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NEW! Renewables and Lutheran Ethics
Lutherans Restoring Creation hosts a collective dialogue regarding the nuance and authenticity of renewable energy and faithful justice. This month, they welcome Chad Crowley, a renewables developer, to talk about of intersection of energy and Lutheran ethics on Tuesday, June 30 at 8 p.m. Chad shares his experiences coming into communities considering change and collaborating with fellow developers, all through a persistent lens of his faith and seminary training.
REGISTER
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NEW! Lutherans and the Revolutionary War
June 24 and July 24
Location: Meet at the Dewees Tavern,
301 W. Main St. Trappe, PA
Cost: $25 per person
Tour Times: 10 am to 12 pm and 2 to 4 pm
Celebrate 250 years of history with a special guided tour hosted by the Lutheran Archives Center at Philadelphia in partnership with Historic Trappe, exploring how Lutheran families such as the Muhlenbergs were integrally involved in the Revolutionary War.
Learn how the war directly impacted Lutherans in southeastern Pennsylvania and enjoy rarely-seen artifacts from historic congregations including Augustus Lutheran, New Hanover, St. Michael's Germantown, and St. Michael's and Zion in Philadelphia. Co-hosted by Historic Trappe and the Lutheran Archives Center at Philadelphia, this anniversary program highlights the faith, community, and cultural traditions that shaped life during the Revolutionary era. Tours are led by a combination of staff including Lisa Minardi, executive director; Christopher Malone, curator; Sheila Joy, archivist; and Haley Wrye, assistant archivist.
Augustus Lutheran Church will also be open for tours from 12 to 2 pm both days included with your purchase of a ticket.
More information and to sign up
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This week
Center of Addiction & Faith to host “Tending the Inner Garden: How Faith, Awareness, and Practice Create Real Change”
June 24 + 1:00 pm
Karen Rubinstein joins us to explore how lasting change happens in recovery, not just sobriety, but deeper emotional and spiritual growth. Learn why our reactions often stem from old fears, not the present moment, how emotional patterns shape our decisions, relationships, and recovery, and how truth, faith and practice help create lasting change.
REGISTER
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NEW! Engaging as People of Faith Amid the Rise in For-Profit Immigration Detention
Wednesday, June 24
1:00 pm | Online
The U.S. is experiencing an expansion of for-profit immigration detention centers, tragic death and abuses in these facilities, and record profits reported by contracting companies. How should people of faith respond? Learn about the history of immigration detention and the theology and biblical witness that can inform churches’ response, as well as ways to engage. This session is hosted by ELCA Advocacy and AMMPARO.
REGISTER
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NEW! Christmas-at-Sea in July
Seafarers International House, an ELCA affiliate based in New York City, invites congregations to assemble Christmas-at-Sea gift satchels this July or August — filled with knitted hats, scarves, warm clothing, and holiday greetings for seafarers who spend Christmas far from home. Thrivent clients can apply for $250 in seed money. For instructions, knitting patterns, or to donate $40 per satchel, visit sihnyc.org/christmas-at-sea. To order satchels or coordinate returns, contact Jeni Janis at jeni@sihnyc.org or 212-677-4800 ext. 7218.
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NEW! ReconcilingWorks Monthly Bible Study
ReconcilingWorks is starting a monthly online Bible Study, meeting every third Thursday of the month, led by a rostered leader. Upcoming dates include July 16, Aug. 20, Sept. 17, Oct. 15, Nov. 19 and Dec. 17. The Zoom link will be emailed to registrants two days in advance. The text for the study is for the Sunday 10 days after the Zoom gathering. Sermon notes will also be available on the website. Learn more and register. ReconcilingWorks: Lutherans for Full Participation advocates for the welcome, inclusion and equity of LGBTQIA Lutherans in all aspects of the life of their Church, congregation, and community. The study is free to participate, as is a book club series.
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NEW! ELCA “Facilities Self-Assessment”
Use this self-assessment tool from the Mission Investment Fund to reflect on how your facility is serving your current ministry. Identify areas of strength and potential improvement for capital planning.
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NEW! ELCA World Hunger VBS Resources
ELCA World Hunger offers several free VBS programs that include large-and small-group activities, crafts, games, snacks and more, all of which can be easily adapted to your needs and setting. Check out their latest VBS program, “At the Table,” which invites kids to grow as storytellers and story-hearers in preparation for a life lived on behalf of others. Physical copies of a bilingual version of the curriculum are available from the ELCA e-store.
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Get ready for Lutheran Summer Music 2026
Lutheran Summer Music (LSM) returns to St. Olaf College for its 2026 season, featuring over 40 free concerts, recitals, worship services, and special events free to the public. Highlights include the inaugural LSM Choral Gathering, guest performance by Cantus, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, the Bach Cantata Eucharist, and Festival Week concerts featuring LSM’s Festival Band, Choir, and Orchestra. Most events will also be available online via Live from LSM. View the season brochure, explore events, and reserve free tickets.
