogue Migration 2023- Leveraging Human Mobility in Support of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) March 30-31. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda) marks the first-time migration has been…

I’m on vacation for the next almost couple of weeks. I won’t be posting during that time, or at least not till the tail-end. May you stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. I’ll see you all on the flip side. Athanasian Reformed

Bill King, Blacksburg, VA Warm-up Question Make a mental playlist of your five favorite pieces of music?  How many musical genres are represented?  Is it all K-pop, metal, classical, rap, jazz, indie?  Do you have a mix?  What do your choices say about you? Crossing Boundaries Taylor Swift and The National have both been very influential musical artists.  But they have typically appealed to very different audiences.  Swift is the epitome of a pop star, mining her personal struggles for inspiration and pairing them with catchy tunes which have stadiums of adoring fans singing along.   In contrast, The National…

Situation: On April 15, violence broke out between opposing military groups in Sudan. Most of the fighting has been in the capital city of Khartoum, but some has now spread outside the city. Because of the conflict, many civilians cannot leave their homes, while others are managing to flee to other areas of the country, or into neighboring countries like Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan. Nearly 1 million people have been displaced since the beginning of the violence.     Sudanese refugees in South Sudan. Photo: ACT Alliance Response: In Chad, Lutheran Disaster Response is supporting the Lutheran World…

I am a proponent of an evangelical theology. ‘Evangelical’ in the sense that the starting point for theology, I contend, ought to be the Evangel or Gospel Hisself. This is contrary to the philosophical, or hard metaphysical theologies that have characterized much of the Western tradition’s theologizing for centuries (i.e., we could think of Thomas Aquinas all the way into Nietzsche et al.) An ‘evangelical theology’ is a kerygmatic theology; particularly when we understand that the kerygma is the pronouncement and announcement that Jesus is Lord. It is a theology of the Father who declares, “this is my dearly beloved…

from the ELCA advocacy office in Washington, D.C. – the Rev. Amy E. Reumann, Senior Director Partial expanded content from Advocacy Connections: May 2023 DEBT CEILING  |  ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE EXECUTIVE ORDER  |  HUMAN TRAFFICKING  |  PROPOSED ASYUM RULE NOW IN EFFECT  |  YOUNG ADULT BORDER TRIP   DEBT CEILING:  The debt ceiling debate in Congress is reaching fever pitch following announcement by the Department of Treasury that the United States could hit its debt limit close to June 1. There are significant implications should the nation default on its debt including funds for Social Security, veterans benefits and more. Though…

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. Lutheran Summer Music Academy Lutheran Summer Music is pleased to announce the creation of The Eugene and Mary Sukup Church Music Program through a grant from the Sukup Family Foundation of Sheffield, Iowa. The Church Music Program will expand LSM’s curriculum and educational offerings, including the creation of a new Liturgical Composer-in-Residence position, with Anne Krentz Organ serving during this…

As usual, in the right online environs, the Calvinist-Arminian (Provisionist) debate has carried on unabated by not actually engaging with the actual entailments of a real-life Calvinist-Arminian theology. In other words, what the reader will find, are people who are in this interminable joust, oriented by the five points of Calvinism, or not. There is a free-flow exchange between favorite prooftexts, and their ostensible exegesis, and/or an intractable debate about this or that philosophical understanding vis-à-vis God’s sovereignty and human agency in freewill. I am almost positive that everyone reading here is well aware of what I am referring to….

“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 ongoing violence in Ukraine, Palestine, Sudan, Israel, and Haiti… For places in the…