October 11, 2019
Grants are available to support schools with the purchase of approved equipment, materials and initiatives facilitating alternative breakfast delivery models, such as breakfast in the classroom, grab and go, or second chance breakfast, in an effort to increase student participation in school breakfast. All schools implementing or prepared to implement an alternative breakfast delivery model...
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October 11, 2019
The Rev. Matthew Best recently joined the LAMPa Policy Council as a representative of the Lower Susquehanna Synod (LSS). Since 2017, Best has served as the pastor of St. Stephen Lutheran Church, New Kingstown. Pastor Best also serves on the LSS Council, currently serving on the Executive Committee of Synod Council. He is also Chair...
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October 4, 2019
Bishop Elizabeth Eaton and Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) have issued a letter to President Trump urging the administration to restore funding to Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH) and other hospitals in East Jerusalem. AVH is owned and operated by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and supported by the ELCA...
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October 2, 2019
In accordance with Children’s Health Month, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced the release of a new EPA booklet, Supporting Healthy Houses of Worship: Effective, Affordable Measures to Protect the Health of Congregations and Staff. This booklet is designed to provide places of worship with information on actions they can take to...
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October 2, 2019
Twelve percent of children in Pennsylvania live in concentrated poverty according to “Children Living in High Poverty, Low-Opportunity Neighborhoods,” a new KIDS COUNT® data snapshot released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Using the latest data available from the U.S. Census Bureau, the snapshot examines where concentrated poverty has worsened across the country despite a...
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October 2, 2019
Introducing a new ongoing resource for formal education classes or informal group discussion from the Journal of Lutheran Ethics Issue Index October/November 2019: The Ethics of Dialogue and Debate. The following Introduction is from Editor Jennifer Hockenbery Dragseth. “In an age of conflict and division between political parties and within political parties, between churches and...
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October 2, 2019
The “public charge” test refers to the evaluation by federal immigration officials to determine whether a person applying for a visa or green card is likely to rely on government benefits. The final rule, which was published by the Department of Homeland Security, changes the public charge definition by adding more programs into the determination,...
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September 30, 2019
The LAMPa Policy Council recently gathered at Camp Hebron, Halifax, for their annual retreat. The group engaged in discernment about strategic direction as policy council to support LAMPa’s mission and to foster being church in the public square. Their work built upon responses to a statewide survey of ELCA rostered leaders and LAMPa’s advocacy network. ...
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September 27, 2019
ELCA congregations across Pennsylvania shared their voices for “God’s work. Our hands” Sunday by addressing letters to legislators, federal and state, advocating on behalf of those whose voices may not always be heard. As a result of their thoughtful advocacy, several hundred letters were shared with state and federal lawmakers. “It was the first time...
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September 16, 2019
“There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). “Racism — a mix of power, privilege, and prejudice — is sin, a violation of God’s intention for humanity” (Freed in Christ: Race,...
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