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ELCA World Hunger Domestic Hunger Grants
Now - July 1
These grants accompany congregations and their partners as they draw on the strengths of communities to address local issues such as food security, clean water, housing, job access, human rights, policy change and more.
Together, these ministries are part of a comprehensive approach to breaking the cycle of poverty and hunger, for good. You will need to submit a letter of inquiry by July 1 to be considered for a grant.
Letter of Inquiry Form
Guide for Writing Letter of Inquiry
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ELCA God’s Work. Our Hands
Mark your calendar for Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026 when congregations of the ELCA will join together for our annual day of service, “God’s work. Our hands.” Participating in service projects is one way to celebrate who we are as the ELCA — one church, freed in Christ to serve and love our neighbor.
As you explore opportunities to participate in your community, explore these resources to plan and promote your day.
If your congregation cannot participate on Sept. 13, you are encouraged to pick another date that fits your schedule. ELCA congregations participate in acts of service every day. This day of service is an extension of the work you already do to make your community a better place.
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Equipping the Church to Dismantle White Supremacy: A 5-part Webinar Series
In partnership with the ELCA Strategy for Authentic Diversity, the Albert “Pete” Pero, Jr. and Cheryl Stewart Pero Center for Intersectionality Studies at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, and the ELCA Association of White Lutherans for Racial Justice, presents a 5-part webinar series running May 12, 2026 - January 12, 2027 surrounding the topic of equipping the church to dismantle white supremacy. Register for these remaining webinars:
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Webinar 2: July 2
Freedom of a Christian: Reclaiming the Gospel of Justice
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Webinar 3: September 8
Dismantle: Using the Devotional in Congregational Life
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Webinar 4: November 10
Now is the Time: Living into our Church’s Declarations and Statements
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Webinar 5: January 12
Commemorating the Emmanuel Nine and George Floyd: Sacred Memory as Call to Action
REGISTER
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NEW! Reconsideration of ELCA Social Statement: Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust
The 2022 ELCA Churchwide Assembly invited the whole church into a reconsideration of certain pieces of the Human Sexuality Social Statement. The task force called to lead this work just released a study for groups to engage on the topics of conscience and faithful disagreement..
FAQ's
Where is the Study? elca.org/reconsiderations—first paragraph. Direct link here.
The ELCA website isn't working. If you are trying to download the Study or another resource and receive an error, please try refreshing 3-4 times and it should populate. Otherwise, email reconsiderations@elca.org.
Where is the survey link? It is on page 38 of the PDF of the Study
What is being reconsidered? The section on bound conscience—the four positions that ELCA Lutherans can faithfully hold about same-gender relationships.
The specific wording of Reconsideration #2 is—"substantive (Motion K) To authorize a possible revision of the social statement on Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust which reconsiders the church’s current concept of the four positions of bound conscience. This revision would focus on pages 19-21 (“lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships”) and any other references to the four positions of bound conscience."
A first reconsideration was already completed at the 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly—those were editorial changes to update the statement. (More information: elca.org/reconsiderations or Study FAQ)
Why do we have social statements? What do they actually do? ELCA social statements are teaching and policy documents that provide broad frameworks to assist us in thinking about and discussing social issues in the context of faith and life.
They are meant to help communities and individuals with moral formation, discernment and thoughtful engagement with current social issues as we participate in God’s work in the world.
Social statements also set policy for the ELCA and guide its advocacy and work as a publicly engaged church, including the public voice of rostered leaders--such as synod bishops and the Presiding Bishop.
Social statements result from an extensive process of participation and deliberation and are adopted by a two-thirds vote of an ELCA churchwide assembly.
Individual ELCA members are not required to agree with the teaching in order to be an ELCA member.
Will the task force gather comments and perspectives from across the church? Yes! Members of the task force will review all emails, letters, and survey result received, and there is a specific, extended public comment period based on a draft for each process.
I am concerned the task force is not representative of all points of view. How do I know my position is heard? The task force includes people who hold a diversity of views on human sexuality. They have engaged in prayer, conversation, and learning together. The task force will spend a lot of time reflecting together on the feedback from all quarters of our church received during the process--including the Study this year and the draft reconsideration in 2027.
Can the social statement define who can be ordained as a rostered minister or who can be married in the church? The social statement provides important foundational teaching, but it is not ministry policy. Ministry policy governs questions such as ordination, the calling of rostered ministers, and church practices. Ministry policy is governed by social teaching, but these are not the same. The reconsideration process the ELCA is engaged in now concerns a section of the social statement, not ministry policy. The task force has studied current and past ministry policy in the ELCA and the impacts of ministry policy on people in the ELCA in an effort to learn. However, the task force will not deliberate ministry policy nor propose changes to ministry policy.
If you have other questions, please reach out to Reconsiderations@elca.org.
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