How might your congregation engage in advocacy on behalf of our neighbors in need on “God’s Work, Our Hands” Sunday? Ask us how!

On Sunday, Sept. 7, congregations will join together for “God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday.

This annual day of service is an opportunity to celebrate who we are as the ELCA — one church, freed in Christ to serve and love our neighbor.

To help you plan for “God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday, we invite you to visit ELCA.org/DayofService for resources including:

• 2025 God’s work. Our hands. Toolkit
• 2025 worship resource.
• 2025 “God’s work. Our hands.” poster (with date of Sept. 7).
• 2025 “God’s work. Our hands.” poster (with date of Sept. 7), Spanish.
• 2025 customizable poster to add your day of service.
• 2025 customizable poster to add your day of service, Spanish.
• 2025 PowerPoint template.
• 2025 PowerPoint template, Spanish.
• 2025 social media art (with date).
• 2025 social media art (with date), Spanish.
• 2025 social media art (no date).
• 2025 social media art (no date), Spanish.

Old Lutheran has T-shirts and other items available for purchase. The deadline for ordering your congregation’s personalized T-shirts is Aug. 18.

Don’t forget to share your participation with us. Send your stories and photos to LivingLutheran@elca.org so that together we can celebrate what God accomplishes through you.

Participate on social media using #GodsWorkOurHands.

If your congregation cannot participate on Sept. 8, please consider another day for your service activities. We know that you work every day to make a positive impact on your community!

Go in peace, serve the Lord!

Next week, Pastor Paul will join the Sierra Pacific Synod Border Immersion Trip, traveling to El Paso, Ciudad Juárez, and Las Cruces. During the trip, he will visit ELCA congregations and connect with ministries working along the U.S.–Mexico border in the El Paso area.

Pastor Paul looks forward to learning from those engaged in vital border and immigration ministries, and he will share reflections from his experience right here on the LEAN website.

A great program for passionate environmentalists! APPLY BY JUNE 15, scholarships available. Center for Climate Justice and Faith at PLTS

It’s that time of year again! We’re accepting applications to the Certificate in Climate Justice and Faith program through June 15, 2025. This program is designed for lay leaders and clergy members from around the world who want to be effective advocates for climate justice. Students will grow their faith, practice skills, gain knowledge, and build community to allow them to address the climate crisis in ways that also address racial, gender, and economic injustices.

This two-semester program will begin September 2025 and end May 2026. A 100% online curriculum allows students from around the world to build relationships through bi-monthly small group meetings on Zoom. Since launching in 2021, students from 29 countries and five continents have participated. The full cost of the program is $600. Scholarships of up to $550 are available if needed, please do not let finances prevent you from applying.

Applications are due June 15, 2025 and can be found here: https://bit.ly/CJFCertApp

More information about the Certificate can be found here: https://centerforclimatejusticeandfaith.org/…/certific…/

Use these 30-minute reflections plus 15-minute Q&A sessions on advocacy tips and themes to lay groundwork and stimulate discussion in congregations, study groups, advocacy teams, and other settings to deepen understanding of and/or advance your own advocacy priorities.

These freshly updated resources were originally presented by ELCA Witness in Society in Summer 2021, but the topics have something to offer year-round.

In the ELCA we believe that, through baptism, God is calling us into the world to serve together. Shaped by the ELCA’s social teaching documents and the experiences of its congregations, ministries and partners, we advocate to end world hunger and stand up for policies that create opportunities to overcome poverty, promote peace and dignity, preserve God’s creation and promote racial and gender justice.

1. What is Faith-Based Advocacy? Wondering about how advocacy fits into our Christian and Lutheran presence in policy discussions? Session 1 of ELCA Advocacy Summer School paints a picture of what advocacy is and how advocacy is shaped with a faith foundation, especially as members and affiliates of the ELCA. PLAY VIMEO.
2. How Do I Approach Policy Makers? If you want to be part of moving the needle on a policy matter, Session 2 of ELCA Advocacy Summer School can demystify and encourage your participation in the process. Knowledge from ELCA advocacy and Capitol Hill staff as well as state and personal experiences will help you understand this access point with policy decision makers. PLAY VIMEO.
3. How Do I Use Media for Impact? Gaining attention for your advocacy aims can amplify your efforts. Tips for using op eds, letters to the editor, event attention and social media are among topics highlighted during Session 3 of ELCA Advocacy Summer School. PLAY VIMEO.

Download the PDFs below!

George Floyd: We Rise. We Resist. We Remember. Five Years Later.

May 25, 2025 marks the fifth anniversary of the murder of George Floyd. In her message to the church honoring George Floyd, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton calls our attention to how this “horrific act revealed the deadly reality of racism in the United States for many across the world.” Eaton stresses that “racism is one of many tools of white supremacy and a sin that distorts God’s image in all of us, and it stands against the Gospel we proclaim.” ________________________________________________________________________________

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with nearly 3.5 million members in more than 9,100 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of “God’s work. Our hands,” the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA’s roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther. For more information, please visit http://ELCA.org