Recent Messages

from ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson

• ELCA responds to Hurricane Sandy  (November 1, 2012)
• ELCA's 25th Anniversary  (August 10, 2012)
• Reconciling Works Keynote Address (July 10, 2012)
• Southwestern Texas Synod Assembly Sermon  (May 19, 2012)
• Gustavus Adolphus College Association of Congregations Keynote Address  (April 21, 2012)
• Second Week of Easter Sermon with the ELCA Church Council  (April 15, 2012)
• Message on Racial Justice in the wake of Trayvon Martin's death (March 27, 2012)
• Churchwide Assembly - Report of the Presiding Bishop  (August 16, 2011)
• Join your church in action (August 5, 2011)
• A pastoral letter from ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson (June 2, 2011)
• A invitation from ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson (May 24, 2011)
• Comment on President Obama’s Middle East speech (May 20, 2011)
• On the death of Osama bin Laden (May 2, 2011)
• Statement on United States veto of resolution on Israeli settlements (February 18, 2011)
• Unrest in Egypt (January 31, 2011)
• World AIDS Day Message (November 22, 2010)
• You Are a Beloved Child of God  (October 28, 2010)
• Remarks to the EOCM All-Staff Gathering  (Delivered April 28, 2010; posted June 16, 2010)
• Statement Regarding the Israeli Military Interception of Gaza Flotilla (June 1, 2010)
• Sowing Seeds of Hope, Northwest Synod of Wisconsin East-Central Synod of Wisconsin Joint Synod Assembly Sermon  (May 21, 2010)
• Ascension Day, Northwestern Ohio Synod Assembly Sermon  (May 13, 2010)
• Together in Christ, Pacifica Synod Assembly Sermon  (May 8, 2010)
• Joint Program Committee Address  (February 26, 2010)
• Building on the One Foundation: Seminex at 35  (Delivered June 25, 2009: posted May 27, 2010)
• Statement on the Resignation of Bishop Margot Kaessmann (February 24, 2010)
• Greetings to the Pope (February 10, 2010)
• Greetings to the Ecumenical Patriarch (February 8, 2010)
• Greetings to the Archbishop of Canterbury (February 4, 2010)
• UPDATE: ELCA at work in Haiti (January 29, 2010)
• Letter to the Secretary of State regarding the proposed homosexuality law in Uganda (January 8, 2010)
• A Statement on the 2010 National Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS (January 7, 2010)
• Statement in Response to Kairos Palestine Document (Dec. 11, 2009)
• Open Letter to ELCA Members from Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson (Posted Nov. 19, 2009) Versión en español
• All Saints Day Sermon (Delivered November 1, 2009; posted Nov. 18, 2009)
• Pastoral letter from Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson (September 23, 2009)
• Remarks to the Eleventh Churchwide Assembly (Delivered August 21, 2009; posted Sept. 1, 2009)
• Report of the Presiding Bishop from the 2009 Churchwide Assembly (August 18, 2009)
• Presiding Bishop's Sermon at the Eleventh Churchwide Assembly  (August 17, 2009)
• Video Message for 2009 Synod Assemblies from the Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson
• On the Shooting of George Tiller (June 1, 2009)
• Invitation to 50 Days of Prayer (April 27, 2009)
• Report and Reflections from the Bishops' Academy Visit to the Holy Land (January 21, 2009)
• Presiding Bishop's Statement on Gaza Violence and Bishops' Visit to Middle East (December 31, 2008)
• Tribute to the Reverend Dr. Robert J. Marshall (December 22, 2008)
• Presiding Bishop’s Statement on 2008 Presidential Election (November 5, 2008)
• Pastoral letter to the ELCA on the U.S. Presidential Election (October 16, 2008)
• Statement on Hurricanes (September 12, 2008)
• Joint Statement on Sudan (June 4, 2008) 
• Melting Snow on Mt. Kilimanjaro: A Witness of a Suffering Creation  (June 2008)
• Joint Statement on Resettlement and Migration  (January 30, 2008)
• Statement on Kenya (January 3, 2008) 

