Congregational Spotlight: Movie Night & Community Conversation in Reno

Join us on Sunday, June 14th at 6:00 PM at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd for a screening of Selma and a community conversation. Selma tells the story of the historic voting rights marches led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and countless ordinary people whose courage helped shape our nation. Following the film, there will be an opportunity for reflection and discussion .

Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd
357 Clay Street
Reno, NV

All are welcome. We hope you’ll join us for an evening of learning, conversation, and community.

JUNE MATTERS: Tuesday is Primary Day!

Tuesday, June 9, is Primary Election Day in Nevada!

Polls are open from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM.

If you still have your mail ballot, it may be too late to return it by mail. The Secretary of State’s Office encouraged voters to mail ballots by June 2. Instead, please use an official ballot drop box or vote center to ensure your ballot is counted.

And remember: if you are in line by 7:00 PM, stay in line! You have the right to vote, and election officials will ensure everyone in line at closing time can cast their ballot.

Every vote matters. Make your voice heard on June 9!

All Together in One Place

JUNE 1, 2026

“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place” (Acts 2:1).

Every day, I receive emails and messages from members across this church. Many of you share concerns about the state of the world and how faith informs your response to troubling or perplexing events. Sometimes you ask me to speak out more often regarding current affairs, and sometimes you ask me not to speak so much. I cannot answer every message, yet I am learning from you and feel the heartbeat of this church through the concerns, fears and hopes you share with me.

To continue our conversation and respond to what I am hearing from you, I will issue a monthly message through the end of this year in a series called “All Together in One Place.” Each message will share a pastoral word that witnesses to God’s presence today, rooted in Scripture, our rich theological tradition and the social teaching that connects us for life together.

At the first Pentecost, the disciples were guided by the prophet Joel’s assurance that, even in troubling and perplexing times, God is faithfully present.

Our baptismal vocation together is to serve God and neighbor in daily life, fostering “a faith that is active in love, a love that seeks justice, and an insight that strives to discern what is right, good, and fitting” (ELCA social statement The Church in Society: A Lutheran Perspective, 1991, p. 6). Baptism invites us to love our neighbor, to steward creation, to advocate justice and mercy in situations of brokenness, and to seek peace.

As much as we strive to be “all together in one place,” we may not agree on how to do this. The letters I receive testify that we span a beautiful and God-given diversity that invites Lutherans into deep listening, moral deliberation and a certain humility as we seek the common good.

In our differences, we can still be together in one place, when that place is connection in the unity that only Christ gives us (1 Corinthians 12:12-27). We stand in one place when we embrace the dignity of every human being by engaging others with curiosity and respect. We stand in one place when we shake off the immobility of fear to nurture connection in diversity. Our witness to the world embodies 2 Timothy 1:7: “God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.”

Just as those early followers of Jesus Christ experienced the power of the Holy Spirit, may we also trust when the Holy Spirit comes blowing into our lives to connect the body of Christ.

In peace,