As the world observes World Refugee Day on June 20, Lutheran Disaster Response invites Lutherans to renew their commitment to refugees and migrants through learning, advocacy, and generosity. With global displacement at record levels, this reflection highlights our shared calling to accompany neighbors seeking safety, dignity, and hope.

Grounded in faith and solidarity, the article offers practical ways to respond through ELCA resources, advocacy opportunities, and support for Lutheran Disaster Response ministries serving displaced communities around the world. Read the full reflection from Lutheran Disaster Response.

Lutheran Engagement and Advocacy in Nevada wanted to provide resources for congregations to celebrate Juneteenth in their congregations!

In a deeply personal reflection reposted by Blessed Tomorrow, scholar Claire B. Crawford names the grief many feel amid climate anxiety, violence, division, and uncertainty while offering a prayerful call toward resilience, responsibility, and hope. Grounded in lament yet refusing despair, the piece invites readers to grieve what is broken without surrendering the possibility of healing and collective action. Read the original reflection from Blessed Tomorrow.

Last week, marked eleven years since we lost nine beautiful souls.

On June 17th, 2015, these faithful individuals welcomed a stranger into their Bible study. Their final collective act was one of radical hospitality and profound courage.

Their lives demonstrated that love is a fierce force of resistance. The Nine and the survivors did not succumb to terror.

Eleven years later, the legacy of the Emanuel Nine lives on as a testament to unyielding love, moral courage, and the refusal to let hatred prevail.

On June 19, 1865, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, enslaved people in Galveston, Texas finally learned they were free. Juneteenth commemorates that day and invites us to remember both the long struggle for freedom and the ongoing work of justice.

As people of faith, we give thanks for those who persevered in hope and continue to work toward a world where all God’s children can live in dignity, freedom, and peace.

God of freedom,

for voices that would not be silenced,

for hope that would not die,

for courage that carried people forward,

we give you thanks.

May we remember,

may we learn,

and may we join in your work

of justice, healing, and liberation.

Amen.