Team Members:

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  • Rev. Aimee Appell
    Peace Lutheran Church
    Washington, MO

  • Rev. Josh Brecht
    Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
    Manchester, MO

  • Jill Duis, SAM
    Good Shepherd Lutheran ChurchWashington, KS

  • Sheri Ellwood

  • Andover Lutheran Church
    Windom, KS

  • Michelle Horter
    Reformation Lutheran ChurchWichita, KS

  • Rev. Meagan McLaughlin
    Christ Lutheran Church
    Webster Groves, MO

  • Dave Mareske, Deacon
    Hollis Renewal Center
    Kansas City, KS

  • Rev. Melissa Woeppel
    Lutheran Church of the Living ChristFlorissant, MO

  • Sharon Yelton
    Atonement Lutheran ChurchOverland Park

  • Leroy Zimmerman
    Atonement Lutheran ChurchOverland Park, KS

​Purpose:

  • To encourage and provide resources for conversations in our congregations and ministry settings that educate members regarding:  

    • the connection between faith and racial justice work

    • the history of racism, its systemic realities, and its continued harmful and destructive impact

  • To call and challenge our faith communities to be places of radical welcome and inclusion 

    • Why are we the whitest mainline denomination?

    • The need for both repentance and conversion

  •  To advocate for justice for those who encounter racial inequalities through means of government, education, economic injustice, police brutality, and the acts of active/silence racism.

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Conversations and Study about Racism. preparation for synod assembly

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Justice Matters, June 8, 2020 - Bishop Candea's Remarks

​Synod Council Statement, June 2020

Declaration of the ELCA

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Resources to help talk about racial justice:

Books:

White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

So You Want to Talk about Race by Ijeoma Oluo

Who Lynched Willie Earle?  Preaching to Confront Racism by Wil Willimon

Waking up White by Debbie Irving

Preaching about Racism: A Guide for Faith Leaders. By Carolyn Helsel                  

Me and White Supremacy. By Layla Saad

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Synod Videos: