Following are updates shared from submissions of the Lutheran Office for World Community and state public policy offices (sppos) in the ELCA Advocacy Network this month. Full list and map of sppos available.

 

U.N.  |  ARIZONA  | COLORADO  | MINNESOTA | NEVADA | OHIO | PENNSYLVANIA | WASHINGTON | WISCONSIN

 

 

U.N.

Lutheran Office for World Community (LOWC), United Nations, New York, N.Y. – ELCA.org/lowc

Christine Mangale, Director

UN General Assembly (UNGA 77) 

The 77th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 77) will open on Tuesday, 13 September 2022. Ambassador Csaba Kőrösi, Director of Environmental Sustainability at the Office of the President of Hungary is the President of the 77th session. UNGA 77 will meet under the theme “A watershed moment: transformative solutions to interlocking challenges”

The general debate of the seventy-seventh session will be held from Tuesday, 20 September, to Saturday, 24 September, and on Monday, 26 September 2022. In addition to the general debate, there are several High-Level Meetings planned:  

Opening of the 77th session of the General Assembly: 13 September 2022  

• Summit on Transforming Education: 19 September 2022 Convened by the UN Secretary-General
• General debate: Tuesday, 20 September to Monday, 26 September 2022 (including Saturday, 24 September)
• High-level meeting to mark the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities: 21 September 2022 | Resolution 
• High-level plenary meeting to commemorate the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons: 26 September 2022 | Resolution

In conjunction with UNGA77 High Level week, an Interfaith prayer breakfast will take place on Thursday, September 22, 2022, under the Communities of Faith Breakfast: Building Partnerships for a One-Community HIV Response. The event is organized by Faith Partners collaborating with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The focus will be to discuss how to better address key gaps to end inequalities in HIV services for children. 

 

ARIZONA

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (LAMA) – lamaz.org

Solveig Muus, Director

Arizona Anti-Hunger Alliance: Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (LAMA), together with its Arizona Hunger Policy Workgroup partners including Bread for the World, World Hunger Ecumenical Arizona Task-Force  Arizona Food Bank Network and Arizona Food Systems Network and Arizona Faith Network, hosted Arizona’s first statewide gathering of hunger advocates. More than 50 gathered to discuss shared values and goals, setting in motion the new Arizona Anti-Hunger Alliance, an organization for combined messaging, 2023 policy proposals, education, training, and organizing, cultivating and activating advocates. 

Becoming Conference: LAMA joined the Lutheran and interfaith state public policy offices and staff of the Witness in Society team from the Washington, D.C. office at the Becoming Conference in Chicago on Wednesday, August 24 – 28. The group discussed civic engagement, Christian Nationalism, abortion, the Inflation Reduction Act, hunger, housing, climate and the Farm Bill, along with a variety of housekeeping issues. 

LAMA Summit: LAMA’s third annual Advocacy Summit on Saturday, November 5, 2022 will feature a keynote address by the Rev. Eugene Cho, president and CEO of Bread for the World. Participants will meet and engage with congregational LAMA liaisons, the LAMA policy council, and other Lutherans and friends across Arizona who share a common belief that we are called through our baptismal covenant “…to strive for justice and peace in all the earth.” 

LAMA Liaison Roundtable: As the election season in Arizona and across the country heats up, LAMA is activating a monthly Roundtable to strategize about civic engagement, and advocacy engagement in general, at the congregational level. 

 

 

 

COLORADO

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Colorado (LAM-CO) – lam-co.org

Peter Severson, Director

LAM-CO PUBLISHES 2022 VOTER GUIDE: The Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Colorado 2022 Voter Guide is here! We’re providing up to date info and thoughtful reflection on all eleven ballot measures that will face Colorado voters this fall. In addition, the LAM-CO Policy Committee has voted to take positions on four of the measures: 

•  YES on Prop FF, Healthy School Meals. Creates and funds the Healthy School Meals for All program, providing free school meals to all public school students by capping income tax deductions for individuals earning $300,000 or more per year. 
•  YES on Prop GG, Amount of Tax Owed Table for Initiatives. Requires ballot titles and fiscal impact summaries for initiatives affecting income tax to include information on how the change would affect different income levels. 
•  YES on Prop 123, Dedicated Revenue to Affordable Housing Programs. Creates the State Affordable Housing Fund and allocates 0.01% of existing income tax revenue to fund housing and homelessness programs through it.  
• NO on Prop 121, State Income Tax Reduction. Reduces the state income tax from 4.55% to 4.40%.  

THIRSTING FOR WATER: On September 17, advocates gathered at Bethany Lutheran Church in Denver and on Zoom for a day for holy conversation & community-building under the title “Thirsting for Water: At the Intersection of Climate, Water and Hunger.” Attendees heard from experts, pastors, and advocates about the drought affecting our region, engaged in theological reflection and storytelling, heard stories of the impact on agriculture, considered policy and advocacy, and contemplated how we might respond to the crisis together. 

 

MINNESOTA

Lutheran Advocacy – Minnesota (LA-MN) – lutheranadvocacymn.org

Tammy Walhof, Director

Next Steps for ELCA Hunger Advocacy Fellow: We were blessed to have Rachel Wyffels working with us as a Hunger Advocacy Fellow over the past year. She is now at Luther Seminary and working part-time as Communications Coordinator for the Northeastern Minnesota Synod’s EcoFaith Network (& the Saint Paul Area Synod Creation Care Team). While at Lutheran Advocacy-MN, Wyffels helped with several EcoFaith/Creation Care events, and developed deep interest in what congregations can do to care for creation. We are excited for her in these next opportunities! 

Director’s Sabbatical: Tammy Walhof is back from part 1 of her 3-month sabbatical (part 2 will be in December). Her focus is on climate impacts in the Artic and in Minnesota, climate change adaptations appropriate to Minnesota, transition to a Clean Energy Economy, and congregational engagement. She is particularly interested in messaging for the different regions and Lutheran groups across the state. Stay tuned for more to come! 

No Special Session: We are disappointed that partisan divisions prevented a summer special session, needed to pass bills already negotiated across chambers and parties. Particularly concerning is the loss of Federal infrastructure funding (from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act) without minimal matching funds in the unpassed state bills. If the bills don’t pass on time, other states will take Minnesota’s share of funds. 

Fall Foci: Partisanship and polarization are out of control. We are focusing on bridging differences, avoiding triggers, and helping advocates de-escalate conversations. We also want candidates to consider ways to overcome polarization, address the ongoing housing crisis, and help our state positively transition into a clean energy economy. 

 

NEVADA

Lutheran Engagement and Advocacy in Nevada (LEAN)- leanforjustice.org

William Ledford, Director

Lutheran Engagement and Advocacy in Nevada is gearing up for our “once every two years” session that will start at the beginning of next year. Due to Nevada’s biennial legislature, our legislators only hold sessions in odd-numbered years. We are tracking Bill Draft Requests and are excited to see what will come down the pipe this session. Nevada is always an interesting place to watch legislation and this session should be no different. 

 

OHIO

Hunger Network Ohio (HNO) – hungernetwork.org

Deacon Nick Bates, Director

In September, Hunger Network Ohio continued exploring the advocacy issues related to the ELCA social statements with a discussion on Criminal Justice Transformation to end hunger. We are grateful for the partnership with ARCH – a re-entry advocacy and support organization – for their leadership on this issue and sharing their expertise with all of us. You can view the forum here on our Facebook page. We are also grateful for Sister Kriss Buss, an ELCA Deacon who currently serves as a prison chaplain for leading a powerful opening devotional.  

Does your congregation want to get involved in supporting our neighbors upon release? Their families? If so, reach out to Deacon Nick Bates Nick@hungernetohio.com for upcoming opportunities! 

Our advocacy in Advent returns! Join the Hunger Network and the Ohio Council of Churches for an advocacy day on November 29th. Every two years, the final two months of the legislature are filled with a rush of activity, trying to finish up many good ideas and slow down many bad ones. During this Holy Season of preparation, let us prepare for a hunger-free Ohio, an Ohio where all receive their daily bread, and justice is done.  

Read more and register here!    

 

PENNSYLVANIA

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry – Pennsylvania (LAMPa) lutheranadvocacypa.org

Tracey DePasquale, Director

Pennsylvania’s General Assembly returned after an August recess with a few session days remaining before the Nov. 8 election. In anticipation of heavy turnout and in response to turnover among elections staff and poll works, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania volunteers and staff are once again conducting an elections support project, calling every county to offer prayers and assistance, assessing their needs and recruiting support to ensure safe and fair elections.

