Tag: ELCA

ELCA Observes National Day of Racial Healing   CHICAGO (Jan. 15, 2026) — In observance of the 2026 National Day of Racial Healing, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), in partnership with Augsburg Fortress Publishers, will host “Just Us Narratives: A Night of Centering Multiracial Voices Across the ELCA” on Tuesday, Jan. 20, from 6-8 p.m. Central time. The free program will be available online and in person at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church Celebration Campus in Naperville, Ill. The National Day of Racial Healing — an annual observance that follows Martin Luther King Jr. Day — is hosted by the W.K. Kellogg…

November is Native American Heritage Month. Racial Justice Ministries seeks to lift up the voices and work of our Indigenous siblings by highlighting the many events hosted by the ELCA’s Indigenous Ministries and Tribal Relations. We especially want to draw attention to the following two events:   15th Annual Vine Deloria Jr. Symposium Oct 11-15, 2025 Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (online)     National Day of Mourning November 27, 12pm Patuxet, MA     For more information visit: http://elca.org/indigenous                 ELCA Blogs

The U.S. government could run out of funding on Oct. 1, 2025, if Congress does not pass new legislation to fund its operations. A government shutdown would occur at midnight on Sep. 30, the end of the 2025 fiscal year, if no agreement is reached. On Sep. 24 the ELCA advocacy staff advanced the following message to members of Congress and The White House Faith Office.   September 24, 2025 ELCA Urges Immediate Return to Negotiating Table The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), a denomination of 2.7 million members who span the ideological and partisan spectrum, strongly urges the…

Over 1,000 people gathered in Phoenix, Arizona from July 28-August 2 for the ELCA 2025 Churchwide Assembly. The readings for worship were chosen to supplement the assembly theme, “For the Life of the World.” On Monday we proclaimed the body of Christ for the life of the world as we gathered for Holy Communion. Tuesday’s morning prayer centered us in baptism, as we heard the proclamation of John the Baptist in Luke’s gospel and gave thanks for the gifts of baptism. Wednesday’s service of Holy Communion focused on justice and peace for the life of the world and offered a…

The 2025 ELCA World Hunger Education and Networking Grant application cycle is now open!   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.  We will be accepting proposals from August 4th through September 15th. Grant application review will begin after September 15th. Please allow 2-4 weeks for review of your application. Grants average between $ 500 and $ 1,000 and…

A blessed Pentecost to you all! As noted in a previous post, our grant applications have been open now since May 15th. Here is an overview of the description of the grants for 2025 and guidelines/expectations for applications. This year we will be giving a total of $ 35,000 in grants (Applicants can apply for a grant up to $ 10,000.) For instructions on how to register and apply, please go to: https://www.elca.org/our-work/grants/impact-church-ministry after reading the description here. We’re excited to see God at work in your projects and plans! Peace, Rev. Lisa Heffernan, ELCA Disability Ministries,coordinator Grant applicants are…

This is a re-post of an article by Rev. Sarah Stadler, originally published in the Northeast Minnesota Synod Enews, covering the the March 7th – 8th gathering of hunger leaders from across Region 3.  On March 7-8, 2025, over 20 people from across Region 3 of the ELCA – Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota – gathered at Camp Onomia for a Hunger & Justice Leaders Retreat under the theme Making All Things New.  The group built relationships, discerned how God is calling hunger and justice leaders to better work together in our region to end hunger, and learned how…

By Joey Chin, ELCA Hunger Advocacy Fellow  ELCA Witness in Society is excited to introduce the six members of the 2024-2025 Hunger Advocacy Fellows cohort. The year-long fellowship integrates professional development with faith formation and offers fellows the unique opportunity to address issues at the state and national level. Engaging in the work of advocacy remains integral to the life of faith and essential to our present witness. We look forward to the work ahead as we participate in the development of a more just world.   Emily Ahren (D.C. Policy) Emily Ahern (she/her) is originally from Allentown, Pennsylvania, and…

Created to Be At the 2024 ELCA Youth Gathering where the theme “Created to Be” inspired young people to be their brave, free, authentic, disruptive, and discipling selves, there was a place in the Interactive Learning space that invited them to be “Drawn In! Moving Out!” It was an absolute joy to once again bring the vision of a worship learning experience I brainstormed in 2016 to life for the 2024 ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans. We staffed the booth with an incredible team from the ELCA Worship Staff, Lutheran Summer Music, the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, and…

In this election year, we are launching the #ELCAElectionActivator network, a facilitation of monthly virtual gatherings and email messages from the ELCA Witness in Society advocacy team to support and mutually equip our ELCA community in their localities interested in activities encouraging people to participate in the electoral process.   ACTIVE CITIZENS This church understands government as a means through which God works to preserve creation and build a more peaceful and just social order in a broken world. Our “civic participation is not simply voluntary, idealistic, or altruistic. The ELCA holds to the biblical idea that God calls God’s…