Beacon News Article

  The Crisis in Ukraine and Ways to Help March 5, 2022 Dear Ones, As the situation in Ukraine continues to unfold, the humanitarian crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of a sovereign nation becomes more dire by the day. It is so easy to feel helpless in the face of such monumental, potentially world-altering events. But we are a people who pray, who are united in our common prayer, who believe that prayer does change things. So I ask you to continue to join me in praying for the people of Ukraine, for their protection and safety in the midst […]

Bishop Rickel’s Statement on the Invasion of Ukraine February 25, 2022 Dear Ones, Like many of you, I have been watching the news these past weeks with sickening dread as Russian forces have moved inexorably toward war and the invasion of Ukraine. There has been no justification for this act of brutal violence, hostility, and naked aggression. Already, innocent lives have been lost in this needless bloodshed. Throughout Europe, around the world, and indeed, within Russia itself, anti-war demonstrations are rising up to protest this assault on a sovereign, democratic nation. I ask you to join me in prayer for […]

Executive Order 9066 80 years later February 19, 2022 On this day, February 19, 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt signed this order and by so doing authorized the evacuation of all persons of Japanese descent, alien or non-alien, which were deemed a threat to national security from the West Coast to relocation centers further inland. In the next 6 months, over 100,000 men, women, and children of Japanese ancestry were moved to assembly centers. They were then evacuated to and confined in isolated, fenced, and guarded relocation centers, euphemously known as internment camps but much better described as concentration camps, or […]

Southwestern Washington Synod E-News Week of January 23, 2022 Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery and Land Acknowledgements Brought to you by the Conversations Around Race group at Peace Lutheran, Tacoma Tuesday, January 25 – FREE of charge 6:30 – 8:30pm PT Examines the church documents in Christian Europe in the mid-1400s that justified the domination and oppression by its monarchies as they invaded the Western hemisphere and how this affects Native Americans today. Speaker:Rev. Irvin Porter (Pima, T’hono O’odham, Nez Perce) of Church of the Indian Fellowship Also examines our use of Land Acknowledgments. Acknowledging the legacies of brokenness can […]

URGENT NEED FOR CONGREGATIONAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF AFGHAN REFUGEESAt the end of August, we watched with anguish the fall of Afghanistan’s government and the evacuation of thousands of Afghan refugees to U.S. military bases called safe havens. Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton reminded us of the critical need for Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) engagement:“Afghan families coming to the United States will need support for months, not just for days. And we need to call on our congregations to be sponsoring entities for the months to come. Join us in supporting the ‘long welcome’ for these families.”   Not since World War […]

What’s happening in the Living Stones community (please feel free to forward this email to others who may be interested) View this email in your browser Monthly Living Stones Zoom check-in TODAY (Jan. 10) at 3 p.m. Join Pastor Chris for an update about what is happening in the Living Stones ministry. He will share how our men are doing at Washington Corrections Center in Shelton, talk about progress towards bringing Living Stones to the Monroe Correctional Complex, and give info about a workshop he will co-lead at Holden Village this summer. Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81253276927?pwd=U21yenB6Y0ZlYkVaVXhiVmdXYUdQUT09 See you later today! For […]