Number of Signatures: 38

List of Signatures

Alan Baglien
Rev. Jon Bielfeldt
Steven Bliss
Rev. Michael Bonham
Rev. Kris Brower
Alan Carroll
Rev. Daniel Cave
Rev. Peter Churness
Carl Cole
Bart Crabtree
Rev. David Dahl
Glenn Gisler
Rev. JG Hallock
Lloyd Hedlund
Larry Henneke
Rev. Tom Hilpert
Geri Kearney
Doris Kennedy
Brad Larson
Rev. Gregory Lenz
Dr. Mark Lenz
Scott Licht
Carolyn Lystig
Rev. Lawrence Lystig
Rev. Christian Magnell
Rev. Scott Mikkelson
Dr. Brad Miller
Rev. David Patterson
Kate Person
Sig Person
Rev. Mark Powell
Rev. Mark Schimmel
Rev. Garry Seefeldt
Ericka Shelton
Rev. Bill Sullivan
Rev. Mark Vander Tuig
Rev. John Waak
Rev. Susan Ann Westland

 

A Statement on the Health and Human Services Mandate

LCMC doesn’t make social statements. However, the association was born out of the fiery response of congregations and individuals who adamantly stand where they believed Jesus stood.

The Department of Health and Human Services recently made a requirement that all employers offer services to their employees that some, if not many, of our association find objectionable. Several of our members desired to take a stand against the mandate, and have offered their work to others so that they too might make it their own. You will find it below.

True to the spirit of LCMC, the document does not belong to the association, nor is it a hand-me-down from the trustees. Rather, it belongs to the individuals and congregations who sign it. We invite you to read the statement, share it, and if you like, to sign it. Anyone who has an active account on the LCMC website may add their signature to the document by first logging in. If you do not have an account, simply register and you will have access to sign. If it is in keeping with the established protocols and procedures of your congregation, the name of your church may also be added. When finished, use the document as a resource to contact your elected leaders. The LCMC website is merely the host for the document; signers assume responsibility to use the resource as a tool in defining and communicating who they are and where they stand.

We bless you on your journey!

John Waak, Trustee
jwaak@oslcvictoria.com

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Religious Liberty and the Health and Human Services Mandate on Contraceptives

Lutherans don't often speak out in a formal way on matters of public policy. We tend to have a fairly high view of the separation of church and state and like it that way. But in the recent matter of the Health and Human Services mandate requiring churches' insurance plans to cover contraceptives (and the subsequent "accommodation" announced by President Obama), the government has overstepped its boundaries.

The various Lutheran church bodies in the United States do not take a hard and fast position on contraceptives as our brothers and sisters in the Roman Catholic Church do, but many of us do share the same beliefs about the sanctity of human life. Because of this conviction about the sanctity of life we are outraged over the mandatory inclusion of various forms of "morning after" pills that have the intended consequence of ending the life of a conceived human embryo.

But as many Christian and Jewish leaders from across the country and many denominations have pointed out, the objection to this mandate is not only a matter regarding contraceptives, or even abortion - it is also a matter of the government overstepping its constitutionally granted powers and treading on the religious liberties guaranteed and reserved to churches and people of conscience in the 1st Amendment of the United States Constitution.

The issue of religious liberty is one where the Church can and should stand together. This is one such time where we as members of Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ stand shoulder to shoulder with our brothers and sisters in Christ in many churches and denominations across the country whose consciences and ministries are threatened by an over-reaching federal government.

We encourage the study and discussion of this issue within the congregation and for members to speak about it publicly - contacting elected officials and talking about it with friends and neighbors. An excellent set of resources we commend to you for this purpose are the formal statements issued by Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, the testimonies he and others gave before congress, as well as bulletin inserts which the LCMS has produced on this matter. The LCMS has made all these resources freely available on their website at www.lcms.org/hhsmandate.

 

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