Lutheran, Episcopal leaders to meet in Washington to address role of faith and politics

WASHINGTON (ELCA) – In an effort to deepen relationships and strengthen the intersection of faith and social issues, Lutheran and Episcopal U.S. church leaders will gather in Washington, D.C., Sept. 22-24 for an advocacy convening. As part of this event, leaders will meet with more than 60 congressional offices to advocate for federal funding to protect the environment and to highlight the impact climate change has on people living in poverty.
Leaders from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and The Episcopal Church will meet with members of Congress in anticipation of the Sept. 30 deadline for Congress to fund the federal budget. These meetings will follow Pope Francis’ address to Congress on global hunger, poverty and caring for creation. While on Capitol Hill, church and community leaders from across the country will urge Congress to address the impacts of climate change by funding the Green Climate Fund and providing resources for crises around the world. The Green Climate Fund was established through the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change to assist developing countries as they seek to counter climate change.
“Providing opportunities for Lutherans to engage in advocacy is core to our ministry here in Washington,” said Mary Minette, interim director of ELCA Advocacy. “With the pope’s announcement of his travel to Washington, we saw the importance of bringing Lutheran and Episcopal voices to a common call for action. We capitalized on the opportunity to impact policy makers with our unique voices, perspective and experiences, and to give light to the intersection of poverty and climate change in the United States and around the world ... exactly at a moment when those policy makers are paying attention to these issues,” she said.
On Sept. 24, prior to visits with congressional leaders, the ELCA will host a prayer brunch for convening participants and members of Congress. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, will serve as honorary hosts for the event.
The convening will also include sessions addressing the role of faith and politics led by faith scholars and public servants invited by the ELCA. Speakers include Mike McCurry, former Bill Clinton press secretary; Timothy Goeglein, former George W. Bush senior advisor and vice president of external relations at Focus on the Family; and West Virginia state Sen. John Unger. Each will speak about the intersection of faith and public service.
Keri Day, associate professor of theological and social ethics at Texas Christian University, will deliver the convening’s keynote address.
Also leading conversations at the invitation of the ELCA are the Rev. Gregg Kaufmann, senior fellow with the Poverty to Prosperity Program at the Center for American Progress and the editor of TalkPoverty.org; the Rev. Jennifer Bailey, founder and executive director of Faith Matters Network; and the Rev. Kellie Anderson-Picallo, an award-winning producer for PBS and the Discovery Channel. The sessions will focus on understanding the role of faith in finding common ground and values in the midst of political discord.
“We are called, as church together and as Lutherans in particular, to model openness and listen with the spirit of courage demonstrated by Jesus, by the pope, by our bishops, and by our baptized members and leaders who join the moving God every day of their lives,” said the Rev. Stephen Bouman, executive director, ELCA’s congregational and synodical mission. “Communities of hope and wholeness will never come to fruition if we don’t step out in faith, in broad daylight, and speak with those whom others say we shouldn’t. The resurrected Christ, moving into the world, beacons us.”