10/06/2014

ELCA Presiding Bishop Offers Prayer for Africans Impacted by Ebola

The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), offered prayers and a continued commitment to stand alongside people impacted by the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. In a Sept. 29 letter to Lutheran leaders there, Eaton expressed her concern for them and the communities in which they serve.

“I think and pray for each of you daily, but most especially when, during Sunday worship, I greet my fellow sisters and brothers in Christ with a handshake and a hug,” Eaton wrote. “My heart breaks for you as I imagine the difficulty of having to advise and even admonish your congregants from touching one another in a sign of peace, knowing full well that lives depend on such prudence,” she wrote.

Yet “day in and day out, I know that you shepherd your congregations with the message of the love of God,” Eaton wrote. “The ministry of presence, so important in our understanding of what it means to lead as a Christian clergyperson, is now a dangerous, even deadly, proposition in your communities. I pray for God’s continued wisdom and grace to be poured out on you and our Lutheran church leaders, knowing full well that God’s love is expressed in many ways, even in the absence of human touch.”

Eaton wrote that although she cannot “pretend to know the profound sufferings of your communities and congregations caused by the Ebola outbreak … I can tell you that, through prayer and the sharing of resources, our hearts go out to you, as do our fervent and constant prayers.”

The ELCA presiding bishop also wrote to ELCA congregations and members who have close relationships with people in West Africa. Her letter was shared Sept. 29 through the ELCA African National Ministries.

Information about the ELCA’s response to the Ebola outbreak is available at http://www.elca.org/Our-Work/Relief-and-Development/Lutheran-Disaster-Response/Our-Impact/Ebola.