By Dennis Frado, Director, Lutheran Office for World Community

There’s too much “othering” today of people we don’t know or haven’t met. And, in a related way, awful hate speech abounds.* It is as if we have forgotten that each person has been made in the image of God and thereby has dignity and deserves respect.

We are all different and yet the same in God’s eyes. Identity – race, gender, nationality, etc. – is based on human constructions, but it is not how God sees us. Whatever identity we have or is imposed on us should not become our god.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, is going after hate speech, xenophobia, racism and intolerance – including rising anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim hatred and persecution of Christians. He said:

“Hate speech is a menace to democratic values, social stability and peace. As a matter of principle, the United Nations must confront hate speech at every turn”; and

“Addressing hate speech does not mean limiting or prohibiting freedom of speech. It means keeping hate speech from escalating into something more dangerous, particularly incitement to discrimination, hostility and violence, which is prohibited under international law.”

With so many efforts around the world to drive people apart rather than recognize their humanity and promote reconciliation and peace, let us resolve to work for the common good.

In its call to foster “a dynamic vision of difference in unity,” the ELCA social statement For Peace in God’s World affirms: “All people in their amazing diversity are God’s creatures, sinners for whom Christ died,” and continues:

“This vision calls us to engage differences, not to ignore or fear them. The hope for earthly peace challenges people to strengthen their own particular communities in ways that promote respect and appreciation for people in other communities, for all share a common humanity.”

* NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: This commentary was prepared prior to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Unfortunately, the situation has spawned additional hate speech or racist remarks and actions directed against, for example, Asian Americans and China.

On this National Census Day, commit to complete your form – but also encourage the community as well! Undercounting is a significant issue among groups which benefoit most form anti-poverty programs and from greater representation in decision-making. “Hard to count” individuals in census experience include persons residing in rural areas, young children, LGBTQIA persons,m people experiencing homelessness, people who do not speak English, indigenous peoples and racial and ethnic minorities.

“An accurate count ensures that resources more justly go where they are needed most. It is also critical for representation I the political process as census information determines electoral maps,” says the Rev. Amy E. Reumann, Director of ELCA Advocacy. Before in-person census takers are scheduled to facilitate this once-every-10-years count, let’s encourage everyone we can to complete the census online, by mail or by phone – accessed at 2020census.gov.

The ELCA is an official partner of the 2020 Census. Use these voices of Lutheran leaders, also available on social media @ELCAadvocacy, to help encourage the most accurate count possible.

“The Central States Synod encompasses two states (Kansas and Missouri), large metropolitan centers, small towns and rural communities, places where the population is growing with thriving businesses, and wide open spaces where homes are few and far. Our landscape from the Lake of the Ozarks to the plains of western Kansas is quite diverse as are our political views and agendas. But through the church we recognize and dare to proclaim, as Jesus did in the gospels, that we all have value and worth, that everyone counts and is important, that it is our diversity which reflects the image of God in our midst. And because everyone counts, everyone needs to be counted in the upcoming census to get a truer and more accurate picture of who we are.”
– The Rev. Susan Candea, Bishop, ELCA Central States Synod  [PHOTO CREDIT: FB@LRC-Central States Synod]

“People of color and indigenous people – we can’t afford the illusion of having the luxury of not engaging in this census, because the system doesn’t work for us. We have to do both: making sure our communities are counted and equitably represented in this census, and working to change systems and structures, elected leaders and representatives until they do work for all of us.”
– The Rev. Albert Starr, Jr., ELCA Director, Ethnic Specific and Multicultural Ministries

“Those of us struggling with homelessness and at risk of frequent eviction are often missed in our critical census count. Taking part in the census helps direct critical housing and homeless resources to our communities in the greatest need. From the Emergency Shelter Grants Program to the Special Milk Program for children, these programs depend on a complete and accurate count. In coordination with local census offices, houses of worship, shelters, service providers and others might be the only opportunity many have to take part in the census. Help your ministry, soup kitchen, or service program expand the count which can be completed online, by phone or by mail.”
– Andrew Fuller, ELCA Advocacy Coordinator

“Forty-five million versus 13 million. That’s the enormous disparity between the average number of words children with white collar parents who read to them hear by the age of four in contrast to children growing up with less access to books. However, reading and being read to has a significant life-long impact on our children and our society. Access to libraries becomes essential for healthy communities, and yet there are “book deserts” all across our nation. Without voice or vote themselves, kids cannot tell you how much reading matters to them – and they are often overlooked when it comes to census taking. Encourage counting the kids in the 2020 Census.”
– The Rev. Janelle Hooper, ELCA Program Director for Ministry with Children

“As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community and as a person of faith, I know the importance of being seen, named and cared for by the communities I am part of. One way care for LGBTQIA+ people can increase is for us to be seen and counted across the country. For those from the LGBTQIA+ who are not in danger of losing their employment or housing by sharing their identity in the 2020 Census, I invite you to do so – knowing it will make a way for others to receive care.”
– Aubrey Thonvold, Executive Director, ReconcilingWorks  [PHOTO CREDIT: FB@ReconcilingWorks]

“The benefit of the census is deeply personal to our communities. Undercounting is a significant issue among groups which benefit most from anti-poverty programs and from greater representation in decision-making. Like our federally recognized tribes, our unrecognized untreatied undocumented people benefit from the very personal infrastructures that affects our lives, like healthcare, food programs, our education from Head Start and libraries to tribal colleges and Pell Grants being available. Counting matters.”
– Prairie Rose Seminole, ELCA Program Director, American Indian and Alaska Native Ministries  [PHOTO CREDIT: USFWS Mountain-Prairie]

For your neighbor and yourself – encourage your community to be counted!

On March 27, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, H.R. 748 (CARES Act), a third economic aid package to help bring direct relief to families, reinforce struggling industries and the healthcare sector, and extend assistance to vital state and federal support programs.

Members of Congress and their staff worked intensely to deliver bipartisan initial response to the crisis, and we thank the many Lutherans who called their lawmakers to advocate for important faith-rooted principles and policies that support those of us at greatest risk in this pandemic. The first bill put $8.3 billion towards healthcare, including funding for global response to the pandemic. The second bill strengthened nutrition assistance programs and unemployment benefits, allowed for free coronavirus testing predicated by kits availability, and also provided extra sick leave for millions of workers.

SOME ELEMENTS OF THE CARES ACT

In the third relief package, Congress passed aid to people experiencing unemployment and economic uncertainty and relief to families and businesses, including several provisions consistent with ELCA Advocacy prioritization of faithful and timely attention to pressing concerns that affect our neighbor’s well-being and the wholeness of creation.

