Greetings from ELCA Disability Ministries!

Today would like to announce that the applications for our next cycle of grants will open on Thursday, May 15th, and close on July 31st. Projects receiving grants will be announced by the end of October 2025.

For more information on the details regarding registration and eligibility/expectations for grant proposals, please go to:  https://www.elca.org/our-work/grants/impact-church-ministry and scroll down to “Disability Ministries” . If questions arise, please contact our coordinator, Rev. Lisa Heffernan at disability.ministry@elca.org.

We are excited to learn what your communities are dreaming up for 2025! God’s peace and blessings to you in this spring season.

Catalyst Question

When you greet your friends, how do you first speak to or otherwise engage one another? This could be a phrase like “what’s up”, a special handshake, or other shared behavior. What does having this ritual indicate about your relationship?

May the 4th Be With You

This Sunday is a special holiday for a very specific segment of the population. For Christians who are also Star Wars fans, May 4th falling on a Sunday is a special occasion. Why is that?

An artist’s rendering of the B1 Battle Droid, featured prominently in Episode III.

“May The Force be with you” is a line in the Star Wars universe commonly used both by Jedi and their allies. The similar sounds of “force” and “fourth” has led to an unofficial, annual holiday where Star Wars fans greet one another with a galactically exuberant “May the 4th be with you!” This all coincides with last weekend’s theatrical re-release of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. 20 years after its initial debut, crowds returned to the theater to experience the sci-fi series one the big screen once again.

Of course, in church, we often greet one another with the phrase, “(May) The Lord be with you.” It’s an especially common phrase in Lutheran liturgies, as well as Catholic, Episcopalian, and other denominations.

Each variation of the phrase serves as a sort of communal signal. If you say it to someone, and they respond in kind–“and also with you”–then you know that you share in a community together. The phrases serve as a kind of bidding of goodwill, wishing a divine presence be with community members when they are gathered and when they scatter.

In John 21:1-19, a resurrected Jesus appears to disciples in a number of places: on the sea while they’re fishing, on the shore amidst a meal, and in conversation about what life looks like in light of the resurrection. Even when it seems most unlikely–after all, he just died a few days ago–Jesus shows up in the lives of those he loves. Interestingly, Jesus does so without bidding. Jesus initiates the presence because Jesus wants to be with the disciples. Not even death will keep him from being with them–or us.

Jesus doesn’t show up because we bid him. Jesus shows us we can trust his presence at all stages of life. Sometimes, we’re looking for God to do something massive. Often, though, God shows up in the mundane. Fishing with friends? Jesus is there. Having a snack on the beach? Christ is with you. Talking about your future in light of recent struggles? God’s a part of the conversation.

When Christians say “The Lord be with you,” we’re anticipating God’s accomplished promise. Rather than hoping for something that might happen, we instead reaffirm that God’s already with us through the Holy Spirit. And that Holy Spirit? She’s certainly a force for good!

This Sunday, when you say “May the 4th/the Force/The Lord be with you,” remember this: when talking about God, we can trust with certainty that God is already with us. Even when it seems impossible, God’s presence with us is assured in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Ask Yourself

Why do you sometimes struggle to notice God’s presence? Name three places where you don’t often notice God so you can intentionally look during the coming week.

Ask a Friend

Where did you notice God’s presence in your life this week?

In honor of Arab American Heritage Month, ELCA Racial Justice Ministries will be elevating the voices of our Arab and Middle Eastern Descent peers and reposting their works from other sources around the ELCA. The following is cross-posted from Living Lutheran. You can find the original post here.

My take: We are not newcomers

Let us not just celebrate Arab American heritage—let us be changed by it

By Khader Khalilia | April 28, 2025

Marhaba (mar-huh-bah or mar-ha-bah). A simple word, ancient and powerful. Rooted in Aramaic and Syriac languages of early Middle Eastern Christians. It means more than just “hello.” It means God is love. It’s a greeting, a theology, a word grounded in relationship, faith and belonging.

