Join us for a Candlelight Prayer Vigil on Wednesday, July 30 at 9:00 pm

What: Evening Candlelight Prayer Vigil
When: Wednesday, July 30 @ 9:00 pm, for approx 30 mins total (following the day’s assembly business)
Where: Peace Park (the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix park on E. Monroe St)
Theme: Recognizing and preserving the human dignity of all God’s people, with special emphasis on migrant, asylee and refugee communities

The occasion is the triennial Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Churchwide Assembly, in which 850+ Lutherans, including bishops and representatives of all 65 synods across the U.S. will gather in Phoenix to discuss church business, worship, and this year, elect a new presiding bishop. The ELCA has approximately 2.79 million baptized members in 8,498 congregations, and there are 30,000 ELCA Lutherans in Arizona.

The theme for the evening vigil is recognizing and preserving the human dignity of all God’s people, with special emphasis on migrant, asylee and refugee communities. This is a critical time to respond to the needs of our neighbor as we continue to live our faith in action, to care for the most vulnerable among us, those whom Jesus has told us to love and to care for, the poor and the marginalized. The ELCA practices an accompaniment model, which means we work together in solidarity with our global companions, striving to share God’s love and to participate in God’s mission together.

The 30-min program includes remarks from Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the ELCA and other faith leaders and legislators, music and prayer.

We anticipate that all Lutherans gathered for Churchwide Assembly will attend the vigil. Judicatory heads from across all faith communities in Arizona are being invited, as well as local congregations.

PLEASE PROMOTE IN YOUR CONGREGATION AND INVITE FRIENDS!

Here is a piece from NPR about St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in West Los Angeles.

Steps toward dismantling the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have come amid heavy floods and before the hurricane season. The ability to respond with federal disaster relief could soon no longer be an option.

Walking alongside communities in times of disaster requires compassion, coordination and strong infrastructure, as the experience of those of us active in Lutheran Disaster Response ministry and congregational disaster response can attest. While the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is not a perfect system, it is a vital and necessary part of our nation’s disaster response and recovery efforts. 

LDR experience has noted the difference FEMA support makes when paired with the local presence and long-term care that ministries like Lutheran Disaster Response provide. FEMA provides critical support for emergency monitoring, disaster relief and long-term recovery, especially for low-income communities and those hit hardest by catastrophic weather events. These programs are essential for helping communities prepare for disasters and rebuild in their aftermath.  

Although improvements are needed, dismantling FEMA is not reform—it’s abandonment. Proposals to eliminate FEMA or drastically reduce its role would leave communities without the funding, staffing and structure needed to respond effectively to disasters. Without this foundational support, local and state emergency services would face devastating cuts, leaving many communities—especially the most vulnerable—without the resources to respond or recover. 

On July 4, President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) into law—a massive budget reconciliation bill that makes substantive changes to U.S. policy. The bill is, without a doubt, unprecedented in the harm it will cause refugee and other immigrant communities.

And yet, the work of welcome continues.

As the law is enacted, Global Refuge will continue our advocacy to educate communities and members of Congress about the impact of these provisions and to work for change that restores and maintains access to basic assistance for refugees and other immigrants.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/44aM3GV