• Unemployment insurance benefits expanded to people who have exhausted their state unemployment insurance and to people who do not qualify for the traditional state unemployment insurance, such as gig workers, self-employed people and contract workers;
• Housing assistance of $7 billion offered, including targeted funding for those of us experiencing homelessness;
• State, tribal and local government support of $150 billion for urgent needs and $150 billion for healthcare system reinforcement designated;
• Child Care and Development Block Grants made available to states to provide immediate assistance to child care centers;
• Evictions moratorium for 120 days enabled for renters in homes covered by a federally backed mortgage;
• International COVID-19 response increase allotted of $1 billion, including support for repatriation of U.S. government personnel and American citizens, for displaced populations and for global disease detection.

PUTTING ASSISTANCE INTO MOTION

In these trying times, many of us are experiencing difficult circumstances. Provisions of the CARE Act as well as the first and second packages will make a significant difference to some of us, and congregations can have an important role to play connecting their communities with sources of aid as well as providing support in the application process. Use these links to learn more about programs for eligible individuals seeking assistance.

• “SNAP state directory of resources” – from the USDA Food and Nutrition Service
• “Unemployment benefits finder” – from careeronestop.org
• “Applying for child support” – from the Office of Child Support Enforcement
• “National energy assistance referral” – from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Many crucial decisions on access to benefits will be made by the states. Additional information on applying for benefits and ministry resources may be available from a state public policy office in the ELCA Advocacy network.

A FOURTH BILL

As members of Congress turn their attention to a fourth bill addressing jeopardy caused and exposed by the coronavirus, ELCA Advocacy activity will focus on measures to support our vulnerable neighbors through difficult days ahead.

• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits boosted for all households receiving SNAP regardless of their immigration status
• Support for children of immigrants established
• Earned Income Tax Credit and Charitable Tax Credit extended
• Health care coverage and COVID-19 treatment provided for those who are uninsured
• Testing and treatment for incarcerated individuals ensured
• Additional assistance designated for those on Medicaid, straining to fund childcare and struggling with homelessness
• Emergency rental assistance directed to protect low-income renters at risk of eviction
• Safety ensured for immigrants and asylum seekers
• Broadband and energy grid connectivity funded through robust infrastructure allocation, especially in rural areas
• Child Tax Credit bill supported in House in order to include 26 million children in low- and moderate-income families excluded from tax bill passed in 2017
• Population reduction in centers housing detained immigrants facilitated as soon as possible, especially facilities not regulated by Performance-Based National Detention Standards
• Paid-leave and direct cash benefits reached to include most undocumented immigrants and/or their families

YOUR ADVOCACY MATTERS

The initial draft of the CARES Act proposed that people too poor to pay income taxes would get smaller cash payments than people with higher incomes. Your advocacy made a difference in removing that inequity in the final version – thank you! We will also need your voice in the time ahead to advocate with populations not guaranteed automatic cash stimulus payments, such as recipients of Social Security or Supplemental Security Income. There is more to do.

As Congress will likely adjourn for several weeks, we encourage you and other advocates to watch for possible tele-conference town halls and other forums to connect with your lawmakers while they are in-district. The ELCA Advocacy resource, “August Recess Guide,” contains some tips for in-district opportunities. Express both your thanks for their action and share your specific concerns and community needs as we live aware of our role doing “God’s work. Our hands.” in this uncharted time.

Guidance updated on March 27, 2020, was shared through the coronavirus for faith leaders White House briefing network. ELCA Advocacy staff participate in the opportunity for access to public health experts and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advice for religious communities.

ORIGINAL INTRODUCTORY NOTE: The following recommended preventative practices and answers are in response to common questions [DHHS Partnership Center has] received and are based on what is currently known about the Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019  (COVID-19). Should  you  have  questions  not  listed  below,  please  contact  the  Partnership  Center:partnerships@hhs.govor 202-260-6501. We will do our best to respond in a timely fashionand will continue to update this document as further questions and information come to our attention.

Frequently Asked Questions (section reprinted from DHHS Partnership Center resource)

• What Are the Signs and Symptoms of COVID-19?

Reported illnesses have ranged from mild symptoms to severe illness and death for confirmed COVID-19 cases. The following symptoms may appear 2–14 days after exposure:

• • • Fever
    • Cough
    • Shortness of breath

• Should We Have a Gathering at All? How Close Does an Infection Need to Be to Our Community to Consider Cancelling Our Gathering?

The President’s Coronavirus for America recommends avoiding social gatherings of 10 or more people. Check with your state and local health authorities for the latest information. Public health officials may ask you to modify, postpone, or cancel events if it is necessary to limit exposure to COVID-19. Be mindful of the vulnerable members of your community and seek to protect them from exposure to other people.

Review “Implementation of Mitigation Strategies for Communities with Local COVID-19 Transmission.”

Use the CDC’s Guidance on Mass Gatherings as a guide for reviewing your community’s calendar and to make decisions on which events may need to be canceled and by when.

Track efforts by the federal government, the following websites have been launched:

• • • English: www.USA.gov/Coronavirus
    • Spanish: https://gobierno.USA.gov/Coronavirus

• Are Elbow Bumps Enough to Keep Us from Spreading the Virus?

Practice social distancing however possible ― staying at least six feet away from other persons.

Review the “Interim Guidance for Administrators and Leaders of Community- and Faith-Based Organizations to Plan, Prepare, and Respond to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)” for best practices.

At this time, community members should not hug or touch one another, but offer hand signals like a peace sign or the American Sign Language sign for “I Love You.”

Greeters at all gatherings should be especially aware and refrain from offering handshakes. As one community noted, “Greeters can model hospitality with their words and their smiles.”

• What Should I Tell People Who Are Concerned?

Reassure them that your faith- or community-based organization, as well as local, state, and national authorities, is taking all necessary precautions to ensure their health and safety. Your response can soothe concerns and create an atmosphere of calm. The best way to prevent illness is to practice routine and common sense hygiene practices. These everyday practices also help to prevent the spread of respiratory diseases, including the flu:

• • • Stay home when you are sick, except to get medical care.
    • Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue and then throw the used tissue in the trash.
    • Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially
      after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing,
      or sneezing. If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
    • Avoid touching your face with unwashed hands, especially your eyes, nose, or mouth.
    • Clean high-contact surfaces and objects thoroughly and repeatedly.

Leaders may find it helpful to review the guidance provided by the CDC in its “Interim Guidance: Get Your Community- and Faith-Based Organizations Ready for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).”

Check with your state and local health authorities to learn if your community has experienced a COVID-19 outbreak.

• How Can We Advise the Elderly, Those with Special Health Considerations, Their Caregivers, and Other High-Risk Populations?

Provide special consideration in communicating risk to vulnerable populations in your community, including older adults and others with access and/or functional needs. Assign, or encourage those whom you serve to seek out, a “buddy” who will check in on and help care for them, should they get sick.

