To God’s beloved people in the NWIM Synod,

In the synod office, we have been asked by many of you to provide guidance around when to suspend in-person worship due to increased cases of SARS-COVID19 cases in a community. While there are some such documents available from other denominational bodies (United Methodist Church, for example) after discussion as a staff we realized that our ability to draft such a document is limited—simply because of the polity of the ELCA. I cannot direct congregations to not meet in person. That is a decision that falls to the rostered leader(s) and council of a congregation. Adding to the complexity: the ministry contexts of our synod are so varied that what might indicate a need to suspend in-person worship in one congregation might not in another.

We read with great dismay that the Aryan Freedom Network, a white supremacist group, is having a gathering on March 12 at Hayden Lake and has said that part of their purpose is to identify "things we can do to make our communities a little better." That a poster for this event includes a swastika and the words "keep Idaho white" shows clearly that their vision for "a little better" is one that is in opposition to both the American ideals expressed in our Declaration of Independence and enshrined in our Constitution, and totally against the values of Christianity.