ELCA responds to false accusations on X
Statement from Elizabeth Eaton, presiding bishop of the ELCA, February 2, 2025
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America seeks to be a witness to Christ by feeding people who are hungry, caring for those who are sick, and advocating for justice, peace, and the dignity of all people. This has been the calling of the church for over 2, 000 years.
Today, false accusations were made on X, formerly Twitter, regarding government funding to Lutheran organizations. The claims were those of money laundering and illegal payments. Yet these organizations have done the same work for 85 years in serving legally admitted refugees and immigrants.
As church, we follow the eighth commandment of the scriptures which states: you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Despite misinformation and baseless doubt cast today on funding that supports Lutheran organizations across our country, the ELCA remains steadfast in our commitment and work with our many Lutheran partners and expressions of our church. The ELCA is also concerned for other faith based communities and organizations who have similarly come under attack.
We strongly urge political leaders at all levels of government to use their offices and platforms responsibly. They should consider the impact of misleading statements and conjecture without regard for the impact those statements have on the communities targeted by these messages.
Our call to love our neighbors as ourselves remains steadfast: Seek the truth and share the good news of Jesus Christ as we continue to follow his teachings.
Let me tell you a story. In the year 258, the Roman Empire, during one of its many persecutions of the Church, ordered that the Church turn over its treasure. The task fell to a young deacon named Lawrence, who was given three days to complete it. Immediately, Lawrence sold all the liquid assets and gave that to the sick and to the widows. He liquidated also all of the property and divided that up amongst the poor. On the third day, he appeared before the emperor who demanded to see the treasures of the church. Lawrence gestured behind him, and there were standing those who were sick and hungry, the poor, the naked, the stranger in the land, the most vulnerable, and Lawrence said, “these are the treasures of the church.” He was martyred for that.
Be of good courage, church, and let us persevere.
LAMA’s response
Talking Points
Below are suggestions for how you might frame a response: Public-private partnerships are effective and accountable to the community and the federal government for serving the community.
Emphasize the history of Lutherans serving our communities and the good work Lutherans are doing through these efforts.
Public-private partnerships throughout the country provide a human face to government bureaucracy in our communities. Allowing the president to single-handedly freeze government grants or funding will take food off the table of hungry neighbors.
Public-private partnerships like these are already held to the highest standards of scrutiny and public accountability through regular audits and reviews that can be assessed.
It should be up to Congress to control the purse strings, not the executive, because Congress is better equipped to know and understand what our communities need and review what is an effective use of our shared resources than the executive alone.
Letter to your representatives
If this characterization is concerning to you, consider writing to your representatives in Congress.
Dear _______,
This weekend Michael Flynn tweeted that “Lutheran Family Services” (actually, Lutheran Social Services, or LSS) was a so-called religious organization that was illegally laundering billions of taxpayer dollars. A short time later, Elon Musk re-tweeted the message.
LSS is a network of faith-based social service agencies across the country. For over 100 years it has provided refugee resettlement services, senior housing, food banks, adoptive services, and other family services to our nation’s needy. I personally have volunteered from time to time over the past 50 years.
Its Lutheran traditions are long-standing. Any federal money that it receives is legally obtained and its operations are transparent.
Cutting funding to LSS is not only mean-spirited, but the manner in which it is being done is false and damaging to the organization and to the people it serves. Please take a stand to stop DOGE in this and other illegal actions.
Thank you.