To Read, To Donate, To Do: Ideas Connected to The ELCA

This congregation has committed itself to becoming anti-racist, confronting white privilege and systemic injustice within us and around us. This week, we lift up one thing to read, one place you can donate, and one concrete action you can take in this effort. You’ll notice a relationship between these three things—they’re connected to the larger work of our denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The links to each of these can be found on the home page of our website, as well as in the bulletin for this morning.

• One thing you can read: The ELCA’s Declaration to People of African Descent. We know that racial justice has more than just a black/white component to it, but one step our mostly white church body has taken is to recognize the ways we have perpetuated the oppression of black folks among us. This document calls our attention to this and helps define the next steps forward. Read it here. 
• One place you can donate: Calvary Lutheran Church, at 39th and Chicago in Minneapolis, just a block away from where George Floyd was murdered on Memorial Day. This congregation has a history of deep engagement with their neighborhood, and that has intensified in the weeks following Mr. Floyd’s death and the uprising and demonstrations that followed. Pastor Hans Lee and others in  the congregation have a daily presence on their sidewalk, and their food shelf has never been busier. Visit their website to find out how you can support their ministry. 
• One concrete action you can take this week is to consider signing the ELCA’s Anti-racism pledge, which simply says “I commit to study, prayer and action to become an anti-racist individual in an anti-racist church.” While you're there, check out more resources, ideas, and actions on the ELCA racial justice page.