January 13, 2022

To the People of God:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I was called to serve as the Bishop of our Southeastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which is comprised of the states of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee. This geographic and cultural community has always been known as “the Bible Belt,” because of the longstanding emphasis of the importance of God and Christian religious practices in this culture. It is unfortunately also a geographic and cultural area well known for its deep history of discrimination of people of color, which grew out of its history of enslaving humans of African descent, and the decades of sorrowful treatment of human beings created in God’s image in the years of Jim Crow and beyond.

In the 1960’s this same geographic and cultural community became the epicenter of the Civil Rights movement, and so our Synod is full of historic sites and names associated with the effort to obtain equal rights that led to injury and even death to many of the people who worked for equality.

The Lutheran Church in the southeast has a direct connection to the Montgomery bus boycotts and the famous march across the Edmund Pettus bridge, as Rev. Robert Graetz was a pastor serving in Montgomery, who saw the treatment of his black siblings through the eyes of Christ, and decided to do something about it. He became the only white pastor to be involved in the organization, serving as its Secretary. The organizing and protests led to changes for the better for the black community in Montgomery, and eventually across our nation. Pastor Graetz and his wife, Jean, raised their children in Montgomery amidst threats of harm, which included attempts to bomb their home three times.

It is time for the Lutheran Church in the southeast once again to stand for justice and equality as Congress considers action on the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.

In the recent Social Message on Government and Civic Engagement in the United States: Discipleship in a Democracy, we read:

"Lutherans care about government because it is a gift from God intended for the safety and flourishing of human life. Yet too often and in too many ways, this gift has been abused.... government remains God’s gift because it is intended to do what churches, families, individuals, and businesses cannot do on their own: protect and coordinate the well-being of individuals, communities, and creation. Some people object to the church involving itself in matters related to government, in 'politics.'  Taking partisan stances is not the church’s role, but 'politics' has to do with negotiating how the benefits and burdens of living in a society are shared. Politics is key to self-governance.”

The right to vote does not belong to Democrats or Republicans, Christians or Atheists. It is a right enshrined in our Constitution for all citizens. The right to vote is one of those areas in which “the church involving itself in matters related to government” is a timely and important matter of stewardship of our collective voice.

Our ELCA Advocacy ministry is inviting us to engage in a letter campaign to our elected officials to ask them to vote for the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. The link below will take you to an online form that will take only a few minutes to complete so that your voice will be heard. It will automatically send the letter to both of your U.S. Senators.

I invite you to prayerfully consider taking this important step in raising the cause of equality for all people.

+Bishop Kevin L. Strickland

https://support.elca.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1426