Economic Crisis in Rural America

ELCA Churchwide Assembly Action CA99.03.09

Passed by the 1999 Churchwide Assembly in Denver, Colorado.

Resolved
To acknowledge the concerns raised by the memorial from the South Dakota Synod regarding the current farm and rural crisis and to call all members and congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to:

• pray for family farmers, their families, and rural communities;
• learn about the challenges facing family farms;
• support family farmers through advocacy for just legislation that protects family farms, the land, and the small towns they make possible;
• encourage congregations to help farm families in crisis by forming, facilitating, and hosting support groups, and providing information on and access to social services, including mental health services;
• To observe a moment of silence in prayer at this Churchwide Assembly for those in the middle of this rural crisis;
• To reaffirm the commitment of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to small town and rural congregations through the work of churchwide units including the Division for Church in Society, the Division for Outreach, and the Division for Congregational Ministries as well as through synodical outreach committees; and
• To request that the Director for Rural Life Ministry Resources and Networking continue to assist the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to respond to the farm and rural crisis and identify resources that can be used in that response.