By Daniella Garber [About the author]

I grew up in a small city nestled in the Allegheny Mountains. As a small child, I was fixated on a rock formation on the side of one of those mountains that, to me, looked exactly like Noah’s ark. I was certain that was where the ark had landed after the flood, and that it had been there so long it had disintegrated in a way that prevented any trees from growing where it had sat. Eventually, my brain caught up with my imagination, and I let go of that particular belief. To this day, however, when I visit my family in that city, I always take note of the formation. It brings me a sense of peace and comfort to see it there, unmoving and unobscured on the hill.

That is what mountains do. They never move. Driving down any road, you can always find them on the horizon, always get your bearings. Their steady visibility is a gift.

Jesus describes a city on a hill that cannot be hidden, existing faithfully in plain sight. I think that image has something to teach us about what it means to be advocates for our neighbors and for God’s creation. This work is long. We don’t always see immediate results. Our advocacy can feel invisible, and progress is not always linear. But we are called to remain steady and unhidden, a constant presence of hope.

The mountain doesn’t move. It does not hide or disappear. Neither should we.

To be a faithful advocate is to be uncompromising on what we know to be true: that every neighbor bears the image of God, that creation is sacred and worth protecting. Sometimes being a light to the world means staying on the hill, not because the view is always encouraging, but because someone in the valley is looking for us. Someone needs to find us there, steady and unhidden, the same place we were last time they looked up.

When I was a kid, that rock formation brought me wonder. Now it brings me peace. The mountain never moved, but what it meant to me changed. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. As advocates and Christians, we are called to be that city—unhidden from the world and consistent in our values and our faith.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Daniella Garber is the ELCA Hunger Advocacy Fellow placed with the Lutheran Advocacy Ministry of Pennsylvania. Garber graduated from Bryn Mawr College with a math major and religion minor. Her background includes internships in data analytics and policy research focused on hunger and food access, as well as interfaith community building at Bryn Mawr College, and is excited to bring these experiences together in this faith-based advocacy role.

By Jeffery Jordan II [About the author]

The halls of power can feel strangely dim. Not because of a lack of chandeliers or marble floors, but because of how easily human stories can be reduced to policy numbers, legal categories, and political calculations. Yet on an advocacy day on Capitol Hill this winter, representing the ELCA and walking alongside members of the National TPS Alliance, I realized some profound things.

Light does not need permission to shine. It only needs to be present.

In the words of Jesus to his disciples from Matthew 5:14–15, he does not say you should become light. He says you are light.

Advocacy is one of the ways that light becomes visible.

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a legal immigration status that allows citizens from other countries who are present in the United States during a catastrophe in their country to remain in the United States until it is safe to return home. TPS is often debated in terms of statutes, deadlines and executive authority. But sitting in those congressional offices – hearing TPS holders share their stories, their fears, their faith, their hope for stability – it became clear that advocacy is not just about influencing decisions. It is about refusing to let human dignity be hidden under the bushel basket of bureaucracy. It is about placing truth where it can be seen.

Light reveals what is real.

In the Hill visit conversations, there were moments when the atmosphere shifted – not necessarily because minds were changed immediately, but because hearts were confronted with presence. When someone speaks not as an abstract issue but as a neighbor, a parent, a member of the Body of Christ, the light shines. Even when outcomes are uncertain, the act of shining matters. Light does not measure its success by immediate transformation; it fulfills its purpose simply by illuminating.

This is where faith and advocacy meet.

To advocate is to participate in God’s work of illumination, to testify that people are not invisible to God and therefore must not be invisible to the world. It is to stand on a hill, not for recognition, but for witness.

The light is not ours by merit.

It is entrusted to us by Christ, who calls us to reflect His justice, mercy and truth. There may be moments when the systems feel too large, the opposition too strong confirming our fears. But the promise of Jesus remains: a city on a hill cannot be hidden. When you speak, when you show up, when you advocate, you are already shining.

The question is not whether you have light.

The question is whether you will trust God enough to place it on the lampstand.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeffrey M. Jordan II is part of the D.C.-based staff of the ELCA Witness in Society office specializing in Policy. Jordan is an American lawyer and public policy researcher with a Juris Doctor from Tulane University Law School specializing in international law, a Master’s of International Affairs: Global Governance, Politics, and Security from American University School of International Service and Bachelor of International Studies and Public Policy from Sarah Lawrence College. Jordan also has a certification in Post-Conflict Resolution from Public International Law and Policy Group and from the Summer Program in International Affairs at Geneva Graduate Institute. He has several years of research, advocacy, and lobbying experience on domestic and international law and policy issues. Outside of work, Jordan enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, avidly reading and volunteering at church.

In 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed findings regarding greenhouse gases under Clean Air Act, including what is known as the Endangerment Finding – focused on the conclusion that current and projected concentrations of the certain greenhouse gases in the atmosphere threaten the public health and welfare of current and future generations. This finding served as the legal basis on which the federal government can regulate greenhouse gas emissions based on public health. In July 2025, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced a proposal to rescind that finding. The ELCA gave testimony at an EPA public hearing in support of upholding the finding. The Rev. Kaari Reierson, ELCA Corporate Social Responsibility Program Director, delivered that testimony based upon ELCA social teaching, and several other ELCA ministers testified. Public comments were also recorded in the Federal Register.

Despite these efforts to bring forward concerns, plus an ELCA advocacy meeting with the EPA Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, repeal of the Endangerment Finding was announced by the EPA on Feb. 12, 2026. “While this recent move is deeply disappointing,” said Christine Moffett, ELCA Program Director for Environment and Energy, “we continue to monitor legal challenges as well as any legislative opportunities to ensure public health protections for current and future generations.”

Upon announcement to rescind the Endangerment Finding, the following statement from the ELCA has been circulated.

February 12, 2026

ELCA Statement on EPA Decision to Rescind the Endangerment Finding

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) expresses profound concern and disappointment regarding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to rescind the endangerment finding on greenhouse gas emissions. This action undermines our collective responsibility to care for God’s creation and protect the well-being of current and future generations.

As people of faith, we recognize the wisdom of science as a God-given gift that illuminates our path forward. The overwhelming scientific consensus on climate change compels us to act with urgency and moral clarity. We have declared this a “Kairos moment” – an ancient Greek term meaning a critical, decisive time when action is essential. The removal of this finding sets us back precisely when moving forward on climate action is imperative.

The ELCA’s social teaching on climate change is grounded in our understanding that creation is a gift from God, entrusted to our care not for exploitation, but for stewardship. We are called to share this gift equitably and preserve it for those who come after us. Removing the endangerment finding eliminates a crucial regulatory framework necessary to fulfill this sacred responsibility.

The ELCA has consistently called for increased regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. We have also clearly rejected approaches that prioritize short-term economic considerations over the long-term social, economic, and ecological well-being of future generations. We oppose any attempts to weaponize or distort scientific research or to misrepresent the intentions of those working to address this crisis.

This EPA decision does both of those things – it distorts scientific research and prioritizes the present over the future. We urge the EPA to reconsider this decision and to restore protections that heeds extensive scientific evidence, protects human health and honors our sacred obligation to care for creation.

The Rev. Amy Reumann
Senior Director, Witness in Society
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America