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!
“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.
Join the Cuba Interfaith Virtual Action Hour to learn about the humanitarian crisis in Cuba and take action by calling your representatives and senators. Visit https://bit.ly/4a53uen to register.
For-profit immigration detention is rapidly expanding across the U.S. On June 24 at 1-1:30 p.m. ET, hear from @elcaammparo, Theological Discernment, and Witness in Society staff about the history of immigration detention and the theology and biblical witness that can inform churches’ response, as well as ways to engage
Congress is debating a reconciliation package that includes $38 billion in additional funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and $26 billion for Customs and Border Patrol (CBP).
Congress is currently debating a $70+ billion reconciliation package that includes $38 billion in additional funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and $26 billion for Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) – enough to fund both agencies for the next three years. This package includes none of the reforms, accountability, or oversight that faith leaders advocated for following the killing of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, the detention of children, refugees and U.S. citizens, and both widespread fear and faith-filled resistance.
Earlier this year, faith leaders including Presiding Bishop Curry wrote in a letter to legislators that they “see this as a critical moment to legislate immigration policies that are just, humane and respectful of the dignity of immigrants who, like all people, are beloved children of God,” citing the verse: “The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the native-born among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:34).
Ask Congress to protect our neighbors by opposing funding for actions that are harming our communities, and by supporting reforms like protections for churches and other places of worship and an end to family detention.
Lutheran Engagement and Advocacy in Nevada 