Make plans to stay connected.

• • • Ensure community contact lists are up-to-date and that ‘calling trees’ ― or other practices to account for individuals who may be living alone, elderly, and vulnerable ― are in place.
    • Convey ways they can stay connected via virtual worship, gatherings, and staff and leadership meetings.
    • Ensure there are clear means to communicate any “connection plans” with them.

• What Should I Do if Someone at a Community Gathering Says They Are Feeling Sick?

Identify space in your facility or event to separate people who may become sick and may not be able to leave immediately.

Designate a separate bathroom for those who are feeling sick. Develop a safe plan for cleaning the room regularly.

Isolate the individual immediately from staff and participants.

Assist the person in CALLING AHEAD to their health care professional if they have a fever and symptoms of respiratory illness, such as cough or difficulty breathing. Tell them to avoid taking public transportation, ride-shares, and taxis.

People with confirmed COVID-19, with a loved one in the home with a confirmed case, or those experiencing symptoms should remain under home isolation. The decision to discontinue home isolation precautions should be made on a case-by-case basis, in consultation with health care providers and state and local health departments.

For more information: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/.

• Is Information About COVID-19 Available In Spanish?

The following website provides a wide range of information on COVID-19 in Spanish: www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index-sp.html

Los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC) tienen información en español sobre COVID-19 en su sitio web en www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index-sp.html

• Does the Virus Live on Surfaces?

COVID-19 is a new disease and experts are still learning how it spreads. It may be possible to be exposed to COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching your mouth, nose, or eyes; however, this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads. Review the CDC’s “How COVID-19 Spreads.”

Clean frequently touched surfaces and objects several times daily (e.g., tables, countertops, light switches, doorknobs, cabinet handles, smart phones, and keyboards) using an appropriate cleaner to minimize the event of a COVID-19 outbreak in your community. For disinfection, most common EPA-registered household disinfectants should be effective. A list of products that are EPA-approved for use against the virus that causes COVID-19 is available here. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for all cleaning and disinfection products.

If an object is frequently touched, for example as a part of religious observance, it should be cleaned, as appropriate within the religious tradition, after each use.

If surfaces are dirty, they should be cleaned using a detergent and water prior to disinfection.

For the future, consider ways your community can reduce the number of objects that are collectively handled.

• • • For example, consider no longer passing offering plates down the row; instead, place the offering plate on stands and ask people to leave their offering. Remind those who oversee and administer offerings, or similar items and elements, to wash their hands after administration or use.
    • Organizations may also consider removing shared books and encouraging people to bring their own.

• What Type of Items Should We Have in Our Emergency Preparedness Kit?

Consider having supplies on hand, such as hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol, extra tissues, and trash baskets.

Refer to the CDC’s “Preventing COVID-19 Spread in Communities” for additional information about supplies and materials.

By Ruth Ivory-Moore, ELCA Program Director for Environment and Corporate Social Responsibility

“Psalm 104 celebrates the way in which water pours… This flowing water serves, in the psalm, as a sign of God’s overflowing blessings on creation, pouring down from God to the earth and giving life to creatures,” writes Benjamin M. Stewart in A Watered Garden: Christian Worship and Earth’s Ecology (p. 28).

Raising awareness of the impact of climate change on the water supply is the goal this year of World Water Day, observed March 22. The United Nations’ secretary general writes: “Climate Change exacerbates the lack of availability of water. Today, some 2.2 billion people lack safe drinking water and 4.2 billion people live without access to adequate sanitation. Unless we act with urgency, the impacts of climate change are projected to exacerbate these figures.” Climate change is changing our landscape, and water is showing us its power seen by devastating effects of floods and coastline erosion.

Water is powerful, and it is our lifeline. World Water Day can also remind us of its magnificence. These photos* tell of that magnificence.

Water holds a sacred place in our relationship with God.

All of creation…

…depends on water for survival.

Water plays a crucial role in almost every aspect of the global and domestic economy. Farms use a large amount of water. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, agriculture is a major user of ground and surface water in the U.S., accounting for approximately 80% of the nation’s consumptive water use and over 90% in many western states.

Water presents a place of solace as it acts as a natural mirror to surrounding landscape.

God’s gift of water makes available incredible sustainability powers** to all creation.

We give you thanks, O God, for in the beginning your Spirit moved over the waters and by your Word you created the world, calling forth life in which you took delight. – Evangelical Lutheran Worship, p. 230

*PHOTO CREDIT: Chuck Moore (Random Snap Photography)

**Find more in the ELCA Advocacy resource “Caring for God’s creation: Stewarding the gift of water“

from the ELCA Advocacy office in Washington, D.C. – the Rev. Amy E. Reumann, director

COVID-19  |  LANDMINES  |  HMONG AND LAOTIAN DEPORTATIONS |  FY2021 BUDGET |  FAIR HOUSING RULE

COVID-19 OUTBREAK: With daily developments in the spread and scope of the COVID-19 outbreak, our anxiety and uncertainty tempt us to curve inward and fixate on self-preservation. Last week, Congress passed emergency funding to bolster local, state and federal governments’ public health response to the virus. This is an important first step, but we must do more so that our nation’s economic and health care systems work together to minimize the impact of the outbreak on poor and low-wealth communities, the elderly and other vulnerable people. ELCA congregations and ministries are responding to the outbreak in their communities to ensure the health and safety of worshipers, staff and neighbors by adopting practices to prevent or slow transmission of COVID-19. But as church in this pandemic, we can also illuminate the impact on our most vulnerable neighbors. God calls us to stand by them in advocating for dignity, equity and justice, and ELCA Advocacy staff are monitoring the situation for policy-response opportunities for our network.

LANDMINES: On Jan. 31 the Trump administration announced a decision to lift existing U.S. prohibitions against the use of landmines, saying the prohibition could put U.S. troops at a “severe disadvantage.” As a member of the U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines, the ELCA signed a public statement, posted Feb. 20, that opposes the action. It says in part, “Landmines are inherently indiscriminate weapons that maim and kill long after conflicts end.” It concludes, “To roll back the progress the global community has made would not only be a tragedy but an affront to the dignity of landmine survivors around the world.”

The Jan. 31 action reverses a 2014 Obama administration ban on the use of such weapons, which applied worldwide except in the defense of South Korea. Lifting the prohibition represents a break with many nations around the globe that have banned landmine use, including more than 160 countries that are party to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction (known as the Mine Ban Treaty), agreed on in 1997 and implemented in 1999. Take action through the ELCA Action Center.

