Get to know what is on your ballot. The Non Judicial Candidate filing is coming up soon!

Nevada’s Second Congressional District is open for the first time in over a decade.

Escalating settler violence and illegal settlement threaten our Lutheran partners and neighbors in Beit Sahour, near Bethlehem in the West Bank.

Beit Sahour residents benefit greatly from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Beit Sahour, and its adjoined Lutheran school (The Evangelical Lutheran School of Beit Sahour), which serve all members of its community—Christian and Muslim- through high-quality K-12 education, community service programming, and support of the local scouts troupe. These are ministries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), a close partner to the ELCA.

The Yatziv Settlement was erected on land belonging to Beit Sahour families, and its construction dispossesses them from this land. This illegal settlement cuts off much of the Beit Sahour community from one another, farmlands, schools, work, medical sites, and the main road which connects the entire southern West Bank from the northern West Bank. There is an incredibly high likelihood of extremist settler violence occurring against the residents of Beit Sahour. On Jan. 25 in a different historically Christian town in the West Bank, Birzeit, extremist settlers trespassed on private land before attacking and violently beating four members of the Christian family landowners. This is the reality for Palestinian residents when settlers illegally move in. 

The West Bank Violence Prevention Act, H.R. 3045/S.2667, provides Congress with the ability to push back against pervasive settler violence in the West Bank. As people of faith concerned with this situation we can urge passage, and also urge our elected officials to participate in sending a letter on these matters to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff demanding U.S. government action to protect Palestinian Christians who are a persecuted religious minority in the Holy Land.

As Christians, we are called to promote justice. Let us not stay silent when our siblings in Christ face this further infringement on their right to freedom of religion and freedom of movement, as well as increased danger to their physical safety.  Regarding international peace, the ELCA social statement For Peace in God’s World says, “we strive to strengthen our global perspective as individual Christians and as a church body, in spite of strong currents that push us to turn in on ourselves.”  Customize this Action Alert with your message to U.S. elected leaders.

The ELCA Task Force on Studies for Civic Life and Faith has released a study curriculum for use throughout our church. In providing this study curriculum and soliciting feedback, the task force invites you to join a conversation about religious liberty, the proper role of the church in relation to government, and many other critical topics. A response form after each session lets participants communicate with the task force itself on the material covered.

The preparation of this study is part of the process toward developing a social statement on these many topics related to civic life and faith. Participants’ feedback is key in helping the task force as it moves into the next phase of its work, drafting a social statement. The study response period is open through Oct. 15.

The curriculum has six sessions. The first is a core introduction, and the following sessions can be done in any order according to the interests of the group. Each session comes ready to use, with a teaching video, prayers, hymn suggestions, Scriptures, group discussion questions, suggested resources, and case studies taken from everyday life.

If you have questions, please reach out to civicsandfaith@elca.org. To learn more about the task force and its work, visit elca.org/civicsandfaith.

Core Materials

• Leader’s Overview & Materials | VIEW PDF
• Participant Guides for All Sessions | VIEW PDF

Individual Sessions

• Session 1: “How Is God’s Invitation to Discipleship Lived Out in a Democracy?” Leader’s Guide | VIEW PDF | WATCH VIDEO
• Session 2: “How Do Christians Address Controversial Civic Issues?” Leader’s Guide | VIEW PDF | WATCH VIDEO
• Session 3: “What Are Lutheran Views on Civic Life?” Leader’s Guide | VIEW PDF | WATCH VIDEO
• Session 4: “What Are the Objectives of Democracy in the United States? Leader’s Guide | VIEW PDF | WATCH VIDEO
• Session 5: “What’s Faith-based Living Got to Do With Civic Life?” Leader’s Guide | VIEW PDF | WATCH VIDEO
• Session 6: “How Do We Go in Peace to Love and Serve the Lord in Civic Life?” Leader’s Guide | VIEW PDF | WATCH VIDEO

Supplemental Materials

• On-the-ground Case Studies | VIEW PDF
• Conversation Covenant Poster | VIEW 4-PAGE PDF | VIEW FULL PDF | VIEW JPG
• Glossary | VIEW PDF
• All Videos | VIEW VIDEOS

Presiding Bishop Yehiel Curry has accepted an invitation from the GCS Hunger Leaders Network to join their monthly network call on Tuesday, February 24 at 6:00 pm.

If you’ve thought of joining the GCS Hunger Leaders Network calls but haven’t yet gotten around to it, now’s a good time! The virtual meetings are held monthly on the last Tuesday of the month from 6:00 – 7:00 pm AZ (PDT) time. Each meeting consists of a short devotion, update from a guest at ELCA Churchwide — this time, Bishop Curry! — and an update from a local hunger ministry. In addition, the meetings include upcoming events, resources and grants, and updates from hunger ministries across the synod. It’s well worth an hour of your time each month!

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87438171116

In a constantly evolving digital age, artificial intelligence (AI) has become part and parcel of modern life. Given its impact, as well as the overwhelming enthusiasm for and protest against it, how do we best live in the world with the reality of AI? How do we respond to it faithfully and theologically?

Join us online or in Berkeley on Wednesday, February 25 from 8:30 am – 3 pm for a dynamic day of inquiry! Learn more & register HERE!