August recess brings Nevada’s members of Congress home, creating one of the year’s best opportunities to speak with them at town halls, community events, district offices and congregational visits.

You do not need to be a policy expert or deliver a lengthy presentation. Introduce yourself as a constituent and person of faith, briefly explain what you are seeing in your community, and make one clear request.

Here are three messages you can use or personalize—each in fewer than 100 words.

Protect Nevadans from hunger

I am your constituent and a Lutheran who believes no neighbor should go hungry. Nevada food banks and congregations are already seeing families struggle with high food, housing and utility costs. Please protect and strengthen SNAP, support efforts to restore food assistance, and oppose further barriers that take food assistance away from children, older adults, veterans and working families. Charitable food ministries cannot replace an effective federal nutrition program. What will you do to protect SNAP and ensure Nevada families can put food on the table?

No Nevada member currently serves on a congressional agriculture committee, but every member will ultimately have a voice in Farm Bill and federal funding decisions affecting SNAP. Contact both senators and your own representative.

Invest in affordable housing and protection from extreme heat

I am your constituent and a person of faith concerned about Nevada neighbors facing homelessness, unaffordable rents and deadly heat. Please protect federal investments in rental assistance, affordable housing, homelessness services, cooling assistance and community heat resilience. Nevada congregations and nonprofit organizations serve people in crisis every day, but charitable ministries cannot meet this need alone. Stable housing and protection from extreme heat are matters of human dignity and public health. Will you support strong federal housing and heat-response funding in this year’s appropriations bills?

Several members of Nevada’s delegation are particularly well positioned on these issues. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto serves on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Rep. Dina Titus serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, including the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management. Rep. Mark Amodei serves on the House Appropriations Committee.

But housing affordability and extreme heat affect communities across Nevada, so every member of our delegation needs to hear from constituents.

Uphold dignity and due process in immigration policy

I am your constituent and a Lutheran called to welcome the stranger and protect human dignity. Nevada needs an immigration system that keeps communities safe while preserving asylum, due process and family unity. Please oppose inhumane detention conditions and indiscriminate enforcement that separates families, disrupts congregations and leaves longtime community members living in fear. Congress should provide meaningful oversight of ICE and Customs and Border Protection and pursue workable, humane immigration reform. What will you do to ensure that federal immigration policy reflects both accountability and respect for every person?

Immigration policy directly affects Nevada congregations, communities and mixed-status families. Rep. Mark Amodei is especially important to contact because he chairs the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, which has responsibility for funding the Department of Homeland Security.

But immigration policy is ultimately the responsibility of the entire Congress. Every Nevada senator and representative should hear from constituents about the kind of immigration system we want our nation to build.

Your story is the most important part

Choose the issue closest to your experience and add one sentence about a family, food pantry, cooling center, shelter, school or congregation you know.

You might say:

“At our congregation, we are seeing more families asking for help with groceries.”

Or:

“Our congregation serves neighbors experiencing homelessness during periods of extreme heat.”

Or:

“People in our community are afraid that seeking help or simply going to work could separate them from their families.”

A short, personal message with a clear request is often more memorable than a long list of statistics.

Nevada Congressional Delegation

Nevada is represented by Senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen and four members of the U.S. House representing Nevada’s four congressional districts.

Contact both senators and the representative for your congressional district. Then visit Lutheran Engagement and Advocacy in Nevada (LEAN) for guidance on requesting a meeting, inviting a member of Congress to visit your ministry, or preparing to attend a town hall.

Faithful advocacy is not about party loyalty. It is about bringing our neighbors’ experiences into the public square and asking those who represent us to seek the well-being of all.

This August, tell your story. Ask the question. Make the invitation.

Our elected officials need to hear from people of faith—and they need to hear what is happening in our Nevada communities.