Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania

Transforming Ministry, Changing Lives with an Open Table. Join us May 11 to learn how to take your outreach ministries from transactional to transformational. Learn more and register. https://conta.cc/3tZMEXn

Following last week’s Leaders Summit on Climate, LWF and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America issued a statement affirming it as a step in the right directio...n, requiring follow-up with a clear plan to bring leaders and nations together in action. @LWFForClimateJustice #CreationNotForSale #LWFforClimateJustice

The 2021 Earth Day theme is "Restore Our Earth." Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton reflects on this theme in her Earth Day statement. She says, "Because God gave... humans the vocation to be stewards of the earth," it is therefore essential that faithful Christians pursue "our holy calling to treasure the earth and care for it as our home, fully integrating creation care into our love of God, neighbor and all in the environment." Read full statement here: https://bit.ly/PBEatonEarthDay2021 #CreationCare #EarthDay2021 Creation Justice Ministries Lutherans Restoring Creation Blessed Tomorrow

Many Lutheran and interfaith partners provide essential housing services, and in 2020, Lutherans took action for the inclusion of housing assistance in the COVI...D-19 relief packages. Continue this work and insist that Congress meets our annual housing needs in the federal budget: https://support.elca.org/site/Advocacy

For #ArabAmericanHeritageMonth, deepen your appreciation of the work and presence of Arab American ministers, congregations, and ministries in the ELCA by joini...ng the Association of Lutherans of Arab & Middle Eastern Heritage webinar, Let Us Be a Sign to You." Register for the event here: https://us02web.zoom.us//tZEpfu2tpzkuHN2R4_NGtnCU58fn1OEnB

Happy Earth Day! Today, we honor our role as stewards of God's beautiful earth and all the vibrant communities that call it home. What are you doing to celebra...te Earth Day this year? "Dear church, we can 'testify to the good news of God's grace' (Acts 20:24), which empowers us to move forward. We know that healing is possible for the planet and for our communities. We are not too late. The time is now. To us, God is calling; through us, God wants to work a miracle; through our finite and inadequate efforts, God can and will bring about 'a new heaven and a new earth.'" Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton's Earth Day statement, 2021

This April we recognize #FairHousingMonth, marking 53 years since the passage of the Fair Housing Act. We celebrate the religious leaders actively working to close gaps in homeownership and homelessness in our communities, and all efforts to ensure housing justice for all.

Church Council had a busy weekend last weekend. Find out what they were up to below!

The House of Representatives has voted to pass the NO BAN Act (H.R. 1333) by a slim bipartisan margin. The bill explicitly prohibits discrimination on the basis... of religion in U.S. immigration law, limiting future presidential authority to bar the entry of people because of how they worship or due to national origin. Discriminatory bans contradict the ELCA’s and our nation’s commitments to be a place of welcome and safety for others. "The passage of the NO BAN Act is an occasion to reflect on the harm inflicted by the previous travel bans, including family separation and other costly delays affecting the mutual interest of our nations and shared humanity," says Giovana Oaxaca, ELCA program director for migration. "Freed in Christ to love and serve our neighbor, we urge our leaders to support a generous policy of welcome. We urge the Senate to move quickly now to pass the NO BAN Act." ELCA Ammparo https://www.huffpost.com//house-democrats-travel-no-ban-ac is among sources for more information.

Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton shares a pastoral word on the verdict of the Derek Chauvin trial. "No jury verdict can erase the pain of the Floyd family, and ...we share our condolences and pray for ongoing comfort in their suffering and for all whose lives have been touched by this tragedy. As people of the cross, we believe in the hope of the resurrection. Yet we cannot rush to Easter Sunday without reflecting on the oppression of Good Friday." See more

Yesterday, HUD announced it would formally withdraw the draft Equal Access Rule. The proposal would have allowed shelters to raise barriers to transgender and g...ender non-conforming people those of us who already face disproportionate rates of housing insecurity and difficulty accessing shelters. Hundreds of Lutherans and advocates of other denominations raised comments last year in opposition to the rule, and we thank HUD leaders for considering the experience of faith leaders on this issue. https://www.hud.gov//press_releases_media_ad/HUD_No_21_069 See more

Join us today we represent the ELCA during Ecumenical Advocacy Days, and be sure to join our network by signing up for Advocacy updates! https://advocacydays.org/2021-imagine-gods-earth-people-re/

"The current funding scheme disproportionately harms rural districts, and districts with many students of color, impoverished students, students with special needs, and English-language learners." It's time to #LevelUp, PA.

Tune in today at 3pm via Facebook Live as we launch the Level Up campaign, and together let's #levelup school funding for our most underfunded schools!

"Envisioning a world that is just, sustainable and resilient, we, as Lutherans, heed God's call and take concrete steps to repair inequities and wealth divides locally, nationally and globally." Read Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton's #EarthDay2021 message below.

On this day in 1945, Lutheran pastor, theologian and anti-Nazi dissident Dietrich Bonhoeffer was martyred at the hands of his Nazi captors for his involvement in a conspiracy to assassinate Adolf Hitler and overthrow the Third Reich. He was 39 years old.

Adequate housing is needed for humane living. As our nation grapples with present challenges, ELCA advocacy staff will monitor policy developments. We are called to be aware of and concerned for people in our midst who are vulnerable to losing their housing. #First100Days

Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton has joined with faith leaders and medical professionals across the United States to ensure that all our neighbors have access t...o COVID-19 vaccines. Faiths4Vaccines is a multifaith movement seeking to increase vaccination rates by promoting equitable vaccine distribution and combating vaccine hesitancy. Learn how faith leaders are helping promote the vaccine. #Faiths4Vaccine https://faiths4vaccines.org/stories/ See more

The ELCA is proud to be a founding member of the national volunteer COVID-19 Community Corps! Visit hhs.gov/COVIDCommunityCorps today to learn more and join us in the fight to protect America’s health. #WeCanDoThis

On this Inauguration Day, activity impacting policy is already taking place in the first hours of the Biden-Harris Administration. Our ELCA policy director for ...domestic policy gives us a glance ahead. To be part of the ELCA Advocacy Network for updates and invitations to action at impactful moments, sign up from ELCA.org/advocacy/signup. See more

Almighty God, we lift before you all who govern this nation. May those who hold power understand that it is a trust from you to be used, not for personal glory ...or profit, but for the service of the people. Drive from us cynicism, selfishness, and corruption; grant in your mercy just and honest government; and give us grace to live together in unity and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord (ELW, p. 77). See more

Join us in our celebration of #ArabAmericanHeritageMonth as we spotlight the witness of Arab American leaders and communities in the ELCA. This week, we hear f...rom Rev. Dr. Niveen Sarras. Born and raised in Bethlehem, her experience as "a Middle Eastern pastor and biblical scholar" means she brings a unique cultural and theological lens to her ministry in the US. East Central Synod of Wisconsin- ELCA Immanuel Lutheran Church Racial Justice Advocacy Network of Women of the ELCA

Amy Reumann, Director of Advocacy, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will be part of the panel discussing advocacy opportunities in the 117th Congress.

Organized by #PeaceWithJustice for people of faith all across the country, tonite on the eve of the inauguration - Jan. 19 from 7-8 pm ET - you're invited to join this non-partisan ecumenical Christian service. We must show that we are united in prayer for all of God’s children made in God’s own image, that we will love our neighbors as ourselves, and especially those who are different than us as Jesus commands, and that defending democracy for all Americans--no exceptions--is a religious obligation and a faith vocation. The ELCA is an organization partner. Registration: bit.ly/PeaceWithJusticePrayer - from ELCA Advocacy

We join the prayers of Bishop deForest, Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the ELCA.