by John R. Brooks, ELCA News Service
The Rev. Andrea DeGroot-Nesdahl, bishop of the South Dakota Synod
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), said an
ecumenical prayer service will be held at 9:30 p.m. in Sioux
Falls Aug. 29, 30 minutes before the start of the planned
execution by lethal injection of death-row inmate Elijah Page.
Page was sentenced to death in 2000 for his role in the murder of
a 19-year-old man. If Page is executed at the South Dakota State
Penitentiary in Sioux Falls, it will be the first execution in
the state in almost 60 years.
DeGroot-Nesdahl told the ELCA News Service that the synod
arranged for the ecumenical service, which will by led by her and
other religious leaders, at East Side Lutheran Church in Sioux
Falls. Prayer services are also planned at several churches
across the state. Page dropped his chance for appeals of his
sentence, and the governor has said he will not intervene to stop
the execution.
"My intention is that we pray in a 360-degree manner," she told
the Sioux Falls Argus Leader newspaper. "We want to pray across a
wide spectrum of concerns." DeGroot-Nesdahl said the service is not
a protest, but a chance to pray for everyone involved in the case.
"If it (the execution) does go forward, then what we need is to
be together as people of prayer for the healing of our state."
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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
