Dr. Mary Streufert (she/her) will be speaking on Sept. 30th for Part 1 of our webinar series! Dr. Streufert serves as the director for Gender Justice and Women’s Empowerment in the Office of the Presiding Bishop in the ELCA. The description of her talk is in the attached posters, which are in English and in Spanish. Register at www.tinyurl.com/LutherWedding500

The ELCA Wittenberg Center is proud to present “Blessed to Be: Exploring Gender, Companionship, and Sexuality,” a three part webinar series this Fall! The theme is based on the Luthers’ 500th wedding anniversary. To register, go to www.tinyurl.com/LutherWedding500. Please spread the word and share this post!

Lutheran Engagement and Advocacy in Nevada is looking for people to:

Be the Bridge Between Your Congregation and Public Witness

LEAN Congregational Liaisons help connect faith communities in Nevada to advocacy for justice, mercy, and systemic change. By sharing resources, organizing opportunities, and lifting up the voices of your congregation, you’ll play a vital role in bringing faith into action.

What Does a Liaison Do?

• Share LEAN updates and resources with your congregation
• Invite members to take action (letters, emails, visits to legislators, petitions)
• Stay connected through monthly LEAN liaison conversations
• Represent your congregation at advocacy days, forums, and events
• Help your congregation engage both charity and justice

What’s the Commitment?

• About 1–2 hours per month
• Especially active during the Nevada legislative session
• Supported with training, resources, and community from LEAN

Why Become a Liaison?

• Build stronger connections between your faith and public life
• Equip your congregation to act on issues that matter in Nevada
• Join a statewide network of faithful advocates for justice

📩 Interested?
Contact LEAN Nevada at paullarson@leanforjustice.org.
“From the pews to policy, we are called to love our neighbor.”

A recent report from Western Resource Advocates, highlighted by KUNR, warns that the rapid expansion of data centers in Nevada and across the Mountain West will put enormous strain on our already-limited water and energy resources.

• Utilities project more than a 50% increase in electricity demand over the next decade, much of it driven by data centers.
• Water use for data centers in the region could reach 7 billion gallons annually — the same amount of water used by nearly 200,000 people in a year.
• In Nevada, emissions from NV Energy are already trending upward, threatening both public health and our climate commitments.

As people of faith, we understand this not simply as an economic or technological issue, but as a matter of justice, stewardship, and the common good.

Why This Matters for Lutheran Engagement and Advocacy

The ELCA’s Caring for Creation social statement calls us to protect God’s creation and ensure that environmental burdens are not unfairly placed on the most vulnerable. In Nevada, this means:

• Water Justice: Our desert state cannot afford to have water diverted without transparency. Communities, Indigenous nations, and rural households already live with scarcity.
• Energy Justice: Rising demand risks higher utility rates, which hit low-income families hardest.
• Creation Care: Data center growth must not come at the cost of more fossil fuel emissions. God calls us to preserve air, land, and water for future generations.
• Transparency & Accountability: Companies should be required to report their water and energy use, and tax incentives should only be granted when development advances sustainability and equity.

Our Call

Lutheran Engagement and Advocacy in Nevada urges state leaders, regulators, and communities of faith to:

• Require full reporting of data center water and energy use.
• Tie tax incentives to renewable energy sourcing and water-efficient technologies.
• Protect ratepayers from cost increases driven by corporate development.
• Prioritize long-term sustainability and intergenerational justice in all utility and infrastructure planning.

Our Witness

As Lutherans, we proclaim that God’s creation is not a commodity to be exploited but a gift to be cherished. We will continue to advocate for policies that put people and planet before profit, ensuring that Nevada’s growth honors both justice for our neighbors and care for God’s creation.