How We Serve
ELCA in Society
Inclusion & Equity

Inclusion & Equity

Belonging without Authenticity

Identity politics often pit people against each other among racial, cultural and partisan groups for power. There is a desperate need for spaces where we can truly belong without losing who we are. The church has the opportunity and the calling to model something profoundly different.

Wondrous Diversity

In the ELCA social statement Freed in Christ: Race, Ethnicity, and Culture (1993), Christ “breaks down walls of cultural exclusivity,” inspiring us to create a community of genuine belonging with every member accepted and celebrated, authentically. Scripture speaks of one humanity created by God in wondrous diversity and we are called to love one another, just as Christ loves us.

Becoming a Powerful Witness

When backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion intensifies and associated personnel and programs are cut, the church has an extraordinary opportunity: to become a living demonstration of what is possible when it chooses belonging over assimilation. 

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Dedicated to Full Life and Participation

Honoring God’s Creation
ELCA Constitutional Definitions

We are dedicated to fostering an environment that honors the diversity of God’s creation so that as many people as possible can participate fully in the life and work of this church. The ELCA defines DEIA terms in its constitution:

  • Diversity is a reality rooted in the variety found in the body of Christ: the wide range of communities and identities related to race, ethnicity, sex, gender, sexuality, age, background, ability, socio-economic status, culture, and perspective. 
  • Equity refers to the fair treatment of people according to their individual needs. The principle of equity acknowledges that, due to poverty, sexism, racism, and other factors, individuals or groups may require different resources and support to ensure they have the same rights and abilities to make choices as others do.
  • Inclusion means the proactive and meaningful engagement of diverse individuals in all aspects of church life, especially in decision-making processes and leadership roles, creating a church culture of welcome, respect, and value for unique perspectives and abilities. 
  • Accessibility means aspiring to develop and maintain this church’s physical infrastructure, information, communication technology, programs, and services to maximize participation.

Vibrant Ministries, Freed in Christ

A poster board with the title “What Does God Want?” and subheadings “I was told God wants women to be” and “I was told God wants men to be” is filled with post-it notes in yellow, green and blue.
ELCA Gender Justice and Women’s Empowerment is shaped by diverse voices across race, ethnicity, ability, class, sexuality and age. Grounded in Lutheran theology, we confront sexism, link faith to real-world issues and invite all genders to act together.
Confronting Sexism

Gender Justice and Women’s Empowerment

A group of youth and young adults sit around a table holding hands in prayer with a young female in the foreground sitting in a high-backed wheelchair.
Our church belongs to Christ, and our Disability Ministry is called to warmly  invite all people to connect, participate and work together, without hesitation. Our life as a church is richer when people of all abilities share their gifts and interests in worship and ministry.
Disability Ministry

Reflecting God’s Wholeness

Stickers of various pride flags, purple starbursts with pronouns, and white stickers with “I heart YAGM” sit on a black table.
We share a living, daring confidence in God's grace. Liberated by our faith, we advocate for the acceptance, full participation and liberation of all individuals with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions within the Lutheran Church.
LGBTQIA+

ReconcilingWorks

A bald man wearing a suit coat holds a tea light with his left hand as he speaks to a crowd in front of a banner that reads “AMMPARO”
AMMPARO (Accompanying Migrants with Protection, Advocacy, Representation and Opportunities) is the ELCA’s response to migration. In the U.S., it partners with synods and community groups to welcome refugees and asylum seekers with housing, education, legal aid, healthcare and cultural orientation.
AMMPARO

Immigration Justice Ministry

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Racial Justice Ministries serve as catalysts and bridge-builders by equipping leaders to recognize the implications of racism, providing training in anti-racism and racial justice and building alliances and strategies to break through barriers of oppression.
Racial Ministries

A Journey Across Race and Class

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“One Body, Many Members” is a faith-based journey to learn, share and proclaim God’s oneness across race, ethnicity and class. It builds skills for welcome and caring action, nurturing unity in diversity. Participants discern God’s purpose and their part in building up one body.
One Body

Faith-based Journey to Learn and Share

One Body: Parts 1, 2 & 3

Troubling the Waters For Healing of the Church

A teenage female with glasses and long braided black hair wearing a white shirt smiles for the camera as she sits inside a church building with white walls. A teenage female with glasses and long braided black hair wearing a white shirt smiles for the camera as she sits inside a church building with white walls.
A Journey for White Christians: From Privilege to Partnership

In humility and repentance, white Christians are called to confront power, privilege and prejudice. Rooted in baptism, we rise in Christ to seek justice and peace, refusing passive complicity and becoming partners in God’s reconciling work.

Download Full Program
Quick Links
Resources for Communicating Effectively

Language resources on inclusion, bias, disabilities, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression.

Language and Terminology
Partners, Friends, Ministries

Resources that equip congregations and leaders for inclusive, youth, campus, outdoor and justice work.

Outdoor Ministries
Inclusion and Diversity Resources

Eliminate barriers and embrace inclusion in the context of camp, church and similar settings.

Guides, Training & Tools
Vision, Voices and Liberatory Theology

Vital resources and inspiring, thoughtful stories regarding race, disability, white privilege and LGBTQIA+ siblings.

Articles and Books

One Body, Many Members: Parts 1, 2 & 3

Part 1: One Body, Many Members: Leadership Readiness

The process of building and preparing a leadership team y is an essential first step for your group or congregation.  This video introduces “One Body, Many Members.” As Lutherans, we’re called to embrace every person and confront barriers that fuel injustice, inequality, exclusion and violence. Part 1 helps your congregation craft a bold, inclusive vision--the first intentional step in living out this call.

You can download free printable resources that accompany the video.

Part 2: Meeting our Neighbors Again for the First Time

In this section, we look at how we can meet our neighbors with a deeper recognition of our cultural biases and expand our awareness of culture and how it shapes lives and relationships.  Follow God’s lead into openness, see through another’s eyes and deepen conversation in this video. 

Part 2 Materials:

  1. Meeting Our Neighbors
  2. Exploring Cultural Depth
  3. My Neighbor’s World
  4. Communication
  5. Bible Study
  6. Going Deeper
  7. Table of Welcome
  8. Action Steps
  9. Self-Reflection

You can download free printable resources related to this video through the links above or by following this link.

Part 3: One Body, Many Members: Challenges of Diversity

What do we do now? The journey of transformation is not easy and certainly not conflict-free. These materials will help guide discussion and biblical study.

  1. Challenges of Diversity
  2. Issues of Power
  3. Communication and Conflict
  4. Bible Study
  5. Going Deeper
  6. Living Cross-Culturally

You can access free printable resources related to the video by clicking the links above or by following this link.

Watch and Join the Movement Toward Belonging

The words “total inclusion” in green comic-style font with the second “T” in total colored brown to look like a cross. In between the words is a graphic of a campfire with two brown logs in an x and an orange flame.

Total Inclusion

A youth wearing a tan dress with a matching headband stands at the top of the steps in a church nave as other children sit on the steps in front of them.

One Body, Many Members

Three young adults smile for the camera – one female in a Cubs hat holds another female while a male leans into the picture.

One in Christ’s Love

title slide of a presentation with purple and green background and a black stripe through the middle with the words “national day of racial healing” in white text.

National Day of Racial Healing