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Lutheran Social Services and False Witness
A Congregational Letter Dated Thursday, February 6th, 2025
Dear siblings in Christ,
In this first week of February, I have been greatly disturbed by the misrepresentation of our Lutheran church by prominent leaders and politically-influential people. There have been baseless accusations of “money laundering” and “illegal payments” made against our church and many of its institutions, and these have been widely reported. These are blatant lies, and a prime example of bearing false witness against one’s neighbor.
These institutions, Lutheran Social Services and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (now called Global Refuge) (among others attacked), have a long and important history in America. Our own members are deeply affected by these organizations–many parents and generations of members of Faith United were brought to our nation as refugees by the church’s agencies. These are the services that fund and support Luther Acres, where many of our congregants live. These services support Luthercare child care, an institution very close to the heart of our congregation and community. They feed hungry people, respond to disasters, care for the sick. My family adopted my sister-in-law Alex, of blessed memory, through Lutheran Social Services. Many of us attended Lutheran institutions of higher education. These are the services that we regularly support and stand behind as a congregation.
The first faith tradition to be present at the UN in order to help rebuild after the devastation of World War II was the Lutheran church. Global Refuge (LIRS) does the important and federally supported work of helping resettle immigrants and refugees who have arrived in our country through legal processes. At one point, it was estimated that 1 out of 50 Americans had interacted with Lutheran Social Services. As Lutherans, we know how important these institutions of the church are–we know the difference they make in the lives of others, because we see it firsthand in our own community.
Our church established these institutions not as a means to get rich, but as a way to live out Jesus’ command to care for the poor and needy and to proclaim the Gospel to all nations (see Matthew 25:31-46 and Matthew 28:16-20). They were established with the full support of the federal government. None of the federal funds that they receive go to the church–they go directly to the services that they were created for. Due to the excellent work that we do, our church’s institutions have long received federal support through a competitive process. Please do not misunderstand me–it is legitimate to hope for a streamlined federal bureaucracy, which may affect our church’s work through reduced spending. However, the recent rhetoric is not a debate on spending–it is an attack on our church.
I hope you will stand with me and proclaim how proud you are of the work that our Lutheran church does in Jesus’ name. Until now, these issues have never been partisan, continuously receiving broad funding and wide support by both Republican and Democratic administrations. I fervently pray that we may return to that great American tradition soon.
Please pray for our church leaders and those who do the important work of leading these institutions in Christ’s name. Please pray for the leaders of our country, that we might all find peace and unity in the command to care for our neighbor. Lastly, please pray for the large number of people who will be negatively affected by the threatened freeze of all funding to these institutions.
In Christ’s love,
Pastor Marissa Becklin
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