LWF’s General Secretary sends a letter to U.S church leaders expressing solidarity as they stand against violence and political polarization. Photo: Unsplash
Letter to ELCA Presiding Bishop Yehiel Curry expresses deep concern over violence leading to deaths in Minnesota
(LWI) - We see your struggles and we stand with you. That was the message sent by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) General Secretary, Rev. Dr Anne Burghardt, to leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) as they respond to a growing climate of political polarization and violence in their country.
In a letter addressed to ELCA Presiding Bishop Yehiel Curry, Burghardt writes of her “deep concern and heartfelt solidarity as you navigate a season of profound challenge, pain and uncertainty in the United States of America.” Speaking of the fear and violence in Minnesota, the LWF leader says: “We join our voices to yours and give thanks for your courage in condemning aggressive enforcement tactics, your faithful accompaniment of immigrants and refugees, your refusal to let fear silence the gospel.”
This is the prophetic witness the church is called to embody
Rev. Dr Anne Burghardt, LWF General Secretary
Naming the “broader climate of political polarization that has fractured trust and intensified division” across the country, Burghardt affirms “when fear replaces neighborly love, when enforcement becomes violence, when entire communities live in terror, the body of Christ must respond.” Thanking ELCA church leaders for their condemnation of violence and support of vulnerable people and communities, she says: “This is the prophetic witness the church is called to embody.”
Burghardt assures the U.S church leader of the LWF’s solidarity and support, praying that justice and peace will prevail in their nation. “The global communion prays for you,” she says, “for those who grieve, those detained and deported, communities living in fear, those who protest, and for leaders who choose justice over violence.”
“We pray for healing and for the courage to love even when it comes at a cost,” Burghardt concludes. “May the God of peace sustain you with wisdom, courage and hope.”