April is known as Arab American Heritage Month, but the church is invited to not only observe one month out of the year but to reclaim marhaba as a spiritual practice of welcome, belonging, dignity and solidarity.

At the heart of our culture is hospitality. The moment a guest walks into our home or church, we no longer see them as a stranger—they are part of our family. We don’t just offer food, we offer belonging. You’re not just a visitor, you’re embraced with dignity and love. That spirit of open doors and open hearts mirrors the gospel: there are no outsiders in the body of Christ. The church is called to do likewise—not only to welcome the stranger but to receive them as part of the body of Christ.

But for too long, Arab Americans have been painted as the “other.” Our stories flattened and identities misrepresented. Whether Muslim, Christian, Druze or otherwise, in Hollywood and other places, including the church, we’re cast as villains, terrorists, foreigners or footnotes. These images have real consequences—from hate crimes and surveillance to erasure and isolation. Even indigenous Arab Christians who are descendants of the earliest followers of Christ are often invisible in American Christian spaces.

That’s why this month matters.

It’s why we give thanks to the ELCA, specifically the Ministries of Diverse Cultures and Communities (MDCC), for opening its doors to Arab American communities. For making space not only for our language, culture and style of worship but for our leadership, theology, story and witness. Through the MDCC’s support, Arab Lutheran congregations are taking root in places where the gospel is preached in Arabic, where Dabke is danced in celebration and where marhaba is lived out loud. These congregations aren’t side projects—they are essential to the church.

Arab Americans have helped build this country. We are doctors, engineers, teachers, artists, small-business owners, veterans and public servants. We’ve enriched American cuisine, contributed to scientific breakthroughs, helped shape national policy and led movements for justice. Arab Americans have woven their lives into every part of this nation’s fabric.

We are not newcomers—we are neighbors.

Let us remember: marhaba is not just about welcome. It’s about belonging.

Representation shapes how we see God and how we see each other. To support Arab American ministries is to proclaim that Christ speaks every language, eats every dish and walks with every people. It’s to remember that Christianity was never Western to begin with, and we did not convert from Judaism or Islam. Jesus was born in my hometown, Bethlehem; grew up in Nazareth; and was crucified in Jerusalem. And Christianity first spread across lands now called Syria, Palestine, Lebanon and Egypt.

Marhaba is more than a greeting. It’s an invitation to reimagine the church as a place where no one is foreign. It’s a call to resist tokenism and performative inclusion and instead build real relationships rooted in listening, trust and shared struggle.

So this month, let us not just celebrate Arab American heritage—let us be changed by it.

Let us teach and preach about the early church as a living legacy still carried in Arab American communities. Let us teach our congregations that when Jesus said to love your neighbor and the stranger, he was talking to a people who knew what it meant to flee, to be displaced, to be labeled othered. Let us break down the walls that separate us from our neighbor and dismantle racism, support Arab-led ministries and show up in solidarity when our siblings are targeted or dismissed.

Let us remember: marhaba is not just about welcome. It’s about belonging.

To my beloved ELCA, we thank you for making room at the table for us. For helping Arab American congregations not just survive but thrive. For reminding the whole church that inclusion reflects the kingdom of God.

Khader Khalilia
Khader Khalilia is program director for ELCA Arab and Middle Eastern Ministries.

This post is shared jointly on the Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Perspectives blog and the ELCA Worship blog.

1700 years ago, in 325, the first ecumenical council was convened in Nicaea to discern matters central to the Christian faith, namely: How do we understand Jesus Christ? The council sought to end disputes about the divine nature of Jesus, and his relationship to God in an attempt to unify all of Christendom. The end-result, later expanded in 381, was the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed – a clear articulation of the complexity of the faith. However, a later addition to the creed – the “filioque” (‘and the Son’) – was made by the Latin church in an attempt to resolve yet another dispute. This has contributed to division between the Eastern and Western church for almost a millennium.

