LOPPW

Holy God, on this Labor Day, we give you thanks for everyone in our history who has advocated for fair wages, sick leave, weekends and other time off, and for safe work environments. We pray for all who continue to seek fair treatment in their workplaces today and for those who are hidden targets of labor trafficking. We pray for the unemployed and for the well-being of those who are unable to work. For all of us, we pray for the grace to value a time of Sabbath with you. Amen

Article about Bishop-elect Martin Halom of the Northwest Synod of Wisconsin!

Evolving leadership - Living Lutheran Get to know Bishop-elect Martin Halom, who was elected June 8 as bishop of the Northwest Synod of Wisconsin.

The feedback period is open until Sept. 30, 2024, for the ELCA social civic life and faith social statement in development "on civic life and faith, the relationship of church and state, and related matters, as called for by the 2019 ELCA Churchwide Assembly." Find a draft and more information, including a feedback survey at https://www.elca.org/Faith/Faith-and-Society/Current-Social-Writing-Projects/Civic-Life-and-Faith.

Thank you to Bill Mattson for sharing this.

Updated Resources on Christian Nationalism on our website:

The Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin                                                                                                            Download here: We are Christians Against Christian Nationalism

Are you interested in what you can do as a non-partisan influence in this election cycle? Take your energy to the network - an opportunity for individuals and our congregations to share in our communities love in action.

ELCA Election Activators from various parts of our ELCA faith community are invited to a call once-a-month to for updates and to hear from each other about local initiatives. Because the ELCA does not endorse a particular candidate, party or form of government or strive for a Christian one, participation requires sign-up and a non-partisan pledge. "Lutherans care about government because it is a gift from God intended for the safety and flourishing of human life" (from ELCA social message "Government & Civic Engagement in the United States: Discipleship in a Democracy").

Our first virtual meeting is July 23. Learn more today! https://blogs.elca.org/advocacy/elca-election-activator-network/

A new curriculum on Bonhoeffer with study guides and slides from our friends in Pennsylvania. Check it out!

The wait is over!

We are delighted to have available for congregational use a curriculum by Dr. Lori Brandt Hale - "Lessons from Dietrich Bonhoeffer in a House Divided and a World on Fire." Dr. Brandt Hale is the President of the The International Bonhoeffer Society - English Language Section, and a professor of religion at Augsburg University in Minneapolis.

The facilitator's guide, participant workbook, and accompanying slides for each week can be found on our website and accessed for free! www.lutheranadvocacypa.org/bonhoeffer

ELCA Advocacy

Subscribe to ELCA Advocacy Election Activators - Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Are you interested in what you can do as a non-partisan influence in this election cycle? With outcomes sure to reverberate beyond Election Day, take your energy to the network - an opportunity for individuals and our faith communities to witness to our communities our love in...

Monday Quotes #368: Bread of Life through history
Find all Monday Quotes at https://www.loppw.org/monday-quotes-other-reflections/

Grain
“Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.” –John F. Kennedy

Field
35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty… 41 Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." 42 They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, "I have come down from heaven'?" 43 Jesus answered them, "Do not complain among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, "And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. John 6:35, 41-45

Thoughts
Whenever I read, “the Jews” in scripture I try to remember to change it to “the authorities,” “the people,” or “those in power” unless we talk about the context. John was not part of the majority religion, and as was so often the case, whichever religion was in the minority be it Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Paganism, etc., it was an easy target for persecution. John shared the message about the bread of life through the lens of a vulnerable minority community.

In the Gospel reading, those grumbling were part of the same culture as those who weren’t. In the future, John’s way of separating Jewish followers of Jesus from Jewish people who did not, took on an anti-Semitic life in which scripture was misused to condone oppression. That was especially true in societies where Judaism was the minority religion in the face of persecuting Christians. If only we had a specific group of people whom we could rely on to be pure and blameless through history and another to establish as always villainous, past and current events would be easier to interpret, but we don’t. Details of which group misuses power to the detriment of another shift. When we refuse to notice those shifts, we miss prophetic, healing voices that tap into the ongoing current of God’s love. Jesus embodied that love and named it the bread of life.

