On this page you will find a variety of online resources for doing and deepening advocacy ministry in your congregation. These online resources are offered as starting points and supplements. Please let us know if you find other resources, and we’ll add them to this page.
As always, we encourage you to keep the LPPO in the loop as you plan and carry out these activities. We are here to be a resource for you!
Education to Spread Awareness of Advocacy Issues
- Invite an LPPO staff person to preach during worship on Sunday or lead an adult education class. Contact us here.
- Preach a sermon that explores the role of advocacy as a part of our response to God’s good news. Here are some examples:
- An Advocacy Sermon for the Second Sunday After Epiphany, Year C, 2010
- An Advocacy Sermon for the Second Sunday in Lent, Year C, 2010
- An Advocacy Sermon for the Third Sunday of Easter, Year C, 2010
- An Advocacy Sermon for Ascension Day, Year C, 2010
- An Advocacy Sermon for the Third Sunday after Pentecost, Year C, 2010
- Convene a Bible study with a focus on examples of advocacy in the Old and New Testaments. The following are great examples.
- Called to Be Political: But I Don’t Want to Be Political offers a fascinating glimpse into the teachings of Martin Luther on the role of Christians in politics and explores how those teachings still speak to us. A two-hour program from the Women of the ELCA.
- An Advocacy Bible study from our colleagues at Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania (LAMP).
- Convene a congregational “book club” to read and discuss a book about the role of the church in advocacy. Here are some examples:
- Public Church: for the Life of the World by Cynthia D. Moe-Lobeda
- Luther and Hungry Poor: Gathered Fragments by Samuel Torvend
- Study the ELCA’s Social Statements and Messages in an adult education class. If you need copies, please contact us here.
- Pray for your local and state legislators in the Prayers of Intercession during Sunday worship, especially on Sundays during the legislative session. The cranberry Evangelical Lutheran Worship hymnal includes several examples that you might modify for your local context. You can find them in the section “Additional Prayers” under the heading “Civic Life, Government, Nations.”
Public Witness to Plead the Cause of Those Suffering Injustice
- Hold an offering of letters to federal, state or local elected officials. Find great tips on holding an offering of letters at Bread for the World.
Financial Support of the Ministry of the Lutheran Public Policy Office
- Send three or more people to the LPPO’s Annual Fundraiser as representatives of the congregation. Save the date for our next annual fundraiser on April 25, 2010!