In addition to preparing for our annual policy council retreat later this month, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania’s staff assisted congregations in adding advocacy to their service for “God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday. Letters invited lawmakers to visit ministries with those experiencing homelessness and urged them to support lifting the revenue cap on the housing trust fund. 

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania director Tracey DePasquale joined Lutheran Disaster Response Northeastern Region Coordinator Julia Menzo for a visit by Marcus Coleman, Director for the Department of Homeland Security 

Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, and other local, state and federal emergency management officials for a tour of Eastwick, a Southeastern Pennsylvania community still trying to recover from 2020 Tropical Storm Isaias. We listened to residents’ frustrations and fears as a community that has long suffered environmental injustice. As part of Lutheran Disaster Response’s accompaniment, we also heard their expressions of gratitude and hope for the future as they prepare for major decision-making points with governments in the face of bigger threats from climate change. 

 

 

 

 

 

WASHINGTON

Faith Action Network (FAN) – fanwa.org

Elise DeGooyer, Director

As we enjoy this back-to-school time and our state’s bountiful agriculture, we continue to work for a harvest of hope. We know the fruits of our labors will be the policy changes, reforms, and transformations needed for all our neighbors to thrive. Our state legislative agenda for 2023 is beginning to take shape as the 25+ coalitions we work with craft next-step policy changes and find legislative champions. Priorities this year again include balancing our tax code, which is the most regressive in the nation, and implementing/expanding our state Working Families Tax Credit. 

In August we were also immersed in collaborative efforts with local organizers to stand against Christian Nationalism as the ReAwaken America tour (featuring Mike Flynn and others) came to the Washington-Idaho border in September. More than 1,000 signed the petition and 40 vigils, that we know of, were held statewide to support a different narrative than that of “spiritual warfare” espoused by Flynn and tour organizers. 

The Faith Action Network has onboarded two new part-time organizers in Central Washington who are working with immigration rights and food security efforts. Another two part-time staff members will be working on outreach to Spanish-speaking communities and college-aged advocates. We are currently preparing for our annual celebration in November celebrating our statewide, multi-faith movement with the theme: Pathways to Solidarity. 

 

WISCONSIN

Lutheran Office for Public Policy – Wisconsin (LOPPW) loppw.org

The Rev. Cindy Crane, Director

August and September have been a time for planning. The Lutheran Office of Public Policy in Wisconsin (LOPPW) staff has met with the following groups:

• Faith in Place, formerly known as Wisconsin Interfaith Power & Light, about holding a Care for God’s Creation advocacy day in the spring of 2023. Advocacy will be monitoring the next Wisconsin State Budget. The former Wisconsin Interfaith Power & Light staff contributed to our last advocacy day that was started by LOPPW and that focused on climate justice and water issues. The governor’s Clean Energy Plan will be a significant part of our discussion for the next budget.
• Members of our youth advocacy to begin planning a Wisconsin/Upper Peninsula gathering in the spring of 2023.
• Hunger leaders’ group, organized by ELCA World Hunger leaders in Wisconsin/Upper Peninsula to include the LOPPW.
• Interfaith clergy group to review upcoming public policy efforts to be alert to.
• Raise the Age Coalition to plan a meeting with the Bucks to discuss how they might elevate our juvenile justice efforts and to discuss other ways we can launch an educational campaign.

For Wednesday Noon Live in September, we focused on social justice highlights from the Churchwide Assembly, the farm bill, and conflicts related to the Wisconsin Elections Commission, the dissolution of which LOPPW opposes.

Following are updates shared from submissions of the Lutheran Office for World Community and state public policy offices (sppos) in the ELCA Advocacy Network this month. Full list and map of sppos available.

U.N. | Colorado | Delaware | Washington

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U.N.

Lutheran Office for World Community (LOWC), United Nations, New York, N.Y. – ELCA.org/lowc

Dennis Frado, Director

 

The 24th International AIDS Conference took place from 29 July to 2 August 2022. The theme of AIDS 2022 was Re-engage and follow the science. It was the first time the conference was hosted in person in Montreal, Canada, as well as virtually. The conference featured the latest HIV science, explored indigenous responses to HIV, surveillance ethics, health innovation, quality healthcare, HIV cure and vaccine research and much more. The new UNAIDS report, In Danger, released at the conference, highlights the devastating consequences if urgent action is not taken to tackle the inequalities which drive the pandemic. It further shows how the AIDS response has been “blown off course”, making action urgent.

 

Pre-conferences began on 27 July. The Interfaith Pre-Conference was held 27-28 July under the theme “Taking Action to Overcome HIV Stigma & Discrimination Comprehensive, Compassionate Care for All.” The pre-conference was organized by the Interfaith Health Platform (IHP), in collaboration with UNAIDS and PEPFAR. IHP advocacy initiatives include the 12 MILLION CAMPAIGN that engages faith leaders, individuals and communities to promote access to health services to the now 10 million children, women and men living with HIV who are not yet on antiretroviral treatment.

 

There was some uplifting news. According to UNAIDS, the new research presented at the conference showed that “injectable PrEP [pre-exposure prophylaxis] is among the most effective tools for preventing HIV available and that it works well in multiple populations.”. The World Health Organization (WHO) released new guidelines and drugmaker ViiV announced licenses for generic manufacturing of the drug, cabotegravir long-acting (LA), for HIV PrEPin 90 countries.

Other commitments were made by African leaders and by international partners who joined in a new Global Alliance to End AIDS in Children.

 

The Interfaith pre-conference delegates, the International AIDS Society, UNAIDS and civil society organizations all expressed concern and were saddened by the high number of denied and pending visas for the purpose of attending the events by Canadian authorities. These included researchers, officials, and people living with HIV from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. There was global outcry to ensure that the next host of the conference must guarantee that the most affected by HIV can be present at this important world’s largest conference on HIV and AIDS.

 

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Colorado

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Colorado (LAM-CO) – lam-co.org

Peter Severson, Director

 

Healthy School Meals for All campaign kicks off: The Healthy School Meals for All ballot measure will appear before Colorado voters on their November ballot. As a member of a diverse statewide coalition, we’re excited to announce the official kick-off series for our “Yes” campaign! The Denver kick-off will took place at Edgewater Elementary on August 11. Colorado Springs’ kick-off was at Food to Power on August 15, followed by the Western Slope.

The ballot measure will soon have a name, but we already have a website: https://www.healthyschoolmealsforallco.org. Also check us out on social media at Facebook.com/SchoolsMealsforCO and on Twitter @SchoolMeals4CO.

 

Register now for Thirsting for Water: Lutheran Advocacy is collaborating with the Rocky Mountain Synod (RMS) World Hunger Team and the RMS Creation Care Team to host “Thirsting for Water: At the Intersection of Climate, Water and Hunger” on Saturday, September 17. Join us at Bethany Lutheran Church, Denver, or on Zoom for a day for holy conversation & community-building with faithful people from the Rocky Mountain Synod and beyond. We’ll learn the facts about the drought affecting our region, engage in theological reflection and story-telling, hear stories of the impact on agriculture, consider policy and advocacy, and contemplate how we can respond to the crisis together.

More information & registration can be found at https://www.rmselca.org/events/thirstingforwater.

 

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Delaware

Lutheran Office for Public Policy – Delaware – demdsynod.org/delaware-public-policy-office

The Rev. Gordon Simmons, Director

 

Director for the Lutheran Office for Public Policy – Delaware, Gordon Simmons was able to be in all 12 ELCA churches this year, to preach and to lead a forum on issues.

Among issues was support of a bill that would have required training before purchasing a firearm, which did not pass. However, in the aftermath of the shootings earlier this year in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, two bills were quickly passed and signed by the governor: one which outlaws assault weapons (HB 450) and another which raises the age to purchase a firearm to 21 (HB 451).

 

LOPP-Delaware worked a lot with a clean energy coalition. A bill was introduced in the last month of the session which would have raised the state’s goals for reduction of greenhouse gases, which are currently at 40% reduction by 2035, and would have given the state much more extensive regulatory power. At the last minute the Governor pulled his support, and while the bill passed the Senate, it failed to get out of the House committee with a 5-6 vote. We’ll be back next year.

 

Delaware codified at the state level the healthcare protections which were found in Roe v Wade several years ago. After the Supreme Court decision in the Dobbs v Jackson case, the Legislature passed bills HB 455 and HB 460. These bills give certain physician assistants and registered nurse’s the authority to perform abortions and to prescribe medication to include abortions, and also protects those seeking abortions who travel from out of state from lawsuits.  

