LAMPa

Kindling Faith - "Freed in Christ: Race, Ethnicity, and Culture" with Dr. Richard Perry
2024-10-22 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | Online Webinar
Join Kindling Faith for “Freed in Christ: Race, Ethnicity, and Culture” with Dr. Richard Perry, emeritus faculty, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.
The learning session will take place online via Zoom from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on October 22.
Participation costs $20 per individual or $80 per congregation with no limit to the number in attendance.
You can register here. Please contact Pastor Martin Otto-Zimmann or your synod office for possible support and payment options.
Please check out our event pages for each event in the Kindling Faith series, called “What does it mean to be Lutheran in a crucial election year?,” and let LAMPa know if you plan to join any of the sessions.
You can find a page with all programming in the series here.
Kindling Faith: Learning Never Ends is a program of United Lutheran Seminary (ULS), a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

Community Building Skills Webinars
2024-10-02 12:00 - 13:00 | Zoom
This online three-part series supports you in building and refining the skills used in interactions with those who might not agree with you. All are on Wednesdays at noon EST via Zoom.

Part I: Active Listening – October 2 -How to establish meaningful connection between speaker and listener, build a deeper understanding through dialogue, and get comfortable with potentially contentious exchanges.
Part II: Difficult Conversations – October 16 – Through understanding ourselves and others, how to turn difficult conversations into an opportunity to uncover common ground.
Part III: Managing Conflict – October 30 – How to transform conflict into a process that promotes ownership, fosters creativity, and generates outcomes that solve real community problems.

LAMPa is proud to partner with Common Ground – USA to present this series of webinars. You may attend any or all of the webinars, though you will get the most out of attending all three in order.
Register for Active Listening
Register for Difficult Conversations
Register for Managing Conflict

World Food Day: Celebrating 50 Years of ELCA World Hunger
2024-10-15 20:00 - 21:00 | Zoom
This special online event will be hosted by the Rev. Amy Current, bishop of the Southeastern Iowa Synod, and Imran Siddiqui, vice president of the ELCA.
Tune in on Oct. 15 to hear firsthand stories from partners at ELCA World Hunger projects — including Educación Popular en Salud (EPES), a community health organization in Chile founded over 40 years ago, and more recent starts such as Tapestry Farms, a Midwestern urban farm system in the “Quad Cities” of Iowa and Illinois. You’ll see the impact of 50 years of ELCA World Hunger work and get excited and equipped to be a part of the next 50 years!
Register here to receive reminders, event information, World Food Day resources and the event recording.
Find more information here.

Kindling Faith - "Earth's Climate Crisis Study Guide" with Dr. Ryan Cumming
2024-10-08 19:00 - 20:30 | Online Webinar
Join Kindling Faith for “Earth’s Climate Crisis Study Guide” with Dr. Ryan Cumming, Program Director, Theological Ethics, Education, and Community Engagement.
The learning session will take place online via Zoom from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on October 8.
Participation costs $20 per individual or $80 per congregation with no limit to the number in attendance.
You can register here. Please contact Pastor Martin Otto-Zimmann or your synod office for possible support and payment options.
Please check out our event pages for each event in the Kindling Faith series, called “What does it mean to be Lutheran in a crucial election year?,” and let LAMPa know if you plan to join any of the sessions.
You can find a page with all programming in the series here.
Kindling Faith: Learning Never Ends is a program of United Lutheran Seminary (ULS), a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

Kindling Faith - "Faith, Sexism and Justice" with Dr. Mary Streufert and Heather Dean
2024-09-24 19:00 - 20:30 | Online Webinar
Join Kindling Faith for “Faith, Sexism and Justice” with Dr. Mary Streufert, Director, Gender Justice and Women’s Empowerment, and Heather Dean, Program Coordinator, Theological Discernment, ELCA.
The learning session will take place online via Zoom from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on September 24.
Participation costs $20 per individual or $80 per congregation with no limit to the number in attendance.
You can register here. Please contact Pastor Martin Otto-Zimmann or your synod office for possible support and payment options.
Please check out our event pages for each event in the Kindling Faith series, called “What does it mean to be Lutheran in a crucial election year?,” and let LAMPa know if you plan to join any of the sessions.
You can find a page with all programming in the series here.
Kindling Faith: Learning Never Ends is a program of United Lutheran Seminary (ULS), a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

