4/8/2017 4:30:00 PM
CHICAGO – The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), has issued a pastoral message on Syria. Eaton’s message follows.

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Like many of you, I have been deeply troubled by the news this week from Syria. First, there was the horrific chemical weapons attack on civilians. Then the U.S. missiles being used against the Syrian airbase understood to have perpetrated the earlier attack. In both instances, the lives of precious children of God have been lost. Lord, have mercy.  

The psalmist reminds us not to put our “trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help,” but rather reminds us to place our hope in the Lord our God. He recalls that “the Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin” (Psalm 146).

It is a time for prayer – for peace, and for those seeking refuge during this time when there is no peace in Syria.

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