December 12, 2008
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is preparing a social statement on criminal justice that will develop biblical and theological themes and allow it to address such issues as the cost of incarceration and rehabilitation for people convicted of a crime. The ELCA task force charged with developing the social statement met for the first time Dec. 5-6 in Chicago. Goals of the meeting included receiving input from specialists, identifying a time line for the task force's work and understanding the process that leads to an ELCA social statement.

"I think that we as a society continue to have enormous injustices occurring within our juvenile (and) criminal justice systems," said Cynthia Osborne, chair of the task force and vice president of strategic initiatives and program development, Lutheran Services in America, Baltimore. "Our system is based on principles of punishment and correction rather than rehabilitation. I think we share a perspective that there is a real need to participate in a conversation about how to move us in a rehabilitative direction," she said.

The 2007 ELCA Churchwide Assembly called for the development of a proposed social statement on criminal justice, which is expected to be considered by the 2013 assembly. Social statements are teaching documents that guide Lutherans in forming judgments on social issues. They provide theological and ethical framework for discussion, set policy for the church and guide the church's advocacy and work in church and society. The 1991 ELCA Churchwide Assembly adopted a social statement on the death penalty.

ELCA News Service