Pixels for Peace: Digital Peacebuilding Webinar
2024-09-12 12:30 - 14:00 | Zoom
People of faith are among our most natural peacemakers, stewards of connection between individuals and something greater than ourselves. This work is deeply needed in digital spaces, where conflicts and disinformation too often drive apart congregants and friends. Common Ground USA and the Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania invite you to Pixels for Peace to understand how our digital worlds are shaping polarization and what we can do individually and together to build peace online.
Pixels for Peace will cover:

How and why digital spaces shape the way we understand the world and each other
How forces of disconnection try to manipulate online audiences
What works to respond to online division and hate

Register here for August 27 at 6pm!
Register here for September 12 at 12:30pm!
We’re glad to be able to offer this webinar free of charge! Donations are appreciated.

Kindling Faith - "Abortion" with Dr. Caryn Riswold
2024-09-08 19:00 - 20:30 | Online Webinar
Join Kindling Faith for “Abortion” with Dr. Caryn Riswold, Professor of Religion/McCoy Family Distinguished Chair in Lutheran Heritage and Mission at Wartburg College.
The learning session will take place online via Zoom from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on September 8.
Participation costs $20 per individual or $80 per congregation with no limit to the number in attendance.
You can register here. Please contact Pastor Martin Otto-Zimmann or your synod office for possible support and payment options.
Please check out our event pages for each event in the Kindling Faith series, called “What does it mean to be Lutheran in a crucial election year?,” and let LAMPa know if you plan to join any of the sessions.
You can find a page with all programming in the series here.
Kindling Faith: Learning Never Ends is a program of United Lutheran Seminary (ULS), a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

"God's work. Our hands." Sunday 2024
2024-09-08
As members of the body of Christ, we are called to serve our neighbors in response to God’s grace. “God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday is a chance to renew our commitment to love and to serve in our communities.
It’s an opportunity to celebrate who we are as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)—one church, freed in Christ to serve and love our neighbor. Let LAMPa help your congregation take your service another step toward justice by adding your voices to the work of your hands. We can tailor education and advocacy opportunities to the service you are already doing in your community. Contact us here.
Service activities offer an opportunity for us to explore one of our most basic convictions as Lutherans: that all of life in Jesus Christ—every act of service, in every daily calling, in every corner of life—flows freely from a living, daring confidence in God’s grace.
Last year marked 10 years of “God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday with the service day in September 2023.
We look forward to “God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday in September 2024 and invite you to share your plans with us at LAMPa@lutheranadvocacypa.org. In addition to our service, we live out our faith through our advocacy, and we would be happy to connect you with resources.
You can find resources for “God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday here.

