LEAN wants to remind you to register to vote. Elections shape our communities and future. It’s not too early to start conversations about upcoming local, state, and national elections. Approach discussions with empathy, listen actively, and share your values and hope for Nevada’s future.
Together, we can build understanding, compassion, and inspire civic engagement that will bring meaningful change to our communities.
A six-session study suitable for congregations on how Lutherans approach ethics.
This 32-page congregational study invites you to think and talk about how your faith in Jesus Christ shapes the way you live your daily life. Living the Faith introduces you to the basics of Christian ethics as viewed from a Lutheran perspective.
By drawing upon the Lutheran tradition in the midst of contemporary confusion and debate about ethics, this study from 1999 offers congregations an insightful and accessible guide for talking together about the Christian life. This study is meant for small groups of adults or youth who are interested in thinking through how Lutherans approach ethics. The questions in the text and the two sections Guides for Leaders and Small Group Session Questions and Activities are intended to facilitate discussion of the study.
Living the Faith follows upon the publication of The Promise of Lutheran Ethics (edited by Karen L. Bloomquist and John R. Stumme, Fortress Press, 1998). This study refers to the essays in that book and helps introduce readers to it. Reading The Promise of Lutheran Ethics and having a copy at hand for reference will enhance your study.
The author of this study is the Rev. Dr. Paul Jersild. Dr. Jersild is Professor Emeritus of Theology and Ethics at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, where he also served as Academic Dean. Before going to Southern, he was Dean and Professor of Ethics at Wartburg Theological Seminary. He is now Visiting Research Professor at the Bioethics Center, University of South Carolina. This study is a joint publication of the Division for Congregational Ministries (DCM) and the Division for Church in Society (DCS) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The Rev. Paul Lutz (DCM) and the Rev. Dr. John R. Stumme (DCS) are the studys editors. They have been assisted by the Rev. Ted Schroeder (DCM). DCM and DCS are responsible for the study.
Talking Together as Christians about Tough Social Issues. A six-session introduction on how to begin conversations on tough social issues.
In its first social statement, The Church in Society: A Lutheran Perspective (1991), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America—in all its expressions—committed itself to foster moral deliberation on social questions, seeking to:
The 1997 ELCA Churchwide Assembly adopted seven “Initiatives to Prepare for a New Century.” The third initiative, “Witness to God’s Action in the World,” is intended to encourage congregations to “model life in community as they address pressing social issues, ethical questions, and community renewal.” Part of this includes congregations developing and exercising their skills in faith-based deliberation about tough social issues. This guide has been written in response to that initiative. It is intended for leadership teams of pastors and lay people. Here “talking together” is used as a more accessible synonym for what has previously been referred to as “moral deliberation.” The suggestions in this guide have been gleaned from groups and organizations with considerable experience in helping people with conversations such as these.
From the Introduction:
Many of us yearn for help in figuring out how God and our faith relate to the issues we encounter in our lives and society. As a church we confess that God is deeply involved in our lives and world, but figuring out how and what that means in relation to the specific issues and questions we face is often difficult. People in many congregations seem reluctant to talk together about such questions, especially if this will open up real differences among them.
What is considered a “tough social issue” to talk about varies greatly, depending on who people are, their culture, their history, current situation, and the usual ways their congregation does things. What is easy to talk about in an urban setting may not be in a rural setting, or vice versa. What is taboo in some cultures, such as issues related to sex or money, may not be in others. In some cases, people feel free to open themselves up to others—that’s part of what it means for them to be the church! In many other cases, people are reluctant to share their feelings and views—that feels too risky for them! They might express thoughts like those shared above. A given issue can affect some people in very different ways than it does others—due to what they’ve experienced, where they’ve come from, and individual personality differences. Talking about these things together brings these differences out in the open, which can be risky.
This 24-pg resource is available for purchase for $1.00 ea via ELCA Website #ELCACS1053 or via download free of charge, link below. ©1999
Black History Month reminds us that Black history is living history, shaped by struggle, resilience, and leadership that continues today. In Nevada, that history includes confronting segregation in Las Vegas, where Black workers and performers helped build the casino industry yet were barred from staying or gambling on the Strip. Black residents were confined to the Westside, a neighborhood long denied equitable city investment.