Last year, this division was meaningfully addressed in “The Common Statement on the Filioque,” issued by the Joint International Commission on Theological Dialogue between the Lutheran World Federation and the Orthodox church, a 40+-year international dialogue. This ecumenical breakthrough aligns with earlier actions of the ELCA including “A Lutheran-Orthodox Common Statement on Faith in the Holy Trinity,” issued in 1999 by the US Lutheran-Orthodox dialogue, and adopted by the Church Council in 2006. That same year the ELCA introduced Evangelical Lutheran Worship and included a footnote to the Nicene Creed that says it is appropriate to confess the creed without the filioque (p. 104).

As we commemorate the 1700^th anniversary of Nicaea, and celebrated a common date for Easter this year, “The Common Statement on the Filioque” presents us with an opportunity to move toward healing age-old divisions within Christ’s church, in light of our common affirmation that the filioque is no longer church-dividing. Recently, ELCA Church Council unanimously recommended “that the 2025 Churchwide Assembly prayerfully receive the 2024 Lutheran Orthodox Common Statement on the Filioque, understanding such reception to be an intention to lean into a fuller understanding of this issue and the promise of greater unity in the body of Christ.” By doing so, the ELCA would commit to: 1) reflect on our Trinitarian theology and the role of the Holy Spirit and 2) take continued steps toward local dialogue, understanding, and reconciliation with our Orthodox siblings.

To support this, we are pleased to announce a new study guide, whose primary author was the Rev. Dr. Jonathan Linman, pastor of Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church in Phoenix, Ariz., and Lutheran Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Representative for the Grand Canyon Synod. We are also grateful that the Rev. Dr. Dirk Lange, assistant general secretary for ecumenical relations at the Lutheran World Federation, and Bishop Emeritus Don McCoid, former bishop of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod, former executive for ecumenical and inter-religious relations in the Office of the Presiding Bishop, and longtime co-chair of the Joint International Commission on Theological Dialogue Between the LWF and the Orthodox Church, served as consultants.

The study guide provides a variety of entry points including study, worship, prayer, liturgy, and local dialogue and cooperation. We are eager to hear about your experiences and experiments with this resource in your congregations and communities.

Lastly, as you consider possibilities for omitting the filioque in worship this year, we offer language to help interpret this – whether printed in your worship folders, spoken verbally, or provided in other resources where you are helping people reflect on the good Lutheran question, “What does this mean?”

2025 marks the 1700th anniversary of the first ecumenical council of Nicaea. This commemoration is an opportunity to reflect on the importance of this church’s ecumenical self-understanding and vocation. Recent developments in Lutheran-Orthodox relations present the possibility of continuing the journey toward reconciliation between Eastern and Western Christianity after nearly a millennium of church division over the addition of the filioque clause (“and the Son”) to the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. The Joint International Commission on Theological Dialogue between the Lutheran World Federation and the Orthodox Church’s 2024 Common Statement on the Filioque is an important ecumenical breakthrough, concluding that the filioque is no longer church-dividing and inviting further dialogue and renewed theological reflection on the Trinity and the role of the Holy Spirit. In faithful response to this invitation, today we will profess the Creed without the filioque clause.

We wish you a blessed Eastertide and a thought-provoking commemoration of this 1700^th anniversary of Nicaea.

In partnership,

Kathryn M. Lohre, executive, ecumenical and inter-religious relations & theological discernment, Office of the Presiding Bishop

Deacon John E. Weit, executive, worship, Office of the Presiding Bishop

This post is shared jointly on the Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Perspectives blog and the ELCA Worship blog. 

1700 years ago, in 325, the first ecumenical council was convened in Nicaea to discern matters central to the Christian faith, namely: How do we understand Jesus Christ? The council sought to end disputes about the divine nature of Jesus, and his relationship to God in an attempt to unify all of Christendom. The end-result, later expanded in 381, was the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed – a clear articulation of the complexity of the faith. However, a later addition to the creed – the “filioque” (‘and the Son’) – was made by the Latin church in an attempt to resolve yet another dispute. This has contributed to division between the Eastern and Western church for almost a millennium.  

Last year, this division was meaningfully addressed in “The Common Statement on the Filioque,” issued by the Joint International Commission on Theological Dialogue between the Lutheran World Federation and the Orthodox church, a 40+-year international dialogue. This ecumenical breakthrough aligns with earlier actions of the ELCA including “A Lutheran-Orthodox Common Statement on Faith in the Holy Trinity,” issued in 1999 by the US Lutheran-Orthodox dialogue, and adopted by the Church Council in 2006. That same year the ELCA introduced Evangelical Lutheran Worship and included a footnote to the Nicene Creed that says it is appropriate to confess the creed without the filioque (p. 104). 

As we commemorate the 1700th anniversary of Nicaea, and celebrated a common date for Easter this year, “The Common Statement on the Filioque” presents us with an opportunity to move toward healing age-old divisions within Christ’s church, in light of our common affirmation that the filioque is no longer church-dividing. Recently, ELCA Church Council unanimously recommended “that the 2025 Churchwide Assembly prayerfully receive the 2024 Lutheran Orthodox Common Statement on the Filioque, understanding such reception to be an intention to lean into a fuller understanding of this issue and the promise of greater unity in the body of Christ.” By doing so, the ELCA would commit to: 1) reflect on our Trinitarian theology and the role of the Holy Spirit and 2) take continued steps toward local dialogue, understanding, and reconciliation with our Orthodox siblings. 

To support this, we are pleased to announce a new study guide, whose primary author was the Rev. Dr. Jonathan Linman, pastor of Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church in Phoenix, Ariz., and Lutheran Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Representative for the Grand Canyon Synod. We are also grateful that the Rev. Dr. Dirk Lange, assistant general secretary for ecumenical relations at the Lutheran World Federation, and Bishop Emeritus Don McCoid, former bishop of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod, former executive for ecumenical and inter-religious relations in the Office of the Presiding Bishop, and longtime co-chair of the Joint International Commission on Theological Dialogue Between the LWF and the Orthodox Church, served as consultants.  

The study guide provides a variety of entry points including study, worship, prayer, liturgy, and local dialogue and cooperation. We are eager to hear about your experiences and experiments with this resource in your congregations and communities.   

Lastly, as you consider possibilities for omitting the filioque in worship this year, we offer language to help interpret this – whether printed in your worship folders, spoken verbally, or provided in other resources where you are helping people reflect on the good Lutheran question, “What does this mean?”  

---

2025 marks the 1700th anniversary of the first ecumenical council of Nicaea. This commemoration is an opportunity to reflect on the importance of this church’s ecumenical self-understanding and vocation. Recent developments in Lutheran-Orthodox relations present the possibility of continuing the journey toward reconciliation between Eastern and Western Christianity after nearly a millennium of church division over the addition of the filioque clause (“and the Son”) to the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. The Joint International Commission on Theological Dialogue between the Lutheran World Federation and the Orthodox Church’s 2024 Common Statement on the Filioque is an important ecumenical breakthrough, concluding that the filioque is no longer church-dividing and inviting further dialogue and renewed theological reflection on the Trinity and the role of the Holy Spirit. In faithful response to this invitation, today we will profess the Creed without the filioque clause.

---

We wish you a blessed Eastertide and a thought-provoking commemoration of this 1700th anniversary of Nicaea.  

In partnership, 

Kathryn M. Lohre, executive, ecumenical and inter-religious relations & theological discernment, Office of the Presiding Bishop  

Deacon John E. Weit, executive, worship, Office of the Presiding Bishop  

ELCA Racial Justice Ministries and ELCA African Descent Ministries invites you to join us at the Rise & Remember Festival in Minneapolis, MN. The 3-day, annual event “exists to hold in remembrance George Floyd and those we have lost unjustly to the pervasive impacts of systemic racism. Activities focus on education, empowerment, healing, celebration, and our collective pursuit for racial justice and equity.”

We hope you will join us for the gospel concert and candlelight vigil on Sunday, May 25. We will meet in front of Calvary Lutheran Church (clchurch.org) at 5 pm.

