PA To Adopt New Environmental Justice Policy
The Shapiro Administration has announced its plans to adopt a new environmental justice policy that expands environmental safeguards across the Commonwealth. The revision updates a 20-year-old policy that the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has used to guide protections for communities most vulnerable to environmental challenges. These areas make
Join Stand Against Christian Nationalism
Christian Nationalism identifies human-made governments as lockstep with God’s will and seeks to privilege Christians, typically only white Christians. This type of ideology is not only dangerous but distorts the difference between holding government accountable to God as opposed to identified strictly with God’s will. Bishop Eaton has issued a
ELCA Statement on Mass Murders in Buffalo
“Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored?” —Jeremiah 8:22 Our hearts grieve for those who have been killed and our souls cry out against more lives lost to the hatred birthed by racism.
Rogation Stories: Stewardship & the Disenfranchised
In late April this year LAMPa joined with United Lutheran Seminary in the celebration of rogation. ULS’s spring convocation around the theme “The Theology of Gathering” helped Lutherans across Pennsylvania think about the ways in which we are connected, even as we distanced ourselves due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In recognizing this theme, and
Commemoration of the Martyrdom of the Emanuel 9
As part of the 2019 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, voting members adopted a resolution designating June 17 as a commemoration of the martyrdom of the Emanuel 9—the nine people shot and killed on June 17, 2015, during a Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C. To mark this
LAMPa Welcomes Donna Skinner Echols to Policy Council
LAMPa is very happy to welcome Donna Skinner Echols to Policy Council as a representative of Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod! Donna has 42 years of experience in the development, management, monitoring and administration of family services programs for at-risk children and families. She has worked in the urban settings of Houston,
Level Up Announces Campaign for Education Funding
Level Up, a coalition of more than a dozen education advocacy organizations from across the commonwealth, launched a campaign on April 15th to increase state funding for the 100 most underfunded school districts in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania ranks 44th in the nation for state share of funding for K-12 education and has
A Statement from Bishop Eaton on Racial Injustice
“But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:24). The last 16 days have been a microcosm of the original sins of racism and white supremacy in the United States. This has included the trial of Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd; the extrajudicial killings of Daunte Wright
Bishop Eaton Issues Statement for Earth Day
Earth Day statement from Bishop Eaton 4/13/2021 1:05:00 PM O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. —Psalm 104:24 Throughout Scripture, God promises to restore God's people to health and wholeness, a promise that includes the renewal of all creation. This promise
New Data Reveals Extent of Students Experiencing Homelessness
More and more of Pennsylvania’s school-age children were experiencing homelessness even before the pandemic, according to a newly released report by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The study accumulates the locally reported totals of homeless children under five and those enrolled in pre-K through twelfth grade across eight regions of