HMONG AND LAOTIAN DEPORTATIONS: Laotian and Hmong refugees are preparing to face a possible increase in deportations, in part because the U.S. government is funding a reintegration program to help Laos accept nationals with final orders of removal. Concern is being felt by congregations and members, particularly in the Minneapolis Area Synod, Saint Paul Area Synod and East-Central Synod of Wisconsin. St. Paul, Minn., has the largest Hmong population per capita in the United States (28,591 Hmong Americans, or 10%), followed by Wausau, Wisc. (3,569, or 9.1%).

Lao, Hmong and other Laotian ethnic groups fled the Southeast Asian country after a nine-year bombing campaign by the United States during the Laotian Civil War, which ended in 1975. Many of those refugees resettled in the United States, which is home to about 186,000 foreign-born Laotians, according to the 2017 American Community Survey, as reported by NBC News. On Feb. 28, Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) introduced a bill that would prohibit the administration from deporting individuals to Laos.

FISCAL YEAR 2021 BUDGET PRESENTED TO CONGRESS: President Trump presented Congress with his fiscal year 2021 budget, which includes a number of proposals rejected by Congress when they were included in previous budget proposals. Proposed cuts to SNAP amount to $181.9 billion over 10 years. With all our interfaith partners, we will work with Congress to reject these efforts once again.

FAIR-HOUSING RULE UPDATE: Through March 13, public comments can be submitted through the ELCA Advocacy Action Center on a proposal that would substantially challenge prevention of discrimination in housing. Under the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) proposal, the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule — first designed to help localities promote diversity and inclusivity under the 1968 Fair Housing Act, and to take proactive steps to reverse the effects of housing segregation — would be rendered almost completely ineffectual.

Receive monthly Advocacy Connections directly by becoming part of the ELCA Advocacy network – http://elca.org/advocacy/signup , and learn more from elca.org/advocacy .

With daily developments in the spread and scope of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), our anxiety and uncertainty tempt us to curve inward and fixate on self-preservation. Appropriately, ELCA congregations and ministries are responding to the outbreak in their communities to ensure the health and safety of worshipers, staff and neighbors by adopting practices to slow transmission of COVID-19. Resources and links on ELCA.org/publichealth offer guidance to inform and prepare our worshiping communities. But as church in this pandemic, we can also shine a light on impacts for our most vulnerable neighbors. God calls us to stand by them in advocacy for dignity, equity and justice.

As a church for the sake of the world, committed to God’s call to love and serve our neighbor, we must turn our attention to those who will be most impacted by what may be massive disruptions. The probability of lockdowns, quarantines, and intensified health and safety precautions is growing. From employment and income to government services, from access to testing and emergency health care to schooling for students, disarray can cause hardship.

Our heightened concern extends to neighbors, including:

• The elderly and those in fragile health.
• First-line health care workers under stress as they meet unprecedented demand.
• The poor, people in low-wealth communities and workers in the gig economy, facing risks that include no paid sick leave, unavailable childcare, inadequate health care or lack of a savings cushion.
• The unhoused who have few choices for protecting shelter or health care access.
• Immigrants, mothers, fathers, daughters, sons and children in detention centers that are crowded and lack sanitary conditions.
• People who are incarcerated, with no access or options to appropriate prevention or care.
• Indigenous community and village residents, especially if they live in isolated areas where health care and infrastructure may not have immediate resources to respond to a large-scale crisis.

Last week, Congress passed emergency funding to fund local, state and federal governments’ public health response to the virus. This is an important first step, but we must do more so that our nation’s health care and economic systems work together to minimize impacts on poor and low-wealth communities, the elderly and other vulnerable people.

We call on Congress to strengthen programs that serve as an economic backstop for individuals and families. In doing so, we can help prevent unnecessary harm to communities and the nation-at-large, especially in vulnerable populations who may be overlooked.

Social teaching

ELCA social teaching understands that caring for health is a shared endeavor among individuals, government and the wider society that “expresses both love for our neighbor and responsibility for a just society” (“Caring for Health: Our Shared Endeavor”). We must be faithful stewards of our own health, but that is not all. “The Church also supports the just obligations of a society to serve those who are often left out and to be present with those who suffer” (page 9).

At this moment of global crisis, God calls the church to promote the health of and ensure care for those who suffer during this pandemic and their loved ones. We will use our voice to advocate for government services and societal actions that will support the public health and well-being of all people and communities, especially those without power who may be forgotten or left behind.

Policy points

To achieve these ends, ELCA Advocacy will prioritize policy points with the administration and on Capitol Hill to help our nation respond compassionately to the most impacted. The ELCA Advocacy network will be invited to act* when there are opportunities for our collective voice to make a difference. Areas being monitored include:

• Funding for testing and treatment for the underinsured and uninsured so health access for individuals is not financially prohibitive, and health care providers and hospitals can focus on treatment.
• Access to food and nutrition programs, which will be essential for the most vulnerable people to feed their families and maintain health, especially if movement is restricted or they fall ill. Important measures include ensuring continuation of school meal programs if schools are closed and addressing campus hunger, services on tribal lands, delivery of food to the elderly and access to food in rural areas.
• Housing assistance for the homeless or those at risk of losing their homes will ease the process of tracking and treating the sick and in doing so help reduce infections. Shelter system expansion that allows for safe distancing and personal hygiene will help protect the unhoused.
• Proper care and medical services for detainees in government custody is essential.
• Awareness that fears could prohibit beneficial public health access at entry points for migrants living in our communities is relevant. Screening and health care without fear of a documentation litmus test or detention should be emphasized in sensitive locations for individual and community wellness.
• Global health systems may be quickly overwhelmed, reducing ability to prevent transmission and provide health care to those who might acquire COVID-19. The ELCA can walk with global partners to advocate with the U.S. Congress for global public health resources to address international needs.
• Xenophobic harassment and attacks are on the rise at this time of heightened uncertainty. The church must lead in denouncing stigmatism and displays of racism by modeling welcome and inclusion and disseminating accurate information.

Our life together

In our civic engagement:

• Voting remains critical, and measures must be taken to ensure access to the ballot and election integrity during the increased risk due to COVID-19. Early voting, mail-in and other methods may be increasingly attractive options, and adjustment to registration methods may be advisable.
• As Census 2020 gets underway, congregations can use ELCA Census materials to encourage participation through online and paper formats so door-to-door census worker visits are kept to a minimum

Learning from this experience includes pointing to underlying policy decisions that better equip us to handle the unexpected, which will require improved policy.

• Infrastructure — multiuse medical facilities are needed in times of crisis.
• Food access — rural communities and other food deserts have unique challenges.
• Unemployment benefits — policy should be shaped to respond to such unexpected and urgent economic disruptions.
• Mental health needs — the body of knowledge on the long-lasting impact of traumatic events needs to increase.

