Loaves and Fishes:

Expanding the Reach of Music Ministry in Your Congregation

As leaders of the church’s song, are we making the most of the loaves and fishes available in our respective congregations? Rather than lamenting the fact that we don’t have a variety of instrumentalists or an established handbell choir, can we celebrate the resources that we do have? A high school trombone player? Excellent! An eighth-grade percussionist? A retired clarinetist? Yes! We can definitely incorporate their talents in worship. This webinar will provide tips and strategies on expanding the reach of your congregation’s music ministry, utilizing the resources on hand, encouraging people to share their gifts.

Please remember in prayer Rev. Laurin Vance, Region 1 Church Wellness Network. Pastor Vance has been hospitalized after suffering a heart attack. He is in stable condition and continues to heal.

A story from our Southwestern Texas Synod written in collaboration with Rev. Ricardo Jimenez



“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Acts 1:8 (NRSVUE)

If you ever need to reach a church in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, you’ll be dialing “956” as the area code. This area is a unique blend of American and Mexican cultures, tucked in the furthest most point of the state, far away from San Antonio and Austin. What you will find here is the Holy Spirit actively weaving congregations, communities, and partners together like tributaries feeding into something greater and carrying it out “to the ends of the earth.” 

Texas is vast with huge distances that can feel very isolating. The congregations in the valley have felt isolated from and in the church, but this network is an intentional ministry, funded in part by ELCA and Synod resources, to ensure a consistent presence that connects them to each other, the synod, and vital partners.  

United at the Font: Partnering for the Future

Follow-up Events

Registration is open for our three half-day events this summer and fall. Whether or not you attended a United at the Font: Partnering for the Future event in 2025, you are invited to connect with friends from other denominations and keep working together for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

FREE thanks to our synod’s CaSTLE Grant from Wartburg Seminary

12:30-4:30pm each day

REGISTRATION is necessary to help our planners and facilitators

Good Shepherd – Pocatello August 8

Our Savior’s Clarkston August 22



Immanuel – Moses Lake September 12

Wildfire Response

Where might you send donations?

We know we are in for a long wildfire season. In consultation with Ray Shjerven, our Washington State VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster) liaison, we as a synod staff are lifting up the following organizations, who could receive your donations:

ELCA Disaster Response - still there after the dust settles

United Way - on the ground early

American Red Cross - on the ground during emergencies

Feel free to give to the United Way or American Red Cross in your state. You may also find a local agency that is doing amazing work. We, as the NWIM Synod, are not well resourced to handle disaster relief donations, and distributions

The task force leading the ELCA in reconsideration of a subsection of the social statement Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust is excited to share an opportunity for you and your congregation to participate in this important work this summer.

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 sessions in the study come ready to use with prayers, hymns, Bible readings, conversation questions, and options for dividing the study into smaller sessions. There is a survey link for participants to share feedback with the task force.

Please prayerfully consider leading your congregation or small group in this study. Your feedback is essential as the task force prepares a first draft of the social statement for the church to consider. The survey is open until Sept. 30, though additional questions and feedback can be sent to the task force at Reconsiderations@elca.org.

Download the study and learn more about the reconsideration process at ELCA.org/reconsiderations.

Sharing God’s Hope and Healing

SUPPORTING COMMUNITIES THROUGH THE CYCLE OF DISASTER

Since 1973, we have remained grounded in our mission to share God’s hope, healing and renewal with people impacted by disasters. We recognize that every disaster is local and that community leaders and organizations are best equipped to address needs following a disaster. We accompany partners worldwide across the disaster cycle—response, recovery, mitigation and preparedness—providing financial support, technical assistance, advocacy and networking. This work is relational: we stand with communities, congregations, and synods, social ministry partners, community-based organizations, tribal nations, companion churches and ecumenical partners.

Through the faithful work of our network, the Community of Practice, LDR is a trusted and dependable partner. We work with everyone and stay as long as needed, often for years. Key work includes providing emotional and spiritual care for affected people and leaders who respond, assisting communities holistically to meet varied needs, promoting disaster risk reduction by helping communities mitigate impacts through stronger infrastructure and preparedness planning and providing long-term recovery by addressing unmet needs months or years after a disaster strikes.

AMMPARO

AMMPARO is the ELCA's strategy for Accompanying Migrants with Protection, Advocacy, Representation and Opportunities. It comes from Psalm 46:1 ‘God is our refuge and strength.’ In Spanish, ‘Dios es nuestro amparo y fortaleza.’

AMMPARO is a holistic, whole church commitment by the ELCA to accompany vulnerable migrants and all who are forcibly displaced. It began after witnessing children and families forced to flee chronic violence, poverty, and environmental displacement in Central America, but is now the ELCA’s global migration strategy.

As part of the AMMPARO global migration strategy, the Iglesia Luterana Mexicana (ILM) provides a critical lifeline to those forced to flee their homes. This video highlights the ministry’s essential work in Mexico City's largest shelter, Casa Tochan, and showcases the amazing resilience of migrants seeking safety, dignity, and a better future.

NEW FROM ELCA WORSHIP

“Creation in Christ”

Annual Observance

A new ELCA Worship blog post provides background and practical implications for an addition to the church year calendar. “Creation in Christ” (or “Feast of Creation”), to be observed on Sept. 1 or the Sunday following, is supported with lectionary readings and forthcoming worship resources.

Join us online through Live from LSM and enjoy more than 30 free concerts, recitals, and worship services streamed live from Lutheran Summer Music at St. Olaf College.

Highlights include a special guest performance by Cantus, Bach's St. Matthew Passion, the Bach Cantata Eucharist, the Festival of Hymns, and joyful performances by the Festival Band, Choir, and Orchestra.

View the full schedule and watch live .

Published on May 25, Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, addresses the ethical challenges of artificial intelligence and calls for the safeguarding of human dignity in a rapidly changing technological world. It teaches that though technology and AI can be powerful tools for good, they are never neutral and must be guided by moral responsibility, the common good and respect for the human person.

Drawing on the tradition of Catholic social teaching, the document warns against the dangers of dehumanization, economic inequality, manipulation of truth and the concentration of power in the hands of a few, urging instead a vision in which work, freedom and truth are protected. At its core, the encyclical emphasizes that human beings — created in the image of God — possess an intrinsic dignity that no machine can replace, and it calls for global solidarity and shared responsibility to ensure that technological progress serves humanity rather than dominates it, ultimately promoting a “civilization of love” in the digital age.