Grace and peace to you all! I write to give you updates on two impactful experiences I had in the past three weeks. I want you to know what the bishop is involved in, but more than that, I feel these experiences characterize what it is to be a faithful person in the world. First, I joined fifty Lutherans in Washington D.C. last week for the “Gather at the Gate.” Pastor Emily Ebert and Desta Goehner from Holy Trinity, Thousand Oaks and I met our two senators, Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff and staff, Rep. Julia Brownley from the Thousand Oaks area and the staff of Rep. Judy Chu. In all meetings, we thanked our elected officials for their support of SNAP, Medicaid and immigrants. But perhaps most importantly, we asked our officials how we can support their work – what did they need from us “on the ground.” They asked for us to support those who need to file new paperwork for Medi-caid, to help them navigate the system. They asked us to advocate for programs, including federally-funded ones, to their offices and in our communities. They basically asked us to be good neighbors, which is what we want to do, and to support their efforts to keep government running and finding ways forward to fund social programs. I was also struck by how much our leaders need to hear from us, and need our prayers. This was a powerful witness in society. The second event I want to talk about is my work on the ELCA Sexuality Statement Reconsideration Task Force. This five-year task force is working to reconsider the “bound conscience” portion of our social statement on sexuality which was approved in 2009. For those of you who are not familiar with our social statements, they are theological documents which share the teachings and beliefs of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The 2009 social statement, ‘Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust’ led the way to ordination of LGBTQ person and gave a pathway for congregations to bless and celebrate same-gender couples. This task force has been updating gender and marriage language to reflect current practices and laws. But now, we face the challenge of addressing this church’s four different positions on human sexuality, which allows ELCA congregations to hold positions as diverse as believing gay and lesbian people are sinful, to celebrating and fully accepting LGBTQIA+ people in their full expression. While these different positions were articulated and sanctioned in 2009 in an effort to keep all types of ELCA Lutherans united in the church, we see today that these four positions may need to be reconsidered. You can imagine, people throughout the country are very committed to clarification, and, in many cases, hope their “position” will still be held as the teaching of this church. But here is the good news I want to share with you: the sixteen people on this task force volunteered to be involved in difficult, vulnerable conversations. We expected to get our feelings hurt and our personhood questioned – both conservatives and progressives on this issue knew they might be attacked. And yet, every effort has been made in the first two years of our time together to build relationship and trust and to live into a covenant on how we will work together. The two “sides,” if you will, have all but vanished, as we find ourselves committing to honesty, valuing each other and finding what we now call “a third way” forward. It has become one of the most profound spiritual experiences of our lives. We know the Holy Spirit is moving among us, we simply do not yet see the path the Spirit is leading us toward. In this meeting we met with Jay Wittmeyer of the Lombard Mennonite Peace Institute, to learn about how each of us deals with conflict. We also met with three members of the task force who wrote the original social statement. They shared about their hopes and stategies at the time, and how they see the church’s needs differently today. The teaching was capped off by a great deal of time with Dr. Timothy Wengert, a highly respected Lutheran scholar, who crafted the original thinking on “bound conscience,” based on Luther’s writings. That was a lot of “head knowledge,” but the task force continues to grow in “heart and spiritual knowledge.” This feels exactly right to me. It’s counter cultural to those who think we need to just hunker down and do the rewrite. We realize we need to spend time discerning in the Spirit, building trust and love of each other, and then lead this church to new considerations of who we are and how we live together. I am being transformed by this work. My faith and trust in God grows each time this task force is together. Be of good cheer; God is with us, and with you.