We want to fixate on history focused on the persecution of the members from our own religion. There are Christians, especially among Christian Nationalists who even claim they experience religious persecution in the U.S. today, but where? In their efforts to “Christianize America” and create a theocracy, Christian Nationalists fight for a nation in which religious groups that are not Christian would experience intensified persecution.

As imperfect people, we need the bread of life to discern how God’s love is working in the present. That current of love continues to invite us however we experience bias or temptations to power. Happy Monday!

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Many blessings upon you,

Pastor Cindy

The Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin Monday Quotes is a weekly Biblical reflection on how advocacy connects with our theological roots. Join our email list to subscribe to Monday Quotes: Subscribe Here!

Pastor Nick Utphall serves Madison Community Christian Community (Advent Lutheran) in Madison.

Ice Age Trail day 36 -- saving the earth

In light of today's elections in Wisconsin, we're sharing this reflection from Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton

We are also citizens - Living Lutheran Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton: Can we see Election Day as a unifying event when the whole country goes to the polls?

Haven't registered to vote before today's election? No problem! You can bring a valid ID and your proof of residence to register at the polls! If you moved recently, you must also update your voter registration with your current access.

Check out these tips for voters on proof of residence:

myvote.wi.gov

Polls opening now. Go out and Vote!
Remember:
Bring an ID, like your driver's license.
Fill in the oval for the party primary you are participating in. It will protect your vote. You can only vote in one primary.
Turn over the ballot and be sure to vote for County Executive and for the Constitutional Amendments.

Remember to vote tomorrow
on Tuesday, August 13!
Go to myvote.wi.gov

Monday Quotes #367: In interesting times together
Written by Reverend James Lynch
find all Monday Quotes at https://www.loppw.org/monday-quotes-other-reflections/

Grain
“Act boldly.” –Women of the ELCA
Submitted by Rita Harris, Boston Massachusetts

Field
4But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: “It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.” 5Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, “Get up and eat.” 6He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. 7The angel of the LORD came a second time, touched him, and said, “Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.” 8He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. 1 Kings 19:4-8

Thoughts by Reverend James Lynch, Town of Dunn, WI
We have had quite the wild ride in the news. We’ve been turned inside out and upside down. The Spirit has been blowing. We’re just not sure from where. We’re really not sure what’s next. May we be cursed to live in interesting times doesn’t seem to begin to cover it.

There was the assassination attempt. President Joe Biden decided it was in the country’s best interests to step aside. Vice President Kamala Harris became the frontrunner for the stop spot on the Democratic ticket. She has the chance to become the first woman and the first woman of color to occupy the Oval Office. Sadly, she is now the target of vicious racist and misogynistic attacks.

Sonya Massey, a black woman, was shot to death in her home in Springfield, Ill., by a sheriff’s deputy who was there only because she reported a prowler.

Sometimes, we just have to wonder how much more we can take, look upward and ask how much more do we have to take?

Elijah, the prophet on the run from the wrath of Queen Jezebel, the prophet who had bested the prophets of Baal, might ask if we would want to trade places. He might ask if we think our lives are any more overwrought than his was.

He has acted in the name of and the defense of his God, the God of Israel, the one true God and look where it got him. Pursued by soldiers. Alone in the wilderness. Friendless. Hungry. Thirsty. Ready to give up, give out, give in. That was not to be the end of the story.

He got in a nap. The angels came and fixed him a little nosh. Then he was good to go. Not that it would get easier. But he wouldn’t be going forward alone.

We may be cursed to live in interesting times. But we aren’t living in them alone. There are plenty of brothers and sisters, some who may seem like angels, who are ready to help us move forward, just as we are ready to help them do the same. After a nap and a nosh, of course. Happy Monday!

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Send any quotes you'd like to share with our network to [email protected]

Many blessings upon you,

Pastor Jim

Monday Quotes | The Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin Monday Quotes Monday Quotes is a weekly Biblical reflection on how advocacy connects with our theological roots. Join our email list to subscribe to Monday Quotes: Subscribe Here! Monday Quotes #364, July 15, 2024 Monday Quotes #363, July 8, 2024 Monday Quotes #362, July 1, 2024 Monday Quotes #361,....

