{"id":1643,"date":"2016-11-10T10:24:39","date_gmt":"2016-11-10T16:24:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/advocacy\/?p=1643"},"modified":"2016-11-10T10:25:55","modified_gmt":"2016-11-10T16:25:55","slug":"looking-ahead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/advocacy\/looking-ahead\/","title":{"rendered":"Giving thanks, coming together, looking ahead"},"content":{"rendered":"

A message from The Rev. Amy Reumann, Director, ELCA Advocacy<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n
\n

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,<\/p>\n

On Election Day and throughout this season, the #ELCAvotes initiative has encouraged Lutherans to live out our baptismal affirmation to “serve all people, following the example of our Lord Jesus,” by engaging in our communities and casting our ballots. Thank you to all the ELCA advocates who contributed to the stewardship of our common life, serving God as faithful and active citizens!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Giving thanks<\/strong><\/h3>\n

We thank God for every voter, and for the countless volunteers who worked to ensure their community members could participate in the election process. We are also grateful for all who contributed to a vision for thriving healthy communities by running for office. We pray for the success of the candidates who were elected to office at every level of government.<\/strong> May they receive God’s wisdom in their service to all people.<\/p>\n

Coming together<\/h3>\n

This election season included rhetoric and rancor that has divided and wounded our nation. Christ calls the church to the ministry of reconciliation and gifts us with the Holy Spirit for this work. We have what we need to engage in a common life that extends well beyond Election Day; this includes engaging in deep listening and communal discernment<\/a>, practicing the art of difficult conversations<\/a> and actively accompanying those in our communities who are suffering or alienated.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead<\/h3>\n

The work of ELCA Advocacy, grounded in the Gospel and our social teaching, also continues. We look forward to engaging with the new administration<\/strong>, <\/strong>Congress and in state capitols around the country in our core areas of concern to end hunger, alleviate poverty, welcome the stranger and care for creation in the U.S. and globally.<\/strong> We will create and shape policies that reflect this church’s deep commitment to racial and gender justice, and we will work alongside ecumenical and interfaith partners to further God\u2019s work in our world.<\/p>\n

Together we will continue to be stewards of our common life by serving God through loving our neighbor as faithful and active citizens.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Yours, In Christ,<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The Rev. Amy Reumann<\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n

Director, ELCA Advocacy<\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n

washingtonoffice@elca.org<\/em><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A message from The Rev. Amy Reumann, Director, ELCA Advocacy Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, On Election Day and throughout this season, the #ELCAvotes initiative has encouraged Lutherans to live out our baptismal affirmation to “serve all people, following the example of our Lord Jesus,” by engaging in our communities and casting our ballots. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":218,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[51,16292,70,1021,5853],"class_list":["post-1643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-advocacy","tag-elcavotes","tag-elections","tag-government","tag-voting"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGiving thanks, coming together, looking ahead - ELCA Advocacy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/advocacy\/looking-ahead\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Giving thanks, coming together, looking ahead - ELCA Advocacy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A message from The Rev. 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