 

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Washington

Faith Action Network (FAN) – fanwa.org

Elise DeGooyer, Director

 

Our work this summer has included bills in Congress that will impact communities across our state. In July, we were present at a Congressional hearing on the Farm Bill, held locally in Carnation, Wash. It was such a great day for food security in Washington, as Congresswoman Kim Schrier and House Agriculture Committee members listened to advocates, farmers, and food bank providers about shared priorities for Farm Bill reauthorization to end hunger. FAN Policy Engagement Director Kristin Ang spoke to the power of SNAP benefits for our neighbors who are struggling, and while faith communities are on the front lines in response to hunger, they can’t do it without equitable public policy. We will continue to work with our colleagues at the Washington State Anti-Hunger & Nutrition Coalition (pictured at right with Rep. Schrier, 2nd from right) and our ELCA partners.

 

In advance of Washington state primary elections, FAN co-sponsored some candidate forums with our colleagues at the Coalition of Immigrants, Refugees, and Communities of Color (CIRCC) and the Seattle-King County NAACP. Following our four summits across the state this spring, our legislative agenda for 2023 will continue to take shape in collaboration with the newly-formed FAN Policy Committee, our governing board, and our 25+ coalition partners.

 

The FAN governing board and staff enjoyed a rare opportunity to meet in person and online in July in a statewide planning retreat, hosted by the Sikh community’s Khalsa Gurmat School in Federal Way. We listened to each other’s perspectives, identified some of the most critical challenges to our communities during this difficult time, and considered some multi-faith approaches to help us adapt to meet these challenges. It was a chance for new board members and new staff members (including our new part-time organizers in central Washington) to become acquainted; after two years of online meetings, we felt the tangible impact of planning together in person. We are energized to work together to best address the needs ahead.

By Christine Moffett, Federal Policy Intern, ELCA Witness in Society

After many months of deliberation, Congress has passed and President Biden has signed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, a federal spending bill that was heralded as a crucial step towards finding solutions to the climate crisis by making the largest federal investment ever in clean energy technologies. This investment comes as movement toward the United States fulfilling its pledge, under the Paris Climate Agreement, of 50% reduction in emissions by 2030. By fulfilling this pledge, the United States will prioritize our environment in need of care and aim for a better quality of life today without shortchanging future generations.

Our faith community acted on our convictions, adopting during the very recent 2022 ELCA Churchwide Assembly a memorial on Greenhouse Gas Reduction. This memorial reaffirms our commitment to engage in creation care and act in support of 50% reduction in 2005 U.S levels of greenhouse gas pollution by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, including having the churchwide organization meet these goals. With all of this in our minds and in our hearts, it is not without discernment that we can celebrate the recent passage of the largest federal clean energy investment in U.S. history.

 

Elements of the Act

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 most notably invests $369 billion in energy security and climate change programs over the next ten years. This is the largest investment by the United States in climate and clean energy to date. This bill contains crucial investments in solar, wind, electric vehicles and environmental justice, along with new penalties on methane pollution that will make a significant dent in our carbon pollution.

The climate investments from the Inflation Reduction Act will put our nation on the path to cut climate pollution emissions 37-41% by 2030 as compared to 2005 levels, according to Energy Innovation: Policy and Technology, a non-partisan energy and climate policy think tank. Additionally, this bill is projected to create 1.5 million new jobs. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 also pledges to invest $40 billion in agriculture, forestry and rural communities. This investment would put a priority on climate-smart agriculture, rural power and clean energy, and wildfire protections and climate-smart forestry.

In addition to climate provisions, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 will make health care more accessible for more people by continuing the Affordable Care Act subsidies and allowing the government to negotiate prices for prescription drugs in the Medicare program. It also makes changes to current tax credits that impact some homeowners and car buyers as well as shifts some longtime tax policy, particularly for some large corporations, provisions which also aim to address inflation.

 

Compelled to Act on Climate Change by Faith Foundation

As Lutherans, we understand our human role to serve creation as God has modeled for us. As people of God, we must carry out our calling to care for creation through principles of vision, hope and justice as described in the ELCA social statement on Caring for Creation. It is through our sin and captivity that we have contributed to the urgent crisis of the world: climate change.

Our changing climate only continues to intensify our world’s tribulations including floods, wildfires, droughts and intensified storms, driving global migration and civil conflicts while intensifying hunger, poverty and natural disasters. These climate burdens, while felt by all, are not equal. Some of us who have contributed the least are feeling the most intense effects of climate change. As God’s people, we are compelled to act on climate with and on behalf of our neighbor and for the wholeness of Creation. It is our vision to embody a “flourishing creation” that is not burdened by the issues of climate change. It is our hope, that as people of God, we can imitate God’s care for creation by demanding a legislative response to human-induced climate change. Finally, it is justice that shall guide us in decisions made about our environment in the interest of all creation.

 

A Step in the Right Direction

While the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 is by no means perfect, we can celebrate this historic achievement to address climate change. It did not include poverty-cutting provisions that we had advocated for like enhancing the Child Tax Credit and paid family leave. Yet it is the beginning of a new, less carbon-reliant nation. It is a hope for a new kind of world that better honors the integrity of creation and prioritizes an acceptable quality of life for present generations without compromising that of future generations. It is a testament to the work of those who have spent tireless hours advocating for creation, including many who’ve taken actions through the ELCA Action Center, and those lawmakers who received our cries for change. It is a step in the right direction.

 

Following are updates shared from submissions of the Lutheran Office for World Community and state public policy offices (sppos) in the ELCA Advocacy Network this month. Full list and map of sppos available.

U.N. | Colorado | Minnesota | Pennsylvania | Virginia | Washington

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U.N.

Lutheran Office for World Community (LOWC), United Nations, New York, N.Y. – ELCA.org/lowc

Dennis Frado, Director

The UN High Level Political Forum (HLPF) is was held from Tuesday, 5 July, to Thursday, 7 July, and from Monday, 11 July, to Friday, 15 July 2022, under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). It included a three-day ministerial segment of the forum from Wednesday, 13 July, to Friday, 15 July 2022. The high-level segment of the Council concluded with a final day on Monday, 18 July 2022.

The theme for the 2022 HLPF was “Building back better from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) while advancing the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”.

The HLPF reviewed in-depth Sustainable Development Goals: 4 on quality education, 5 on gender equality, 14 on life below water, 15 on life on land, and 17 on partnerships for the Goals. In addition, 44 countries will carry out voluntary national reviews (VNRs) of their implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The HLPF is scheduled to adopt a Ministerial Declaration as the outcome of its session.

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Colorado

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Colorado (LAM-CO) – lam-co.org

Peter Severson, Director

This summer, Lutheran Advocacy is working as a member of the Healthy School Meals for All Coalition to advance a ballot measure. The measure – which was referred directly onto the ballot by the Colorado Legislature via House Bill 22-1414 – will ask voters to approve covering the cost of school meals for all public school students. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government initiated a nationwide program to cover public school students’ meal costs. That temporary program is ending, and Coloradans now have the opportunity to do so at a state level in perpetuity. The program will be paid for by capping state income tax deductions for wealthy Coloradans who earn over $300,000 in annual income. The revenue generated by the tax code change is dedicated solely to the program, which will keep Colorado kids fed and ready to learn.

 

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Minnesota

Lutheran Advocacy – Minnesota (LA-MN) – lutheranadvocacymn.org

Tammy Walhof, Director

Lutheran Advocacy-Minnesota held its quarterly policy council meeting on June 3rd. We discussed the end of the legislative session and held two important elections. Sharon Josephson from the Northwestern Minnesota Synod was re-elected as Vice-President and the Rev. Kyle Hanson from the Minneapolis Area Synod was elected as Treasurer. We are grateful for the ways that Josephson and Pastor Hanson are sharing their time and talents to support the work of LA-MN, and we look forward to their two-year terms.

Hopes for a special session in the Minn. legislature have dissipated in recent weeks. This is due to partisanship, with all eyes on the November elections. Communities across Minnesota are suffering as a result of inaction this legislative session, which ended on May 23. We lament lack of action on systemic issues that harm our neighbors, ourselves, and all of creation, and we continue to anticipate how we can use our public voice to generate systemic change.)

Rachel Wyffels, Hunger Advocacy Fellow with LA-MN, recently had the opportunity to attend Community Organizing Training with the Minneapolis Area Synod. Members of Street Voices of Change and other congregational leaders from the synod gathered for a week centered on understanding and building power. Wyffels looks forward to applying this training on strategy, coalitions, and more to her future work.

Tammy Walhof is on sabbatical from June 13th to August 12th! Rachel Wyffels, Hunger Advocacy Fellow, is the primary contact person for LA-MN during this time.