Wisconsin is in need of poll workers, especially in Milwaukee County. Wisconsin law requires employers to allow one unpaid day off, if the employee who serves as an election official provides their employer with at least 7 days' notice. The August primary is August 13th which is one week away. Go to https://city.milwaukee.gov/election/Helpmilwaukeevote to sign up as a poll worker, to see the list of qualifications, and compensation information.

Election Workers The City of Milwaukee Election Commission is looking for hardworking citizens to work at the polls. Start the process of fulfilling this civic duty today by completing our online Election Inspector applica...

Executive Director Khader El-Yateem of ELCA Service and Justice (LOPPW is part of this home area) sharing his story about being imprisoned as a Palestinian in an Israeli prison. During his 56 days of being treated cruelly and even experiencing torture, he was never given a reason for his arrest and in the end, not charged with anything. Without doing justice to Rev. Khader’s story, one Israeli soldier was kind and befriended him. Rev. Khader talked about how he felt the Holy Spirit working between them. Maybe you can hear more details about his story of love in the midst of injustice and suffering and the rest of his story from him someday.

Absentee voting is taking place in Wisconsin for the August 13th primary!

Check https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/Vote-Absentee-In-Person or contact your municipal clerk for absentee voting hours https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/My-Municipal-Clerk

Vote Absentee In Person My Vote

Please pray for the good folks of Longwood and Pastor Elizabeth Bier as they determine their next most faithful step following the devastating church fire.

Monday Quotes #365: Acting and stepping back
Find all Monday Quotes here: https://www.loppw.org/monday-quotes-other-reflections/

Grain
“And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand Utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.” –Howard Zinn

Field
15When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself. 16When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. 19When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. 20But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” 21Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.

Thoughts
Jesus’ needing alone-time has always stood out to me in the Gospels. Within most of those spaces of retreat we receive no details and may wonder about how he prayed. Did he meditate in silence, aware of the breath of God? Maybe he prayed out loud and sang. Jesus’ venturing off to a mountain or to a lonely place reminds many of us of our need to slow down. Sometimes even when we stop, our minds may still be racing.

What we know about Jesus’ retreating in this particular lesson is that he withdrew right after the people he fed (verses 6-14) wanted to turn him into a king. It wasn’t that Jesus shied away from significant titles; he embraced the identity of Son of God and also referred to himself as the bread of life, etc. But he obviously didn’t feel called to be a civil servant or a king. Allowing the people to raise him up as a king in the way they wanted to would have been a crowd-pleasing response, but not one as an authentic leader. We don’t want any of our governmental leaders who are suited for their positions to be mere crowd-pleasers or populists. This wasn't the first time Jesus was tempted by power. The wrong kind of power can take any of us off course.

In the above part of the Gospel reading from John and the earlier verses on feeding the 5,000, we see an interconnectedness between Jesus engaging with the people and his contemplation. God’s love extended to feeding those who were hungry, moving Jesus to resist power that wasn’t for him and to sink into prayer, and then to stilling the fears of his disciples in a storm.

Many of us feel overwhelmed from just reading the news and social media posts. Right now, awareness is essential. May God grace us to know how to step back and reflect, regain our vision, and discern how to engage. Jesus is with us. Happy Monday!

Share
Send any quotes you'd like to share with our network to [email protected]

Many blessings upon you,

Pastor Cindy

Monday Quotes | The Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin Monday Quotes Monday Quotes is a weekly Biblical reflection on how advocacy connects with our theological roots. Join our email list to subscribe to Monday Quotes: Subscribe Here! Monday Quotes #364, July 15, 2024 Monday Quotes #363, July 8, 2024 Monday Quotes #362, July 1, 2024 Monday Quotes #361,....

Our Witness and Society colleagues along with LOPPW are present at the Youth Gathering this year. Thanks to everyone who visited our interactive center!

LOPPW is at the ELCA Youth and Young Adult Gathering this week in New Orleans! Our hunger fellow is co-leading a presentation on voting and Witness in Society is doing a puzzle piece mural for advocacy. Come visit us in the interactive center if you’re here! And if you’re a young adult, check out our workshop on voting.

