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Leaders seek end to death penalty ELCA’s 2015 day of service
s Christians began Holy Week commemorating Jesus’ execu- tion, faith leaders, including
many ELCA clergy, signed a letter urging public officials to end the use of capital punishment, according the “Faith in Public Life” blog. “All who reverence the sanctity of
human life, created in the image of God, must never remain silent when firing squads, lethal injections, elec- tric chairs and other instruments of death are viewed as morally accept- able,” nearly 400 theologians, Chris- tian evangelical leaders and faith- based social justice advocates wrote in the statement released March 31. “We urge governors, prosecutors,
judges and anyone entrusted with power to do all they can to end a prac- tice that diminishes our humanity and contributes to a culture of violence and retribution without restoration.”
Signatories include two former
presidents of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; Miguel Diaz, a for- mer U.S. ambassador to the Vatican; and Sister Helen Prejean, an anti- death penalty activist; and Jim Wallis of Sojourners. The Holy Week push came as a
diverse set of religious leaders are speaking out against the death pen- alty and several high-profile cases have drawn national attention. Utah’s governor recently signed a
bill that brings back firing squads as an option for executions. In Geor- gia clergy and other faith leaders have asked the state to commute the death sentence of Kelly Gissendaner, a Christian and student of theol- ogy who has received pastoral care from Jennifer McBride, a professor at Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa (April, page 8).
Lowest Prices & Unmatched Value - Guaranteed! T
he ELCA’s 2015 dedicated day of service called “God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday is Sept. 13.
Since 2013 thousands of congrega- tions have dedicated one day to serve communities. After his experience last year,
Nolan Rosario, 10, from St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Whittier, Calif., may have put it best: “It feels good to give.” Terri Robertson, youth and family
minister of St. Andrew, said, “From the formation of a planning team to donations of school supplies and monetary gifts—and finally the week- end of assembling, packing, cutting, tying and delivering—I witnessed our congregation serve together in ways I have not seen before. Through it all, we grew closer to one another.” Whether gathering food items
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www.thelutheran.org
for a local food pantry or cleaning up a public park, organizers remind congregations that the day of service offers an opportunity to explore a basic Lutheran conviction: service that flows from God’s grace. Information, T-shirts and
resources are at
www.elca.org/ dayofservice.
New fundraising tool
Team ELCA, the churchwide organi- zation’s first peer-to-peer fundrais- ing platform, enables individuals and groups to create customized donation Web pages to raise funds for ELCA World Hunger. Participants set a goal and link their page to a fundraising initiative, such as dedicating their birthday, running a charity race or hosting a congregational bowl-a-thon. Gifts will support hunger projects in nearly 60 countries. More information is at
www.elca.org/teamelca.
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with other Lutherans!
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