 

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Pennsylvania

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry – Pennsylvania (LAMPa) lutheranadvocacypa.org

Tracey DePasquale, Director

The 2022-23 Pennsylvania budget includes significant gains for education, housing and creation care, but only a modest increase for anti-hunger programs. A $1.8 billion increase in education funding makes strides toward decreasing the funding gap in what has been one of the least equitable school funding systems in the country.

“We are celebrating the progress made in closing these equity gaps, as well as the major investments in housing and creation care,” said LAMPa Director Tracey DePasquale. “While we are grateful for the modest increase in anti-hunger programs, we have concern that it will not go far enough in the face of rising food prices.

“Advocates engaged in ministry with neighbors facing hunger and homelessness shared stories with lawmakers of increasing need on both fronts,” DePasquale said.

Among LAMPa’s priorities, the spending plan allocates $375 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding for affordable housing construction, rehabilitation, and repairs.

“The Whole Home Repairs Program is exciting because it will help Pennsylvanians, especially seniors and persons with disabilities, stay in their homes,” DePasquale said. “It will extend the life of our aging housing stock, help build generational wealth, and increase energy efficiency. It’s a win for our communities and our environment.” Read more about LAMPa’s budget advocacy here.

Along with the budget, the legislature approved five constitutional amendments, including one that would deny any right to an abortion. Though the amendment would not ban abortions outright, it could pave the way for such a ban, which LAMPa would oppose. Read more about the amendments here.

 

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Virginia

Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy (VICPP)

Kim Bobo, Executive Director

The Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy (VICPP) finally finished the 2022 General Assembly when the governor signed the budget bill in June. The budget included an additional $40 million for affordable housing that VICPP had advocated and a partially refundable state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) that will put more money into the hands of working Virginians.

This summer, VICPP is moving forward two of its priorities that had turned into study bills in order to be prepared for the next General Assembly. One is a bill to require health professionals to get trained in unconscious bias. The other is a bill to reduce the use of solitary confinement in Virginia’s prisons.

In addition to the policy work, this summer VICPP is organizing several activities to promote justice. On July 23, VICPP led a religious fact-finding delegation to learn about conditions in the Lawrenceville Correctional Facility, the state’s only for-profit prison. On July 30th, VICPP will host a Living Wage Certification Canvass Day to reach out to businesses about living wages (in Richmond, Harrisonburg, Alexandria and Charlottesville). On August 11, VICPP is organizing a religious delegation to meet with Dulles airport workers about the need for paid sick days and employer provided health care. Lutherans are invited to join any of these social justice events. Email Kim Bobo, Kim@virginiainterfaithcenter.org to get more information on any of the upcoming events.

 

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Washington

Faith Action Network (FAN) – fanwa.org

Elise DeGooyer, Director

Advocacy this summer has already included bills in Congress that will impact communities across our state, with an urgent need to prevent gun violence in the wake of too many mass shootings. We prayed and marched with local faith groups and Alliance for Gun Responsibility partners, remembering the victims and calling for action. We applaud the recent bipartisan gun legislation passed in Congress, while we know there will be more protections needed. We have also signed on to letters regarding federal housing legislation, immigration reform, the Child Tax Credit, and truth and reconciliation for survivors of Native American Boarding Schools.

Our FAN Governing Board and staff issued a statement in response to the Supreme Court Dobbs decision that will restrict access to abortion and reproductive healthcare across our nation. Also, a faith leader in our network, the Rev. Doug Avilesbernal of the Evergreen Association of American Baptist Churches, came to Washington, D.C. on the day of Bremerton v Kennedy arguments to speak out in front of the Supreme Court to uphold the separation of church and state in the case involving a Bremerton, Wash. football coach. We have much work to do to support the religious freedoms that we value as a multi-faith movement.

During the month of June, we were able to celebrate as well. FAN had a presence at the Spokane Pride march and festival, and many of our faith communities were visible in their local Pride events. Faith communities and community groups collaborated to celebrate Juneteenth in a big way for the first time as a federal holiday. We give thanks for the ability to celebrate love, inclusion, and freedom in the midst of the hard work we all do together!

from the ELCA advocacy office in Washington, D.C.
– The Rev. Amy E. Reumann, Senior Director, ELCA Witness in Society

Partial expanded content from Advocacy Connections: July/August 2022

AUGUSTA VICTORIA HOSPITAL FUNDING  |  BORDER ENCOUNTERS  |  SUPREME COURT ABORTION RULING  |  USE OF LANDMINES  |  BIPARTISAN GUN LEGISLATION

 

AUGUSTA VICTORIA HOSPITAL FUNDING: President Joe Biden visited Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH) on July 15 as part of a two-day presidential visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories. While there, the president announced a $100 million multiyear commitment toward the East Jerusalem Hospital Network (EJHN), of which AVH is a member. Use the Action Alert from ELCA Peace Not Walls to urge support by members of Congress of the president’s commitment by voting to appropriate at least $100 million to support the work of AVH and other East Jerusalem hospitals.

Biden’s visit to the hospital was the first visit of a sitting U.S. president to East Jerusalem. In her thank you letter to the president for his visit, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton said that many “found our hope for peace with justice in the Holy Land bolstered by your visit last week in support of the East Jerusalem Hospital Network. AVH is the first and only hospital to provide radiation therapy for cancer patients in the Palestinian territories and the only medical facility in the West Bank offering pediatric kidney dialysis. AVH faces ongoing cash flow problems as a result of the inability of the Palestinian Authority to pay on a regular basis the fees for cancer patients it refers to the hospital.

 

BORDER ENCOUNTERS: The tragic deaths of 53 migrants abandoned in the trailer of a semi-truck in San Antonio, Texas on June 27 was decried in a statement, which included the ELCA Southwestern Texas Synod, as a painful example of what happens when migrants seek dangerous alternatives to migrate. The ELCA continues to advocate for a dignified and humane process at the border.

The public health order known as Title 42 has been in place since March 2020, sealing away a path for most people fleeing personal danger or persecution who arrive at the southern border to legally request asylum. The number of encounters with migrants at the U.S. southwest border has continued to be high and includes migrants from around the world. Our, a nation’s policy response can strengthen the economic resiliency of the nation and neighborhoods, keep families together, and generously respond to the needs of our neighbors.

 

SUPREME COURT ABORTION RULING: Following the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v Jackson, which removes the federal protections previously provided by Roe v Wade, Bishop Eaton issued a pastoral message. Several ELCA affiliated state public policy offices are working with synods to monitor and update state legislation related to reproductive health.

Faith Action Network in Washington, for example, recommitted to advocating for equitable policies regarding reproductive health in their statement. Others, like Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania (LAMPa) have been working closely with the synod bishops in the state to keep people informed. Bishops across Pennsylvania posted on Facebook, sharing Bishop Eaton’s statement and committing to working closely with LAMPa to monitor and advocate on state policy development as updates are available.

 

USE OF LANDMINES: The Biden administration announced changes to the U.S. Anti-Personnel Landmine policy, “joining the vast majority of countries around the world in committing to limit the use of anti-personnel landmines.” In January 2020, the Trump administration reversed 2014 policy by the Obama administration that had unequivocally banned U.S. production and acquisition of antipersonnel landmines.

ELCA advocacy is encouraged by changes and will continue to monitor developments. Reporting in June 2022 following a site visit in northern Ukraine described the impression by Lutheran World Federation visitors was described as: “Landmines, destroyed infrastructure, traumatized people.”

 

BIPARTISAN GUN LEGISLATION: President Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, a historic gun safety, mental health, and school safety bill. Our office issued an action alert in June encouraging Lutherans to urge passage of this bi-partisan compromise. The need for future gun safety advocacy remains.

The legislation passed by strong bipartisan majorities in both the U.S. Senate and House, and it is the first major federal gun safety law to pass Congress in nearly 26 years.

 

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OVERVIEW | SUPPLEMENTARY RESOURCES | MOMENT – CHILD TAX CREDIT  |  MOMENT – HOUSING | MOMENT – GUN VIOLENCE | MOMENT – ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE | MOMENT – GENDER BASED VIOLENCE | MOMENT – ASYLUM AND IMMIGRATION | MOMENT – VOTING RIGHTS

 

By design and adapted to present realities, August Recess is a congressional tradition that brings heightened opportunities to reach out to your federal lawmakers where you – and they – live. U.S. representatives traditionally return to their home districts in this month to engage with their constituents. Town Halls and in-district meetings may be available to you in this period that create windows to raise your experiences, the experiences of your faith community, and policy concerns locally.

