In Process — A Social Statement on Criminal Justice
Hearing the Cries: Faith and Criminal Justice
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is preparing a social statement that addresses issues in criminal justice. The 2013 Churchwide Assembly, it is anticipated, will consider the proposed social statement. This is the place to learn about the statement's development and to find resources for thinking about the issues.
In early 2011 the ELCA released,
Hearing the Cries: Faith and Criminal Justice, a study written by the Criminal Justice Task Force. The study was created to invite members of the church to engage in moral deliberation on this major social issue
. The responses from the study were used by the task force as they wrote the
draft social statement. The draft is now available in
Spanish.
How to Get Involved Now that the
Draft Social Statement on Criminal Justice has been released, synods will be holding
hearings to receive feedback on the document. Those who are not able to participate in a synodical hearing are invited to study the draft in a group and submit a form (available at the end of the
document or
online) to provide feedback to the task force.
Order Multiple Printed Copies
To order printed copies of
Hearing the Cries: Faith and Criminal Justice and the Draft Social Statement on Criminal Justice, visit
www.elca.org/resources.
StoriesWhen crime happens, it touches many lives in many ways, forming different perspectives. Here are a few of those perspectives, those stories.
