Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

06/05/2026

What’s your favorite hymn? Tell us in the comments below or email [email protected] by July 1. Your response could be featured in the fall print issue of Living Lutheran!

READER CALL: Do you have a favorite hymn? Let us know what it is and why it's your favorite by commenting below or by emailing [email protected] by or before July 1. Your answer may be featured in the fall print issue!

06/04/2026

The ELCA has received a $1.2 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its initiative Hope After the Storm: Capacity Building for Faith-Based Disaster Relief Organizations.

The grant will enable Lutheran Disaster Response to strengthen its capacity to support communities through sustained, long-term recovery.

LDR’s work — in both domestic and international settings — is focused on its commitment to accompany communities through the full recovery process, remaining long after a disaster occurs.

Through this grant, LDR will strengthen its work in domestic settings by focusing on two areas that are essential to sustaining its long-term approach to disaster recovery: expanding its emotional and spiritual care capacity and strengthening sustainable donor engagement for long-term recovery needs.

Read more through the link in the comments below.

06/02/2026

Check out the latest from ELCA Youth Gathering:

06/01/2026

Presiding Bishop Yehiel Curry has issued his first in a series of monthly messages that will continue through the end of this year under the title "All Together in One Place."

Each message will share a pastoral word, rooted in Scripture, that witnesses to God’s presence today, our rich theological tradition and the social teaching that connects us.

Read the full message through the link in the comments below.

05/31/2026

“Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable; it keeps no record of wrongs; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

05/28/2026

Composer of our days and director of our lives, your wonder is engraved in the foundations of all creation. Tune our hearts to praise, and silence our crowded minds so we might sing the majesty of your love. —Bread for the Day

05/25/2026

Join us in remembrance and prayer this Memorial Day.

Remember, mourn and give thanks for those in the military who gave their lives for justice, peace and the freedom of our country and all nations. Pray for the safety of those currently serving in the military and for the well-being of their families. —Prayer Ventures

05/24/2026

Today is Pentecost.

O God, on this day you open the hearts of your faithful people by sending into us your Holy Spirit. Direct us by the light of that Spirit, that we may have a right judgment in all things and rejoice at all times in your peace, through Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. —Bread for the Day

05/22/2026

Save the date! 📆

On Sunday, Sept. 13, congregations across the ELCA will come together for “God’s work. Our hands.”

As you plan your congregation’s participation, explore the available resources below to help promote and prepare for the day, including planning tool kits, worship resources, social media graphics, videos, posters and more.

Don’t forget, personalized “God’s work. Our hands.” T-shirts are available through Old Lutheran, with an Aug. 20 ordering deadline.

Share your congregation’s photos using as we celebrate the ways we are church together through service!

05/21/2026

Presiding Bishop Yehiel Curry has released a statement on the shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego.

“As the ELCA, we must speak plainly: violence rooted in hatred is sin. We condemn Islamophobia and acknowledge its rise in recent years. Our church affirms that “anti-Muslim hatred is antithetical to our Christian faith” (A Declaration of the ELCA to the Muslim Community), for we are called to love our neighbor in ways that cast out fear (1 John 4:18).”

Read the full statement through the link in the comments below.