Posts tagged with ‘Message’

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A Message from Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton

by Melissa VanTassell

    “Midnight Stillness” On Christmas Eve, there always comes a time when everything is finally still. Once all the preparations and decorations, extra choir rehearsals and Christmas pageants, shopping and holiday parties have been completed, peace descends. For me, that time always came after the 11 p.m. candlelight service. After the congregation went home, after I […]

    A Message from Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton

    by Melissa VanTassell

      “Our Common Witness” One of the distinct privileges of this call as presiding bishop is seeing the church at work at home an around the world. The Lutheran movement is alive and well, speaking the gospel in a distinctive voice. Sunday after Sunday the good news is proclaimed in accordance with Scripture and the Lutheran […]

      A Message from Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton

      by Melissa VanTassell

        “What Is God Up To?” What is to be done? Our congregations are growing older and smaller. At least 40 percent of our congregations have an average weekly worship attendance of 50 or less. ELCA membership decreases by 70,000 people a year, or roughly the loss of a synod per year. Clergy retirements outnumber new […]

        A Message from Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton

        by Melissa VanTassell

          “Happy New Year!” Editor’s note: This is a reprint of the January 2017 column from the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Ah, a new year! It opens up before us with infinite possibilities like brand new notebooks at the beginning of the school year or the beginning of football season in […]

          A Message from Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton

          by Melissa VanTassell

            “So Now What?” This month marks the 501st anniversary of the Reformation. Last year it was all Reformation all the time. It was our year! News, media and the public paid attention. Hundreds of Reformation-themed events took place. Documentaries were produced and joyful liturgies with our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters were held. I have […]

            A Message from Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton

            by Melissa VanTassell

              “Big Look at Small Catechism” Editor’s note: This is reprint of ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton’s column from July 2014. Just as she did at the 2016 Churchwide Assembly, Eaton encourages people to “dust off” their Small Catechism and take another look at the basics of our faith as we near the 500th anniversary of […]

              A Message from Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton

              by Melissa VanTassell

                “We are the branches” Is it possible to be Lutheran and an ecumenist? Of course, the answer is yes. The ELCA has continued the work of our predecessor churches—the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, the American Lutheran Church, and the Lutheran Church in America—all of which engaged in dialogues with other denominations. When the ELCA […]

                A Message from Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton

                by Melissa VanTassell

                  “Serving the Neighbor in Need” Editor’s note: This is a reprint of the June 2017 column from the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. These are politically charged times. This very sentence in the presiding bishop’s column is likely to raise eyebrows. Across this church I’ve heard stories of parishioners disturbed by […]

                  A Message from Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton

                  by Melissa VanTassell

                    “God Loves” During a recent chapel service at the Lutheran Center, Rafael Malpica Padilla, executive director for Global Mission, shared his favorite Bible verse with us: “Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who […]

                    A Message from Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton

                    by Melissa VanTassell

                      “Easter Message” It all started with such promise – the angel announcing to Mary that the child she would bear would be called Son of the Most High; the conviction of Mary that this child would be the embodiment of God’s promised justice, that the hungry would be filled with good things and the rich […]