ELCA NEWS SERVICE
July 11, 2012
ELCA leaders support Christian leaders' call for immigration reform
12-46-MRC
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Three top leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America (ELCA) strongly support a recent statement by
ecumenical Christian leaders who are calling for a bipartisan solution to
U.S. immigration reform.
In a July 2 response, ELCA leaders said that the "Evangelical
Statement of Principles for Immigration Reform" echoes some of the ELCA's
own principles, such as respecting the God-given dignity of every person,
upholding family unity, and establishing a pathway to legal status and
citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
The ELCA has a long-standing commitment to calling for comprehensive
federal immigration reform and support for the DREAM Act -- legislation
that would provide a path for citizenship for undocumented immigrant
youth.
"Working with our evangelical brothers and sisters on behalf of
immigrants and refugees is a witness to Christian unity, enacted in
service to our neighbors," said the Rev. Jessica Crist, chair of the ELCA
Conference of Bishops and bishop of the ELCA Montana Synod.
Crist, along with the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop,
and the Rev. H. Julian Gordy, bishop of the ELCA Southeastern Synod,
Atlanta, and chair of the ELCA Conference of Bishops' Task Force on
Immigration, wrote the July 2 response directed to Steven Bauman,
president and CEO of World Relief, and Leith Anderson, president of the
National Association of Evangelicals. Bauman and Anderson are two
signatories of the statement of principles.
"We are a church that is deeply rooted -- and always made new,"
wrote the ELCA leaders. "To this day, we are strengthened and reformed by
the new immigrants joining our congregations and communities. Through our
congregations, synods, agencies and institutions, as well as millions of
individual members, we continue to preach, teach, advocate and work with
and on behalf of America's newcomers."
The ELCA leaders also wrote that they pray for U.S. elected
officials to "take note of this widespread agreement from the religious
community regarding the need for fair and humane reforms to our broken
immigration system."
The principles articulated in the statement are also supported by
the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Migration.
Along with the religious community, the ELCA "will continue to call
on Congress and the administration to work together to pass into law
federal immigration reform that recognizes that our nation has achieved
greatness due to the resilience, labor, intellect and faith of the
immigrants who join our communities in the United States."
The 2011 ELCA Churchwide Assembly approved a resolution that calls
this church, in partnership with Lutheran Immigration and Refugee
Service, to continue to advocate for immigration reform. Based in
Baltimore, the agency is one of the nation's leaders in welcoming and
advocating for refugees and immigrants, working on behalf of the ELCA.
ELCA congregations provide critical services to migrant populations,
spread the word of welcome and advocate for fair and humane immigration
reform.
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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 4.2 million members in 10,000 congregations 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:
Melissa Ramirez Cooper
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http://www.ELCA.org/news
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