Start by locating your lawmaker’s Web presence (govtrack.us is one place to connect). Doing a little homework by looking around at the person’s top issues and sphere of influence can deepen any encounter. If a Town Hall is listed, it may be an open forum or a virtual experience. Virtual experiences may be more constrained in question-and-answer format, but any Town Hall can be a meaningful connection point.

Alternatively, instigate a local meeting. Prepare what you want to say, with pointers from resources below. A virtual visit can be a value-added creative moment to showcase placement of your ministry in the community, building relationships and future potentials. Offering a lawmaker a chance to speak or connect with fellow constituents after a worship service or event will increase the chance of their participation.

Advocacy resources to help you plan from ELCA Witness in Society include:

• August Recess Guide
• In-District Meetings
• Virtual Visits
• Your state public policy office ideas – connect using links in our locations map
• In-District Activity Form – If you meet with a lawmaker, please let us know so we can amplify that foundation and increase our shared impact.
• How Do I Approach Policymakers? (video in series with Discussion Starters)
• Thank you notes (among “God’s work. Our hands. Sunday” tools) – In an era when public service is often maligned and vocation to government service often disparaged, Lutherans can lean into our tradition of affirming public service.

Below find suggestions from our ELCA policy staff about issues that intersect with 2022 ELCA Federal Policy Priorities that are presently on the horizon. The question prompts may help you shape a timely way to use August Recess opportunities.

 

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THIS MOMENT IN TIME: Expand the Child Tax Credit

“Although those living in poverty are particularly visible in cities, their more hidden reality in suburban, small town, and rural areas can be just as painful. A greater proportion of people of color live in conditions of poverty. The poor are disproportionately women with their children. Systemic racism and sexism continue to be evident in the incidence of poverty.” – From ELCA social statement Sufficient Sustainable Livelihood for All (p. 12)

REMARKS

Expanded provisions of the Child Tax Credit (CTC), authorized in the American Rescue Plan Act, expired at the end of 2021. The CTC lifted millions of children in our nation out of poverty. Working families, many struggling to feed their children in the face of rising food costs and other essential needs like childcare and school supplies, experienced an economic cliff in January. Expanding monthly and fully refundable CTC creates greater stability for families, reductions in poverty and hardship, and improves children’s’ educational and health outcomes plus long-term earnings potential. All children stand to benefit from CTC expansion, but children from groups that have disproportionately high hunger rates will benefit most. Making the CTC permanent is one of the most effective ways to reach those trying to meet basic human needs with positive, wide-ranging childhood and family impacts.

QUESTIONS

1. Expanding the Child Tax Credit in the American Rescue Plan reached families in which food insecurity and hunger are widespread. Now that it expired, what are you doing to renew and make permanent this transformative policy that so effectively reduces hunger and poverty among our nation’s children?

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THIS MOMENT IN TIME: Ending the Housing Crisis

“’Sufficiency’ means adequate access to income and other resources that enable people to meet their basic needs, including nutrition, clothing, housing, health care, personal development, and participation in community with dignity. God has created a world of sufficiency for all, providing us daily and abundantly with all the necessities of life.” – From ELCA social statement Sufficient Sustainable Livelihood for All (p. 11)

REMARKS

The historic shortage of housing supply in the United States has become one of the main drivers of homelessness, wealth inequality and inflation. This moment in time has led to a crisis in demand for many congregations, faith-based shelters and ministries seeking to address poverty and end homelessness in our communities. To address the root cause of these structural challenges, Congress should invest in programs that help expand the supply of housing, eliminate barriers that disincentivize development and back proven models that house people facing homelessness.

Find out your local affordable housing stats at nlihc.org/state-housing-profiles for greater context when speaking with policy makers.

QUESTIONS

1. The cost of buying a new home for families continues to grow each year and has become one of the leading drivers of homelessness. What steps are you taking to expand the supply and access to affordable housing here in our district? (Add your local statistics to emphasize the local situation.)
2. What policies, if any, do you support that a) help increase home ownership and b) address the historic racial homeownership gaps still present in our communities?

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THIS MOMENT IN TIME: Gun Violence Prevention

“Violent crime and those who perpetuate it must be stopped. The challenge is to restrain violence in ways that effectively limit it, and that do not simply repay violence with more violence.” – From ELCA social message “Community Violence” (p. 6)

REMARKS

Congress and President Biden recently passed and signed into law the first major bi-partisan gun violence prevention law in nearly 30 years. It includes incentives for states to pass so-called red flag laws that allow groups to petition courts to remove weapons from people deemed a threat to themselves or others. It also strengthens background checks for persons 18-21 seeking to purchase guns. More must be done. There have been at least 281 mass shootings in the United States in 2022 according to the Gun Violence Archive, an online archive of gun violence incidents collected from over 7,500 law enforcement, media, government and commercial sources daily.

QUESTIONS

1. What are your next steps to reduce gun violence in our nation?
2. Already this year there have been 27 school shootings. What policies have you supported to make students safer?
3. Do you support a ban on military-grade assault weapons like the ones used in Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas?

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THIS MOMENT IN TIME: Energy and Environmental Justice Measures

“Processes of environmental degradation feed on one another. Decisions affecting an immediate locale often affect the entire planet. The resulting damages to environmental systems are frightening…” – From the ELCA social statement Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope and Justice (p. 4)

REMARKS

Accelerating a transition to clean energy through investments in clean energy and environmental justice will decrease our dependence on fossil fuels, reduce pollution, combat climate change and protect human health as well as the wellbeing of God’s creation. To address the climate crisis, Congress needs to enact legislation that invests in clean energy. Currently, Congress is negotiating climate investment provisions as part of a larger reconciliation package.

QUESTIONS

1. Do you support climate investments as part of the reconciliation package currently being negotiated?
2. What policies do you support that help invest in clean energy and environmental justice?

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THIS MOMENT IN TIME: Preventing gender-based violence globally

“Governments, activists and experts have amply documented the wide-ranging and long-lasting destructive effects of this violence on victims and survivors, on family and friends, and on the whole human community. It creates not only personal suffering but also losses across the country—of peaceful communities, medical care costs and economic productivity. Gender-based violence is a public health and safety crisis.” – From the ELCA social message “Gender-based Violence” (p. 6)

REMARKS

Gender-based violence increases during conflict and humanitarian crises. For example, 1 in 5 refugees or internally displaced women have experienced sexual abuse. At this time when a record number of people are living in conflict or humanitarian situations, it is crucial to ensure that U.S. government programs aimed at preventing gender-based violence in these situations are resourced and working as efficiently as possible.

QUESTIONS

1. As a member of Congress, what can you do to help reduce gender-based violence among people living under humanitarian conditions around the world?
2. Do you support the Safe from the Start Act of 2021? If not, can you say why you oppose it? (be ready to describe the bill in brief)

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THIS MOMENT IN TIME: Generous U.S. Asylum and Immigration Policy

“We of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will advocate for just immigration policies, including fairness in visa regulations and in admitting and protecting refugees. We will work for policies that cause neither undue repercussions within immigrant communities nor bias against them.” – From ELCA social statement Freed in Christ: Race, Ethnicity, and Culture (pg. 7)

REMARKS

According to The U.N High Commissioner for Refugees, a record 100 million people have been forcibly displaced worldwide, a twelve percent increase in just one year. The grim milestone was passed as the war swept through Ukraine, and difficulties impacting people from Afghanistan to Venezuela were compounded by global economic hardship and deepening climate-change realities. Access to asylum is a pillar of a humane migration policy. Yet with present patchwork practice, people in the greatest need of protection will seek more dangerous, less visible ways through to safety and a better future.

In addition to having a humane migration system, we know that directing attention to factors driving migration and facilitating family reunification can more meaningfully address the reasons people flee their homes, thus reducing migration pressures. As another fundamental change, lawmakers have a chance at passing a pathway to earn citizenship for DACA recipients and others who have called the U.S. their home for many years. Immigrants with temporary status and no status like Dreamers, TPS-holders and migrant farm workers have called for permanent protections. Our nation’s policy response can strengthen the economic resiliency of our nation and neighborhoods, keep families together and generously respond to the needs of our neighbors.

QUESTIONS

1. With many countries beginning to ease protocols that severely restrict asylum access, which especially impact LGBTQIA+, Indigenous and Black migrants, what policies and funding, if any, are you supporting that will ensure that the U.S. restores asylum and strengthens refugee resettlement?
2. The US has a special interest in supporting individuals impacted by the withdrawal from Afghanistan, which saw around 70,000 arrive to the United States through a temporary mechanism called humanitarian parole. Many are well underway to rebuilding their lives, with the help of friends in communities like ours. With the understanding that congressional action will make a crucial difference in the next few months, will you support an Afghan Adjustment Act?
3. Do you support permanent protections for immigrants, like DACA-recipients, Dreamers, TPS-holders, migrant farm workers and others with deep ties to the United States? As a member of Congress, what is your plan to break through deadlock in Congress on these protections?

