Current News
The Prayer and Presence in Public Life Working Group is happy to share with you the attached For the Common Good: Prayers and Resources for Congregations in Public Life. Enclosed are suggestions for how this could be shared with your ministry site.
This is an alternative disaster training option put on by the United Methodist Church Disaster Ministries of Oregon-Idaho.
Growing up in Custer, South Dakota, Labor Day weekend always marked the end of the major tourism season that shaped so much of life in the Black Hills in the 1990s. Of course, Labor Day celebrates much more than that, and in 2026 it can hold many meanings.
Can you imagine the blessing in truly knowing our siblings in Christ, partners in ministry, in our sister synod, the Ulanga Kilombero Diocese in Tanzania?
Twelve of us had these experiences and so much more this past June when we visited our companion synod.
Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) is glad to offer an “Introduction to Disaster Response” webinar for the Northwest Intermountain Synod on Thursday, September 10 at 11am PT/12pm MT. The webinar will last 90 minutes and include time for questions & answer.
Why the First and Last 10 Minutes Matter in Creating an Invitational Church by Rev. Dr. Moses D. Barrios. Fron the Evangelism Network Blog.
Weekly Book Study on Zoom
Tuesdays @ 5:00 pm PDT / 6:00 pm MDT
LuMin is the Lutheran Campus Ministry Network. As part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), LuMin celebrates our partnerships with other traditions and welcomes people from a variety of faith backgrounds.
Refer a Student
Rostered Leaders and SAMs are invited to register for the October 12-14 Bishop’s Convocation in Lewiston, ID. The presenter is Rev. Leila Ortiz and theme is Baptism in Muddy Waters.
Reister Now
Sunday, September 27
Join the seven Seminaries of the ELCA to explore your sense of call, learn about your seminary options and consider what is next for your vocational journey.
One month away! On Sunday, Sept. 13, congregations of the ELCA will gather for our annual day of service, “God’s work. Our hands.” This day offers an opportunity to celebrate who we are as the ELCA — one church, freed in Christ to serve and love our neighbor.
The task force has released a new study to foster conversation across this church and to generate feedback that will guide its work. The study, “Conscience and Conversation: A Study During the Reconsideration of the Social Statement Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust,” invites reflection on agreement and disagreement in a church called to pursue justice and peace together through “the unity of the Spirit” (Ephesians 4:3).
The survey is open until Sept. 30.
Bishop Manlove, together with the Synod Council, has convened a task group to help congregations within our Northwest Intermountain Synod (NWIMS) reach out to their county clerk or auditor, the person, along with their colleagues, responsible for ensuring that the lawful requirements for voting in county, state, and national elections are followed to the letter.
The NWIM Synod is searching for a Candidacy Manager who would work 200 hours each year for the synod. We are open to hiring a pastor, deacon, or lay person living within 90 miles of the Spokane office.
Sophia’s Table is an ecumenical campus ministry at Boise State University supported by the UMC, ELCA, and PCUSA. Sophia's Table is an open and affirming ministry where students build real relationships, honor lived experience, and grow together in faith, love, and community. Please refer your students.
ONMY is a summer day camp program where kids enjoy technology-free days of bike riding, exploring, and playing games. OMNY also ensures kids receive nutritious family-style meals around a table each day for breakfast and lunch.
An EcoFaith Conversation about Solar for the Good of the World
featuring Bishop Meggan Manlove and Bill McKibben
Thursday, September 3 on Zoom
3 pm Pacific - 4 pm Mountain
It has been a joy to connect with many of you at recent events. This month, the Church Property Resource Hub team has traveled widely, leading workshops, engaging with rostered ministers and gathering with colleagues across the church. Please read attached Newsletter.
The NWIM Synod has been in relationship with the Ulanga Kilombero Diocese (UKD) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania for 38 years now! We walk Bega kwa Bega (Swahili for Shoulder to Shoulder) with the people of the UKD. Yet, not everyone knows the life-giving value of our relationship with siblings in Christ so very far away.
This is a chance to get to know the folks from other ELCA Lutheran churches in our area as well as those in communion partnership with Lutherans (The Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church (USA), United Methodist Church, United Church of Christ, Reformed Church in America, and The Moravian Church.) We are also inviting our neighboring churches in Genesee, the Catholic Church and Community Church, as we strive to serve this community alongside them.
The right to vote is sacred, fought for over generations and defended throughout the years. In the current administration, we have seen a renewed effort to suppress and limit the right to vote of eligible groups, suppress voter turnout, and purposefully create confusion and mistrust in the electoral system. As trusted messengers, faith communities can share accurate, up-to-date information about voting and have the relational networks to encourage voter turnout through honest conversations and timely reminders.
Presiding Bishop Yehiel Curry issues his third in a series of monthly messages that continue through the end of this year, titled "All Together in One Place." Each message will share a pastoral word, rooted in Scripture, that witnesses to God’s presence today, our rich theological tradition and the social teaching that connects us.
Why the 2027 ELCA National Youth Gathering
I am a huge fan of the ELCA Youth Gatherings. When I stood for the bishop’s election in our synod in 2023, I quoted Galatians 5:13-14 as a central verse for my life and ministry. Guess where I first really heard that verse—the 1991 Gathering in Dallas when the theme was “Called to Freedom.” I attended again in Atlanta.
Greetings from the road!
It has been a joy to connect with many of you at recent events. This month, the Church Property Resource Hub team has traveled widely, leading workshops, engaging with rostered ministers and gathering with colleagues across the church. Read our newsletter for a few highlights from our July travels.
United at the Font: Partnering for the Future 2026
Register now for October 10th in Ontario, OR.
Two of our three volunteer opportunities are now open — and this is your invitation to step into something meaningful. To serve. To lead. To help create a space where thousands of young people will encounter God, community and a faith that lasts.
From July 15 to September, order 10 or more Bibles and receive free shipping!
We’ve all heard the phrase, “inclusion”, but what does it actually mean to make an organization or even our personal lives more inclusive? How can we get beyond grouping and labeling of other humans according to the color of their skin, the religion they practice, their political views, or the country in which they were born? Can we really build a just and inclusive world, especially in this time of such division?