June 17 is the commemoration of the Emanuel Nine, martyrs who died in 2015. Prayers and other resources for worship are available here.

In Nevada, too many of our neighbors struggle to access mental health care, especially in rural communities where providers are limited and waitlists are long.

Mental health is not a personal failure. It is a public health issue.

As people of faith, we are called to break stigma, support compassionate care, and advocate for systems that help people heal and thrive.

No one should suffer alone.

You’re working full time.
You’re doing everything right.
And your rent still goes up.

Now you’re deciding:

Do you pay rent… or groceries?

This is the reality for too many people in Nevada.

The housing crisis isn’t just about numbers. It’s about neighbors being pushed into impossible choices while the cost of everyday life keeps rising around them.

Across Nevada, many families are feeling the strain:
• Rent continues to climb
• Energy bills keep rising
• Gas prices remain unpredictable
• Groceries cost more than they did just a few years ago

For seniors on fixed incomes, working families, young adults starting out, and neighbors already living paycheck to paycheck, even one unexpected expense can become a crisis.

As people of faith, we believe housing is about dignity, stability, and the well-being of our communities. No one should have to choose between keeping a roof over their head and feeding their family.

We can build something better.
But only if we stay engaged, show up, and demand policies that put people before profit and strengthen the common good.

Lutheran Lobby Day 2026 is in the books in California.

Over 120 people worshiped and prayed together on Tuesday evening and met with lawmakers on Wednesday. We advocated for water rate assistance, balcony solar power, public safety, and additions and improvements to the CA Food Assistance Program. We met with 2/3 of the CA legislature in fewer than 5 hours!

Special thanks goes out to Downey Memorial Christian Church for sharing your pastor Rev. Tanya Lopez with us for worship, St. John’s Lutheran Church for being phenomenal hosts, California Lutheran University and Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary for sending bright eager minds to teach and inspire us, Sierra Pacific Synod – ELCASouthwest California Synod ELCAPacifica Synod ELCA for their mission support and investment, and Kate Parsons, ELCA Ammparo and ELCA Advocacy for prioritizing state-based public policy work in California.

https://www.livinglutheran.org/voices-of-faith/what-freedom-requires/

Former Sierra Pacific Synod Vice President and Japanese American Gail Kiyomura recalls her father’s experience of World War II-era internment in Topaz, Utah, part of a larger uprooting of 120,000 individuals — nearly two-thirds of them U.S. citizens — that resulted from President Franklin Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066. Kiyomura’s story is part one of a three-part Living Lutheran series publishing during the month of May in which Lutherans reflect on their families’ experience of Japanese American incarceration. Read the second installment, “What freedom requires,” on LivingLutheran.org.

Read the First Installment Here.