Advocacy in Service to Our Neighbor: ELCA Resource for “God’s Work. Our Hands.” Sunday

“God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday is coming up on September 13. Have you seen ELCA Advocacy’s helpful new (May 2026) resource to help congregations connect hands-on service with faithful public witness?

LAMA recently shared 5 easy ways to advocate for your neighbors on “God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday — including writing postcards, connecting service projects to public-policy issues, inviting lawmakers to see local ministries, helping people register and vote, and praying before taking one next step. This new ELCA resource builds on that same idea: service and advocacy belong together.

The resource, “Advocacy in Service to Our Neighbor,” reminds us that Lutherans celebrate “God’s work. Our hands.” because we care about our communities and witness to God’s love in our local places. It grounds advocacy in Lutheran social teaching, naming our shared commitment to the common good, dignity, equity, and the well-being of all neighbors. It also lifts up civic engagement as one way we help ensure that every voice is heard and every vote is counted.

The supplement includes a template letter congregations can use to write to elected officials. Some congregations may prefer this hands-on letter-writing approach to digital action alerts, and the ELCA Washington Office is willing to deliver collected day-of-service letters to federal lawmakers. This can be an easy, concrete activity to add to a food drive, service project, fellowship hour, adult forum, youth gathering, or worship-adjacent event.

The resource is especially timely because “God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday falls during what ELCA Advocacy calls “prime time” for civic engagement. In the seven weeks that follow, congregations can connect their service to:

• National Voter Registration Day on September 15,

• National Voter Education Week October 5-9,

• Election Hero Day on October 20, and

• Vote Early Day on October 27.

The guide also offers ways to get the conversation flowing across generations. It suggests asking questions such as, “What was it like the first time you voted?” and “How has your faith impacted your voting choices?” Those questions can open the door to deeper reflection on Lutheran social teaching, civic life, and our shared responsibility for the common good.

Congregations might also use “God’s work. Our hands.” Sunday to help neighbors access the right to vote — always in a nonpartisan way. The resource suggests activities such as holding a voter registration drive, learning about opportunities to serve as a poll worker or poll watcher, planning hospitality for election workers, or joining with local faith partners for prayer, public witness, or community-building around Election Day.

For LAMA, this is exactly the kind of faithful civic engagement Arizona needs. Service matters. So does advocacy! When we pack food boxes, assemble hygiene kits, serve meals, welcome neighbors, or support community ministries, we also learn something about the policies that shape hunger, housing, health care, immigration, education, voting access, and public life.

“As people of faith, ELCA members recognize elections as an expression of our call to love and serve our neighbor,” the resource says. That is a powerful reminder for this season. Our public witness does not have to be partisan to be faithful. We can encourage voting, support election workers, listen across generations, write to lawmakers, and help our neighbors participate safely and confidently in civic life.

This September 13, let “God’s work. Our hands.” be more than a day of service. Let it be a day of prayer, learning, advocacy, and faithful love for the neighbor — with hands ready for service and voices ready for justice.