Spiritual support, prayer and accompaniment by God’s faithful is needed to provide for those children and adults experiencing anxiety during this crisis, including witness to the healing work of God. Health care workers in particular may be in need of witness to God’s healing and presence as they tend to the growing and perhaps overwhelming number of sick.

——–

A prayer for caregivers and others who support the sick
God, our refuge in strength, our present help in time of trouble, care for those who tend the needs of the sick. Strengthen them in body and spirit. Refresh them when weary; console them when anxious; comfort them in grief; and hearten them in discouragement. Be with us all and give us peace at all times and in every way; through Christ our peace. Amen (Evangelical Lutheran Worship, page 85).

* Receive updates and Action Alerts from ELCA Advocacy by signing up at ELCA.org/advocacy/signup,
and connect on social media @ELCAadvocacy.

U.N. | Arizona | California | Colorado | Delaware | Kansas | Minnesota | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Southeastern | Texas | Washington | Wisconsin

Following are updates shared from submissions of the Lutheran Office for World Community and state public policy offices.

Lutheran Office for World Community, United Nations, New York, N.Y.

Dennis Frado, director elca.org/lowc

DEFENDING PEACE AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN COLOMBIA: On February 26, LOWC co-hosted, on behalf of the Lutheran World Federation, Caritas Internationalis and the World Council of Churches, a briefing by four winners of the National Prize for Human Rights in Colombia. Those who spoke were: (second from left) Ms. Clemencia Carabalí, 2019 National Prize for the Defense of Human Rights “Defender of the Year” Award Winner and Director, Association of Afro-descendant Women of Norte del Cauca (ASOM); (far right) Mr. Ricardo Esquivia, 2019 National Prize for the Defense of Human Rights “Lifetime Defender” Award Winner and Executive Director of Sembrandopaz; (second from right) Ms. Annye Páez Martinez, Representative of the Rural Farms Association of Cimitarra River Valley and 2019 National Prize for the Collective Experience or Process of the Year; and (far left) Mr. Marco Romero, 2019 National Prize for the Defense of Human Rights “Collective Process of the Year” Award Winner and Director, Consultancy for Human Rights and Displacement. The group was visiting New York and Washington, D.C. under the sponsorship of Diakonia and ACT Church of Sweden to discuss the ongoing challenges of protecting human rights and encouraging efforts toward peace despite limited implementation of the 2016 agreement between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

ADVOCATING HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE 21ST CENTURY: Also on February 26, the Alliance for Multilateralism held a discussion “Advocating Human Rights in the 21st Century – building bridges between Geneva and New York” to support the protection and promotion of human rights in the context of strong and effective multilateral cooperation as “an indispensable foundation for securing peace, stability and prosperity.” An aim of the event was to underscore the relationship between discussions about human rights in Geneva, primarily at the Human Rights Council, and those on international peace and security in New York, primarily at the Security Council. Another objective was to examine, as outlined in a preparatory concept note, the New York-Geneva relationship with respect to “specific contemporary human rights issues such as women’s rights and gender equality, the effects of climate change on human rights, and risks and opportunities of digitalization and artificial intelligence for the protection of human rights.” German Foreign Minister H.E. Mr. Heiko Maas had issued the invitation and also spoke, but the event was sponsored by at least eleven other permanent missions in New York. The webcast can be accessed here.

Arizona

Solveig Muus, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (LAMA) director@lamaz.org

Greetings from the Grand Canyon Synod (GCS), and from the new Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (LAMA)! We give thanks to God as we seek to live out our baptismal call to “defend human dignity, to stand with poor and powerless people, to advocate justice, [and] to work for peace” (The Church in Society: A Lutheran Perspective). After a 12-year hiatus and a year of planning, a committed group of clergy and lay leaders brought the dream of an advocacy office in Arizona to life once again. Together with our partners at Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest (LSS-SW), and using the ELCA’s social teaching documemts as our guide, we look forward to being God’s hands and feet in the world, following the path of serving people and encouraging GCS people to do the same.

At our January Policy Committee retreat we discussed priorities for this Legislative session, heard from Angie Rogers with the Association of AZ Food Banks, and from ELCA Advocacy Director, Domestic Policy John Johnson via Zoom. Our first action was for committee members to join LSS-SW for the 2nd annual Refugee Lobbying Day at the Capitol on February 10th to gain legislative support and pass the Refugee Welcoming Bill. Solveig Muus agreed to be the director of this new ministry. Her experiences with building businesses, passion for connection, and a heart for the most vulnerable among us has kept the ministry moving forward.

In this early building stage we will: introduce ourselves to our congregations and identify ministry partners and create website and social media platforms (FOLLOW us on FB at @LutheranAdvocacy. We are following you!). Our priorities for March will be to go live with a website, grow our network, learn about the legislative process, engage with our congregations on the 2020 Census and lift up the new ELCA World Hunger VBS God’s Good Creation for summer planning.

Our thanks to those who have been willing to share your resources and knowledge. We ask for your prayers as this ministry continues to unfold.

California

Regina Q. Banks, Lutheran Office of Public Policy- California (LOPP-CA) lutheranpublicpolicyca.org

END CHILD POVERTY DAY OF ACTION: The Lutheran Office of Public Policy- California came together with faith partners and anti-poverty activists for the End Child Poverty day of Action. Following moving speeches and a press conference on the west lawn of the capitol, participants walked the halls of the legislative and executive offices to garner support for a plan to end childhood poverty in the state by 2030. The event was well attended, and legislators and staff appeared open to our positions. Contact LOPP-CA for ways to get your congregation involved in the campaign.

CALFRESH 2020 FORUM: The CalFresh 2020 forum is a working conference dedicated to identifying and planning strategies to improve the reach of CalFresh throughout the state. CalFresh- formerly known as food stamps- is a program that helps families acquire healthy and nutritious food in their local community. The uptake rate of the program, especially in otherwise vulnerable populations, needs improvement. We lobbied for a variety of legislative policies that would lead to a more equitable and sustainable food distribution chain. With our commitment to food and farming policy this year, LOPP-CA is a strong partner with California Food Policy Advocates and the California Food and Farming Network. For more information about how your congregation can take the next step from food pantry to food policy advocacy, contact Nicole Newell at nicole.newell@elca.org.

CONGREGATIONAL VISITS: A special and heartfelt “Thank You” goes out to the pastors and members of the following congregations for inviting LOPP-CA into your Sunday worship experience. It is always a blessing to see the many ways that the spirit is moving in our communities and share a bit about the work that we do here with individual members and worshiping communities: Advent Lutheran in Citrus Heights, Calif.; St. Paul Lutheran in Fullerton, Calif; Advent Lutheran in Auburn, Calif; Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Thousand Oaks, Calif; and American Lutheran Church in Burbank, Calif. If you are interested in hosting LOPP-CA for worship, contact Regina Banks at regina.banks@elca.org.

