Reconciling Works

This poem is written by Rabbi Bradley Artson and was presented by Rabbi Steven Rubenstein at the Interfaith Service of Prayer and Remembrance in Detroit hosted by the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan and the Southeast Michigan Synod, ELCA,  June 18, 2016. It is shared with permission.   Pulse: When Dancing Is Political   There’s really only one […]

ReconcilingWorks thanks Bishop Herman Yoos, South Carolina Synod, ELCA, for pledging to support the LGBTQ community and offering prayers for peace. Brothers and Sisters in Christ, It was a year ago this week that we witnessed the massacre of the Mother Emanuel nine and the words of grace and forgiveness their families spoke to the gunman before […]

ReconcilingWorks thanks the Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for releasing this statement concerning the Orlando shooting victims and challenging the church to stand with LGBTQ people who have been othered. Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, “So God created humankind in his image, in the image of […]

ReconcilingWorks thanks Bishop Jim Hazelwood, New England Synod, ELCA, for his words of hope to the LGBTQ community and his call for responsible gun laws. This past weekend we held the 29th Assembly of the New England Synod under the theme “No Reservations: A Place at the Table for Everyone.” On Saturday, we received greetings from Imam Wissam Abdel-Baki and Interfaith […]

ReconcilingWorks thanks Bishop Dave Brauer-Rieke, Oregon Synod, ELCA, for his words of comfort to the LGBTQ community and his challenge to the church. “Dear Friends, ELCA Lutherans in Oregon join people around the world today in prayers, grief and concern over the shooting in Orlando, FL yesterday. Words fail me as I write to you, but what my […]

ReconcilingWorks thanks Bishop Unti, Northwest Washington Synod, ELCA, for his words supporting the LGBTQ community in Orlando and challenging the church to speak out against hate. “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for […]

ReconcilingWorks thanks Bishop Smith, North Carolina Synod, ELCA, for his words condemning gun violence and supporting the LGBTQ community in Orlando. “In what universe does anyone need legal access to these to protect one’s freedom? If it’s because the government has them and we might need them in our neighborhood militias to resist or overthrow […]

ReconcilingWorks thanks the Rev. Robert Schaefer, Bishop, Florida-Bahamas Synod for his pastoral words of comfort following the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida. “I drove back to Venice from Daytona Beach about two hours ago following the end of our 2016 Synod Assembly under the theme, ‘Let Justice Roll Down Like Waters’ (Amos 5:24). I have no […]

ReconcilingWorks is proud to announce our newest RIC community: the Lower Susquehanna Synod, ELCA. Their welcome statement reads: “In the Lower Susquehanna Synod of the ELCA we feed the hungry as we have been fed by Christ. We welcome all who are seeking God’s love and grace. We welcome all because God welcomes all, regardless […]

The North Carolina Synod (ELCA) assembly passed 16.05, “HOUSE BILL 2 RESOLUTION FOR NC SYNOD OF THE ELCA,” addressing the recently passed House Bill 2. House Bill 2 prohibits North Carolinians from filing housing and employment discrimination cases in state courts on the basis of age, sex, religion, national origin, race, class, disability, sexual orientation, or […]