As a Palestinian Christian and ELCA pastor, Khader Khalilia occupies a singular and deeply personal role within the life of the church. Born and raised in Bethlehem, Khalilia maintains close family ties in both Israel and Palestine, connections that shape not only his identity but his ministry.
May 5 is the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Relatives, and you are invited to participate!
By Bishop Deborah K. Hutterer, Bishop of the Grand Canyon Synod of the ELCA
This op-ed by Bishop Deborah K. Hutterer, addressing the sharp decline in SNAP participation in Arizona, was first published by the Arizona Daily Star on Tuesday, April 28. As hunger and access to food assistance continue to be urgent concerns across our state, we are grateful for the opportunity to share this perspective more broadly. The piece may also be picked up by additional outlets in the days ahead.
April 24, 2026. When nearly half a million people lose access to food assistance, something has gone wrong.
In Arizona, participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has dropped by roughly 47% in the past year, the steepest decline in the nation. More than 400,000 of our neighbors, including many children, are no longer receiving help putting food on the table.
These numbers are not abstract. They represent parents skipping meals so their children can eat, older adults navigating unfamiliar systems, and working families doing their best to make ends meet while finding that the systems meant to support them are increasingly difficult to access.
As people of faith, we are called to pay attention when something so essential as daily bread becomes harder to obtain—not only because of individual need, but because of how our shared systems are functioning. Martin Luther taught that “daily bread” includes not only food itself, but also the good government and faithful institutions through which God provides for human well-being.
Recent changes to federal law have introduced stricter requirements for SNAP, including expanded work rules and increased pressure on states to reduce administrative error rates. At the same time, Arizona has faced staffing shortages and administrative burdens that have made it harder for people to apply for and maintain benefits in a timely way.
The result is a system under strain, and, for too many Arizonans, a system that is no longer working as intended.
We recognize the importance of accountability in public programs. But accountability must not come at the cost of access. A system that is so difficult to navigate that eligible people cannot receive help is not functioning well, no matter how efficient it may appear on paper.
Faith communities across Arizona see the impact of this every day. Food banks and local ministries are serving more people even as SNAP participation declines. These ministries are vital, but they were never designed to replace a program of this scale. They cannot bear alone what public systems were built to share.
In the Lutheran tradition, we understand God’s care for the neighbor as something lived out not only in personal acts of compassion, but also in the structures of our common life. As the ELCA social statement Sufficient, Sustainable Livelihood for All reminds us, “Government is intended to serve God’s purposes by … promoting the common good.” Public programs like SNAP are one way we, together, seek to ensure that our neighbors do not go hungry.
That same teaching affirms that all people should have access to adequate food and just structures that support human flourishing. When access to food assistance collapses on this scale, it raises a moral question as well as a policy one.
Martin Luther put it starkly: “If you see anyone suffer hunger and do not feed him, you have let him starve.” Hunger is not only a private burden. It is a public responsibility.
As Arizona leaders negotiate the state’s FY2027 budget, we pray they will consider those who struggle to put food on the table. We urge them to allocate the resources necessary both to meet urgent need and to ensure that the Arizona Department of Economic Security can serve qualified recipients in a timely and effective way.
The question before us is not simply whether rules are being followed. It is whether our systems are serving the people they were created to serve.
The measure of any society is how it cares for those most in need. In Arizona, we have both an opportunity and a responsibility to ensure that our public life reflects that care.
No one should have to fight this hard for daily bread.
Bishop Deborah K. Hutterer serves as bishop of the Grand Canyon Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which includes congregations across Arizona, the Navajo Nation, southern Nevada, and parts of Utah.
On Wednesday, April 29, 2026, the United States Supreme Court issued a 6–3 decision in Louisiana v. Callais that effectively struck down Louisiana’s second majority-Black congressional district. The ruling raises serious concerns about the erosion of key protections within the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a landmark law that has played a critical role in expanding and protecting multiracial democracy in the United States.
“Our democracy is strongest when everyone has an equal voice. Since 1965, the Voting Rights Act has helped safeguard Black and Brown communities from ongoing marginalization and voter dilution. This law was forged through the courage, sacrifice, and persistence of those who marched, struggled, and gave their lives for the right to vote. Today’s decision represents a significant weakening of those hard-won protections,” said Advocacy Director Rev. Paul Larson.
Lutheran Engagement and Advocacy in Nevada expresses deep concern following this ruling. The decision opens the door for state legislatures to draw district maps that may dilute the voting power of racial minorities, so long as such actions are framed as “partisan” rather than explicitly “racial.”
As Lutherans, we affirm that all people are created in the image of God and are called to participate in shaping the communities in which they live. Government exists to serve the common good and to ensure justice for all. We therefore reject practices that diminish the voices of our neighbors, particularly communities of color, and we call for renewed commitment to fair representation and equitable access to the democratic process. Faithful civic engagement is not optional; it is part of our baptismal calling to seek the well-being of all.
In 2025, Faith and Civic Life: Seeking the Well-being of All was adopted by the Churchwide Assembly. This social statement builds upon the 2020 message Government and Civic Engagement in the United States: Discipleship in a Democracy and the 1991 statement Church in Society: A Lutheran Perspective. Together, these teachings acknowledge the reality of “hyperpartisan polarization” and call all baptized Christians to engage thoughtfully and faithfully in public life, seeking the common good through robust civic participation.
The Truth-Seeking and Truth-Telling Initiative is leading a coordinated effort to research Lutheran involvement in Indian boarding and day schools dating back to the 1820s. They are seeking both rostered leaders and lay volunteers who want to be part of this initiative.
The goals are to find and gather information in order to share it with impacted Indigenous individuals, families, and communities; for our church members to know our history of church-sponsored Indian boarding schools and their devastating impacts on Native communities; all as part of an ongoing truth and healing process.
To learn more and to get involved, click HERE!
Lutheran Engagement and Advocacy in Nevada 