LAMA: Put Advocacy Into Action This “God’s Work. Our Hands.” Sunday
Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona’s latest newsletter invites congregations to consider a simple question as “God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday approaches September 13: What if our service to our neighbors also included advocacy alongside them?
This week’s LAMA Action Alert highlights an ELCA Advocacy resource designed specifically for “God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday, including templates congregations can use to connect hands-on service with faithful civic engagement. LAMA also offers five practical ways congregations can advocate for neighbors who are hungry, unhoused, uninsured, excluded or unheard.
The newsletter also shares several opportunities for learning and action in the coming weeks, including a Digital Security Workshop for congregations and organizations on August 27, an interfaith conversation on domestic violence and elder abuse September 1, ELCA resources for faith-community election engagement September 3, an anti-hunger advocacy call September 4, and the Arizona Faith Network Cherishing Creation Collaborative on September 8.
Readers will also find new articles addressing hunger in Arizona, campaign spending and transparency, faithful participation during election season, and an opinion piece by the Rev. Christine Stoxen of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Chandler on our call to feed hungry neighbors. The issue also includes a reminder that Grand Canyon Synod Grant applications are due September 25.
As Lutherans, our vocation to love and serve our neighbors does not end when a service project is finished. Advocacy can be another expression of that vocation—listening to our neighbors, examining the systems affecting their lives and using our voices in the public square for the sake of the common good.
