Gracious God,

On this Labor Day, we give you thanks for the gift of work and for all whose labor serves our communities and contributes to the well-being of our neighbors.

We pray for those who work with their hands, those who teach and care for others, those who serve in offices and fields, hospitals and schools, farms and construction sites, congregations and communities. Bless all whose work is seen and celebrated, and especially those whose labor too often goes unnoticed.

We remember those who are searching for work, those who are underpaid or overworked, those who labor in unsafe or unjust conditions, and those who struggle to make ends meet. Give us courage to work for a world where every person is treated with dignity, where workers are valued, and where all have enough.

We pray for those who cannot rest today. Grant them strength, safety, and moments of renewal.

May our labor, our rest, and our lives bear witness to your love for all creation.

In the name of Jesus Christ, who calls us into lives of love and service, we pray.

Amen

Here in Nevada, we know the value of open spaces. We also know that decisions about their future deserve our attention.

The federal government is proposing to repeal the Roadless Rule, which limits roadbuilding and timber harvesting in designated national forest areas. The proposal would remove a national layer of protection and give individual forest management plans a greater role. Public comments are due September 21, 2026. Read the proposal

For LEAN, our call to care for creation reaches into public policy. It asks us to consider our neighbors, respect Tribal sovereignty, and take responsibility for what we leave to future generations.

Swipe through to understand what is being proposed—and how you can speak up.

Tending creation includes paying attention to the policies that shape its future.

Cooking dinner. Doing laundry. Keeping your home cool. Under NV Energy’s daily demand charge, running appliances together could affect your bill.

Scheduled for January 1, 2027, in Southern Nevada, the charge will use each day’s highest 15-minute average demand. Customers will still pay for total electricity use, with lower charges elsewhere intended to offset the change. Individual results will vary. 

But how much flexibility do working families, renters, and neighbors with medical needs have?

Our faith calls us to care for our neighbors. That includes advocating for clear bills, fair rates, and affordable energy that keeps people safe.

Wildfire is part of life in the West. But how we prepare for it, respond to it, and care for the land afterward are policy choices.

As the West experiences one of its worst fire seasons in years, the federal government is changing how wildfires are fought, including restructuring federal firefighting operations and placing greater emphasis on quickly suppressing fires.

Putting out fires and protecting communities matters.

But the story is more complicated.

For generations, aggressive fire suppression has also allowed vegetation and other fuels to accumulate across some landscapes. Combined with hotter and drier conditions and continued development where communities meet wildlands, those conditions can contribute to increasingly destructive fires.

Here in Nevada, we know this conversation well.

Wildfire impacts our rural communities, Tribal Nations, public lands, wildlife habitat, watersheds, homes, and the firefighters who put themselves in harm’s way to protect our neighbors.

For Lutheran Engagement and Advocacy in Nevada (LEAN), this is where creation care becomes neighbor care.

We need firefighters and resources ready when communities are threatened. But we also need to think beyond the fire burning today: investing in fuels reduction, prescribed fire where appropriate, healthy landscapes, responsible development, resilient communities, and long-term climate preparedness.

As we look toward Nevada’s 2027 Legislative Session, the question isn’t simply:

How quickly can we put out the next fire?

It is also:

What are we doing today so the next fire isn’t even more destructive?

That is a conversation worth leaning into.

For decades, the federal government’s approach to wildfire was fairly simple: put the fire out.

Beginning in the 1930s, the U.S. Forest Service operated under what became known as the “10 a.m. rule” — the goal of suppressing every wildfire by 10 a.m. the day after it was discovered.

That policy was eventually abandoned as our understanding of fire changed.

We now know that fire is a natural and sometimes necessary part of healthy Western ecosystems. When nearly every fire is suppressed, vegetation and other fuels can accumulate, potentially contributing to larger and more destructive fires later.

Now, aggressive wildfire suppression is receiving renewed emphasis from the federal government.

The old 10 a.m. rule has not officially returned, but the Forest Service has emphasized aggressive initial attacks and full-suppression strategies.

For Nevada, the question isn’t whether we should fight wildfires. Of course we should protect communities, homes, firefighters and lives when they are threatened.

The question is whether suppression alone is enough.

Wildfire policy must also include prescribed fire, fuel reduction, defensible space, responsible development, adequately funded firefighters, healthy forests and watersheds, and preparation for hotter and drier conditions across the West.

Creation care requires us to think beyond the fire burning today.

How do we protect our neighbors today while stewarding our lands so they are healthier and more resilient tomorrow?

Sometimes stewardship means putting the fire out.

Sometimes it means understanding that fire itself is part of creation.

Good public policy needs the wisdom to know the difference.