In response, the Westside became a powerful center of culture, community, and resistance—culminating in the 1960 Moulin Rouge Agreement, which ended casino segregation in Las Vegas. That victory was not given; it was demanded, organized, and won.
As we honor this legacy, we recommit ourselves to building a future rooted in equity, justice, and opportunity for all. Justice, freedom, and dignity are not relics of history, they are demands of the present. Black history is American history, and the struggle for liberation continues today.
In a state shaped by migration, many Nevadans carry stories of movement—of leaving home, seeking safety, pursuing opportunity, and holding fast to the promise of a better future. Every generation of immigrants has encountered different levels of welcome, yet again and again communities have found ways to survive, build, and flourish in the face of adversity.
Today, migration is increasing across the globe, and in many developed nations it has become a source of political tension and social unrest, often because it is perceived as a threat to the status quo. As church, however, we are rooted in a different story. We are called to welcome the stranger, to offer food for the journey, and to live into the ministry of reconciliation across differences of race, ethnicity, language, and culture.
In Nevada, our shared work has already made a difference. Together we have:
Congregations are essential to this ministry. You can:
This work is not only about policy—it is about discipleship. In walking with our immigrant neighbors, we encounter Christ, who was himself a refugee, and we live more fully into our baptismal call to strive for justice and peace in all the earth.
ELCA Sanctuary Church
AMMPARO is a holistic, whole church commitment by the ELCA, as a church in the world, to accompany migrant children today and in the future.
The word “amparo” in Spanish means the protection of a living creature from suffering or damage. The ELCA’s strategy to Accompanying Migrant Minors with Protection, Advocacy, Representation and Opportunities (AMMPARO) was envisioned after witnessing the plight of children who are forced to flee their communities because of complex and interrelated reasons, including chronic violence, poverty, environmental displacement and lack of opportunities in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. Due to our connection to companion churches in the region, including companion synod relationships, and existing ministries in the U.S., the ELCA is well-positioned to help ensure that these vulnerable children are protected.
In a holistic, whole church response that connects international and US outcomes, the ELCA has developed this strategy based on the following commitments:
For more information, check out AMMPARO Resources.
The ELCA social message on “Immigration” presents basic themes for discernment on questions of immigration. It draws from Scripture and the experience of Lutherans in America as an immigrant church in a country of immigrants. The basic themes are grounded in the call to welcome the stranger (Matthew 25:35) together with the commitment to justice that advocates for fair and generous laws.
The message calls for the church to be a welcoming place and points out that immigration, refugee and asylum policies express who we are as a nation and influence the nation’s future character. It focuses on questions for discussion and discernment such as facilitating citizenship, newcomers without legal status and the border with Mexico.
You can read or download the full social message on “Immigration” in English or en español. This social message was adopted in 1998 by the Church Council of the ELCA.
In 2009, the ELCA adopted the following Public Policy Resolution on immigration:
Toward Compassionate, Just, and Wise Immigration Reform
The Archdiocese of Chicago published a wonderful collection of prayer and petitions for congregations to use in services and bible studies. For example:
Journeying God
Migrant Christ
Border-crossing Spirit
You are always making something new in us.
You weave together the textures and colors
of all cultures, and races.
You move in us,
calling us to leave everything behind,
our homes, families, identities and culture.
No wall is too high or too wide to keep us from your table.
No laws are so strong as to lock us away from your love.
No visa is needed to enter your Kindom.*
Walk with us as we find our way to freedom.
Stay with us as we confront the barriers that keep us from your good.
Breathe new life in us as we live into a new creation,
in which we join you at your most holy table,
where everyone is welcome.
Amen
* “Kindom of God” is a term growing in usage as an alternative to “Kingdom of God”–it describes a vision of community where God is all in all, and human hierarchies give way to relationships of justice.
Walk with Us: A Prayer for Immigration Rights Sunday, was written by the Reverend Delle McCormick, Executive Director of Border Links, an experiential education program which focuses on issues of immigration, community formation, sustainable development and social justice in the borderlands between Mexico, the U.S. and beyond.
Lutheran Engagement and Advocacy in Nevada 