To the Saints of Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod, Today concludes our offerings of formal video prayers for PRIDE month, based on the resources of Reconciling Works. With PRIDE set alongside our current national call for racial justice in the wake of the latest string of police brutality, we have been celebrating the trailblazers who moved people’s...
Category: Advocacy
June 29, 2020
Pride Month Is Ending. Our Kingdom Work is Not Done.
To the Saints of Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod, Today concludes our offerings of formal video prayers for PRIDE month, based on the resources of Reconciling Works. With PRIDE set alongside our current national call for racial justice in the wake of the latest string of police brutality, we have been celebrating the trailblazers who moved people’s...
June 30, 2020
ELCA presiding bishop praises Supreme Court decision on LGBTQIA+ rights
ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton has issued a statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 15 ruling that employment discrimination on the basis of a worker’s sexual orientation or gender identity is illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. “The court’s decision is an important recognition of equal protection...
June 30, 2020
Statement on Race, Racism, and Black Lives Matter from The United Lutheran Seminary (ULS) Alumni Association (TULSAA) Board
No thoughtful citizen of this country can look at the violence and systemic racism under which Black Americans live and fail to be outraged. The brutal deaths of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, and countless others call us all—both as Americans and as Christians—to stand in solidarity with those who have been denied justice...
June 16, 2020
Emergency Grants for PA Families Open Through July 12
Did you lose a job or work hours during the coronavirus crisis? You might be eligible for emergency cash assistance from Pennsylvania. The Emergency Cash Assistance Program will provide one-time cash grants to families who qualify. This could be helpful while you are waiting for your Unemployment Compensation to start. This program will end July...
May 8, 2020
Gov. Wolf Announces Protections From Evictions, Foreclosures
Shared by our partners at Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania: Governor Tom Wolf, joined by Attorney General Josh Shapiro, announced that he signed an executive order that protects Pennsylvanians from foreclosures or evictions through July 10. The action builds on a Pennsylvania Supreme Court order which closed court eviction proceedings until May 11 and ensures no renter...
December 4, 2019
Called To Serve Our Neighbors
Through baptism, we are called to serve our neighbors and steward God’s good creation. As Lutherans, our attention turns to the policies that make a broader difference in our lives and the lives of our vulnerable neighbors. It is important that we add our voice into the process. In this video presented by Lutheran Advocacy...
July 2, 2019
State Budget Passed; General Assistance Eliminated
On June 28, Pennsylvania adopted a $34 billion budget that includes no new taxes but socks $330 million away in a rainy day fund. Highlights include increases for housing, education (basic, pre-k and special education), election security and more. Funding for the state’s two major anti-hunger programs was held level. The State Food Purchase Program received $19.8...
May 29, 2019
ELCA Presiding Bishop Addresses Well-Being of Children in Detention Centers
May 28, 2019 Children coming to our nation for safety and protection are still dying at our southern border while in U.S. detention. Carlos, a 16-year-old youth from Guatemala, died May 20 in the custody of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Wilmer, a 2-year-old, died May 14, also in...
May 29, 2019
Julia Menzo Honored for Service to Disaster Survivors
“Because of your dream of feeding, clothing and serving people whose lives have been changed by natural disaster, many who found themselves living in and on the edge of poverty now have a brighter outlook.” Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod Bishop Patricia A. Davenport so paid tribute May 20 to Julia Menzo, the Director for Community Outreach...
August 20, 2018
Air Pollution Report Underscores Need for Action
As the federal government considers weakening federal air quality and global warming emissions standards, air pollution remains a threat to public health in communities across Pennsylvania, according to a new national report. “This report shows that our communities – around our nation and right here in Pennsylvania — are struggling to breathe,” Lutheran Advocacy Ministry...
June 27, 2018
ELCA presiding bishop responds to Supreme Court decision on travel ban
Thus says the Lord: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow … (Jeremiah 22:3). I am dismayed by the Supreme Court’s recent decision concerning the president’s authority to restrict travel...
February 7, 2018
ELCA Presiding Bishop to Join Rally to End Racism
In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., the Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), will join ecumenical and inter-religious partners for Act Now: Unite to End Racism April 3-5 in Washington, D.C. The focus of the three-day event will be...
January 4, 2018
“Roll Down Like Waters” – Lutheran Day 2018
Join Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania and fellow advocates from across the commonwealth in Harrisburg on May 21 for inspiration, education and participation – in worship, service and advocacy – with a focus on a powerful element in our life together: Water. We are drowned and reborn in it at our baptism. The promises made...
September 5, 2017
ELCA Presiding Bishop Responds to DACA Announcement
CHICAGO (Sept. 5, 2017) – The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), has issued the following statement in response to the Trump administration’s announcement about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. “As we journey together through the time God has given us, may God give...
August 28, 2017
ELCA Speaks Against Hate, Discrimination
In light of recent public events and conversation, the ELCA has issued statements reminding us of its long-standing positions against hateful acts and discrimination by race, religious creed, or sexual identity. Confronting Racism and anti-Semitism The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), stands against all forms of hatred and discrimination. The church believes that...
July 10, 2017
State Budget Has Wins for Children
The 2017-2018 spending plan adopted by Pennsylvania lawmakers by the June 30 deadline includes some good news for Pennsylvania children, including increases in basic education, special education and early childhood funding, plus $2 million to incentivize improvements in school breakfast delivery, for which Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania (LAMPa) advocated. Read more at http://www.lutheranadvocacypa.org/general-assembly-passes-spending-plan/
June 7, 2017
Give the Gift of Family
There are Central American children and youth in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod, specifically in Roslyn, PA that are in great need of either short or long term family foster care. You can help through “Give the Gift of Family,” a joint initiative of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services and the ELCA AMMPARO program. LIRS is one of just...
February 28, 2017
Interfaith Leaders Condemn Desecration of Jewish Cemetery
Interfaith leaders from across Greater Philadelphia gathered Monday at the Lutheran Theological Seminary to lament and condemn the weekend vandalism that desecrated the final resting places of Jews buried in Mt. Carmel Jewish Cemetery. Bishop Burkat opened a news conference with Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders by calling the damage to more than one hundred...
February 28, 2017
Video: Interfaith Leaders Respond to Jewish Cemetery Desecration
Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders spoke in solidarity Monday against the desecration of graves at Mt. Carmel Jewish Cemetery in Wissanoming. Bishop Burkat facilitated a press conference in which dozens of faith leaders from across Greater Philadelphia stood together in support of the Jewish community and others — including immigrants, refugees, Muslims and the LGBTQ...
June 13, 2016
Orlando: Christians Cannot Keep Silent
“As Christians, we turn first to Jesus” in the wake of the nation’s worst mass shooting in history at Pulse in Orlando, Florida-Bahamas Synod Bishop Robert G. Schaefer wrote in a message to that synod Monday (June 13). “But, we can no longer afford to let it end there,” he wrote. “Church, it’s time to...
