For two weeks in November, thousands of people from across the globe will travel to Baku, Azerbaijan, to attend the 29th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29). One participant in this annual gathering will be Christine Moffett, ELCA Witness in Society program director for environment and energy […]
Earlier this year the ELCA bishops in Pennsylvania knew they needed to do something. Called to shepherd God’s people in a swing state during an already contentious election, all seven felt the deep responsibility to use their voices and authority to speak words of peace—to their pastors who are leading congregations with deep divisions, to […]
Congregations across the ELCA regularly engage with the question of what actions communities of faith should take in an election season. On election day in 2016, Edina (Minn.) Community Lutheran Church opened its sanctuary doors to anyone seeking a place to pray. After the 2020 presidential election, the congregation held a prayer vigil as a […]
Editor’s note: This post was written by Quentin Bernhard, ELCA Hunger Advocacy Fellow. Racial justice initiatives through the ELCA Florida-Bahamas Synod and Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania (LAMPa) are the first recipients of Jackie Maddox Racial Justice Advocacy Grants. Maddox, whose contributions to ELCA advocacy are recognized by the grant, served in the ELCA’s Washington, D.C., […]
In March a group of young Lutherans took time out of their spring break to visit their representatives in Washington, D.C. “Meeting with people in the offices of our elected officials put a personal face to government and made the possibility of change feel more accessible,” said Kamila Gutierrez, a member of Lutheran Campus Ministry […]
“If there is one thing that is truly global, it’s violence against women,” said Evangeline Anderson-Rajkumar, pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Versailles, Ind. She made the remark at a panel discussion during the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) at the United Nations in March, as a member […]
ELCA advocacy is most effective when Lutherans across the country are involved and active. The ELCA has professional policy staff who help facilitate Lutheran advocacy efforts, but members of Congress want to hear from their constituents—your stories, experiences and influence impact their decisions. On the Witness in Society’s advocacy resources page, you’ll find information that […]
Serving a congregation during an election year has often presented challenges. But the last few election cycles have revealed deepening divides that have left pastors and deacons, especially those serving “purple” congregations, filled with anxiety about how to talk across our political differences. The Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod heard the longings for resources around depolarization from […]
On Feb. 13, Tracie Bartholomew, bishop of the New Jersey Synod, joined ELCA advocacy staff to meet with federal legislators on Capitol Hill to express deep concern in accompaniment and advocacy with the church’s partners in the Holy Land and the United States. Following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel in which Hamas killed […]
Editor’s note: Faith-based advocacy happens wherever Lutherans are found, including through our ELCA-affiliated state public policy office network. When Washington, D.C.-based ELCA Hunger Advocacy Fellow Will Milner joined a delegation from his home state of Virginia for an advocacy day through the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy (VICPP), he left his first-time encounter encouraged […]