Lutheran Disaster Response Leadership Training Camp
2024-09-04 12:00 - 2024-09-06 14:00 | Camp Kairos, Crisfield, MD, United States
You are invited to Lutheran Disaster Response leadership training camp in Crisfield, Maryland, on September 4-6, 2024.
At this training, participants will join a small group of folks to dive deep into what long term recovery is and why we engage in it, from both spiritual and practical perspectives. As Lutherans, our baptismal promises call us to serve all people. Disaster sites are places we are called to be as we seek to come alongside our neighbors facing harm and destruction. Lutheran Disaster Response, one of only a few organizations doing this work, is working to build their capacity to help meet needs as our communities face new challenges, from tornado activity to flash flooding to poor air quality from fires hundreds of miles away.
With the training camp, Lutheran Disaster Response hopes to provide training so that people can step up in a meaningful way with the knowledge and skills that are required for successful community recovery from disasters.
They are looking to build a cadre of folks with skills to lead, support, and guide community disaster response to support the most vulnerable in our communities.
Camp will be a two-day training from which participants will leave having a deeper understanding of the elements of disaster recovery through a mix of real-life lived experience and didactic training.
It will be held at Camp Kairos, a traditional volunteer camp of the Eastern Shore Long Term Recovery Committee. All camp expenses are being covered, except travel to the event and hotel accommodations, should you wish to stay at a local hotel instead of Camp Kairos.
Sponsorships are available to those who may need financial assistance in order to attend the event.
Anyone interested in taking part in the training camp can contact Julia Frank.
You can register here.
Lutheran Disaster Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has long built networks to meet long-term disaster-related needs related to rebuilding homes, helping with rental assistance, and helping survivors navigate months and years of working through recovery, including in our communities in Pennsylvania and beyond.
You can learn more about Lutheran Disaster Response here and find resources here.

Lutherans Restoring Creation - August Connections Call
2024-08-27 20:00 - 21:00 | Online Webinar
Celebrate the Season of Creation
Join LAMPa’s partners, Lutherans Restoring Creation, for their monthly Connections Call. The Season of Creation is a time to renew our relationship with our Creator and all creation through celebration, conversion, and commitment together from Septembe 1 through October 4. During the Season of Creation, we join our siblings in the ecumenical family in prayer and action for our common home.
Join this call to prepare for this upcoming season as we collaboratively share resources between members of our church who have been celebrating the Season of Creation or are diving in this year for the first time!
You can register here.

Kindling Faith - "Corporate Social Responsibility" with Rev. Kaari Reierson
2024-08-27 19:00 - 20:30 | Online Webinar
Join Kindling Faith for “Corporate Social Responsibility” with Rev. Kaari Reierson, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility for the ELCA.
The learning session will take place online via Zoom from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on August 27.
Participation costs $20 per individual or $80 per congregation with no limit to the number in attendance.
You can register here. Please contact Pastor Martin Otto-Zimmann or your synod office for possible support and payment options.
Please check out our event pages for each event in the Kindling Faith series, called “What does it mean to be Lutheran in a crucial election year?,” and let LAMPa know if you plan to join any of the sessions.
You can find a page with all programming in the series here.
Kindling Faith: Learning Never Ends is a program of United Lutheran Seminary (ULS), a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

Pixels for Peace: Digital Peacebuilding Webinar
2024-08-27 18:00 - 19:00 | Zoom
People of faith are among our most natural peacemakers, stewards of connection between individuals and something greater than ourselves. This work is deeply needed in digital spaces, where conflicts and harmful content too often drive apart congregants and friends. Common Ground USA and the Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania invite you to Pixels for Peace to understand how our digital worlds are shaping polarization and what we can do to build peace online.
Pixels for Peace will cover:

How and why digital spaces shape the way we understand the world and each other
How stewards of disconnection try to manipulate online audiences
What works to respond to online division and hate

Register here for August 27
Register here for September 12

Discipleship in a Democracy: How faith communities can work for justice and peace without jeopardizing their nonprofit status -- even during an election year!
2024-08-22 12:00 - 13:30 | Zoom
Though public charities, including churches, must remain nonpartisan, they have a critical role to play in civic life — even throughout the election cycle! Not only can public charities engage in issue education and advocacy during election season, but they can also conduct robust voter and candidate education campaigns and mobilize the public to get out the vote. After this session, you will have a better understanding of how to legally engage in nonpartisan advocacy during an election without jeopardizing your nonprofit status. The information will cover federal, state and municipal compliance. LAMPa is hosting this webinar in collaboration with Bolder Advocacy, a project of the Alliance for Justice, and Attorney Steve Masters of JustLaws, a Philadelphia-based law firm. This 1 1/2-hour webinar will also include time for Q&A.
Participants will learn:

How you can continue to educate and advocate on important issues during election years;
How you can educate the public through candidate forums and questionnaires;
How you can respond to candidate statements objectively;
How you can conduct nonpartisan voter registration and ensure get-out-the-vote efforts are conducted legally;
How you can safely support or oppose ballot measures without being partisan; and
How staff and volunteers’ partisan activities in their personal time can be kept separate from their activities on behalf of the organization.

