Thanks to New Journeyans for completing two great lunch packs for Grace in the City heat respite! 18 and 20 participants, respectively, prepped 200 lunches each on Mondays June 17 and July 1. Lead partners from Ascension, Christ the Lord, and New Covenant were thankful for seeing the project in action on June 17 as they prepare to host nine Monday lunch packs over the next two months with their congregations.

Letters are off to Representative Schweikert and Senators Kelly and Sinema, each with fifteen signatures, in support of key provisions of the U.S. Farm Bill as component legislation is now being reconciled in the House and Senate. A copy of the letter is here. Additional ELCA updates on the farm bill are here.

Thanks to your quiet generosity, a third box for 2024 is on its way to Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest. Please continue to be alert for unopened travel-size toiletries, travel snacks, as well as athletic shoelaces, for refugees processed through Phoenix who are on their way to new homes in other parts of the country.

Given New Journey’s limited posting or distribution space, we’re using the Red Door to support New Journey’s advocacy efforts. Items posted there are ELCA updates on current issues, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (LAMAz.org) information items, and advance copies of letters for our “5th Sunday Letter Signings.” As Martin Luther noted: “If you want to change the world, pick up a pen and write!”