The Lutheran, August 2008
A monthly column by Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson
Putting faith on the line
Presidential candidates are urged to take action
As we approach the U.S. presidential election, I recently joined the chief executives of several Lutheran partners—Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, Lutheran Services in America and Lutheran World Relief—in writing a letter to each presidential nominee.
In that letter, we point out that Lutherans have a long history and wide experience with health and human services, relief and development, refugee protection and immigration. Lutheran ministries reach every state and more than 60 countries, serving millions of the most vulnerable people throughout the world.
Effective and transformative work by Lutheran organizations demonstrates that people of faith can help change the world in practical ways. In this spirit, we offered the following as our collective vision for the next several years.
Economic insecurity and poverty. Lutherans have a longstanding public record of making a difference in the lives of people. We remain committed to serving those in need.
We call upon the next administration to publicly commit to a measurable poverty reduction goal; propose a comprehensive health-care plan; assist states by increasing their Medicaid funding; and support the preservation and production of affordable housing.
Global warming and energy policy. Our church supports the principle of sustainability and policies that provide “an acceptable quality of life for present generations without compromising that of future generations.” We urge decisive action to re-engage in the international talks on global warming; focus supportive resources on low-income Americans; adopt policies that encourage energy conservation; and re-direct research dollars to renewable sources.
Fair, humane immigration, refugee policy. Lutherans have long responded to the biblical call to “welcome the strangers” in our midst through legal and social service and pastoral care. Today we see a broken immigration system that fails to fulfill its purposes of providing an orderly, secure system of migration for refugees, needed workers and their families.
To give leadership to an increased national commitment to immigrants and refugees, we ask the next administration to appoint a secretary of Homeland Security committed to fundamental reform; build a national consensus for an orderly migration system that protects families, preserves human rights and provides a path to permanence; and protect families as a core principle of U.S. immigration policy.
International poverty, development and disease. Lutherans have a long history of serving those most in need throughout the world and advocating for U.S. policies that promote sustainable development and the well-being of all of God’s children. We urge the next administration to appoint a Cabinet-level secretary of global development and achieve the U.N. Millennium Development Goals.
With the goal of ending poverty we urge the leadership necessary to increase foreign aid; expand debt cancellation for the world’s poorest nations; increase opportunities for fair trade; and pay the U.S. debt to the U.N.
Conflict-resolution and peace-building. Lutherans believe that because God gives peace on earth, individuals, communities and national governments can be active in serving a just peace in the world. We believe sustainable peace is inextricably linked to the well-being and human dignity of all people. We urge the next administration to support a sustainable peace in Iraq, between Israel and the Palestinians, and throughout Sudan—three places of conflict where millions of innocent civilians experience extreme suffering.
We offer thanks for the “endurance and vision during this long campaign for our highest office” and pledge to “pray for you and your work on behalf of the American people.”