$25 registration fee gets you a personal link to the webinar and recording of the main presentation. Rostered leaders and Congregation Council members are encouraged to register, and then watch the recording with others in leadership at your congregation to help everyone understand legal and practical precedence for civic participation.
Register here!

Lutherans Restoring Creation - July Connections Call
2024-07-30 20:00 - 21:00 | Online Webinar
Green Wallets, Green Earth – Synods and Creation Care
Join LAMPa’s partners, Lutherans Restoring Creation, and learn how we can make sure our money is working towards a greener future in line with God’s vision for Creation. We will hear from several guests, including Amy Brooks Paradise from Greenfaith, who will demonstrate where to find funds for your next green project and how to join the movement encouraging banks to stop funding fossil fuels.
You can register here.

National Housing Trust IRA Bootcamp for Pennsylvania
2024-07-30 10:00 - 23:00, 2024-07-16 10:00 - 23:00
WHAT:
The National Housing Trust is offering Pennsylvania our very own Boot Camp | 4-5 virtual educational sessions beginning the week of July 15 and over the remainder of the summer to help affordable housing owners, developers, and asset managers in Pennsylvania to access Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding to make property upgrades.
Program Approach:
The Bootcamp will help Pennsylvania multifamily affordable housing providers learn about and access IRA programs in the Commonwealth to make affordable housing more energy-efficient and climate resilient. Participants will also receive guidance on how to identify energy-saving and resiliency opportunities in their portfolio.
WHY Participate:
There are significant dollars available at the federal and state levels made available through the Inflation Reduction Act; Upwards of $40 billion in tax credits, rebates, loans, and grants that can be used to support investments in energy efficiency and climate resiliency of affordable housing.
You’re Busy! You may not have had the time to figure out all the opportunities yourself. This series will provide you with some dedicated time and help to understand how to prepare for applying and even if these opportunities are right for you.
WHAT You Will Receive By Participating:
For those participating in person, the 4-5 virtual educational sessions will provide you with:
• 4-5 virtual educational sessions.
• Access to resources (case studies, tools, etc.) that participants can share with their teams to promote broader awareness of decarbonization and funding opportunities.
• Opportunities to learn from peers.
• Support in developing a preliminary action plan for using decarbonization incentives to address portfolio challenges.
• Opportunities to help shape the Commonwealth’s IRA program design and implementation strategies that address the challenges of implementing energy/decarbonization retrofits in affordable housing, ensuring equitable IRA program rollouts in Pennsylvania.
For those listening to the on-demand recordings, you will receive:
• 4-5 virtual educational sessions
• Access to resources (case studies, tools, etc.) that participants can share with their teams to promote broader awareness of decarbonization and funding opportunities.
Also, to be offered is an optional in-person gathering for participants to connect with state program administrators and technical assistance providers (September, TBD).
Register here.
Sponsored by: Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania (LAMPa is a member), PULP, ACTION Housing, and New Ecology.
This program is offered by the National Housing Trust in close collaboration and partnership with the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania, PULP (Public Utility Law Project), ACTION Housing, and New Ecology.
Our organizations jointly offered a virtual session on April 11, 2024. Click here for the slides and recording to get more information on the available resources.
About the National Housing Trust:
NHT is a team of passionate experts and advocates that brings resident services, lending, policy, sustainability, and development under one roof, giving us the tools to make real change possible for the people we serve. We equip communities for a sustainable, equitable future by preserving and modernizing existing homes—and building new homes that stand the test of time.
Over the last year, NHT’s Sustainability Policy team has led a capacity-building IRA Bootcamp that positions affordable housing owners and state housing finance agencies to best use Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) resources. IRA resources represent a critical opportunity to deliver more energy-efficient, resilient housing that lowers carbon emissions. NHT designed the Bootcamp program to ensure stakeholders understood the latest guidance and what these opportunities mean for their state, portfolio, and residents.