Colorado

Peter Severson, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-Colorado www.lam-co.org

DEATH PENALTY WILL BE REPEALED: We are thrilled to join a broad-based faith community and the ACLU of Colorado in successfully advocating for the repeal of the death penalty in Colorado. The bill, SB 20-100, passed its final vote in the House on February 26. It heads to the desk of Governor Jared Polis, who has promised to sign it.
The bipartisan legislative effort was led by Senators Julie Gonzales and Jack Tate and Reps. Adrienne Benavidez and Jeni James Arndt. The effort was repeated four times in the previous decade, but this year’s bipartisan cooperation ensured the bill’s passage.

ELCA Lutherans have long opposed the death penalty for a variety of reasons, all deriving from our Gospel witness: it is impossible to undo a mistake, it is applied unequally, it is using violence to respond to violence, and it does not reflect the restorative way taught by Jesus. With gratitude for all the voices that engaged this process on all sides, we welcome this new day that is dawning.

LUTHERAN DAY AT THE LEGISLATURE: Nearly 80 advocates came together for Colorado Lutheran Day at the Legislature on February 27. We are grateful that Rep. Jeni Arndt joined us in the morning to talk about death penalty repeal and excited that almost every attendee had the opportunity to speak to at least one of their legislators face to face.

Delaware

Gordon Simmons, Delaware Lutheran Office for Public Policy delutheranpublicpolicy@gmail.com

The Delaware Lutheran Office for Public Policy is concentrating on two issues in 2020: education and the environment. There is a major Commission working on revisions to the educational system in the state, with an emphasis on Wilmington. This is partly a response to a lawsuit which contends the state is not providing adequate funding to children from low income families or those learning English. In regard to the environment, we have signed onto a resolution from the Sierra Club calling for a movement towards 100% renewable energy. There is a bill before the Legislature which calls for 40% by 2035. The current mandate is 25% by 2025. We are also monitoring the squabble between the State Division for Natural Resources and Environmental Control (which is supporting the move) and the Public Service Commission (which keeps trying to put up roadblocks). We have a day at Legislative Hall planned for March 25 and a larger “Lutheran Day at the Capitol” set for June 13.

Kansas

Rabbi Moti Riebe, Kansas Interfaith Action (KIFA) kansasinterfaithaction.org

KIFA’s major focus this year, as in the last two years, is on Medicaid Expansion. Before the session, Gov. Kelly (D) and Senate Majority Leader Denning (R) announced a compromise bill which would expand Medicaid to the statutory 138% of the Federal Poverty Line without work requirements. Our alliance supported the bill. However, other Republican leaders still oppose expansion, and things became complicated when a proposed constitutional amendment on abortion failed to pass the House. Expansion opponents are holding expansion back as leverage for the abortion amendment, despite the two issues being unrelated (Medicaid funding cannot be used to fund abortion in Kansas).

The expansion bill is stuck in a Senate committee; 24 votes are needed for a procedural motion to bring it out of committee but only 23 have been identified. The last several weeks have seen a series of events to keep the pressure on, including statements (op eds, letters to the editor) from faith leaders; a press conference attended by ELCA Central States Synod Bishop Candea among others; a letter from 75 Kansas nuns supporting expansion; and a faith leader event with Gov. Kelly and Sen. Denning which KIFA helped organize that was attended by 35 faith leaders.

One other thing I’d like to mention: at our annual climate and energy lobby day in February, called WEALTH Day, we organized what we consider to be the first comprehensive climate hearing in the Kansas legislature. To talk about this pressing issue, we put together an ad hoc committee made of legislators of both parties and both chambers from a broad cross section of the state. They heard from advocates and experts on a variety of aspects of climate disruption in Kansas, including impacts on the agriculture sector, increased spending on disaster relief and recovery, and the importance of proactive planning for future disruptions. The hearing was very successful and got some press coverage (not enough), but we’re hoping the legislature will have this hearing in front of an authorized committee next year!

Minnesota

Tammy Walhof, Lutheran Advocacy- Minnesota (LA-MN) lutheranadvocacymn.org

FAITH LEADER HOUSING SUMMIT: Many Lutheran leaders participated in a Faith Leader Housing Summit through long-time advocacy partner, Joint Religious Legislative Coalition (JRLC). It was exciting to hear Gov. Walz talk about housing priorities!

PRECINCT CAUCUSES: LA-MN Advocates had the opportunity to bring resolutions to their caucuses on housing & homelessness and clean energy! We hope that major parties will include statements on the party platforms.

“CLEAN ENERGY FIRST” LEGISLATION: Clean Energy First refers to prioritizing clean renewable energy over other sources, if more economically viable. Wind and solar energy have become the lowest cost option, but tweaks are needed to update current law. The Senate Energy & Utilities bill rolls back current statute and redefines clean renewable energy in ways that are not actually clean but does include positive language regarding jobs and transition. LA-MN advocates have made many contacts with legislators to improve the bill, but action is still needed as most of the problems remain.

HOUSING: Many LA-MN advocates contacted legislative leaders to push for $500 million in affordable housing bonds. We appreciate feedback and welcome the legislative responses advocates share with us.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

From the Upper Midwest? Join this event!! Includes worship that sings Easter for the whole creation; young activists sharing their motivations; breakout sessions; faces of the climate crisis; messaging on climate & difficult environmental issues; networking for musicians, students, creation care teams, church gardeners, youth leaders, preachers, public advocates, and more!

Now the Green Blade Rises: The Easter Gospel for the Whole Creation
(2020 EcoFaith Summit) – Flyer / Registration
Saturday, March 28, 9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 418 8th Ave. NE, Brainerd, MN 56401

Want to meet with your state lawmakers? Come join the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition’s (JRLC) Day on the Hill in St. Paul this April!

2020: Serving the Common Good
Joint Religious Legislative Coalition (JRLC) Day on the Hill – Info/ Registration
Wednesday, April 1, 8:30 a.m. – afternoon legislative visits
InterContinental Saint Paul Riverfront, 11 E Kellogg Blvd, St Paul, MN 55101

Ohio

Deacon Nick Bates, Hunger Network in Ohio hungernetohio.com

We were very excited to continue our collaboration with the Southern Ohio Synod in February in hosting a training, Seeing Race Through Faith for 30 congregational leaders from across the Dayton area. We discussed the history of American racism and slavery and how it continues through our politics, culture and economy today. We finished the afternoon with situations where we find ourselves in each and every day and are confronted with racism. How can we respond to unite a world that has been segregated by sin? Our first action always needs to be to confess our own sins and ask God to help and guide us.

Want to learn more? Check out our reading list! White Fragility, Dear Church, The New Jim Crow, Race Matters, Living into God’s Dream; Dismantling Racism in America, America’s Original Sin, How to Be an anti-racist.