Lutheran Office of Public Policy Letters

Bishop Bos's Statement: 9/11/2025

Dear siblings in Christ, Yesterday, June 7, 2025, exactly five months after wildfires raged through Pacific Palisades and Altadena, the President of the United States deployed National Guard troops to Los Angeles. These troops were not requested by our governor. There is no natural disaster here. These troops were sent to quell "widespread violent protests" against ICE raids in our city. It is not clear whether there were any violent protests against ICE, which means even if there was violence, it was not "widespread." Los Angeles saw widespread violence in the 1993 riots - this is NOT that. There were peaceful protests, and the Los Angeles police report all is under control. But the president chose this moment to assert his power in our streets and intimidate our state and local leaders. What is the church to do? First, we call for peace. Peaceful protest is part of our American democracy. It is also part of the non-violent movement, built by Jesus, Gandhi, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and so many others. Jesus called us to be the salt of the earth, flavoring, savoring, keeping society fresh and vital. We are to call out injustice and demand rights for the marginalized. Second, we are to name a thing what it is. Intimidation by any force, positive or negative, good or evil, is wrong. In my mind, the answer is not to raise up against national guard, the answer is to encourage all parties to de-escalate, rather than escalate, the situation. The church can be a voice of solidarity, calm and spiritual strength. This does not mean we are weak: it means we bring the Holy Spirit into all scenarios. Third, we check in on those affected by this police action. We know people who will be in hiding. We know pastors who are caring for frightened church members. We know organizations (or we should learn about them!) who provide emergency legal aid and support to families affected by violence and arrest. We can stand in support with them. Fourth, we contact our elected officials. Let them know we care about justice for migrants and due process. Tell them peace for all people is our priority. No matter where you stand on immigration issues, as Christians, we are called to love, care, pray, offer a cup of cold water in Jesus' name. Preachers: preach about love and justice and freedom found only in Christ. Parishioners, pray mightily and see what the Holy Spirit is calling you to do. We cannot remain silent. God most holy, God most merciful, protect your people from harm. Remove hate from our hearts, remove fear from our bellies. Keep Los Angeles and the surrounding areas free from violence. Bring peace to our land, and change the hearts of those who wish us ill. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen. With the love of God and the strength of the Holy Spirit, +Bishop Brenda Bos

Beloved in Christ, Southern California has always been the home of people from all over the world. Migrants strengthen our communities and our churches. As the Trump administration begins to endanger the livelihoods and families of so many migrants, I pledge my support for all of God's children. Our churches are places of worship, faithfulness and community, and we are glad you are here. We understand our churches can offer spiritual care and support your efforts for employment, legal status and safety for your families. We stand with you.

“The Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit intercedes for us with sighs to deep for words.” (Romans 8:26) Most beloved in Christ, Grace and peace to you in this time of great loss and strength. God is with us, in each of our situations, from those who are safe and unaffected to the homeless and grieving. My prayer is we lean into God’s grace and wonder in these times and that all of us may be made whole in Jesus’ name. The wildfires which devastated multiple communities in Southern California have impacted thousands of us. We know God calls us to care for each other, even people we do not know, in times of need. The Southwest California Synod is being called to care for victims of the wildfire in intentional, thoughtful ways. In response to the wildfires, our synod is working closely with Lutheran Disaster Response and Lutheran Social Services of Southern California. We are also creating our own synod disaster response team and hiring a disaster response coordinator. This person will match needs with ways to assist, be that with designated funds, volunteers or resources. I, myself, am taking a leave of absence for at least a month to grieve, heal and deal with the myriad new questions and needs in my life. I will be well in God’s care, and also in the confidence that we have so many talented and committed people, on our staff, in our synod council, in our congregations and within our partner organizations. I will pray for you while I am away from my office, and I ask for your prayers as well. People will require care for many years to come. We are not daunted by this task, as we cling to God’s promises to strengthen and inspire us. Indeed, people of faith can bring a unique compassion and understanding to the needs of our communities.

