In partnership with the Heat Relief Network, faith-based organizations, and other partners, Arizona Faith Network has launched an initiative to help establish and operate faith-based hydration, cooling, and heat relief respite centers throughout the valley. View media spotlights.

After decades of policies encouraging growth and farming at all costs, there are signs that Arizona may finally be coming to grips with its status as a dry state.  —Hank Stephenson, Arizona Agenda

Loving Our Neighbor: Striving for Justice and Peace through Advocacy. This video introduction from Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Arizona (LAMA) highlights the importance of civic engagement in faith communities, particularly in Lutheran congregations.

As it negotiates water rights with tribes, Arizona goes to unique lengths to extract concessions that limit tribes’ opportunities for growth and economic development, according to a ProPublica and High Country News investigation.

The agreement on cuts, aided by a wet winter and $1.2 billion in federal payments, expires at the end of 2026. By Christopher Flavelle for The New York Times.

An Arizona bipartisan budget effort helped create a vital security grant for Arizona’s most vulnerable faith communities. The Grand Canyon Synod supported the efforts of the Arizona Faith Network in this successful endeavor.

The 2023-24 Hunger Advocacy Fellow placed with LAMA will serve as a member of the staff of this ELCA-affiliated State Public Policy Office as a full-time contract employee. This is a paid position, including health insurance. The position begins in September 2023.

The Interior Department last summer dropped a bomb on the seven states that depend upon the Colorado River for water. By Bruce Babbitt for New York Times Opinion. Mr. Babbitt, the secretary of the Interior Department from 1993 to 2001 in the Clinton administration, is a former governor of Arizona (1978 to 1987).

What can we do to join Apache Stronghold and protect Oak Flat today? Watch this 7-minute video created TODAY for the latest update.

As homelessness overwhelms downtown Phoenix, a small business wonders how long it can hang on. By Eli Saslow for The New York Times.

For the first time in the program’s history, the No Borders No Limits Produce Program is assuming a role in produce sourcing through activities in Nogales, Arizona, which is a hub for produce coming in to the US from Mexico. Watch video!

Fabric patches and invitations to members of Congress ~ including two from Arizona ~ to visit ministries addressing homelessness and housing in their districts were delivered by ELCA advocates on Capitol Hill last week.

Have you seen this license plate when driving around Arizona? The Hunger Relief license plate costs $25 (plus postage and handling) and benefits LAMA and Arizona Anti-Hunger Alliance coalition partner, the Arizona Food Bank Network.

A pictorial recap of Lutheran Day at the Legislature on Monday, January 30, 2023. The Lutherans (and friends) are here!

This new 12-page resource from Arizona Food Bank Network is created each year to help educate state legislators about hunger in Arizona. Contains helpful and up-to-date information for Arizona hunger advocates.

Over 40% of Arizona's water supply comes from groundwater. Outside of the central populous portions of the state, there has been little regulation governing its use. This affects the water future of more than 1.5 million Arizonans.

Governor-Elect Katie Hobbs has appointed Angie Rodgers to take over DES. The agency says thousands of Arizonans were overpaid unemployment benefits in the pandemic.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman announced last month that the Arizona Department of Education will allocate $6.75 million in pandemic relief funds to waive fees for students who qualify for reduced-price school meals starting in January.