By Brandi Painter, Synod Hunger Team Chair, and Evangeline Dai, Synod Ministry Coordinator 2024 Domestic Hunger Grants are open! In 2023, ELCA World Hunger will partner in new and continuing ways through domestic granting, thanks to the generosity of this church. Through this year’s partnerships, ELCA World Hunger is investing in long-term sustainable transformation in communities most vulnerable to systemic injustices that lead to hunger and poverty. In 2022, Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod...

The Lord has done great things and we are filled with joy. Psalm 126:3 Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Psalm 127:1 Which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Luke 14:28 Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it. For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end and does not lie. If it seems...

By the Gulf Coast Synod LGBTQIA Coalition At the 2022 Gulf Coast Synod Assembly meeting in Galveston, the Assembly approved a resolution that authorized the following: To enter a year-long process of discerning becoming a Reconciling in Christ (RIC) synod. This process will be guided by the Gulf Coast Synod LGBTQIA Coalition which will include regional educational forums and consultations with synod staff, council and conference deans; and To direct the LGBTQIA Coalition to develop a proposed...

By Evangeline Dai, Ministry Coordinator, and The Rev. Chris Markert, Bishop’s Associate for Mission After celebrating the Good Shepherd Sunday, let us look at the Good Shepherd in action. Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Bridge City, Texas, is one of our member churches in the synod. Our synod Disaster Response and Preparedness Team had a meeting to check on the trailer and have discussions for things that need to be done for upcoming hurricane season and other disaster resiliency plans. The...

By Lisa Brenskelle For more information on any of the below, or for creation care assistance/information, contact Lisa Brenskelle at [email protected] or see our new website! The team is seeking additional members. If you would be willing to serve, please contact us. The mission of Lutherans Restoring Creation is to promote incorporation of care for creation into the full life and mission of the church, working in five areas: worship, education, discipleship, building & grounds, and public...

By Pastor Mark Nygard, retired ELCA missionary, on behalf of the organizing committee The Evangelical Lutheran Churches in Cameroon and Central African Republic are 100 years old this year, and we are throwing a double birthday party for them. On July 7-9, 2023, Lutherans from the United States and Canada will be gathering in the Twin Cities to mark the event, and we’d like you to be there. It was April 8, 1923, actually, when they landed in Douala, Cameroon — Norwegian-Americans with names...

By Tracey Breashears Schultz, Bishop’s Associate for Leadership For those preparing for rostered leadership, internships abound in blessings. The candidates receive vital training that prepares them for years of faithful service. Internship congregations receive the gift of the energy, passion, and perspective that interns provide. This is why I am thrilled to introduce this year’s Synod Assembly Offering: the Gulf Coast Synod Innovative Internships Fund. In 2006, I spent a year as a pastoral...

By Tracey Breashears Schultz, Bishop’s Associate for Leadership When I visit congregations, especially those in transition, one of the concerns I hear raised most often is about bringing young people back to church, engaging youth, and/or calling a pastor or deacon who has youth ministry experience. Recently, while at a conference gathering of bishops’ associates, I heard a presentation by Kris Bjorke, Interim Program Manager for Youth Ministry, ELCA, which spoke to these needs. What if,...

By the Gulf Coast Synod LGBTQIA Coalition “If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you.” -James 1:5 At the 2022 Gulf Coast Synod Assembly meeting in Galveston, the Assembly approved a resolution that authorized the following: To enter a year-long process of discerning becoming a Reconciling in Christ (RIC) synod. This process will be guided by the Gulf Coast Synod LGBTQIA Coalition which will include regional educational...

By Evangeline Dai, Ministry Coordinator Earlier this year, I attended the AAPI-ELCA assembly and the 11th ALIC (Asian Lutheran International Conference) in Chiang Rai, Thailand. This article is part 3 of my notes and reflections (You may click here to read Part 1 and Part 2 from the past newsletters). ALIC is a network that emerged out of the AAPI-ELCA (Association of Asians and Pacific Islanders – Evangelical Lutheran Church in America). Because of cultural and linguistic bonds, Asians in the...