RAISE THE WAGE: Did you know that the ELCA Social Statement on economic life says, “Although our identity does not depend on what we do, through our work we should be able to express this God-given dignity as persons of integrity, worth, and meaning. Yet work does not constitute the whole of our life. When we are viewed and treated only as workers, we tend to be exploited.”

As a church we commit ourselves to “…a minimum wage level that balances employees’ need for sufficient income with what would be significant negative effects on overall employment.” Beginning later this month, faith leaders can join with partners around Ohio in gathering signatures to put the minimum wage on the ballot in November!

Pennsylvania

Tracey DePasquale, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry–Pennsylvania (LAMPa) lutheranadvocacypa.org

STATE BUDGET: LAMPa supports Gov. Tom Wolf’s call for an additional $1 million for the Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System (PASS) in his spending plan.

SOLIDARITY, NOT SOLITARY: LAMPa joined the Pennsylvania Council of Churches at a press conference inviting policymakers to “experience” solitary confinement at a real-scale replica of a solitary cell on display in the Capitol. Staff continued legislative visits supporting legislation to end overuse of the practice.

Lutheran advocates stood with lawmakers and supporters of protections for LGBTQ Pennsylvanians in the Capitol as members of the LGBTQ community and their families shared stories of continued discrimination in housing and employment in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania’s seven ELCA bishops issued a joint letter in support of non-discrimination protections.

ASHES-TO-GO: On Ash Wednesday, LAMPa staff joined ecumenical partners in sharing Ashes-to-Go at the Capitol. Many expressed their thanks for the offering of ashes and prayer in the midst of their day, particularly those who are not able travel to their home communities for the start of Lent.

LAMPA ENDORSES CHIP EXPANSION: Public health advocates, including LAMPa, urged policymakers to expand the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to include prenatal care for pregnant women ineligible for other medical assistance because of immigration status.

EQUIPPING LEADERS: Tracey DePasquale led workshops at SWPA Synod’s training for congregational councils and taught at St. Luke’s, Devon, SEPA Synod. She also toured the food pantry at the Lutheran Center at Kutztown University with alumna Shana Rose and the Rev. Inge Williams, LAMPa policy council member from NEPA Synod,. The pantry’s food helps support the hunger ministry and is sourced through the State Food Purchase Program and PASS, both of which are priorities for LAMPa advocacy.

STANDING WITH DETAINED FAMILIES: Lutherans are helping to lead monthly vigils at Berks Family Detention Center. Sister Dottie Almoney, St. Peter’s, Lancaster, led the vigil in February. Read press coverage.

ELECTION REFORMS: Comprehensive reforms designed to encourage greater participation in Pennsylvania elections are in place for the April 28 primary.

Southeastern Synod

Matt Steinhauer, Southeastern Synod Advocacy Team synod.office@elca-ses.org

My position as Assistant to the Bishop, Director of Advocacy for the Southeastern Synod began on February 1, 2020. The annual gathering of the Advocacy Policy Council for the Southeastern Synod was held on that day at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Atlanta. Thanks to the good work of my predecessor, Hilton Austin, who conducted the meeting. Approximately 30 advocates from all four states in the synod, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi, heard presentations by the Georgia Justice Project on criminal justice legislation, Georgia Interfaith Power and Light on care for creation legislation, and the American Cancer Society on healthcare legislation.

As all four of our states’ legislatures are in session at this time, it has made it difficult to attend to pressing needs of communication with our advocates, and, at the same time, orient myself to this new position. My first month has been mostly spent assessing the resources already in place, connecting with the advocates across the synod, and working on educational information around our baptismal charge to “work for justice for the poor and oppressed,” in preparation for spreading that word through the congregations in the synod.

I have much to learn, and I am excited to get to know my colleagues across our ELCA, and covet not only your prayers but your good ideas and experiences of building strong advocacy ministries.

Texas

Bee Moorhead, Texas Interfaith Center for Public Policy texasimpact.org

TEXAS INTERFAITH ADVOCACY DAYS: Texas Impact hosted our inaugural Interfaith Advocacy Days February 16-18 in Austin. Participants spent three days in legislative training, participated in Texas’ only US Senate Candidate Forum on climate change, and visited legislative offices at the Capitol to advocate for health equity, migration justice, and climate justice.

The ELCA was well represented at the event. Ruth Ivory Moore, ELCA Advocacy Director, Environment and Corporate and Social Responsibility, was one of the featured speakers, and the Rev. Jeff Thompson was awarded Texas Impact’s Advocate of the Year award for his dedicated service. Pr. Thompson visited his representatives at their Capitol office dozens of times during 2019 and worked to build relationships with campaigns and representatives in their district offices—both for Texas Impact and other local organizations.

REIMAGINING JUSTICE HEALTH EQUITY PODCASTS: Texas Impact has completed production of a special series of Texas Impact Weekly Witness podcasts focused on various aspects of the social determinants of health. The 10 episode health equity series is available by searching for “Texas Impact Weekly Witness” in your favorite podcast app. Also available in the same feed is our recent Weekly Witness conversation with Bishop Michael Rinehart, ELCA Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod.

Washington

Paul Benz, Faith Action Network (FAN) fanwa.org

INTERFAITH ADVOCACY DAYS: Over the last month, FAN co-hosted three Interfaith Advocacy Days (IFAD) – in Spokane, Olympia, and Yakima. In Spokane (January 25) and Yakima (February 8), advocates joined us for issue workshops, interfaith panels, and strategizing sessions on advocacy efforts this year. Two hundred advocates joined us for IFAD in Olympia on February 6, where we heard from our new Speaker of the House Laurie Jinkins, held workshops on our Legislative Agenda issue topics, and planned in caucus groups in the morning. In the afternoon, advocates met with their Senators and Representatives, and we ended the day hearing from some key elected officials on how the session is going and how FAN can support the passage of justice-centered bills.

WASHINGTON LEGISLATIVE SESSION: We are nearing the end of the 2020 session on March 12, with many bills still alive and needing a final push to be voted out of the second chamber and onto the Governor’s desk! We encourage our advocates to send weekly emails to their legislators on bills from our agenda, and we are especially urging constituents to ask their Representatives to pass the Death Penalty Repeal bill (SB 5339 Sen. Carlyle) these final two weeks. The state Supreme Court, the Governor, and the Attorney General have all called for the repeal, and it is time we make it law!

CENSUS 2020: FAN co-hosted a Census 2020 Faith-Based Summit in Tukwila last month to rally the faith community and local organizations around the census to ensure that all are counted. We heard from inspirational keynote speakers Ron Sims, former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Urban Development and former King County Executive (bottom right), and Rev. Dr. Kelle Brown of Plymouth Church Seattle (top right). Co-Director Elise DeGooyer led an interfaith panel, which included ELCA Bishop Rick Jaech (top right) who implored us to stand with our immigrant neighbors who may be fearful of how their information will be used.

