Tag: October

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. | ARIZONA | CALIFORNIA | COLORADO |KANSAS | MINNESOTA | WASHINGTON |WISCONSIN   New York Lutheran Office for World Community (LOWC), U.N. – ELCA.org/lowc Christine Mangale, Director LWF Assembly: Lutheran Office for World Community (LOWC) director Christine Mangale joined more than a thousand participants from around the global Lutheran communion who gathered in Krakow, Poland for the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Thirteenth Assembly. It took…

Drew Tucker, Columbus, OH Warm-up Question Think of something that affects everyone, that’s often unpopular, and that’s necessary for living in a society. Share with a group or a trusted friend how you feel about that thing that you’ve named.  Taxing Question Thanks to the recent threat of a government shutdown, averted by a last-minute stopgap funding bill that President Biden signed into law on September 30th, 2023, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about how we fund living in our shared society. From infrastructure like roads and utilities to people like first responders and postal workers, our taxes…

from the ELCA advocacy office in Washington, D.C. – the Rev. Amy E. Reumann, Senior Director Partial expanded content from Advocacy Connections: October 2023 IN A TIME OF WAR | NATIVE AMERICAN HOUSING REFORMS | COUNTERING GLOBAL CORRUPTION | YOUNG ADULT MIGRATION ADVOCACY | CLIMATE WEEK NYC   IN A TIME OF WAR: The devastating loss of life in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories since Oct. 7 grieve us all. U.S. churches including the ELCA have spoken on the conflict several times (including 10/7/23 and 10/12/23); the Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, ELCA presiding bishop, issued a statement on Israel-Hamas…

Courtney Geibert, Redwood City, CA Warm-up Question What is your relationship with nature and the planet?  Climate Crisis and Stewardship In March 2023, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its final report on climate change. Drawing from the research of over 700 scientists, the IPCC spent thirty-five years recording the physical science, impacts, and mitigation of climate change. According to the IPCC, humans have made unprecedented changes to our planet in a short time, resulting in irreparable harm to people and the environment. Today, over 3 billion people live in countries susceptible to climate impacts such…

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. Election Day Resources: ELCA prayer and worship resources for Election Day are available here. Intercession prompts: For those grieving in the aftermath of the shooting at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in St. Louis, Missouri… For all affected by school shootings…

Josh Kestner, Clemson, SC Warm-up Question Who are some people that you look up to in your life? What have they done to make you respect them? Tell about a time when your faith and values did not line up with your experience of reality. How did you feel? What did you do? Resilient Women I am in awe of the Muslim women involved in protests surrounding the wearing of the hijab. They are heroes who are showing strength and resilience in the midst of persistent pushback. One of the things that has struck me is that there is no…

from the ELCA advocacy office in Washington, D.C. – the Rev. Amy E. Reumann, Senior Director Partial expanded content from Advocacy Connections: October 2022 GLOBAL MALNUTRITION PREVENTION AND TREATMENT ACT PASSES!  |  DACA-RELATED DECISION STILL INDICATES NEED OF PERMANENT PROTECTIONS  |  INFLATION REDUCTION ACT AND CHURCH BUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE  |  ACUTE AWARENESS OF DISASTER RESPONSE NEEDS  |  ELECTION DAY IS ALMOST HERE GLOBAL MALNUTRITION PREVENTION AND TREATMENT ACT PASSES: We celebrate that the bipartisan Global Malnutrition Prevention and Treatment Act recently passed the Senate following spring passage by the House and thank the many Lutherans who used their voices to encourage this…

Steve Peterson, Saulk Rapids, MN Warm-up Question Has there been a time in your life when you longed for someone, or God, to have a little mercy on you?   Lord Have Mercy Sometimes we experience a tension in life.  We want to see ourselves in a position of superiority, thinking of ourselves as better than “other kinds of people”.  But we also feel a pull toward humility and a stance of shared humanity with all people.  Resentment may come into play.  We are tempted to dehumanize those we resent, maybe even punish them. We think ourselves justified in considering…

CeCee Mills, Greensboro, NC Warm-up Questions What is the difference between being persistent and being annoying? How do you decide when to push harder and when to pull back? Persistence I keep thinking about the people’s determination in the Ukraine. It has been nearly eight months since the invasion began. Ukraine’s population is forty-four million compared to Russia’s one hundred forty-four million. I watch President Volodymyr Zelensky and I feel inspired. I am sure it was not a surprise that they were attacked – but I wonder what the citizens feel. I assume they feel displaced, angry, scared, and untethered….

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 the victims and families of the mass shooting at a daycare center in Thailand… For peace amid the escalating conflict between Palestine and Israel… For the victims and rescue workers in the aftermath of a landslide in Venezuela… For the…