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THIS MOMENT IN TIME: Voting Rights

“The political health of our nation still suffers from the stain of antidemocratic exclusion. Efforts to restrict access to voting should be condemned and resisted.” From ELCA social message “Government and Civic Engagement in the United States: Discipleship in a Democracy” (p. 10)

REMARKS

The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would prevent discriminatory practices and rules in voting from being implemented in states and localities where discrimination is persistent and pervasive, protecting access to the vote for all eligible voters, regardless of race, color or membership in language minority groups. The bill would also restore voters’ ability to challenge discriminatory laws nationwide.

QUESTIONS

1. House members—Did you support the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act that was passed by the House earlier this year? Why or why not?
2. Senate members—What are you doing to move the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act in the Senate?

See one another and share stories on important themes in our lives as people of faith in our communities – both as church and citizens. Bring your experience, new or seasoned, and your questions. Our Christian faith compels us to attend to the world through the lens of our relationship to God and to one another. Sometimes, we may echo the sentiment: The world’s so big and I’m so small. Yet there is much we can do act for greater justice, and we are far from alone.

Register today – and invite others!

The ELCA “is called to be a part of the ecumenical Church of Jesus Christ in the context in which God has placed it—a diverse, divided, and threatened global society on a beautiful, fragile planet” (from the ELCA social statement Church in Society: A Lutheran Perspective). Together, there is much we can do.

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Tue. Oct. 25 – Can Talking Politics Be Healthy?

Anxiety and passions that run high in election season don’t stop when we enter our church doors. Yet we can shift the tone, facing the heightened rhetoric with tools and faith-centered convictions that break through heightened rhetoric. We can and do foster civil relationships and dialogue that invites trust amid our differences and lead healthy community conversations on the common good.
Offered in conjunction with the ELCAvotes initiative.

Choose

• Day Session: 1 p.m. ET
  • REGISTRATION – https://bit.ly/ELCAadvocacycafe-day1025
• Evening Session: 8 p.m. ET
  • REGISTRATION – https://bit.ly/ELCAadvocacycafe-eve1025

 

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CONCLUDED: Tue. July 26 – August Recess

With the Tue. July 26 cafe exploring August Recess opportunities to start us out, drop by an Advocacy Cafe to hear from ELCA advocacy community leaders about timely topics on the last Tuesday of every month. Get to know staff, issues and one another!

CONCLUDED: Tue. Aug. 30 – Our Stories of Civic Engagement

There is no shortage of ways we and our congregations can and do get involved in civic engagement around the electoral process. As a church, we do not endorse a particular candidate, party or form of government or strive for a Christian one. Yet in Lutheran teaching, one way God works to preserve creation and build a more peaceful and just social order in a broken world is through government. Let’s have a positive impact!
Offered in conjunction with the ELCAvotes initiative.

 

CONCLUDED: Tue. Sept. 27 – Bringing Down Barriers to Voting

Being alert to barriers to voting and acting to guarantee that all citizens be able to exercise the right to vote can demonstrate our Christian faith as Lutherans and have value for our communities and country. The right to vote on an equal basis is a fundamental requirement for a just society, affirmed in ELCA social teaching. Let’s hear from one another about ways we remove barriers as individuals, congregations and in partnerships.
Offered in conjunction with the ELCAvotes initiative.

Following are updates shared from submissions of the Lutheran Office for World Community and state public policy offices (sppos) in the ELCA Advocacy Network this month. Full list and map of sppos available.

U.N. | Arizona | California | Colorado | Kansas | Minnesota | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Virginia | Washington | Wisconsin

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U.N.

Lutheran Office for World Community (LOWC), United Nations, New York, N.Y. – ELCA.org/lowc

Dennis Frado, Director

• In a May 18 letter, bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) urged congressional leaders to support the transfer of much-needed funds to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to cover debt owed to Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH) in East Jerusalem. https://www.elca.org/News-and-Events/8144

 

• The ELCA registered with Secretary of State Antony Blinken “profound shock and sadness concerning the death of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in Jenin, the West Bank, on May 11 and the deplorable disruption of her funeral procession on May 13” through your a letter from Bishop Eaton, and called for U.S. government “specific, concrete actions against Israeli impunity when these standards are not upheld.” https://blogs.elca.org/peacenotwalls/join-bishop-eaton-in-speaking-out-about-shireen-abu-aklehs-killing/

 

• The International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) took place in May in New York, with the participation of the ELCA program director on migration and Lutheran Office for World Community staff, joined by AMMPARO companions and global ecumenical partners. A resulting IMRF Progress Declaration announces advancements on specific targets of the 2018 Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (Compact) and affirms the Compact which the United States once refused to engage. The Progress Declaration makes direct reference to systemic racism, climate as a driver of migration, prioritization of regularization of status, and commitment to more meaningful consultation with migrants themselves. Still leaving much to be desired, it sets key target areas for growth for the next round of regional consultations, and the next IMRF in 2026.

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Arizona

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (LAMA) – lamaz.org

Solveig Muus, Director

Major Grant Received! LAMA, together with its Arizona Hunger Policy Workgroup partners including Bread for the World, World Hunger Ecumenical Arizona Task-Force (WHEAT), Arizona Food Bank Network, Arizona Food Systems Network and Arizona Faith Network, received a $20,000 SPARK Grant from the Vitalyst Health Foundation. The funds will be used to bring together all hunger advocates and experts in the state of Arizona in one place at one time to strategize about hunger and food insecurity across the state. The initiative is expected to produce a game plan and policy that all Arizona hunger advocates support, and each will work to promote these in the 2023 legislative session.

LAMA Goes to Washington! LAMA director Solveig Muus joined colleagues from across the country for the Bread for the World Advocacy Summit in Washington, D.C. on June 6-7. Highlights were visits with Rep. Ruben Gallego (D, AZ-07), Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), urging them to extend the Child Nutrition Waivers through 2023 and support S.2956, the Global Malnutrition Prevention & Treatment Act. We took in the sights, attended a meeting of the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee, and rubbed elbows, D.C.-style.

Hunger Leaders Network Turns One! The Grand Canyon Synod’s Hunger Leaders Network reached a milestone and is just hitting their stride! Each monthly meeting features updates from a churchwide expert as well as a local hunger partner. A special highlight was a greeting and update from Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton in January.

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California

Lutheran Office of Public Policy – California (LOPP-CA)

Regina Banks, Director

The Lutheran Office of Public Policy California sponsored Lutheran Lobby Day on Wednesday, May 18th. This virtual event brought Lutheran advocates and ecumenical partners together online to advocate for measures aimed at ending deep childhood poverty in California, financial assistance for families with young children, aiding children who lost parents and caregivers to the COVID 19 pandemic, securing clean safe affordable drinking water and other issues. The event was a great success, and we anticipate that the 2022-2023 budget will include most of these important concerns at funding levels unseen in the last decade. The budget deadline was June 15.

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Colorado

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Colorado (LAM-CO) – lam-co.org

Peter Severson, Director

Ballot Season coming soon: The Colorado Legislature may be adjourned for the year, but the many campaigns for Colorado ballot measures will be coming soon to a screen, mailbox, and billboard near you. We are excited to be working on a ballot measure to fund healthy meals for all public school students! More information on this & other campaigns will be coming this summer.

Bills signed into law: Several bills which Lutheran Advocacy supported this session were recently signed into law by Governor Jared Polis, including House Bill 22-1259, Modifications to Colorado Works Program, which will boost our state’s cash assistance to very low-income households and make needed modernizing updates; and House Bill 22-1083, the Colorado Homeless Contribution Tax Credit (see photo below).

March for Our Lives Service: An ecumenical Service of Lament & Prayer was held at St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral on Saturday, June 11, ahead of the March for Our Lives rally in downtown Denver. Representatives from Lutheran, Episcopal, Methodist and more faith traditions were present to offer lament for recent gun violence across the United States and to call for prayer and action.

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Kansas

Kansas Interfaith Action (KIFA) – kansasinterfaithaaction.org

Rabbi Moti Rieber, Executive Director

The Kansas legislature ended its annual session on Monday, May 23. We’re very pleased that of the four vetoes KIFA worked on, three were sustained:

Senate Bill 493, which would have banned municipal restrictions on single use plastic; Senate Bill 160, which would have banned he participation of transgender girls in school sports; and Senate Bill 58, also known as the “Parent Bill of Rights,” which would have opened school districts up to lawsuit if anything was taught (primarily in the areas of race and gender) to which parents objected.

