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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

April 24, 2002

KEY ADMINISTRATION, POLICY FIGURES ADDRESS LSA CONFERENCE
02-097-KK*/JB

     WASHINGTON, D.C. (ELCA) -- James Towey,  Bush administration
official whose proximity to policy decisions regarding faith-based
organizations is of significant interest to many of the nearly 300
member organizations of Lutheran Services in America (LSA), was a key
speaker at LSA's annual conference here April 10-12.
     LSA is an alliance of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA), Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and affiliated human service
organizations offering social services to children and families, older
people, and people with disabilities.  Together the organizations
provide $6.9 billion in services in nearly 3,000 communities each year.
     The conference theme was "Joined at the Heart: Lifting Our Voices
for Hope and Change." About 400 people attended.
      "Why does the president stress faith-based organizations and our
need for those services?  Think about what our country would look like
without them," said Towey, deputy assistant to the president and
director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community
Initiatives.  "What makes our country great is people like you."  He
described the importance of personal relationships in assisting the
"lost and wounded."
     "You have a view of the person in front of you that the government
can't have.  You can develop those personal relationships, earning the
right to hear what [the people] have to say," Towey said.  "We look at
the services you provide and provide well, and want them to be respected
and treated equally."
     Currently, the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives is
hoping the U.S. Congress will pass the Charity Aid, Recovery and
Empowerment Act of 2002 (CARE Act) by Memorial Day, Towey said.
     At a briefing with President George W. Bush attended by some LSA
representatives, the CARE Act was described in part as putting faith-
based organizations on a level playing field with other organizations,
said the Rev. Nelson C. Meyer,  LSA board chair. Meyer is executive
director, Lutheran Social Services of Central Ohio, Columbus.
     The CARE Act in part provides for intermediaries, Towey said.
"Small organizations don't have expertise in learning the intricacies of
federal grants, yet want to build their capacity.  The CARE Act provides
for these in the grant process,"  Towey said.  This would help
first-time applicants access funds, he said.  When asked about
provisions for funding increases, Towey responded that the emphasis of
the Bush Administration is on stimulating charitable giving.
     The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is responsible
for programs that promote the social and economic well-being of
families, including Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), said
another LSA speaker, Wade F. Horn, assistant secretary for children and
families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
      In his remarks, Horn posed the question, "Are kids better off
because of the reform of '96?  The answer is a tentative yes." Horn
added, "We still have a long way to go to answer the question."
     Horn discussed some controversial components of the Bush
Administration's current welfare reform proposals, including a
"welfare-to-work" emphasis.   "Is [welfare-to-] work activity each week
mean-spirited?  No, we want to move people out of poverty, and the only
way to do that is through work," Horn said.
     Horn also discussed welfare reform issues and marriage. Reforms
are "not about stigmatizing those who are not married, not about
trapping someone into an abusive marriage, and not about withholding
support of single mothers.  Rather, it is about supporting a decision
made or about to be made.  We can teach those skills."
     Former U.S. Sen. David Durenberger spoke about his experiences in
the government in his remarks to the LSA conference.  "I hope you leave
here not hoping your needs will be met from Washington, D.C.," he said.
"People who make up communities must fix communities.  The government
can provide you with the support for the ideas you find are most
successful in your communities. An 'outside-in' process doesn't work.
There must be an 'inside-out' change."       Durenberger chairs Citizens
for Long Term Care, a collaboration of diverse agencies engaged in the
long-term care debate. "If you want to deal with an issue, find the
ground on which everybody can stand," he advised.  "It is our obligation
as people who know needs to inform the government."
     Dr. Robert Tuttle, associate professor of law, George Washington
University Law School, traced the legal history which has moved the
nation from what he termed "separationism" in church/state relations to
an emerging neutralism, and he reflected on the meaning of the changes.
     "Though in radically different ways, both church and state are
charged with care of the common good. Care for the sick and care for the
poor belong within the proper offices of both [and] are intertwined with
the core mission of both," Tuttle said.
     The state is not the church, said Tuttle, noting some of the
distinctions.  "The state may not act to achieve specifically religious
purposes, nor can it intend to bring about religious transformation in
order to achieve its legitimate secular ends," Tuttle said.  "The state
may not abdicate its responsibility to care for the common good by
delegating such tasks to churches and then walking away."
     Conversely, he highlighted ways in which the church is not the
state.  "Our social ministries are not an offshoot or subsidiary of the
church, they are the church -- the body of Christ in mission of
compassion to the world.  There is no difference," said Tuttle.

LSA MOVE POSITIVE, SAYS PRESIDENT
     Jill Schumann, LSA president and chief executive officer,
reflected on a significant change for the organization late last year
when it moved its headquarters to Baltimore from Minneapolis.  "The move
to Baltimore has been quite positive for us," she said, noting that many
visitors have been to LSA's new offices.
      "We've also been invited to a number of tables and meetings (in
Washington), and, because we're in the vicinity, we're able to respond,"
she said. "We're in relationship with government and with other national
organizations that are very near here. It has made some collaboration
easy to pursue."
      The organization is also looking ahead to an awareness campaign.
"We know that Lutheran social ministry is a story undertold, and we want
to make sure it gets out," said Schumann.
     "Within Lutheran ministry, we have lived in the intersection [of
church and state] and we've learned ways to do that without compromising
our values," said Meyer, reflecting on LSA's advocacy activity and the
conference theme.  "We won't be seduced by money or lose our identity.
We've lived and talked about those roles since Martin Luther."

AWARDS PRESENTED
 LSA presented awards for excellence to member social ministry
organizations.  Bethesda Lutheran Homes and Services, Inc., Watertown,
Wis.; Bethphage, Omaha, Neb., which advocates for people with
disabilities; and Lutheran Services for the Aging, Inc., Salisbury,
N.C., were honored during a luncheon on April 11.
       Lutheran Disaster Response was recognized for its
extraordinary work through a resolution of appreciation presented by the
LSA board of directors.  It commended "this cooperative ministry that
brings compassion and healing to lives full of chaos."
 Four members of Congress were recognized with Congressional awards
for their leadership on issues of concern to Lutheran social ministry
organizations. U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) was recognized for
his leadership on children's issues.  U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley
(R-Iowa) was recognized for his advocacy for the interests of rural
America.  U.S. Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.) , the daughter of a Lutheran
minister and life-long Lutheran, was recognized for her years as a nurse
and health advocate.  U.S. Rep. James Walsh (R-N.Y.) was recognized for
his advocacy on behalf of people who suffer from hunger and
homelessness.
 The Rev. Charles S. Miller received special recognition.  Miller
was instrumental in the formation of LSA and served on its board of
directors in his role as the executive director of the ELCA Division for
Church in Society.  He recently left that role to become ELCA executive
for administration and executive assistant to the presiding bishop.  "It
is important to honor you publicly for your vision, compassion and
enthusiasm over many years," said Schumann.

 * Karen S. Krueger is communication coordinator for the ELCA
Metropolitan Washington, D.C., Synod

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