Prayers for a faith-filled time for all of the youth gathering right now at the ELCA National Youth Gathering in New Orleans. Our very own Hunger Advocacy Fellow Frances Dobbs and several other advocates are present. Find more info and follow live here:

2024 ELCA Youth Gathering The 2024 ELCA Youth Gathering is a faith formation event for young people including MYLE, the tAble, and the Young Adult Gathering.

Monday Quotes #364: Salvation and interdependence written by Reverend Peter Heide, Baraboo

Find all Monday Quotes here: https://www.loppw.org/monday-quotes-other-reflections/

Grain
“The best medicine for each of us is each of us.” Dan Spoone, Immediate Past
President and Past Interim Executive Director, American Council of the Blind

Field
53When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. 54When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, 55and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed. Mark 6: 53-56

Thoughts by Reverend Peter Heide, Baraboo, WI
Have you ever had one of those days when you know exactly what you are going to do and you know how and when you are going to get it done, and then life intervenes? Mark 6 is one of those intervention times.

After sending the disciples out on their internship, a pastoral formation journey, Jesus hears of the death of John. We hear the story of his beheading, and then the disciples return from their first experiences in ministry. The disciples are pumped, but Jesus is grieving. “Let us go to a quiet place where we can debrief,” Jesus says (my paraphrase). It seemed like such a good idea, and then five thousand people show up for supper. Jesus sends the crowd and his disciples away and goes up on the mountain to be alone and pray. Afterwards, he catches up with the disciples who are in their boat going to the other side—Jesus walks on the water and gets into the boat with them. Finally, they come to the shore, only it’s not where they had intended to go at all. Instead of Bethsaida, they find themselves in Gennesaret which means garden of plenty.

But, when Jesus enters into this garden of plenty, the plenty he encounters is disability, abandonment, and need. The sick and dying have been left in the market to fend for themselves where they are begging to be touched and to even just touch the fringe of Jesus’ prayer shawl. And now something extraordinary happens.
All who touched or were touched are saved. I know that our text says healed, but the word in Greek can also be translated as saved. Saved offers an opportunity to see the ministry of Jesus as being something other than magic. Saved offers us the opportunity to see Jesus’ work as bringing new relationship. No longer just abandoned in the marketplace, Jesus offers them now a new understanding of living.

Instead of being relegated to the margins, Jesus’ presence brings a new world of inclusion to them. Instead of being seen as the untouchables of the world, Jesus makes himself available to them to touch and be touched. Instead of being considered the detritus or refuse of the world, Jesus raises them, the disabled of his time, into a community of value. The one whom we will see resurrected is the source of resurrection for those the world considers to be socially dead.

Jesus is not in a relationship of rescue with these people because Jesus establishes a relationship of equity. It is a relationship of interdependence. It is a relationship of value and wholeness that we have come to know as the body of Christ, alive and active in the world. This is a saving that we can participate in whenever we see people abandoned in the marketplace. When we encounter the marginalized of our world, we, the Church, the body of Christ, can, in the ministry and work of Jesus, make ourselves available to touch and be touched—to change and be changed. Doing this, we recognize and value those whom the world would abandon. Doing this, we recognize their value for the world. It is a ministry that changed the world of Jesus’ time, and it can change the world we live in today. Happy Monday!

Share
Send any quotes you'd like to share with our network to [email protected]

Many blessings upon you,

Pastor Peter

Monday Quotes | The Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin Monday Quotes Monday Quotes is a weekly Biblical reflection on how advocacy connects with our theological roots. Join our email list to subscribe to Monday Quotes: Subscribe Here! Monday Quotes #364, July 15, 2024 Monday Quotes #363, July 8, 2024 Monday Quotes #362, July 1, 2024 Monday Quotes #361,....

Excellent Documentary:

Bad Faith Documentary Bad Faith exposes Christian Nationalism, the most powerful anti-democratic force in America. Streaming on AppleTv+ and Google Play beginning April 26. Available for preorder now.