If you plan to attend, please let us know by completing this short, 6-question survey:  https://forms.office.com/r/d3ZW4T7iWs

Catalyst Question

If you were living on a desert island for a year, with enough food and water to last indefinitely, what is one thing you would want to bring to make it the best life possible?

Peace with a Purpose

In John 20:19-31, a resurrected Jesus appears to his disciples twice. Often, when we read this passage, we focus on Thomas. He wasn’t present the first time Jesus showed up, and so was skeptical until Jesus appeared a second time. Some call him Doubting Thomas. Others emphasize Thomas’s devotion because he would only settle for the real Jesus and not any potential imposters.

Today, let’s instead focus on what Jesus says to the disciples during his appearances. Jesus sends the the disciples, just as God the Father sent him. Jesus equips the disciples to forgive sins. Jesus empowers the disciples, never alone, but with the Holy Spirit. As essential as each of these commissions are, they’re built upon something else.

Three times Jesus declares peace. In part this is because the disciples knew him to be dead just a few days before. Now he’s here, but with wounds still showing the evidence of his murder. How threatening would that feel!? Peace is needed. But more than this moment, peace is needed for the movement ahead. After a death wrought by violence, Jesus declares that the way of life is the way of peace.

Even so, violence still remains too present in our world. Another mass shooting, this time at Florida State University, reminded us of the violence so prevalent in the United States. This occurred after years of war in Gaza and Ukraine. In the face of such death, and at the absence of peace, we might despair.

Yet, that’s why Jesus resurrection reminder is so essential still for today. Peace is no less essential for life in our world than it is for the recently resurrected Lord. For life to continue, for life to thrive, peace is required. Easter reminds us that we live in the hope of resurrection, and therefore the hope of peace, even amidst the signs of death.

Small signs like that still show up. For instance, after three years of war in Ukraine, Russia recently indicated openness to substantive peace talks for the first time. This is no guarantee, but it is progress, especially since just a few weeks ago there seemed to be no end in sight. Now, we may see only a glimmer of possibility, but it is there.

The peace that Jesus sends us with is much more than this. It is a peace that passes all understanding. It is a peace that relies not only on the natural instincts of survival, but the supernatural experience of resurrection. It is a peace that promotes not only coexistence, but life abundant! That is the peace Jesus gives to us in the resurrection, and it is peace with a purpose: to bring abundant life to the very ends of the earth.

Ask Yourself

What does peace look like? What does peace sound like? What does peace feel like? Take time to reflect on these different senses of peace.

Ask a Friend

How can we work together to bring peace to places where we notice conflict? Strategize two different ways you can share peace in your daily lives.

Catalyst Question

What kind of evidence do you need to believe something is true?

Evidence of Life

Recently, the possibility of life on another planet hit the news. While studying a planet 124 light years away from Earth, scientists made a surprising discovery. Thanks to NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and an advanced understanding of physics, scientists identified two gasses in this plant’s atmosphere that, in our experience, are only produced by bacteria and phytoplankton. How could anyone know that these particles exist from such a distance? The telescope can identify the composition of the planet’s atmosphere by studying the way that light passes through it. Different gaseous components will mean that light behaves differently as it moves through those elements. Right now, with 99.7% confidence, scientists believe that the atmosphere of planet K2-18b is showing signs of organic life.

Artist’s rendering of planet K2-18b based on observed data. Used with permission from NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)

The certainly of life was much lower when Mary Magdalene and the other women visited Jesus’ tomb on the Sunday morning after his crucifixion. In fact, they were expecting death. Luke 24:1-12 tells us that they’d brought spices to anoint him for burial, which was impossible to do after his death since the Sabbath had begun. They were showing up to complete the funerary process. But there was just one problem.

There was no body.

