Lutheran Advocacy – Minnesota, ELCA

105 University Ave. W, St. Paul, MN 55103 / www.lutheranadvocacymn.org 

Beloved in Christ, grace and peace to you,

We mourn the politically motivated violence that resulted in the killing of Speaker Emeritus Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, and the shooting of Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette. These tragedies combined with emerging evidence that this act of violence could have been even worse, have left us in a state of collective grief and shock and we grapple with what this means for Minnesota, our state’s politics, and for our society going forward.

In response to God’s love in Jesus Christ, Lutheran Advocacy – MN seeks to live into the ELCA vision to "Step forward as a public church that witnesses boldly to God’s love for all that God has created.”  This senseless bloodshed runs against God’s loving will for the world and counter to God’s love for each of us.  These acts of political violence against our public servants brings the divisive rhetoric and rampant “othering,” which have led us so far from God’s desire for this world, to the front of our minds.

First-century Christians in Corinth lived through a similar time, experiencing divisions among themselves that threatened to tear the early church in two.  The apostle Paul addressed this in his first letter to the Corinthians, “Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you but that you be knit together in the same mind and the same purpose.” (1 Corinthians 1:10).  This sentiment still rings true, even two millennia later. In this time of polarization and division, God’s wish for us is that we find ourselves in the same mind and same purpose through the name of Jesus Christ.

We are called to “not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2). As Lutherans and Christians, we find our values not in political rhetoric or partisan political agendas, but in a faith formed out of a love which challenges our conventions, upturns our traditions, and calls us to meet violence and hatred with grace and compassion. To be conformed to this age is to debate partisan politics as if it were gospel truth. Instead, we are called to live in the ways of God’s kingdom, to live knit together and formed in the values of our Christian faith. 

These politically motivated shootings in Minnesota on June 14, 2025 show us just how divided we have become.  So divided that we fail to see one another as God’s beloved, we have turned those who disagree politically with us into the enemy to be fought against. In his letter to the Romans, Paul writes, “So we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.” (Romans 12:5) As we live our calling to be advocates for wise and just public policies that reflect our lived Christian values, we must do so from our common shared identity as members of the same body in Christ. 

In times of great grief and division such as these, how do we, as Christians, respond? As the Body of Christ, we ground ourselves in scripture, center ourselves in prayer, respond to a world that would pull us apart by building intentional community. In this way we begin to repair the divisions, depolarize our communities, and heal our world.  We knit ourselves back together so that we may live as one same mind in Christ.  This is hard and challenging work, but Christ does not call us to what is easy.  In the face of this challenging call, Christ provides for us the strength to persevere, the Holy Spirit to guide and encourage, and hope grounded in the resurrection that new life always wins over death.

Lutheran Advocacy—MN invites you to take action in your church or community towards ending the divisive rhetoric and polarization in our country today. First, we invite you to pray with us: for Speaker Melissa and Mark Hortman’s children and family, for Senator John and Yvette Hoffman’s recovery and their family, for Minnesota’s public servants and leaders, and for all of Minnesota to feel God’s healing and reconciling hand at work.

Second, we invite you into courageous action through “Graceful Conversations”.  Graceful Conversations is a 5-part study series intended to equip individuals and groups for graceful engagement of challenging discussions, presented by Lutheran Advocacy—MN and The Ministry Lab. A facilitator guide and participant resources are provided at no cost, and support as needed is available from Lutheran Advocacy—MN.  God has already placed the gifts you need for this work within you through the Holy Spirit.  Gather the resources and a group of people willing in your church, community, with friends, or with family.  Begin the conversation, use the study, and open your eyes to God’s healing work in our world.

… [H]ope in the Lord!    

For with the Lord there is steadfast love,    

and with God is great power to redeem…                          

(From Psalm 130)

May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you always!

Lutheran Advocacy – Minnesota, ELCA / 105 University Ave. W, St. Paul, MN 55103 / www.lutheranadvocacymn.org 

**[We extend our deep gratitude to Pastor Beth Pottratz, Secretary of the Policy Council, for generously volunteering to write this statement on behalf of Lutheran Advocacy-MN, the LA-MN Executive Committee, and the Policy Council—especially given how deeply Director Tammy Walhof has been grieved by these senseless and tragic acts of political violence.]