The model of service learning activities provides an opportunity to explore and deepen the Reformation insight that has the widest and most direct application to the whole range of relationships Christians experience in daily life: We are freed in Christ to live in service to our neighbor.
We believe God uses our hands through direct service work and our voices through advocacy efforts to restore and reconcile our world. It is through this faithful advocacy that the ELCA lives out our Lutheran belief that governments can help advance the common good.
During the Reformation Anniversary year, members and leaders are encouraged to participate in a number of the ELCA advocacy projects as well as identify opportunities in local communities focused on several areas, including peacemaking, hospitality to strangers, care for creation, and concern for people living in poverty and struggling with hunger and disease.
Be sure to mark Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018, on your calendar for the ELCA’s God’s work. Our hands. day of service Sunday. You can watch how our congregations have put their faith in action since 2013.
Below are a few additional resources to guide you in service to your neighbor throughout the rest of the year:
Stewards of God’s Love
This guide to year-round stewardship challenges congregations to reimagine the ways in which they steward God’s gifts in response to God’s commandment to love God and our neighbors. Learn more about Stewards of God’s Love at elca.org or download the stewardship resource.
Lutheran Services in America
Lutheran Services in America (LSA) is one of the largest health care and human services networks in the country, representing 300 Lutheran nonprofit organizations throughout the United States and the Caribbean. LSA works to connect and empower our member organizations, which serve six million people annually, touching the lives of one in every 50 people in the U.S. every year. View the LSA Reformation anniversary brochure to learn more. Click here to view the LSA’s Reformation anniversary video.
ELCA Advocacy Network
Join the network to help achieve things on a scale and scope that we could never do otherwise. When we act as a coordinated network of advocates and reach out to officials on relevant, timely issues, we effectively impact public policies.
ELCA Advocacy resources
Use this page to educate and equip your congregation to be effective advocates.
Community involvement
Reach out to your local community non-profit organizations to understand how your congregation can be of service to your local neighborhood.