CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of the Division for Church in Society (DCS) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) approved a "Message on Suicide Prevention" during its Oct. 14-16 meeting here and transmitted it to the ELCA Church Council with the recommendation it be adopted.
The Church Council is expected to consider the message when it meets here Nov. 12-14. ELCA messages are designed to draw attention to and encourage action on social issues.
If adopted as proposed, the message will encourage members, congregations and affiliated institutions of the ELCA "to learn more about suicide and its prevention in their communities, to ask what they might do, and to work with others to prevent suicide."
"Suicide testifies to life's tragic brokenness," the proposed message said. "We believe life is God's good and precious gift to us, and yet life for us -- ourselves and others -- sometimes appears to be hell, a torment without hope. When we would prefer to ignore, reject or shy away from those who despair of life, we need to recall what we have heard: God's boundless love in Jesus Christ will leave no one alone and abandoned."
The proposed message also includes facts about suicide, attitudes about suicide, and receiving and giving help to people contemplating or affected by suicide. It also contains suggestions for action to prevent suicides, lists of suicide prevention organizations and various resources.
A resolution calling for creation and adoption of the suicide prevention message was sent by the ELCA Southeastern Synod to the division, said the Rev. John R. Stumme, acting director for studies, ELCA Division for Church in Society. Elsie and Jerry Weyrauch, members of Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, Marietta, Ga., were instrumental in the drafting of the message, Stumme said.
The Weyrauchs' 34-year-old daughter died in Chicago in 1987. Her death was ruled a suicide. Since then they have been active in suicide prevention. They formed the Suicide Prevention Advocacy Network (SPAN USA), dedicated to the creation and implementation of suicide prevention strategies. The Weyrauchs were also involved in the U.S. Congress passing resolutions on the issue and in the writing of "The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent Suicide" issued this year.
In the surgeon general's report, Dr. David Satcher, assistant secretary for health and surgeon general, declared suicide "a serious public health problem."
The Weyrauchs said their effort to spread the message of suicide prevention across the church is directly related to their own tragic experience.
"Our experience of losing a daughter to suicide was our first real introduction to the fact that many in the church had no idea how to deal with the real tragedy of suicide and how to respond to people -- what to say, how to say it," said Jerry Weyrauch in an interview following the DCS board action.
"We realized there was an opportunity for the church to do a great deal of good for many people as survivors. We also realized there could be another step taken to help people who are in need -- at-risk people who are hurting," he added.
Weyrauch said one of his greatest hopes for the message is that it be incorporated in youth educational programs, especially confirmation programs. Young people who are hurting, including those with questions about their sexual identities, should also be able to express their concerns about suicide within the church.
In addition to families affected by suicide, the people who attempt suicide also need "special care" from people in the church, said Elsie Weyrauch.
"If we can't do that in the church, there is no place we can do that," she said.
In other actions, the DCS board affirmed development of a social policy resolution on educational choice.
Educational choice refers to public policy in which government financially assists parents who enroll their children in either non-governm= ent=20 or public schools. Such schools may also be operated by religious bodies.
The board's timeline calls for development of the policy for possible consideration by the 2001 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Indianapolis.
The proposal to develop a policy was in response to a letter from bishops of the seven Pennsylvania synods to the Rev. Charles S. Miller, executive director of the ELCA Division for Church in Society. The bishops requested the division's department of studies consider issuing a message or other document to clarify the issue.
The DCS board also adopted a resolution to promote the 30th anniversary of the ordination of women in the ELCA. The anniversary occurs in 2000.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
("http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html)
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
