Leaders of five Christian World Communions attend ecumenical prayer service
Faith in Action

Leaders of five Christian World Communions attend ecumenical prayer service

An ecumenical prayer service in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, United States, marked the opening of a four-day consultation of five…

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Faith in Action

These ELCA congregations gave up plastic for Lent

Lent is a time of spiritual reflection and preparation for the coming of Christ. Many Christians will choose to give up something or take up a Lenten discipline. But for…

ELCA presiding bishop on Women’s History Month
Faith in Action

ELCA presiding bishop on Women’s History Month

March is Women’s History Month in the U.S. I call on our church to reflect on this history and to renew our commitment to gender justice for women and girls…

Sin and forgiveness
Faith in Action

Sin and forgiveness

“Your son bit a child today.” Those words stunned me to silence. “He what?” I finally croaked. Jack’s teacher had called me about the incident, which occurred during a squabble…

An act of grace and a life saved
Faith in Action

An act of grace and a life saved

Few could have imagined the reunion that took place this past December between Christopher Rhoads and leaders of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lansdale, Pa. Early on Oct. 5, 2015, an…

ELCA presiding bishop responds to Christchurch mosque shootings
Faith in Action

ELCA presiding bishop responds to Christchurch mosque shootings

ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton has released a pastoral message addressing the mass shootings that occurred Friday at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. “We join in mourning for the…

Renewal and transformation undergirds meeting of ELCA Conference of Bishops
Faith in Action

Renewal and transformation undergirds meeting of ELCA Conference of Bishops

Gathering under the theme “Be transformed by the renewing of your minds,” the Conference of Bishops of the ELCA met at the Lutheran Center Feb. 28–March 4. The conference is…

Pastoral message from ELCA Conference of Bishops released
Faith in Action

Pastoral message from ELCA Conference of Bishops released

Today the ELCA Conference of Bishops released the following statement: “Approved by the ELCA Church Council in 1990, Visions and Expectations has, through several revisions, outlined this church’s standards for its…

Dinner church shares international hospitality
Faith in Action

Dinner church shares international hospitality

St. Lydia, a congregation of about 50 members in Brooklyn, N.Y., has been making news with its unconventional dinner church for a decade, including features inThe Wall Street Journaland The Atlantic….

An affirmation of faith
Faith in Action

An affirmation of faith

Confirmation came a little late for my daughter. My husband and I were deployed to serve as missionaries in Jerusalem, which interrupted her final year of confirmation class. It took…

Led by the Spirit
Faith in Action

Led by the Spirit

In a changing world, the ELCA is now focusing on congregational vitality, which the ELCA Conference of Bishops described by saying vitality is found in communities of Jesus that nurture…