ELCA Youth Gathering and Young Adult Gathering 2024
2024-07-13 - 2024-07-20
Be a part of the 2024 ELCA Youth Gathering or the Young Adult Gathering! The Multicultural Youth Leadership Event (MYLE) and the tAble events will also be taking place as part of the Gathering’s ministries.
If you won’t be a participant, there are also opportunities to volunteer and lead at the gatherings.
Who: ELCA youth and young adults
Where: New Orleans, LA
When: July 13-16, 2024 – MYLE and the tAble; July 16-20, 2024 – ELCA Youth Gathering and Young Adult Gathering
Why: Gather with peers from across the ELCA for a week of faith formation spent in interactive learning, worship, Bible study, service and fellowship
The gathering takes place every three years and strives to be a space in which young people grow in faith and are challenged and inspired to live their faith in their daily lives.
This year’s theme is “Created to be.”
You can sign up for the ELCA Youth Gathering gNews here.
You can learn more about registration for the ELCA Youth Gathering here. You can register here.
You can learn more about registration for the ELCA Young Adult Gathering here. You can register here.
Let us know if you or other members of your congregation will be joining the Gathering. You can send us a message at LAMPa@lutheranadvocacypa.org. We are happy to walk alongside your participation in this faith-filled church event and connect the Gathering’s ministries to advocacy.
Find us at the Witness in Society Booth at the Interactive Center! Be entered in a drawing to win a free week at a PA Lutheran Camp!

SUN Bucks Program Info Session
2024-06-27 15:00 | Microsoft Teams
The PA Food Policy Council is excited to partner with the PA Departments of Human Services (DHS) and Education (PDE) to host an information session on the PA SUN Bucks program which will launch in 2024. SUN Bucks is Pennsylvania’s Summer EBT program–a new grocery benefits program that provides households with a one-time payment of $120 for each eligible child to buy food while school is out. Benefits can be used at local participating retailers to purchase groceries.
PA SUN Bucks Informational Session
Thursday, June 27, 2024
3pm to 4pm
Virtual session held via Microsoft Teams or dialing in by phone
All are welcome! Join us via Microsoft Teams or phone. Details below:
________________________________________________________________________________
Join the meeting here
Meeting ID: 282 230 908 207
Passcode: [REDACTED]
________________________________
Dial in by phone
+1 267-332-8737,,362267244# United States, Philadelphia
Recording or transcribing this meeting, in any manner including through a third-party application, may not occur without the consent of all participants, as required by law, and must adhere to Commonwealth policies. For more info click the legal link.
Privacy and security
________________________________________________________________________________
Background information:
PA SUN BUCKS Program
Summer is a time when many children may not have access to the free and reduced-price meals they get during the school year, and households might need a little extra help putting meals on the table.
This year Pennsylvania will launch SUN Bucks, Pennsylvania’s Summer EBT program, a new grocery benefits program that provides households with a one-time payment of $120 for each eligible child to buy food while school is out. Benefits can be used at local participating retailers to purchase groceries.
Many children will get these benefits automatically, but some households will need to apply. The benefits will be added to an existing SNAP/TANF EBT card or a newly issued Summer EBT card.
To learn more about SUN Bucks, read more here.
Note: For the first year of this program, paper applications for children that are not automatically eligible will become available in July 2024. Benefits will be issued to all eligible children by October 2024.
PA Food Policy Council
The Pennsylvania Food Policy Council, established in December 2022 by Executive Order 2022-05, is an important policy initiative of the Shapiro administration. Tasked with evaluating and advancing solutions to issues facing Pennsylvania’s food system, the council will develop and implement strategies to improve food and nutrition security, public health, environmental sustainability and stewardship, local food economies, and to reduce food waste. Learn more here!

Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania Landlord Engagement Virtual Summit: Leveraging Funding Sources for Housing Solutions
2024-06-27 11:00 - 12:30 | Virtual, PA, United States
Join our partners in the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania for the “Landlord Engagement Virtual Summit: Leveraging Funding Sources for Housing Solutions.” The 2024 summit will be held virtually on June 27 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
As rents, utilities, food, and other basic needs rise faster than incomes, the shortage of affordable housing is growing. Developing a landlord engagement strategy can be an important way to work to end homelessness and ensure all our neighbors live with dignity and a place to call home.
The insightful and interactive summit will focus on harnessing key funding sources to create a lasting landlord engagement strategy in your community. Leaders will be discussing:

Best practices in using HUD homelessness funding for landlord engagement.
Leveraging existing state resources like PHARE, the state housing trust fund, and Home4Good.
Getting the latest updates on HOME ARP administered by the PA Department of Community and Economic Development to fund housing location activities.
Getting creative with CRA (Community Reinvestment Act) to fund incentives like home repair programs.

Learn how these resources can be utilized to support effective engagement with landlords, leading to better housing solutions for families overcoming homelessness.
Speakers:

Amy Sechrist, Senior Policy Officer, Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency
Brenden Auman, Economic Development Consultant, PA Department of Community & Economic Development
Calan Charlton, Vice President, CRA Strategic Program Manager, Truist
Joe Savage, Senior Regional Advisor, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH)
Moderator: Gale Schwartz, Associate Director Policy & Programs, Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania

LAMPa is a member of the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania. Let us know if you plan to join! You can send us a message at LAMPa@lutheranadvocacypa.org.
You can register for the event here.
You can find more resources from the Housing Alliance on landlord engagement here.

Lutherans Restoring Creation - June Connections Call
2024-06-25 20:00 - 21:00 | Online Webinar
Our Kairos Moment
Join LAMPa’s partners, Lutherans Restoring Creation, and Ryan Cumming, Program Director, Theological Ethics, Education, and Community Engagement to explore the ELCA’s brand new study guide, “Our Kairos Moment: A Study Guide on Earth’s Climate Crisis,” based on the ELCA’s 2023 social message. This is a four-session study guide for small groups and is available for Earth Day–or any day–to inspire learning and action. It uses videos, storytelling, bible studies, and interactive activities to help your group explore the effects of climate change on communities in the U.S. and around the world and inspire one another to effective action. Each session–which can be done independently or as part of an educational series–ends with suggested activities participants can take part in in the days or weeks following their time together.
Visit Faith and Society – Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (elca.org) to download your copy today.
You can register here.

Kindling Faith - "Introduction to Social Teachings" with Dr. Roger Willer
2024-06-25 19:00 - 20:30 | Online Webinar
Join Kindling Faith for “Introduction to Social Teachings” with Dr. Roger Willer, Director of Theological Ethics for the ELCA.
The learning session will take place online via Zoom from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on June 25.
Participation costs $20 per individual or $80 per congregation with no limit to the number in attendance.
You can register here. Please contact Pastor Martin Otto-Zimmann or your synod office for possible support and payment options.
Please check out our event pages for each event in the Kindling Faith series, called “What does it mean to be Lutheran in a crucial election year?,” and let LAMPa know if you plan to join any of the sessions.
You can find a page with all programming in the series here.
Kindling Faith: Learning Never Ends is a program of United Lutheran Seminary (ULS), a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

