LeaderWise’s online boundaries training workshop is lively and interactive, full of reflection and conversation. Attendees have given us feedback that our boundaries training was a great experience, AND caused them to re-evaluate some of their own practices.
The ELCA Churchwide Assembly, the primary decision-making body of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, is a process of communal spiritual discernment. When the ELCA Churchwide Assembly convenes, its voting members meet with confidence in God’s grace around word and water, wine and bread, to carry on their work on behalf of the entire church.
A 2-year program that focuses on (1) creating faithful, healthy & effective communities of faith, regardless of size, condition, or location (2) understanding & developing the congregation’s internal organizational life and leadership (3) the congregation’s relationship with the people and world outside of itself: potential visitors, the neighborhood, the broader world/culture (4) lay and clergy teams
Highlights include:
The Lutheran Community Services NW Fundraising Luncheon | November 3rd · Spokane
It’s A Wonderful Life Benefit Performance for LCSNW and EWU Campus Ministry | December 11 · Spokane
2020 ELCA Conferences | Save the Dates & Register
Synod Office Contact Information Updates
God's Work, Our Hands is a national ELCA initiative to get our congregations serving within our communities. Since 2016, the three congregations of the Tri-Cities (WA) have worked together for a weekend of service. This year we saw a record number of participants across all four ministry sites: First Lutheran - Kennewick, First Lutheran - Pasco, Lord of Life (Kennewick), and Pasco Latino Lutheran Ministry (PLLM). Approximately 155 people participated in six service projects across the area over the weekend (October 4-8).
Registration for BishCon 2019 is now open! Click here for more details about the event and the link to register.
Beloved of Christ,
By now you may know that in Churchwide Assembly the ELCA declared itself to be a sanctuary denomination.
I am writing to you all because there is a lot of misinformation out there about what this means, particularly if you get news from Fox, who unfortunately did not portray this in any accurate way.
Dear siblings in Christ,
As many of you know, last week the ELCA Churchwide Assembly adopted a resolution that, among other things, declared the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) a sanctuary denomination. Many of you are asking, “What does this mean?”
Our call to love our neighbor is central to our faith. In our baptismal covenant we promise to strive for peace and justice in all the world. One of the ways we live out this vow is through our commitment to welcoming the stranger. With this declaration, we publicly state that walking alongside refugees and immigrants is a matter of faith.
We have prepared talking points to provide a better understanding and further clarification on what sanctuary means for you and your congregations. We acknowledge this will look different in different contexts across the ELCA.
We also hope this resource will help guide conversations with your parishioners and your community about what our faith says about immigration.
“Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you,
for the glory of God” (Romans 15:7).
In Christ,
The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton
Presiding Bishop
Holy One, you formed the church to announce the words of eternal life to the world. Equip the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America which concluded its Churchwide Assembly yesterday to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. Gather the church together into one body for the sake of our shared mission to tell of the love of God. Filled with your Word, turn the church inside out so that we might live lives that proclaim your freedom and renewal to all the world. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
O God, source of all life, you raised Jesus from the dead and gave us the Spirit of his resurrection. Unbind your church from sin and the fear of death. Set us free to praise you with grateful hearts and to serve the world in Jesus’ name, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
