ELCA World Hunger’s Domestic Hunger Grant application Zoom webinar will offer information about the process of applying for a domestic hunger grant. Webinar will review granting priorities and the grant application process, how to submit an LOI, and answer questions from grant applicants. To join us for this virtual event, please register here. Participants will be provided with a link once registered. The webinar will be recorded and accessible via the Domestic Hunger Grant FAQ page.

Learn about ELCA World Hunger Domestic Hunger Grants.

Register Here

May 5: Wear Red and Raise Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

Tuesday, May 5, 2026 marks the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Relatives (MMIWGR), a day the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is calling all congregations and leaders to observe through prayer, advocacy, and visible witness.

At the 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, a memorial was adopted encouraging congregations, synods, and the churchwide organization to observe May 5 annually and promote the wearing of red as a sign of awareness and solidarity. This year, the ELCA’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Sub-Task Force has developed a comprehensive toolkit to help communities participate meaningfully.

WHY THIS MATTERS

The crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Relatives is ongoing. Indigenous communities continue to experience disproportionately high rates of violence, disappearance, and loss. As a church, we are called not only to awareness, but to repentance, accompaniment, and justice.

The ELCA’s commitment, rooted in its Declaration to American Indian and Alaska Native People, calls us into solidarity with Tribal nations, families, and advocates who continue searching for loved ones.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE ON MAY 5

Congregations and individuals across the Grand Canyon Synod are invited to:

• Wear Red on May 5 as a visible sign of remembrance and advocacy
• Share social media posts and graphics from the ELCA toolkit
• Engage in conversation, prayer, and learning within your community
• Attend a virtual vigil hosted by Women of the ELCA at 5:00 p.m. PDT, 7:00 CDT. Link here.
• Explore resources and stories to deepen understanding and response

Wearing red is more than symbolic, it represents both remembrance and the voices that are still unheard.

BEYOND ONE DAY

May 5 is a beginning, not an endpoint. The toolkit encourages ongoing engagement through:

• Following Indigenous-led organizations working for justice
• Hosting book studies, film discussions, or community conversations
• Advocating for policies that protect Indigenous women and communities
• Participating in vigils and prayer gatherings throughout the year

As Lutherans, we understand justice as part of our call to love our neighbor. This work reflects our shared commitment to walk alongside those who suffer, speak truth about systems of harm, and participate in God’s healing work in the world.

A CALL TO THE SYNOD

We encourage every congregation, ministry partner, and leader to share this toolkit, lift up this awareness day, and participate in ways that are meaningful in your context.

Let us be a church that does not look away—but instead remembers, honors, and acts.

For more information, resources, and social media graphics, access the ELCA toolkit and share it widely. If you have questions, you may also reach out to the MMIW Sub-Task Force or Chair Brenda Blackhawk.

On May 5, wear red. Pray boldly. Speak clearly. Stand together.

Nevada imports the vast majority of its food. When supply chains are disrupted, grocery prices rise or shelves thin, our communities feel it immediately. Strengthening local and regional food systems is not just an economic issue — it is a matter of food security, public health, and care for our neighbors.

At the same time:

• 1 in 7 Nevadans experiences hunger
• Rural counties like Nye, Esmeralda, Mineral, and Lincoln face some of the highest food insecurity and longest drives to full grocery stores
• In urban areas — Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Reno, Sparks, and Carson City — entire neighborhoods are classified as food deserts

Food insecurity is shaped by housing costs, low wages, transportation access, and rising food prices, not by a lack of food alone.

Nevada’s Farmers and Ranchers

Nevada producers are innovators, but they face structural barriers:

• Extreme heat and drought
• Over-allocated and declining water resources in the Colorado River Basin
• High land and transportation costs
• Lack of in-state processing and distribution infrastructure
• Difficulty accessing large institutional buyers

And yet, from the Carson Valley and Fallon to Pahrump, Amargosa, and Moapa, Nevadans are growing:

• Specialty crops
• Dairy and beef
• Tribal and traditional foods
• Hydroponic and greenhouse produce

Consumers, schools, and restaurants are actively seeking Nevada-grown food, but farmers need the policy and infrastructure to get it to market.