After a brief encounter with an angel, who said in no uncertain terms that “he is risen,” the women ran back to share the good news with the other disciples. Though they were much closer than 124 light years, no news could seem further from the truth. What evidence of there was life? At this point, none. There was, after all, an incredible lack of evidence. There was no body. Just like the particles on K2-18b, no one had yet touched Jesus body, whether it was alive or dead. It was just as possible at this point that someone had stolen Jesus’ body for reasons unknown; in fact, most of the disciples thought the testimony to the resurrection was an “idle tale.”

Yet, there were signs. That brief encounter with the angel was kind of a big deal. That angelic presence matched their previous experience of voices from heaven, miraculous healings, and power over nature. There was evidence that this resurrection thing was possible. It just wasn’t something they had touched. Not yet.

Today, none of us have touched Christ’s resurrected body. We, too, rely on the testimony of those who came before us. Just like this faraway planet, we might wonder how reliable the evidence really is. But there are signs. The taste of grace at the communion table is a sign. Waters washing away sin at baptism is a sign. Hope that perseveres despite the most dire circumstances is a sign, all that nothing–not even death–can separate us from the love of God.

Easter Sunday isn’t about academic certainty. Christ’s evidence of life is found in faith passed down from Mary Magdalene to today. Some will come to know this on the road to Emmaus. Others by touching his wounds. Still others like you and I who, for generations to come, by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. So today, and every day, we proclaim together:

Christ is risen!

Ask Yourself

What are three ways that I can emulate Mary Magdalene and share the story of Christ’s resurrection with my own community?

Ask a Friend

This Easter, what about the story of Christ’s resurrection gives you the most hope?

The following is shared from the Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania (LAMPa) newsletter for Wednesday, April 9, 2025. 

Catalyst Question

How do you identify the heroes in your life?

Joy Amidst the Sorrow

We’re at a turning point in the season. The long journeys we’ve been on are finally coming to a conclusion, identifying the heroes and champions, as well as the wannabes and villains. Though the wait has been long, we can finally see the finish lines.

This could be about sports. After all, we just wrapped up both the Men’s and Women’s NCAA tournaments, crowning two champions (Florida and UConn, respectively). With few cinderella stories and the top-8 seeds in both Final Fours, these playoffs felt like money and pedigree were the most important factors to victory. Whether you consider the final victors heroes or villains likely depended on your rooting interest before the tournament began.

Of course, that’s not the only season that’s wrapping up. We’re headed through the final days of Lent, into Holy Week, and culminating with Easter. This Sunday’s reading from Luke 19:28-40 shows a different approach to recognizing heroes. Jesus didn’t enter Jerusalem as a top seed, but as a backwater preacher. Yet, peopled hailed his entry. His arrival didn’t require fine chariots pulled by thoroughbred horses, but just a donkey. The crowds didn’t cheer for him because he was the odds-on favorite. These everyday people cheered him because he, too, was an underdog, and they were looking for liberation from oppressive influence of Rome’s money and pedigree.

You see, while we hail Jesus as King on Palm Sunday, we do so in the shadow of Holy Week. Even that first Palm Sunday was a revolutionary moment, because Pontius Pilate was likely arriving to Jerusalem on the other side of town. The simplicity of Jesus entry was a counterbalance to the extravagance of Rome’s arrival. What power do palm fronds have over spears, or peasants over centurions? Yet, in Jesus, the people found the hero they needed, however unlikely he was.

There’s still much more to the story, with a last meal with friends on Maundy Thursday, followed by abandonment by those very same friends before his death on Good Friday. For now, though, take note of how people in real need identify their heroes. Rather than the ones that have all the money to buy allegiance and all the power to force submission, they cheer a man who healed their illnesses and fed their hungry bellies, all while forgiving their faults. That’s the hero that we welcome on Palm Sunday. That is Jesus Christ.

Ask Yourself

It’s fun to root for underdogs, though we often don’t expect them to win. How does the unlikely nature of Jesus’ ultimate victory make you think differently about Palm Sunday?

Ask a Friend

Who are the people in our lives that we’ve written off because they didn’t seem like they had a chance to succeed? How might we reconsider their role given Jesus’ cinderella story?