Tag: July

Issue 105 of Administration Matters Six must-haves for a secure ACH approval policy A secure church ACH approval policy protects funds from fraud and upholds your ministry’s financial integrity. By establishing a strong ACH approval policy that is reviewed and updated annually, you can reduce the risk of ACH fraud. >More A stronger community, together Portico Benefit Services’ 2025 Community Impact Report highlights what’s possible when congregations, organizations and ministry partners come together to support those who serve. See how shared resources and collective care create meaningful impact for our rostered ministers and church professionals — and across our broader…

Augsburg Fortress is the publishing ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Each month ELCA Worship highlights resources from Augsburg Fortress Publishers that support worship leaders, worship planners, musicians, and all who care about the worship of the church. ELCA Worship also features resources from other partners in a monthly blog post. Sing Many Names: Scriptural Images for God in Hymnody No single word or image conveys the mystery of God; we need many images in lively conversation and even then, all our language cannot capture the fullness of the living God. In Sing Many Names, scholar and musician…

Issue 100 of Administration Matters Online hearings – 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly The 2025 Churchwide Assembly hearings will be held on Microsoft Teams in the weeks prior to the assembly. These informative, nonlegislative sessions provide an opportunity to hear certain proposals scheduled for action at the 2025 Churchwide Assembly. In accordance with ELCA Constitution 12.31.A25., voting members, advisory members, resource members and people who fall under other categories approved by the Church Council may attend with voice. Others may watch the hearing yet shall not have voice. Hearings will take place 6-7 p.m. Central time on the following dates: Tuesday,…

Warm-up Questions What does it feel like to have your plans disrupted? What does it feel like to experience delays that are out of your control? A Global Software Glitch  Just small mistake in a few lines of code. That’s all it took to cancel thousands of flights, lock hospital computers, freeze bank operations, and even temporarily shut down government operations. Throughout the globe, millions upon millions of people’s lives were impacted by just a small mistake in a few lines of code. Some of you reading this may have dealt with the impacts directly. As I write this, I’m…

Issue 94 of Administration Matters How to Create a Mission Endowment Fund: A Guide for Congregations The ELCA Foundation has created a tool to help congregations that are considering an endowment. “How to Create a Mission Endowment Fund: A Guide for Congregations” provides a systematic approach to establishing a mission endowment fund, which enables congregations to be thoughtful stewards of bequests and planned gifts. You can find an electronic copy of the guide here. To learn more, you may also contact the ELCA Foundation at 800-638-3522 or email elcafoundation@elca.org. Information needed when filing an insurance claim for embezzlement Each situation…

Issue 88 of Administration Matters Protect your church’s operating reserve A well-designed contingency plan for a congregation maintains an operating reserve to cover the church’s expenses for at least four months should it experience difficulties and its income be drastically reduced. >More Know when to retain or discard synod or congregational records Congregations and synods must know which records and information they should keep and which can be removed. Some records need to be maintained permanently; others can be discarded periodically. >More for Synods. >More for Congregations. Church building redesigned with MIF loan Zumbro Lutheran Church in Rochester, Minn., had…

This month’s article is written by ELCA Disability Ministries Advisory team member Rev. Peter Heide, written from a perspective of blindness. “Organizations by and for people with disabilities have existed since the 1800’s.” [1] In 1921, the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) Home | American Foundation for the Blind (afb.org) was created to help veterans who had been blinded during World War I. Through the AFB, supported by Helen Keller and the national organization of Lions (Keller called them the Knights of the Blind), great strides were made creating employment opportunities for the blindness community (e.g., Randolph-Sheppard Act, 1936) Randolph…

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:  In gratitude for and solidarity with members of our community living with disabilities… For communities harmed by earthquakes in the Philippines and threatened by wildfires in California… For the life of Rev. Marlene Whiterabbit Helgemo, the first Native American woman ordained…

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. | Colorado | Minnesota | Pennsylvania | Virginia | Washington   U.N. Lutheran Office for World Community (LOWC), United Nations, New York, N.Y. – ELCA.org/lowc Dennis Frado, Director The UN High Level Political Forum (HLPF) is was held from Tuesday, 5 July, to Thursday, 7 July, and from Monday, 11 July, to Friday, 15 July 2022, under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). It…

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 those in London and all across Europe, experiencing record-high temperatures and facing the on-going threat of wildfires… For jurors, students, and families in the midst of the Parkland shooting sentencing trial… For the victims of the mall shooting in Indiana,…