Nevada Policy Opportunities

Strengthen Local Food Economies

• Invest in food hubs, cold storage, and distribution networks so small producers can sell to schools, hospitals, and grocery stores
• Expand Farm-to-School and Farm-to-Institution purchasing
• Increase support for beginning and small-scale farmers, including tribal producers

Water & Climate Resilience

• Support water-efficient irrigation and soil-health practices
• Protect agricultural water access while planning for long-term drought
• Fund climate-resilient growing systems (greenhouses, controlled-environment agriculture)

End Hunger in Nevada

• Protect and strengthen SNAP and WIC access
• advocate for universal free school meals
• Invest in senior and rural nutrition programs

Food Access in Every ZIP Code

• Incentivize grocery stores and mobile markets in underserved communities
• Support transportation solutions for rural food access

What Lutherans Are Already Doing in Nevada

Across the Sierra Pacific Synod and the Grand Canyon Synod’s Nevada congregations:

• Food pantries and weekly community meals
• Community gardens
• Partnerships with food banks in Northern Nevada and Southern Nevada
• Advocacy for hunger programs and just economic policy

Many of our members serve as:

• Agricultural workers
• Truck drivers and warehouse staff
• Grocery and food-service workers
• Nutrition program leaders

This is our shared ministry.

A Lutheran Theology of Food

In Nevada — one of the driest states in the nation — food and water are sacred.

• At the table of Holy Communion, we receive bread and wine, fruits of the earth and human labor
• Manna in the wilderness teaches us there is enough when we trust God’s daily provision
• The gleaning laws show that food systems must include the poor
• Jesus feeds people without asking their status, income, or citizenship

Food is not a commodity alone — it is a sign of God’s justice.

ELCA Social Teaching

This work lives at the intersection of:

• Caring for Creation – sustainable agriculture in a drought-stricken state
• Sufficient, Sustainable Livelihood for All – fair markets for Nevada producers
• Hunger, Poverty, and Economic Justice – food access as a human right

A Call to Action for Nevada Lutherans

Together we can:

• Advocate for state funding for local food infrastructure
• Partner with Nevada farmers and farmers markets
• Expand congregational meal and garden ministries
• Support policies that ensure every Nevadan can afford healthy food

Because in Christ’s economy, everyone is fed, the land is healed, and the community rejoices.

While adopted in 1994, the social message on “Community Violence” remains sadly relevant today. The message speaks about the causes of violence as complex and pervasive, and of how violence breeds violence. In proclaiming the forgiveness and love of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the church addresses the root of violence while being committed to social actions that respond directly to community violence and the people it affects. The message explores how the church can live out this commitment as a community of worship, education, service and ongoing deliberation and advocacy.

“Community Violence” urges us to become more involved in countering the reality and fear of violence in our communities and our neighbors’ communities, pursuing justice and seeking peace no matter how long the journey or complex the challenge.

You can read or download the full social message on “Community Violence” in English or en español.

English Espanol

Lutheran Engagement and Advocacy in Nevada continues to follow developments across the Sierra Pacific and Grand Canyon Synods regarding immigration and community safety.

We are aware of recent reports of ICE activity and community response in California. These reports reflect a broader national landscape where immigration enforcement actions are raising concern, prompting public protest, and leading to policy conversations at local and state levels.

We invite congregations and partners to:

• Share local observations or verified reports of immigration enforcement activity
• Communicate any pastoral or community care needs arising from these situations
• Stay connected as we work to provide faith-based resources, education, and advocacy grounded in dignity, accompaniment, and justice

As Lutherans, we are guided by our call to welcome the stranger, accompany our neighbors in fear, and advocate for policies that uphold human dignity and the common good.