by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service
As Colorado legislators meet in a special session that started
July 6 to debate immigration policy, the Rev. Allan C. Bjornberg,
bishop of the Rocky Mountain Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America, issued a statement calling on state
legislators to "resist the urge to caricature every immigrant as
a projection of our fears" and to "let decency and the common
good prevail."
The statement was endorsed by 12 other denomination executives
representing the Colorado Council of Churches and the Colorado
chapter of The Interfaith Alliance. Bjornberg and Colorado
church leaders expressed their appreciation to the Most Rev.
Charles J. Chaput, Catholic archbishop of Denver, and the Most
Rev. Michael J. Sheridan, Catholic bishop of Colorado Springs,
for their "articulate call to higher ground in the immigration
debate among Colorado legislators." Chaput and Sheridan provided
a guest commentary titled "Let goodwill drive the discussion:
Immigration debate in the Colorado Legislature" July 6 in the
Denver Post newspaper.
The church leaders also called upon legislators to "take into
account the complexity of issues, the diversity of interests, and
the relative justice of laws at the same time that it counters
appeals rooted in hostility, racism, prejudice, indifference and
simplistic solutions." They also joined Chaput and Sheridan in
the call for "common sense and good policy" which lets "decency
and the common good prevail for all who have the inalienable
human right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
- - -
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