Juneteenth 2024
2024-06-19
Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom, a time to gather in community and commemorate the official, announced end of slavery in the U.S., even if the history of oppression, racism, and anti-Black violence that characterized it are still part of our story in church and in the United States.
As ELCA Lutherans set free in Christ to seek community and to seek justice, it is our duty to act against present injustices, speak to our shared witness of Christ and of injustice in this world, and join in the celebration of freedom that is Juneteenth.
Read an ELCA blog post from our ELCA Racial Justice Ministries director on reckoning with the legacy of slavery while moving forward here.
A Living Lutheran article on Juneteenth, freedom, and our common humanity, written by an ELCA pastor, is available here.
ELCA worship resources for Juneteenth can be found here.
LAMPa is happy to accompany ELCA communities in the pursuit of justice and to connect them with resources for advocacy. Let us know what you are doing for Juneteenth and how we can support you by sending us an email at LAMPa@lutheranadvocacypa.org.

Commemoration of the Emmanuel Nine 2024
2024-06-17
Every year, the ELCA commemorates the Emmanuel Nine on June 17. The Emmanuel Nine are nine people who were shot and killed on June 17, 2015, during a Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
Our relationship to the shooter, as well as two of the slain, reminds us of both our complicity and our calling. The commemoration calls for us to repent for the sins of racism and white supremacy—sins that too often are present in our lives and that too often harm those who are Black and indigenous—and to rededicate ourselves to the Christ who makes us one and makes us whole.
The ELCA offers resources for the commemoration here. Several resources are for worship and sharing in community.
You can sign the ELCA Anti-Racism Pledge here.
LAMPa is happy to accompany ELCA communities in the pursuit of justice and to connect them with resources for advocacy. Let us know how you are marking the commemoration of the Emmanuel Nine in your congregation or synod and how we can support you by sending us an email at LAMPa@lutheranadvocacypa.org.

Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod Assembly 2024
2024-06-14 - 2024-06-15
Save the date for the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod of the ELCA Assembly.
Synod Assembly will be June 14-15, 2024.
It will be held at PennWest California.
More details will be shared as they are made available in the coming months.
Feel free to reach out to us with more information here: LAMPa@lutheranadvocacypa.org.

Upper Susquehanna Synod Assembly 2024
2024-06-14 - 2024-06-15
Save the date for the Upper Susquehanna Synod of the ELCA Assembly.
Synod Assembly will be June 14-15, 2024.
Synod assembly information can be found here, with more to come for 2024’s assembly.
More details will be shared as they are made available in the coming months.
Feel free to reach out to us with more information here: LAMPa@lutheranadvocacypa.org.

Allegheny Synod Assembly 2024
2024-06-14 - 2024-06-15
Save the date for the Allegheny Synod of the ELCA Assembly.
Synod Assembly will be June 14-15, 2024.
More details will be shared as they are made available in the coming months.
Feel free to reach out to us with more information here: LAMPa@lutheranadvocacypa.org.

Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod Assembly 2024
2024-06-08 | Atonement Lutheran Church, 5 Wyomissing Blvd., Wyomissing, PA, 19610, United States
Save the date for the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the ELCA Assembly.
Synod Assembly will be June 8, 2024.
Assembly will be held on Zoom and at Atonement Lutheran Church in Wyomissing.
Synod assembly information can be found here, with more to come for 2024’s assembly.
More details will be shared as they are made available in the coming months.
Feel free to reach out to us with more information here: LAMPa@lutheranadvocacypa.org.

Rural Pennsylvania Housing Summit 2024
2024-06-05 | Seven Springs Mountain Resort, 777 Water Wheel Drive, Seven Springs, PA, 15622, United States
Save the date for the Rural Pennsylvania Housing Summit, hosted by the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania.
The summit will be held at Seven Springs Mountain Resort on June 5.
For the second year, the summit will cover Housing Alliance priority topics to address the frustration over the lack of resources and affordable housing options that many rural communities face.
For specific questions about the summit, reach out to Alison at alison@housingalliancepa.org.
To connect with LAMPa about housing advocacy, send us a message at LAMPa@lutheranadvocacypa.org.
You can visit the website of the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania here.
