ELCA Adopts Social Message on Child Protection—Free Webinar Series Begins February 26
On November 12, 2025, the ELCA Church Council adopted a Social Message on Child Protection, calling congregations across the church to strengthen preaching and teaching on child maltreatment, develop robust protection policies, and become trauma-informed communities.
Child maltreatment affects children physically, emotionally, and spiritually. As leaders in the Grand Canyon Synod—across Arizona, southern Nevada, St. George, and the Navajo Nation—we are called to respond faithfully and proactively.
To support this work, Wartburg Theological Seminary, in partnership with the Center for Faith & Child Protection (a program of Zero Abuse Project), is hosting a free webinar series titled:
Child Abuse and the Church: Prevention, Pastoral Care, and Healing
6:45 p.m. CST
Hosted by Craig L. Nessan and Victor I. Vieth
Webinar Schedule
February 26 – Here We Stand: An Introduction to the ELCA Social Message on Child Protection
March 26 – A Church that Protects Children: Theological Foundations for Addressing Child Maltreatment
April 23 – Addressing Biblical Interpretations Often Used to Justify Child Maltreatment
May 21 – No Saxon Children Were Harmed in the Making of these Catechisms: Lutheran Support for Protecting Children from Abuse
June 18 – Becoming a Trauma-Informed Church
August 27 – Until the Blood Ran: Understanding the Impact of Child Abuse on the Life and Works of Martin Luther
September 24 – Applying Lutheran History and Theology to Address Child Maltreatment
October 22 – Applying Luther’s Perspective on Mental Health to Help Survivors of Child Maltreatment
You can read the full ELCA Social Message here:
ELCA Child Protection Social Message (PDF)
Why This Matters
The ELCA’s Social Message calls us not only to policy compliance, but to theological clarity and pastoral courage. Protecting children is not peripheral to the Gospel—it is central to Christ’s call to care for the “least of these.”
For congregations, this means:
Reviewing and strengthening child protection policies
Ensuring screening and training procedures are current
Deepening preaching and teaching on child safety and dignity
Becoming trauma-informed communities equipped to walk with survivors
Register Here
Registration is free:
We encourage pastors, deacons, lay leaders, council members, youth leaders, and anyone involved in ministry with children and families to participate.
Let us be a church that not only proclaims grace—but embodies safety, accountability, and healing.
