To our friends and neighbors… we the people of Trinity Lutheran Church feel compelled to publicly condemn the political movement known as “Christian Nationalism” for there is nothing Christian about it. Christian Nationalism is a political movement that advocates for hate and increasingly turns to violence. That is why we have signed the Christians Against Christian Nationalism statement, which reads, (in part):
“As Christians, our faith teaches us that everyone is created in God’s image and commands us to love one another. As Americans, we value our system of government and the good that can be accomplished in our constitutional democracy. Christian nationalism seeks to merge Christian and American identities, distorting both the Christian faith and America’s constitutional democracy. Christian nationalism demands Christianity be privileged by the State and implies that to be a good American, one must be Christian. It often overlaps with and provides cover for white supremacy and racial subjugation. We reject this damaging political ideology and invite our Christian brothers and sisters to join us in opposing this threat to our faith and to our nation.”
Our church, denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), and many other churches have all condemned the hatred and violence coming from the groups associated with Christian Nationalism. It is a cancer upon the greater church and so we pray for the church and all of you, our friends, neighbors, and this nation. We invite you to join us at Trinity or to pray wherever you are. Peace be with you.
Read the full statement here: https://www.christiansagainstchristiannationalism.org/statement
The subject of christian nationalism has been a concern of mine for a while and your recent letter in the Bishop’s email has started some discussion on our church and we We are starting a discussion group in our church, St. Andrews Lutheran church in Ellsworth, ME, on this subject. I have checked out the resources available on the link above and will definitely be using and printing, but was wondering if you have a discussion group going in your church, do you have any other suggestions on how to proceed, what has worked what hasn’t gone so good. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Bringing politics into the church is always a bit tricky but this subject is extremely necessary in my opinion.