Housing Alliance Releases Interactive Report on Post-Pandemic Evictions
LAMPa's coalition partners, the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania, released an interactive web report on the rise of eviction filings in Pennsylvania post-pandemic. As people of faith, we grieve the ways in which so many of our neighbors are turned out of their homes and are called to work for policies
Khader El-Yateem appointed Executive Director for ELCA Service and Justice
CHICAGO (Jan. 17, 2024) — The Rev. Khader El-Yateem has been appointed executive director of the Service and Justice home area of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). El-Yateem will begin his service March 18. “I am excited about Pastor El-Yateem bringing his relationship-building skills to the churchwide organization,”
Lutherans and Racial Reconciliation in SWPA
When a historic Black church in the Hill District of Pittsburgh reached an agreement in 2023 with the Pittsburgh Penguins to reclaim land that it had been forced to give up more than 60 years ago, Lutherans were a part of the faith community supporting the effort. Bethel African
ELCA Task Force Releases Draft of Social Statement on Civic Life and Faith
The ELCA is developing a social statement on civic life and faith, the relationship of church and state, and related matters, as called for by the 2019 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. A draft version of the social statement is now available for study and discussion. Social statements are the ELCA’s
Pastor Erin Jones Completes Executive Leadership Certificate
Distinguished program hosted by Princeton Theological Seminary equips dynamic women with resources for innovative, effective leadership. PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY, JANUARY 2, 2024. Iron Sharpening Iron (ISI), a professional development network for women in ministry, is excited to announce that Rev. Erin Jones, Communications and Advocacy Engagement Manager at Lutheran Advocacy Ministry
LAMPa Names Communications and Advocacy Engagement Manager
LAMPa is pleased to welcome the Rev. Erin Jones as our Communications and Advocacy Engagement Manager. Jones, an ELCA pastor serving in Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod since 2018, brings experience in advocacy, communications and ecumenical community-building justice work to the position. “I’m beyond happy that Pastor Erin said 'Yes’ to this
PA Launches Statewide Food Policy Council
Pennsylvania's first statewide Food Policy Council launched May 25 with its inaugural meeting at the state Department of Agriculture. Advocates, including LAMPa, have been working for years toward the creation of such a council to foster coordination, collaboration and a holistic vision to the commonwealth's food system. "I am thrilled
Lutheran Day 2023 Garners Record Turnout for Study and Practice of Civic Life and Faith
Lutherans turned out in record numbers for LAMPa's annual day of advocacy, gathering in person after four years to wrestle with what it means for us to be disciples in this democracy in this time and to speak as church together for neighbors struggling with hunger or lack of a
Help Inform DEP About Environmental Justice Impacts of Climate Change in Your Community
The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) wants to hear from you about current and future climate change impacts on your community and is holding a series of listening sessions plus an online survey to help prepare a guide to climate action for environmental justice communities. Pennsylvania’s climate is
Lutheran Day Keynote to Focus on Discipleship in a Democracy
Debates about the appropriate relationship between religious organizations and the state (government or political authority) today range from those who object to or are even hostile to religious expression in the public realm to Christian nationalists who idealize and advocate a fusion of certain understandings of Christianity with American civic life. What
