Public Church

The witness of the church in society flows from its identity as a community that lives from and for the Gospel.

It is a witness in which faith is active in a love that calls for justice in relationships and structures of society. It states convictions regarding the church's responsibility in society, the baptismal vocation of individual Christians, and the church as a community of moral deliberation. It also describes our commitments that flow from these convictions and guide and influence daily Christian life, deliberation on social questions and the church's witness as an institution. 

The “Church in Society: A Lutheran Perspective” social statement expresses the teaching of the ELCA on the church's relation to society and its public presence and responsibilities.

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry

Advocacy means “to speak or plead on behalf of another.” Lutherans understand advocacy, quite simply, as a way to love our neighbor and to do justice in society. 

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-New Mexico

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry- Colorado 

Colorado 2021 Advocacy Agenda

Immigration and Border Ministry 

"We in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America minister with the most vulnerable of the newcomers through congregations and the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS). Where possible, we work ecumenically. Our ministry resettles refugees, advocates on behalf of detained asylum seekers, assists unaccompanied children, offers pastoral and legal counsel to persons without legal status, aides persons with the citizenship process, and helps newcomers learn to live in a new country." - ELCA social message on immigration (1998)

Learn about our Border and Immigration Ministries

ACT4RMS

ACT4RMS was birthed from Rocky Mountain Synod leaders who attended the National Council of Churches rally to end racism. This team is working toward anti-racism in this synod while equipping and accompanying leaders in their work of anti-racism. 

On The Road to Beloved Community Project

Struggling with our Stories of Race 

ACT4RMS 

Living Faith Conversation Guide

Our social context and political system are in dire need of examples of how to undertake respectful, healthy, and holistic conversations about major issues. The church, too, is ever in need of refreshing its own understanding of how to have these discussions in a way that doesn’t divide, but instead builds up, the body of Christ. This new series lifts up the educational and devotional power of the body of theological teaching in our ELCA Social Statements. Living Faith: Church in Society will be a revitalized curriculum to offer current and insightful perspective on seven of our Social Statements, with rich resources to help anyone in a ministry setting lead a teaching and discussion series about them.

Living Faith