Climate change is causing widespread and dangerous threats to nature and billions of people around the planet, but especially those least able to cope, according to a report released this week by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which warns that humankind has a narrowing window for action. “This report is a dire warning...
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The Pennsylvania General Assembly and Gov. Tom Wolf approved $10 million for the Pa. Housing Tax Credit program aimed at closing the gap in affordable housing just before the National Low-Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) released its report documenting how far out of reach housing is for workers in Pennsylvania and across the Country. “We’re grateful...
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Dennis Groce was confirmed as a member of the LAMPa Policy Council by vote of the Northwest PA Synod Assembly in June, 2021. Dennis and his wife Marcia have been members of St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in North East, PA (Erie County) since 2006. In addition to congregational roles, Dennis is the current chairperson...
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In late April this year LAMPa joined with United Lutheran Seminary in the celebration of rogation. ULS’s spring convocation around the theme “The Theology of Gathering” helped Lutherans across Pennsylvania think about the ways in which we are connected, even as we distanced ourselves due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In recognizing this theme, and seeking to honor creation as...
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Child Tax Credit payments are set to go out to families this month, and many have already seen their Economic Impact payment land in their bank accounts. For those who did not file a 2019 or 2020 tax return, however, they will not see this federal aid. As the IRS undertakes a series of filing...
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States around the country are still dealing with issues that converged in the 2020 election — from overwhelmed county elections offices and voting infrastructure to a crippled U.S. Postal Service and widespread disinformation. Pennsylvania is no exception. The General Assembly is considering proposals to revamp Pennsylvania’s election system, including a potential consitutional amendment that would...
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By mid-century, the commonwealth will experience a 5.9 degree rise in temperature, according to the latest Pennsylvania Climate Impacts Assessment. This increase will impact areas already prone to extreme weather events and climate disasters, as well as increasingly vulnerable communities, ecosystems, and farmland. “On our current path, the Pennsylvania our children and grandchildren inherit will...
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As part of the 2019 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, voting members adopted a resolution designating June 17 as a commemoration of the martyrdom of the Emanuel 9—the nine people shot and killed on June 17, 2015, during a Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C. To mark this commemoration, these resources from the ELCA can...
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LAMPa is very happy to welcome Donna Skinner Echols to Policy Council as a representative of Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod! Donna has 42 years of experience in the development, management, monitoring and administration of family services programs for at-risk children and families. She has worked in the urban settings of Houston, TX, Philadelphia, PA, and Chicago,...
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“Lord, let me heart be good soil.” – ELW, Hymn 512 Across Pennsylvania synods and seminary campuses have been marking the season of rogation. “Rogation days” are a historic way of connecting Christian faith to soil. As the ELCA resource “What are Rogation Days?” explains, they were celebrated during the fifty days of Easter on the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday before Ascension Day. This ancient observance...
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