ELCA NEWS SERVICE
August 22, 2009

ELCA Assembly Urges Church Involvement in Health Care Reform
09-CWA-43-CA

     MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) – A social statement on health care adopted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) six years ago should commit the church to working on plans to provide more adequate health care today, said a resolution passed by the 2009 ELCA Churchwide assembly Aug. 20. That resolution, which passed by a vote of 799-128, said the church is committed to the premise that “each person should have ready access to basic health care services that include preventative, acute and chronic physical and mental health care at affordable cost.”
      Voting members of the assembly asked the ELCA Washington Office to work with synods, congregations and members to “convey the urgency and sense” of the resolution to the Congress and the White House.
     The churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of the ELCA met here Aug. 17-23 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. About 2,000 people participated, including 1,045 ELCA voting members. The theme for the biennial assembly was God’s work. Our hands.”
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     Information about the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly can be found at http://www.elca.org/assembly/ on the Web.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
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