The governor’s veto on a bill that added restrictions on SNAP was overridden.

Bills that in the end didn’t pass included measures that would have expanded exemptions for childhood vaccinations, as well as a bill which would have limited mail-in and drop box voting.

The Congressional maps, which our coalition sued over, were allowed to go into effect by the Kansas Supreme Court. This surprise result ignored the findings of the district court, which found that the maps had been racially and politically gerrymandered.

While we certainly wish that our more proactive legislative priorities, such as Medicaid expansion or payday loan reform, would have passed, the fact that we (and our allies and coalition partners) were able to keep some bad bills from becoming law has to be considered a victory. We are particularly pleased with the defeat of the “Parent Bill of Rights,” which was the culmination of a six-month long effort by the “Teach the Truth” coalition – under KIFA’s leadership – to protect the right to learn the truth about American history.

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Minnesota

Lutheran Advocacy – Minnesota (LA-MN) – lutheranadvocacymn.org

Tammy Walhof, Director

End of Session…

…was extremely disappointing! An agreement was announced in the final days for a Bipartisan Framework splitting the surplus into tax cuts, supplemental budget, and reserves, but bills based on the framework failed to come to final votes. A Tax Agreement could only be passed after the other Conference Committee negotiated bills were passed by both chambers.

Energy/Climate: The negotiated bill passed in committee with overwhelming bipartisan support, and included several things we supported. However, without final passage, Minnesota risks losing its share of federal funds (matches to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act).

Affordable Housing: Housing was allotted disappointingly low funding in the framework, and no negotiated bill reached agreement before adjournment.

Homelessness & Shelter Funding: Failure to come to agreement on funding in the Health & Human Services Conference Committee meant no funding for homelessness or shelters.

Special Session? A special session is still needed! The legislature didn’t finish its work! Several bills were negotiated in good faith by both chambers and parties, but they were not brought to a final vote.

Partisanship: We were frustrated by lack of transparency this session, and more partisan posturing than normal. There is always partisan posturing, but this year the polarization was worse. Sadly, a few legislators worked hard to feed into polarization and partisanship.

We thank all our advocates for tremendous efforts played out in calls, emails, old-fashioned letters, and visits with legislators. Despite how things turned out, we hope to still see those efforts bear fruition in deals yet to be made!

Tammy Walhof, Director of LA-MN, is on sabbatical from June 13th to August 12th! She is excited to have sabbath time, travel to Iceland, and visit different parts of the state to hear how communities are already experiencing climate impacts. Rachel Wyffels, Hunger Advocacy Fellow, is the primary contact person for LA-MN during this time.

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Ohio

Hunger Network Ohio (HNO) – hungernetwork.org

Deacon Nick Bates, Director

I had the privilege to be with the East Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church in Akron in early June and was blessed with many one on one conversations with folks doing great work in their communities. The stories I heard were similar to the stories I heard a month ago at the Northeastern Ohio Synod Assembly (ELCA). If I had to summarize what I heard, in one word, it would be Anxiety. Faith leaders are confronting the anxiety of the world, and many of our siblings in faith expressed anxiety over a few key issues.

Inflation: Stock returns mean nothing to folks struggling to put food on their table. Many local pantries and community meal programs are dealing with increased demand as people are working hard but aren’t able to afford rising gas and food prices. While the pandemic might be transitioning into a new phase, it has left scars on our communities that will last for generations if policy officials don’t take action.

Addiction: For the past decade, the anxiety only has grown over the opioid epidemic in Ohio and the lack of resources to provide treatment and support for individuals struggling with the illness of addiction.

Healthcare: The lack of affordable and comprehensive health insurance, the reduction in health services for women and LGBTQIA+ are increasing the anxiety of faith leaders who are on the front lines in the battle against hunger and poverty. All Ohioans need access to healthcare services.

As the body of Christ, we have been called to serve those who are struggling today and address the root causes of the suffering by changing policies and the conditions that have created these difficult conditions for our communities.

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Pennsylvania

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry – Pennsylvania (LAMPa) lutheranadvocacypa.org

Tracey DePasquale, Director

LAMPa presence in the Capitol increased as the state budget deadline grew closer. Staff participated in press events and met with lawmakers, seeking support for policies in the priority areas of hunger and poverty, housing and creation care.

LAMPa staff accompanied mothers whose families receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) as they explained what a proposed cut in cash assistance grants would mean to their children and stood with families who are struggling to hold on to homes in need of expensive repairs. LAMPa is supporting a whole-home repair bill that would help people stay in their homes – part of the answer to the state’s housing crisis and a need in both old mining regions and urban centers. The repairs would also help climate goals by making homes more energy efficient. LAMPa is also advocating to lift the cap on the percent of realty transfer tax that can go into the Pa. Housing Accessibility and Rehabilitation Enhancement (PHARE) Fund to enable that fund to grow to meet challenges posed by increasing housing prices. Watch this panel discussion to learn what that would mean to communities in which Lutherans are engaged in ministry with people experiencing homelessness.

LAMPa staff also met with lawmakers in support of investments in a cleaner, healthier environment and shared the experience of Lutheran Disaster Response while urging legislators to codify and strengthen the Office of Environmental Justice.

LAMPa convened meetings of PA synod hunger leaders and green teams for legislative updates and synod report-outs.

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Virginia

Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy (VICPP)

Kim Bobo, Executive Director

The General Assembly finally finished its budget work on June 1. The Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy was pleased to see $40 million extra money added to the Virginia Housing Trust Fund to build affordable housing, plus $120 million for affordable housing tax credits to incentivize building affordable housing. Virginia has a terrible affordable housing shortage.

Earlier in the year VICPP had won two study bills – one looking at solitary confinement and one considering requiring unconscious bias training for healthcare professionals. VICPP is now working diligently to assure that these study bills address the concerns of legislators and that we are completely prepared for the 2023 General Assembly.

On June 25th and July 30th, VICPP will host Living Wage Canvasses around the state to encourage businesses to become Living Wage Certified. For more information about this canvass, visit https://virginiainterfaithcenter.ourpowerbase.net/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=195.

Over Labor Day Weekend, VICPP will release a report on the State of Working Virginia. Consider planning a special Labor Day service that weekend to lift up concerns for workers in low-wage jobs.

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Washington

Faith Action Network (FAN) – fanwa.org

Elise DeGooyer, Director

We have just finished our annual regional summits and have enjoyed the time reconnecting with committed advocates in a hybrid format. These took place in Vancouver, Yakima, Spokane and Seattle, each with a Zoom option. We listened to advocates’ input in all the categories of our work: economic justice (hunger/poverty/safety net/tax reform), criminal justice and police reforms, housing and homelessness, environmental justice, healthcare, immigrant rights, and other civil and human rights. We shared the 2022 Legislative Session victories and what our coalition partners are working toward for next year. We heard the unique concerns from communities in each region, while making the connections between their regional experiences and statewide/federal policy changes needed.

Our advocacy this season has included bills in Congress that will impact Washington State communities, like the Child Tax Credit, housing bills included in budget reconciliation, and H.R.5444, the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act. And of course, in the wake of too many mass shootings, we have held vigils and marched, and called our network to act. We will continue to say #Enough until strong gun legislation is enacted.

by the Rev. Amy E. Reumann, Senior Director, ELCA Witness in Society

In her sermon, my pastor lamented that “each person killed was a precious and irreplaceable child of God,” on the Sunday following the racially motivated massacre of 10 shoppers and workers at the Tops supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y. The irreplaceability of each person made in God’s image stands in marked contrast to so-called “Great Replacement” theory, the fear that stoked the White shooter’s hatred and motivation to target and gun down people of African descent.

The Great Replacement is a far-right conspiracy theory that claims there is a plot to bring nonwhite, non-Christian people to western nations through immigration. The assumed aim is to “replace” White, Christian majorities by adding voters of other races, ethnicities and religions, resulting in the marginalization of the White Christian population and loss of its political power and cultural dominance. Rather than using inevitable demographic shifts as a moment for reflection and repentance in the White community for historic injustices in its treatment of minority groups, replacement theory uses the coming change to stoke fear and to call for White people to cling to power by any means necessary, which does for some include acts of horrifying violence.

 

Replacement Theory Moves from Fringes

What began as a fringe theory in the corners of the internet has now gained prominence in multiple acts of mass violence. At the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, white supremacists marched while shouting, “Jews will not replace us.” Replacement theory echoed through the lives and motivations of the shooters at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, at two mosques in New Zealand where 51 worshippers were killed and at the El Paso Walmart where 23 people were murdered. In each case, white shooters invoked the grievance and language of “invasion” and “replacement” by Jews, Muslims and Latinés.

