March 12, 2010

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Bishops of the six Minnesota synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) visited House and Senate leaders at the State Capitol here March 11 "to advocate for the common good of all people in the state," according to a news release from the ELCA Saint Paul Area Synod. The visits were planned so that the bishops could share their concerns "about the toll of the state's budget deficit on the state's poorest citizens," the release said.

The state is facing a projected budget deficit of $944 million for the current budget and more than $7 billion for the next biennium, the bishops noted in a pastoral letter issued the same day.

The bishops represent 1,145 congregations and more than 800,000 ELCA members in Minnesota. The ELCA bishops making the visits were the Rev. Jon V. Anderson, Southwestern Minnesota Synod, Redwood Falls; the Rev. Thomas M. Aitken, Northeastern Minnesota Synod, Duluth; the Rev. Craig E. Johnson, Minneapolis Area Synod; the Rev. Peter Rogness, Saint Paul Area Synod; the Rev. Harold L. Usgaard, Southeastern Minnesota Synod, Rochester; and the Rev. Lawrence R. Wohlrabe, Northwestern Minnesota Synod, Moorhead.

The bishops shared their pastoral letter with clergy and congregations across the state, the news release said. They wrote: "People's lives are at stake. People who care deeply for the well-being of our state reach different solutions. We need now to consider new ways to live and shape our lives together for the common good. It may even be that new ways might involve religious institutions like ours, long involved in caring for people directly."

"As Lutheran Christians, we have a place in the public arena ... we aspire to be thoughtful citizens, holding our public leaders accountable for shaping public policy in a way that serves the neighbor, seeks a just society, and cares especially for the poor, the vulnerable and the marginalized," the bishops wrote.

The bishops wrote that Lutherans in the state "are not of one mind" on issues and financial challenges facing the state. "We are Republican and Democrat, liberal and conservative, urban and rural, long-time residents and new arrivals. But we share a faith commitment that compels us to care for the well-being of all, not simply to get a big slice of the pie for ourselves. We can shape the debate and hold accountable to these principles the proposed solutions," the bishops wrote.

The bishops also invited ELCA congregations to an April 18 "A Call to Prayer, Conversation, and Action." They asked congregations across the state to pray for elected leaders and to engage in discussion about the decisions being considered by government leaders. They also called upon Lutherans to communicate with legislators on behalf of citizens whose voices may not be heard, because "many who are not powerful and who have little influence have much at stake in these decisions, and our faith calls us to be their advocates."

The Minnesota bishops' letter is at http://www.spas-ELCA.org/news/fromthebishop.php, on the Web.

ELCA News Service
Beth Helgen is assistant to the bishop for administration, ELCA Saint Paul Area Synod.