Protecting Our Most Vulnerable: Your Voice Needed on ELCA Child Protection Message

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has released a draft social message on child protection and maltreatment—and your input is essential. This draft is open for public comment now through June 30, 2025, and all members of the Grand Canyon Synod are encouraged to read, reflect, and respond.

The message, created in response to a directive from the 2022 Churchwide Assembly, lifts up the church’s responsibility to care for children, grounding its call in the words of Jesus from Matthew 19:13–14: “Let the little children come to me… for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” The draft seeks to address the staggering crisis of child abuse and neglect in the U.S., where at least 1 in 7 children experience maltreatment each year, according to the CDC.

The ELCA’s social messages provide teaching and guidance on pressing social concerns. This child protection message draws from Lutheran theology and existing ELCA social teaching, affirming our sacred duty to create spaces where all children are welcomed, protected, and nurtured. But to ensure the message is as faithful, relevant, and impactful as possible, it must reflect the voices and experiences of the wider church.

We invite you to:

• Read the draft: ELCA.org/childprotection

• Complete the online survey to share your thoughts

• Submit written feedback or questions via the contact form on the site

• Access a large-print version or stay tuned for the Spanish translation, coming soon

This period of reflection and input is a chance to live into our baptismal promise to “nurture children in the faith and teach them to trust God.” Your engagement can help the ELCA create a powerful, faithful response to protect the most vulnerable among us.