The Great Replacement has been employed by White nationalist groups in the U.S. to recruit members by making dire predictions about loss of White power and control. It is invoked by politicians who stir up fears of migrants and immigrants by portraying them as violent invaders. As pronouncements of replacement theory move from fringe to center, our voices and actions are needed to replace hate-filled speech with God’s vision for the Beloved Community.

 

Refutation in ELCA Teaching

The ELCA social statement Freed in Christ: Race, Ethnicity, and Culture grounds us in this moment with the church’s teaching that refutes replacement theory and points us towards the fulness of human diversity that God intends. The ELCA teaches that there is one humanity created by God. Our oneness in Christ, who breaks down dividing walls of hostility, connects all people. Yet we, in our sinfulness, rebuild those walls, and cement discrimination and injustice into them. Our statement names the church’s complicity in individual and structural racism while also pointing forward to an identity beyond it that we have yet to fully claim.

The irreplaceable truth is that we are freed in Christ to see and celebrate the image of God in everyone in our beautiful diversity. We are called to co-create a common life that affirms the diversity of cultures and people as a God-given gift. This is a blessing to be appreciated, not absorbed by assimilation or destroyed by fear. God hands us the vision of the Beloved Community, reconciled to God and to one another. But we cannot realize this vision without embracing our freedom in Christ. In this freedom we repent, we repair, we reconcile, including offering of our faith-filled public witness that denounces hateful speech, supports equal rights at home and promotes international respect for human rights.

 

Opposing Evidenced Evils

Replacement theory may be the new wine in the old wineskins of intolerance, bigotry and White supremacy. Luther once said that because poverty is an evil that is always in evidence, it is an evil always to be opposed. The same applies here. Christians need to be tireless opponents of this or any teaching that diminishes, distorts or denies the image of God in every person. No one is replaceable.

We are called to replace language that denigrates and divides, including within our own congregations, by naming the sin of racism and continuing our repentance of it in our words and actions. God stirs us to confront hateful speech and promote a better public life, replacing unjust laws with policies that will preserve human dignity and increase justice in immigration, civil rights, housing, employment and other arenas. Actions birthed from our Christian practice will then be discipled by the fruits of the Spirit.

 

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FURTHER INFORMATION: Confronting Intolerance, Bigotry and White Supremacy

In his lectures on Deuteronomy, Martin Luther said “constant care should be taken that, since these evils are always in evidence, they are always opposed.” We need to talk about, condemn and disown evidenced evils. Following are samplings of moments on our ELCA journey toward better living into fruits of the Spirit. Refer to the documents for additional reflections and action steps.

 

From “A Declaration of the ELCA to the Jewish Community” (1994)

“Grieving the complicity of our own tradition within this history of hatred, moreover, we express our urgent desire to live out our faith in Jesus Christ with love and respect for the Jewish people. We recognize in anti-Semitism a contradiction and an affront to the Gospel, a violation of our hope and calling, and we pledge this church to oppose the deadly working of such bigotry, both within our own circles and in the society around us.”

 

From the “Explanation of the Declaration of the ELCA to People of African Descent” (2019)

“The ELCA teaches that racism is sin and that racism denies the reconciling work of the cross. Rooted in slavery, racism is manifested through the history of Jim Crow policies, racial segregation, the terror of lynching, extrajudicial killings by law enforcement, and the disproportionate incarceration of people of color. Descendants of formerly enslaved Africans are still denied equal access and opportunity in church and society while white people collectively benefit from unequal access, opportunity, and power.”

 

From “A Declaration of the ELCA to the Muslim Community” (2022)

“Through loving our neighbors, we have come to reject Luther’s polemics. We do not dismiss our history but take it to heart. By embracing dialogue instead of rejecting difference, we have come to realize that we can truly love our neighbors only when we know them…Given the disunity around us and the fear of the unknown, we sense the renewed urgency to nurture relationships and build communities in which we look upon one another with respect and esteem, in which people feel safe and loved, and in which we seek the common good together.”

 

From the social policy resolution “Condemnation of White Supremacy and Racist Rhetoric” (2019) –here listing #1-6 of 8 points-

“[We] resolve and proclaim that:

1. 1. White supremacy is racism and we condemn it;
   2. Violent rhetoric against persons of color in the name of so-called “Christian Nationalism” is not a true Christian faith. It is idolatry and we condemn it;
   3. The love of God is for all people, without exception, and we proclaim it;
   4. The justice and mercy of God are for all people, without exception, and we proclaim this;
   5. Our religious and political leaders have a moral responsibility to condemn racist rhetoric and to speak with respect for the innate dignity of all persons, regardless of their race, ethnicity, national origin, immigration status, or faith tradition and we call our leaders to honor this responsibility; and
   6. Language that refers to people of color or immigrants with words like “invasion” or “infestation” or “white replacement” is racism and we condemn it”

 

From the ELCA social statement Freed in Christ: Race, Ethnicity, and Culture

“We of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, with the whole Church, look forward to the time when people will come from east and west, north and south to eat in the reign of God (Luke 13:29). For the Church catholic, diversity of cultures is both a given and a glimpse of the future.” (p. 2)

The following reflections are the foundation of comments shared at the “Interfaith Vigil and Rally: Faith Acting on Gun Violence” by the Rev. Amy E. Reumann on June 8, 2022, hosted by Lutheran Church of the Reformation in Washington, D.C.

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by the Rev. Amy E. Reumann, ELCA Senior Director, Witness in Society

I don’t know what tone to strike today. Is it to be a deep wail of grief and sadness at the blood that has been spilled, the lives lost, the communities forever changed by gun violence? Is it to be cries of holy rage at our leaders in Congress who we fear once again may not hear our determination and add the smallest scrap of protection for children and teachers; for shoppers in the Black community; for the faithful worshipping in church, synagogue, mosque or temple? I want to do both. But here in this space of a Lutheran church, I want to start with what every Lutheran worship service begins with – confession. To make confession to God and to one another about what we have done and what we have left undone.

 

CONFESSION

Our confession is that we have forgotten whose we are and therefore who we are – created and lovingly made to walk in God’s way of peace and live in God’s shalom. We are to strive for the vision of a peaceable kingdom where enemies reconcile and turn weapons of war into instruments of agriculture, of feeding others, of kindness and generosity.

We confess to allowing our nation to be awash with guns, awash with weapons, awash with unchecked violence, awash with people so alienated that they turn to weapons of war to express themselves.

We confess to failing to protect our children.

We confess that we ignore or quickly forget the pain of gun violence – especially in communities threatened and stalked by gun violence where people are of a different race or religion or ethnicity or sexual orientation than ours.

We confess to numbness from the numbers of those shot, maimed, killed, and left to mourn after media moves on; to weariness at the frequency of these events.

We confess that we indulge in the hopelessness of doubting that easy access to guns will ever change, and use our weariness as an excuse to quit trying.

 

FORGIVENESS

Here’s the thing about confession. When we name the truth of what is, we are also given the potential to see what can be changed. When we receive God’s forgiveness, it is not an end but a beginning that seeds our hope.

In 1 Corinthians 13:13, we are taught that faith, hope and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. Today, however, in this moment in this nation, the greatest to me is hope.

 

SUSTENANCE

I have been reading a book of mediations called Ladder to the Light: An Indigenous Elder’s Meditations on Hope and Courage, written by former Episcopalian priest Steven Charleston. In one chapter he reflects on his ancestors’ walk along the Trail of Tears, seeing nothing beyond the trauma of what they were living with. What sustained them along this trail was the one blessing they needed most: vision to see beyond what is to what the future could be.

He writes, “Here is the holy equation of faith: We are as strong as what we hope. Hope may be dormant beneath the weight of oppression. It may be small and precious, handed down through word of mouth, told in stories, preserved in ceremonies. It may go underground, a hidden light to keep the vision alive. So it was with my people for centuries.”

 

STRENGTH

We, too, are as strong as what we hope. And the hope that we have is not dependent on our whims and on the headlines which flicker and fail. Our hope rises from God’s overflowing faithfulness, love and promises that bind us together as an interfaith community, united in hope, to seek peace. From this we draw strength and power and community for the journey against gun violence.

Our marching and advocacy are ways that we embody hope with and for each other, even in what may seem like hopeless circumstances. We are as strong as what we hope. And we speak, we march, we plant, striving for something not yet realized, but firm in the promise. We act in hope together.