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By Dr. Shanta Premawardhana  More than 50 years ago, Dr. Mary Nelson (founder of Bethel New Life in the westside of Chicago) marched with Dr. Martin Luther King and gospel singer Mahalia Jackson in Chicago. For several decades, Dr. Nelson was a faculty member of OMNIA Institute’s predecessor organization SCUPE (Seminary Consortium for Urban Pastoral Education) and she continues as an Advisory Board member of the OMNIA Institute for Contextual Leadership. In an OMNIA podcast, Dr. Nelson talked about the Beloved Community as God’s vision for the city. It is that same vision that animated the founders of SCUPE to…

by Sandra Roper, ELCA Hunger Advocacy Fellow I feel like I often fall into the trap of seeing and hearing about different issues in our world through news or social media, but not quite knowing how to engage in a meaningful way. When a local non-profit that I support posted on social media asking people to contact their legislators in support of a bill, I realized that “Hey! That’s something I know how to do!” This call to action came shortly after I virtually attended the Days for All Peoples event through the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy (VICPP),…

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 Afghan refugees arriving in the United States… For all affected by flooding and landslides in Brazil; for the displaced, the grieving, and all providing assistance and support… For the work of the United Nations Security Council… For the safety and…

And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” So he said, “Teacher, say it.” “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?” Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but…

  The application period for 2022 ELCA World Hunger Education and Networking Grants will open in early Spring. Get notified when the application opens by subscribing to the ELCA World Hunger blog in the box on the left side of this page. Hunger Education and Networking Grants are one of the ways ELCA World Hunger accompanies congregations, synods, organizations, partners and local teams throughout the US and the Caribbean. We know that learning about the root causes of hunger and effective responses is key to ending hunger locally and globally. That’s why we are excited to share that our application…

The following is an invitation from the Graymoor Ecumenical and Interreligious Institute (GEII). All content and images are shared with the permission of GEII. January 18-25, 2022 Please join the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement, Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute, and the Interchurch Center Committee on Ecumenical, Interfaith, and Community Concerns, for a live-streamed Ecumenical Service of the Word in observation of the 2022 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Wednesday, January 19th, 2022 12:00 PM Eastern (GMT-5) Online via Facebook: Join Here Free and open to the public; the service will remain available online for later viewing. The 2022 theme…

Situation On Dec. 30, the Marshall Fire ignited in Boulder County, Colo. Over 6,200 acres burned quickly, forcing the evacuations of 35,000 people. The fire spread throughout suburban neighborhoods, destroying nearly 1,000 homes. While December wildfires are rare, the severe drought in the western United States created hazardous conditions that allowed the Marshall Fire to spread rapidly. This unusual fire is one of the impacts of a changing climate and will become increasingly more common. Response The Rocky Mountain Synod is collaborating with pastors and congregations impacted by the fires to develop a coordinated response and mobilize resources for communities….

Susan Palo Cherwien, Lutheran hymnwriter and poet, died December 28, 2021. Her hymns and meditations have been a gift to the church and world. Eight of her hymns are included in Evangelical Lutheran Worship: As the Dark Awaits the Dawn  261 Come, Beloved of the Maker  306 Day of Arising  374 O Blessed Spring  447 Rise, O Church, like Christ Arisen  548 Beloved, God’s Chosen  648 Signs and Wonders  672 In Deepest Night  699 Eight hymns are also included in All Creation Sings, the worship and song supplement to ELW: As Your Spirit in the Desert  923 Christ Is the…

I have had contact with Dr. Enrique Ramos for quite a few years via Facebook. He just recently reached out to me and out of the blue said he and the institution he represents (along with the Sub-Director of that institution, Dr. Fred Macharia) had an award they wanted to confer upon me. He said they both were thankful and appreciative for the work I have been doing with our edited books on Evangelical Calvinism, along with the furtherance of that through my other writings (here etc). He asked me what my legal given name was, I wasn’t sure why….

I am going to attempt to write a series of blog posts that will be sections of what potentially could be turned into a review essay on chapter 7 (the final chapter) of Bruce McCormack’s book The Humility of the Eternal Son: Reformed Kenoticism and the Repair of Chalcedon. Chapter 7 is where McCormack presents his constructive proposal on what he considers to be the needed ‘repair’ of Chalcedonian Christology. As the reader will see, he doesn’t abandon Chalcedon, he constructively engages with it offering an interesting proposal that I believe might be a way forward for thinking the Divinity and humanity of…