Michael Fromm, Jewish Council for Public Affairs Chair
David Bernstein, Jewish Council for Public Affairs President and CEO
Dear President Bernstein and Chairman Fromm:
The Consultative Panel on Lutheran-Jewish Relations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America joins you in your concern for Chinese Americans and Chinese communities, as expressed in your letter to those communities on 21 February 2020.
At our recent meeting, we took note of your expression of compassion and solidarity with great appreciation and respect. We affirm and admire your pledge to take positive steps to support and protect a community that has been singled out for discrimination and attack. Whether born of fear, ignorance, or bigotry, the calumny and actual harm that the Chinese American community has suffered is morally reprehensible. The same is true for those of other communities who are assumed to be Chinese. Any sense of isolation that might be compounded by our silence only adds to the pain and offense.
In our 1994 Declaration to the Jewish Community, we said that “we recognize in anti-Semitism a contradiction and an affront to the Gospel” and we pledged “this church to oppose the deadly working of such bigotry, both within our own circles and in the society around us.” In that spirit we join you in embracing this moment as one that calls for our vigorous public response on behalf of our neighbors. Leaders across the ELCA are seeking concrete and authentic ways to join your courageous voices and undertake similar acts of solidarity, as part of our church’s commitment to condemn white supremacy and racist rhetoric and actions.
The pandemic has precluded our gathering together in our overlapping seasons of Passover and Easter and for shared observances of Yom haShoa. We are all the more eager, therefore, to join you in expressing our encouragement for all Asian Americans, including those who are members of our own religious communities. Thank you for your leadership and partnership in this witness.
In partnership,
The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton
Presiding Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Members of the ELCA Consultative Panel on Lutheran-Jewish Relations
The Rev. Dr. Darrell Jodock, chair
The Rev. Ward Cornett III
Dr. Esther Menn
The Rev. Dr. Peter A Pettit
The Rev. Peg Schultz-Akerson
Ms. Kathryn May Lohre
Assistant to the Presiding Bishop and Executive, Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Rev. Dr. Carmelo Santos
Director, Theological Diversity & Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Engagement
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Ms. Kristen Opalinski
Manager, Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America