Government and God

What does the ELCA teach about the nature and function of government in relation to God’s purposes? What is a faithful Lutheran response regarding citizenship and civic engagement? As much as we might like to remove politics from faith, it is impossible to do so. We know that from experience. We cannot separate our daily faith from our political actions. One informs the other. If we hope to remain one body of Christ that shares faith and is not divided by political actions, then we must take time to understand our common values. 

The ELCA is drafting a social message on Government and Civic Engagement: Discipleship in a Democracy. This social message will be crafted from our Lutheran heritage, our scripture and theology, and the movement of the Holy Spirit through our members. It will be a unified message of our shared values where faith and civic engagement intersect.

A task force of individuals (from a diversity of vocations and social locations) has been putting together a first draft. They are now asking all ELCA Lutherans for input and comment on this draft. You can read the draft Social Message on Government & Civic Engagement here. 

I hope you will take a moment to give the task force your feedback on their draft by filling out this survey. You may also email comments to draftsocialmessage@elca.org. Your comments are necessary and important. The task force is not seeking expertise, original insight, or even profound statements. They need a reflection of the whole body of Christ if this message will represent what God is doing through us.

The deadline for giving input to this message is May 27. If you'd like to discuss this before giving input, Pr Manda will be hosting an online discussion on May 12 at 6:30pm. Click here for the Zoom info.

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