Wisconsin

Pastor Cindy Crane, Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin (LOPPW) loppw.org

HUNGER: LOPPW participated in a conference call with hunger leaders from the Northwest Synod and East Central Synod of Wisconsin to plan a panel discussion the three groups will lead at a statewide Feeding Wisconsin conference. Pastor Cindy Crane earlier shared LOPPW’s presentation on hunger and advocacy with our main leader from the Northwest Synod. LOPPW also advised a direct service nonprofit addressing hunger on how to get involved with advocacy.

CARE FOR GOD’S CREATION: We focused on water for February’s Wednesday Noon Live. We also sent out action alerts on protecting children from lead in water, supporting farmers to care for their land in a way that would improve their production and protect drinking water, and a new comprehensive bill that addresses several environmental issues and that does not have much traction yet.

ANTI-SEX TRAFFICKING: LOPPW participated in our quarterly Wisconsin Anti-Human Trafficking Consortium, helped with updates on legislation and learned about one new bill that is relevant to LOPPW’s work.

IMMIGRATION: LOPPW participated in a conference call with our D.C. office and Directors for Evangelical Missions on immigration and began preparing for our focus on immigration for March Wednesday Noon Live.

LOPPW displayed a table at the Greater Milwaukee Synod’s Together in Mission (left) and at the Northwest Synod of Wisconsin Walking Together (right). We have snazzy new t-shirts based on a design from a former ELCA t-shirt design.

ELCAVOTES: We began seeking an intern or consultant to help LOPPW recruit poll workers in the context of talking about ELCAvotes resources, thanks to funding from All Voting is Local.

IN ADDITION: LOPPW led a workshop on advocacy at a congregation in the South-Central Synod. Pastor Crane had conversations with two new advisory council members from the La Crosse Area Synod – Irene TenEyck and Rev. Adam Arends – before welcoming them during our March check-in call.

By the Rev. Amy E. Reumann, ELCA Director of Advocacy

This week my daughter came to me, shaken. “Mom,” she said, “There’s a video of a Chinese woman getting attacked because people are blaming HER for the coronavirus. They kept beating her and only one person tried to help!” Her voice conveyed anguish and outrage and no small amount of fear at this display of brutality.

Xenophobic outbreaks

As our nation responds to COVID-19 with public health measures to test and contain the outbreak, we are also confronted by an outbreak of xenophobic attacks on Asian Americans, adults and children, with reports of similar aggressions around the world. These attacks on individuals, Asian and Pacific Islander communities and their businesses are a tragic extension of the fear and misinformation regarding the origins and spread of the virus.

They are also yet another manifestation of the viral racism that infects our body politic and, as put in an opening question by theologian Howard Thurman to his classic book, Jesus and the Disinherited, the body of Christ in the United States.

“Why is it that Christianity seems impotent to deal radically, and therefore effectively, with the issues of discrimination and injustice on the basis of race, religion and national origin? “

Targeting populations based on racial or ethnic origin is not new in U.S. history, especially in times of national instability. My daughter has learned in school about the Chinese Exclusion Act, the first significant law restricting immigration into the United States, and about Japanese American internment camps, the forced relocation by the U.S. government of thousands of Japanese Americans to detention camps during World War II. We have recently discussed over the dinner table Trump administration actions to make it easier to deport Lao and Hmong community members despite the sacrifices and solidarity of these refugees during the Viet Nam war.

But the video startled and brought home to her how close xenophobia is to the surface of everyday life in a new and frightening way.

Jesus’ life-changing message

Thurman’s book challenged the church in 1949 and still does today, insisting we reflect on the depth of our hunger and thirst for justice to address racism and religious discrimination in church and society.

Thurman explores the life-changing message of Jesus for “those who stand, at a moment in human history, with their backs against a wall.” He contends that those who have been driven to the edge, dehumanized, degraded and denied basic dignity are Jesus’ primary audience. They are also the ones who can apprehend God’s “liberating spirituality” rooted in the religion of Jesus and an emancipatory way of being.

Siding with emancipatory faith

Thurman probes this spiritual resilience as developed through the suffering and beauty of the African American experience. Rooted in the presence and power of God who sides with the oppressed, this emancipatory faith provided sustenance during the atrocities inflicted by whites on enslaved African Americans and strength through the Jim Crow era.

To all whose backs are to the wall God offers this same liberating spirituality and calls for the church to stand alongside them.

Thurman mourns that the church, called to be in solidarity with those with their backs to the wall, often fails or falters. Long before Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter From Birmingham Jail, Thurman took on “conventional” Christianity as “muffled, confused and vague,” more concerned with respectability than siding with those who are persecuted, weak and in need of defense.

Certainty in times of uncertainty

He has a word for us today, when there still are so many with their backs to the wall, experiencing persecution and in need of the church’s accompaniment, solidarity and advocacy. In times of national uncertainty, with all the unknowns about COVID-19 spread, there are a few things about which we can be certain.

That our prayers for God’s power, protection and presence are with those on the front lines of public health leadership and those who are isolated, sick or fearful.

That our nation has an essential role to play in public policy decisions that shape the health, security and well-being of people, throughout this country and the world, and that our vigilance and advocacy are required to hold our leaders accountable.

That as the ELCA we will not stand by when people are scapegoated, attacked or targeted based on race or ethnicity, which today means solidarity and presence with Asian and Pacific Americans and their communities.

That in Lent God invites us to renewal of faith and life, and at this moment of fear and uncertainty the church is charged with witnessing to a liberating spirituality that includes repentance, resistance and hope.

Our communities are significantly shaped by census data, and Census 2020 will update these numbers for the first time in 10 years. The ELCA is an official partner of the 2020 Census to encourage the most accurate count possible.

“Funding for over 100 federal programs, many of which combat poverty and hunger and support people in need, are distributed based on population,” says the Rev. Amy E. Reumann, Director of ELCA Advocacy. “An accurate count ensures that resources more justly go where they are needed most. It is also critical for representation in the political process as census information determines electoral maps.”

Undercounting is a significant issue among groups which benefit most from anti-poverty programs and from greater representation in decision-making. “Hard to count” individuals in census experience include persons residing in rural areas, young children, LGBTQIA persons, people experiencing homelessness, people who do not speak English, indigenous peoples and racial and ethnic minorities. The Census aims to count everyone regardless of immigration status, and as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, there will not be a question about citizenship status on the 2020 Census.

People underrepresented in previous census counts are not strangers. They are part of our congregations and communities. As we work toward a just world where all are fed, for your neighbor and yourself – encourage your community to be counted!