• International Year for People of African Descent (September 7, 2011)
• Update regarding the ELCA churchwide reorganization (October 15, 2010)
• Pastoral Letter: "For Everything There Is a Season" (August 24, 2010)
• Pastoral Letter on Immigration Reform (July 13, 2010)
• Pastoral Letter on Gulf Coast Oil Spill (June 28, 2010)
• ELCA at work in Haiti (January 22, 2010)
• Pastoral Letter to Rostered Leaders (September 23, 2009)
• Remarks to the Eleventh Churchwide Assembly (Delivered August 21, 2009; posted September 1, 2009)
• Pastoral Letter to Rostered Leaders (July 1, 2009)
• Preaching (February 11, 2009)
• Presiding Bishop's Statement on Gaza Violence and Bishops' Visit to Middle East (December 31, 2008)
• Lutheran Letter to the Candidates (July 8, 2008)
• Current Domestic Disasters (June 20, 2008)
• Death of Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho (March 19, 2008) 
• An E-mail to Rostered Leaders - Lent 2008 (February 28, 2008) 
• Crisis in Kenya (February 7, 2008) 

Holy Day Messages

• Christmas 2011
• Easter 2011
• Christmas 2010
• Easter 2010
• Christmas 2009
• Easter 2009
• Christmas 2008
• Easter 2008

Monthly Column in The Lutheran

• March 2012: Message merits going viral  Faith community gathers in love to serve neighbors
• February 2012: Finding our place during Lent   Time for repentance, return to life and roots
• January 2012: Church unity found in Jesus May we be as varied as the first followers
• December 2011: No ambivalence in this story Jesus is the Yes pronounced upon God's promises
• November 2011: Christ's church, not ours Being welcomed needs to be lived out in relationships
• October 2011: Cause for hope, gratitude Daring confidence in God's grace, sharing it with world
• September 2011: Ready to be moved by Spirit ELCA clear about who it is, mission for life of the world
• August 2011: 'Living Lutheran' today What's your language of faith in this diverse culture?
• July 2011: God's household of freedom Christ liberates us for lives of generous, loving service
• June 2011: Christ present in challenges Be confident the Spirit renews our faith and witness
• May 2011: People of the resurrection World waits for messengers of the good news
• April 2011: Freed in Christ to serve A mark of the life of the baptized
• March 2011: Struggle to serve the word God promises power of the Spirit as witness of Christ
• February 2011: Faith amid the silence God comes to us through the cross
• January 2011: Great expectations Coming years rest on living word and living it out
• December 2010: Advent readings focus us We see more clearly the past, present and future
• November 2010: Days of timidity are over Church confident, bold, courageous through Spirit
• October 2010: Our gospel must be Jesus Competing messages blur freedom found in Christ
• September 2010: Diverse but united LWF deepens commitment to being one communion
• August 2010: Freedom rings in the word We find truth about selves, both bad and good news
• July 2010: Give public service its due while engaging in respectful policy debate, dissent
• June 2010: Gather 'round the camping season. This summer, bring home what many value about outdoor ministry
• May 2010: The strangers among us. What message might God send in these people?
• April 2010: Glimpses of unity, Trek renews relationships in body of Christ.
• March 2010: A test and a witness. Faith front & center in response to Haiti
• February 2010: Grappling with technology. Communication tools can bear good, bad fruit
• January 2010: More than just daily bread. Seven words of Lord's Prayer remarkably comprehensive
• December 2009:  Addressing our restlessness. God does the unexpected: A Savior is born 
• November 2009: Living in joy and gratitude. Perseverance, mercy flow from Jesus
• October 2009: What will be our testimony? Forgiveness, peace found in risen Christ
• September 2009: Called into one body. Assembly decision demands time together
• August 2009: A living hope. Assembly should bring us together
• July 2009: Jazzed up for gathering. Support ELCA youth bound for New Orleans
• June 2009: Seizing an opportunity. Economic crisis gives chance to share God's generosity, faithfulness 
• May 2009: Faith practices in the making. Shared activities addressing needs form way of life
• April 2009: Learning to Pray Never Stops. Think of it as a positive and as a practice
• March 2009: Witnessing in troubled times. A call for evangelical missional imagination
• February 2009: Jesus Is with Us Always. Trust in Christ's promise during anxious times
• January 2009: Fraudulent privilege. Respect missing for those on margins
• December 2008: Thriving in a pluralistic world. ELCA is evangelical, missional in its witness 
• November 2008: Communal Repentance, Dying, rising with Christ no heroic individual quest.
• October 2008: Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, God's work. Our hands.
• September 2008: Biblical fluency, Book of Faith 'not simply another' Bible study 
• August 2008: Putting faith on the line, Presidential candidates are urged to take action 
• July 2008: Growing together, Listen and learn from one another 
• June 2008: Spiritual vs. religious, Hope found in role of emerging churches 
• May 2008: In creation, find hope, God in, above, outside all things