Lutheran (ELCA) Ping!
Posted on 07/01/2009 2:22:07 PM PDT by lightman
ELCA NEWS SERVICE July 1, 2009
ELCA Pastor, Others Speak Out on Health Care Reform 09-144-JD
WASHINGTON (ELCA) - During the Fourth of July congressional recess, a faith-based ad campaign will launch nationally to address the need for health care reform. The campaign includes airing radio ads featuring local pastors June 30 to July 4 in Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Nebraska and North Carolina, as well as meetings with members of Congress and building a grassroots movement to raise awareness of health care issues.
The radio ads will air on Christian and mainstream radio stations featuring pastors from each of the five states. In the ads they ask their senators "to support health care reform that makes quality coverage affordable for every American family," according to the campaign organizers.
The Rev. Mark J. Seem, pastor of Pella Lutheran Church, Omaha, Neb., a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), said, "Many people in Nebraska are making difficult choices: medicine or electricity, a doctor's appointment or rent. If that's acceptable in the United States of America, then both life and the pursuit of happiness have become the exclusive rights of some and the empty dreams of others." Seem is the voice of the Nebraska radio ad, and made his comments in a conference call with reporters this week.
The ELCA Washington Office staff is working directly with the sponsoring grassroots community organizations and national religious advocacy coalition to promote the campaign. The staff is also encouraging people to share personal health care stories and take action on health care issues through participation in "Health Care Sundays."
"These designated Sundays allow congregations the opportunity to educate, contemplate, and discuss health and health care reform," said Robert Francis, director for domestic public policy, ELCA Washington Office.
Seem explained that his congregation is aware of the urgency of health care reform, but there is no agreement on how to implement it. "We are going to continue discussing and praying as a congregation," he said. "It's important that we see ourselves as (part of) a much bigger body of Christ. Just one congregation can do very, very little, but as an entire faith community we can do a lot. We can have a major voice in our communities."
The ELCA Washington Office staff has made health care reform a top domestic legislative priority for 2009. "The costs of health care are detrimental to both our nation and our families, especially low-income families," Francis said. "The faith community plays a critical role by calling for public policy that allows for quality health care which is affordable for all."
Currently committees within the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate are at different stages in crafting health care legislation. Both the House and the Senate are expected to consider health care reform legislation before the August recess.
--- Details of the ad campaign are at http://www.faithfulamerica.org on the Web.
For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog
Every Sunday should care for the health of the soul through Confession and Abosolution, Preaching, and Holy Communion; and health of the body and mind as well through the apostolic ministry of laying of hands and anointing with oil--not through this Pelosicrat agenda.
Abosolution = Absolution
Extreme Liberal Church of Amerika ping
Just the most recent example of why the mainline Protestant denominations continue to decline.
As an inactive, but life-long ELCA member, one reason for my disaffection is that many (not all) Pastors are lefties and the higher level bureaucrats are even farther to the left.
Many active ELCA members support the left-wing agenda, thinking that they are just being good Christians. Yet, a lot of ELCA members shut their minds to it all. IMO, they just want to worship.
The ELCA is sure pushing Socialism to the max.
(Yeah, maybe the ELCA could start with “health care reform” by removing abortion as an option for its churchworkers’ insurance package...oh...and it also might help their church growth a bit as well)
This laid the groundwork away for the idea that humans are born sinless and the idea for 'do it yourself - salvation'
Next came the followers of Armenius, who said that Faith was the gift of man to God and that mans choice was the key to Salvation (more of the 'do it yourself - salvation'. Both Precepts were false, due to the fact that man, by default, is Spiritually dead, Blind, Deaf and unable to move.
Next came the Liberals who said that God forgive everyone on the cross regardless of belief - Opening the door to all kinds of perversions. They also denied the In-errancy, Authorship and Completeness of the Holy Scriptures.
Resulting in the Modern liberal/progressive churches that are rapidly turning back to paganism.
I don’t deny we have problems that need to be addressed, but to blindly follow an agenda to destroy the greatest healthcare system in the world is a terrible idea. Plus on religious grounds, it is bad anyways because we will have a healthcare system that will tell old people to go home and croak as well as aborting babies. Somebody needs to tell them that.
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