You may think this is a silly question. Isn’t God the same to a Southern California Lutheran as God is to a Tibetan monk as God is to a Gazan refugee? In some ways, yes, of course. God is constant and dependable. But in other ways, God is dynamic, always moving, just like God was at the beginning of the world – hovering over the formless void, willing a universe (or many universes) into being. And God has been revealed to Christians through Jesus Christ, to Jewish nation through Torah, to Muslims through Mohammed… there are myriad ways God has revealed Godself. This makes God unknowable, which is a confounding and fascinating truth of God. I think about my marriage and my family. I will be learning about who my wife is, who my child is, who my granddaughter is, forever. I will also be learning about myself forever. Wouldn’t the same be true about God and God’s revelations to us? Systematic theologians are people who realize our entire worldview is shaped “systematically” by who we understand God to be. Is God the loving, powerful creator of us all? Or is God like a watchmaker who set the cosmos in motion and walked away? Is God a trickster? A punisher? A redeemer? We know people feel all kinds of ways about God, including ignoring, not believing in or hating God. Whether or not they choose to acknowledge it, taking any of these stances about God shapes how they feel about nature, or people, or justice or health. I do not mean to say an atheist does not care about nature, the opposite is frequently true. What I mean is how people will approach life and life’s challenges differently based on how they think God is engaging life and life’s challenges. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has come into the news in the past few weeks because the presumptive Democratic nominee for vice president, Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota, is an ELCA Lutheran. Some people are asking “What’s a Lutheran?” Others are wondering about Governor Walz’ military service, school record, and decisions as a governor based on their perception of what a Lutheran Christian is. Some believe his service reflects his devotion to God in a Lutheran flavor, others are mocking his faith in a liberal denomination. I do not write to talk about Governor Walz. Let the two presidential candidates and their running mates run their own campaign and answer for their actions and proposed policies. I write to talk about God, and how we perceive God as ELCA Lutherans in Southern California. Lutherans believe God is the Source of Life, the creator of the universe. We believe the Bible’s teachings, although we do not expound a literal interpretation of scripture. This does not mean we throw out scriptures, it means we read them critically, with reason and intelligence, and wonder what God’s revelation is for us in this time and place. We believe the Word of God is relevant today, instructing us on who God is, and how we are to act. We profess in the words of the Apostle’s Creed that God is almighty, and deeply engaged, through Jesus and the Holy Spirit, in human activity and the church. Jesus “will come to judge the living and the dead,” so we do not believe God just set us in motion and said, “Good luck with that!” We are held to a standard of love and forgiveness and service. But we do not do these things to impress God and stay in God’s grace. God is the one who has brought us eternal life, forgiveness, reconciliation, not us or our actions. As Gerhard Forde said, (paraphrased) “What will you do with your life once you realize you do not have to spend any time working on your salvation?” The answer, in my mind, is we can now spend our time loving God’s people and God’s planet. As the nation careens toward a presidential election in just under two months, I have been praying a lot about how a person of faith should live in these times. Our national laws prohibit preachers from endorsing candidates from the pulpit, so what can Christians do, if we aren’t telling people who to vote for and why? (That’s meant as something of a joke, but seriously, what are we to do?) As Lutherans, we take our dual citizenship in the kingdom of God and the kingdom of earth seriously. We know we belong to God our Creator, and answer to His authority. But our founder, Martin Luther, and our Savior, Jesus before him, were clear that we “give unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s,” which I interpret to mean we must live in the world, and its trappings, while also answering to our call as God’s people. One of the most confounding things, in my mind, is the various ways Christians express their faith. Some Christians are judgmental, demanding and rigid. Others are free-flowing and permissive. I realize one of the key things we must determine, as people who follow Jesus, is what do we mean when we say we are Christian? Who is Jesus to us? Who is God? What is the church? Sure, these are lofty questions, but I think in these difficult times, when each of us must determine what we believe and where we stand on issues, we need to do something of a systematic theology “check-in”. What is systematic theology? It’s a way of understanding how you view the world, how you act, what you think of yourself and others, and the cosmos, is based on what you think of God. If you believe God is judgmental and angry, you likely live in fear or retaliation or judgment. If you believe God is loving and reconciling, you likely live seeking healthy relationship. And how you think about God shapes how you think about Jesus and the Holy Spirit and sin and the church and the world. It’s not quite that obvious, but who we think God is determines just about everything about the way we act. I do not mean to say you must believe in God to be deeply ethical and loving: many atheists are selfless and kind. What I mean is how people will approach life and life’s challenges differently based on how they think God is engaging life and life’s challenges.

God’s grace and peace to you all, I have been named to the ELCA Human Sexuality Social Statement Reconsiderations Task Force. This task force was mandated by the 2022 Churchwide assembly, with a call to reconsider our 2009 Social Statement on Human Sexuality. That statement redefined the ELCA’s understanding of human sexuality, including allowing for the ordination of LGBTQ persons. In 2009, a key piece of our statement was to hold four different ideas of “bound conscience,” that is, the way a congregation understands Biblical teaching on homosexuality, and how the congregation lives out that understanding. These stances range from full acceptance and celebration of LGBTQ persons to condemnation of any sexual acts outside of heterosexual marriage. Any of the four stances are acceptable in an ELCA congregation. This task force has two separate tasks. In the first task, we are to make editorial changes to the 2009 statement, to bring its language up to date with legal language about marriage found in our federal government laws. These editorial changes will come to the 2025 Churchwide Assembly for approval. The second point of business is to reconsider the social statement in its entirety for the 2028 Churchwide Assembly. This reconsideration may or may not alter the ELCA’s understanding of human sexuality. Social statements are created after extensive study and inquiry with various groups of people throughout the denomination. The task force does not make these statements from their own wisdom, but rather from the wisdom of people in the pews and pulpits. Any reconsideration would come before the 2028 Churchwide Assembly and must pass by a 2/3 vote. It is important for everyone to understand: this denomination is not going to insist on rostered leaders or congregations performing same-gender marriages in the coming months or even years. I know there is a rumor that the ELCA is just about to make this change. That is simply not the case. There will be no policy changes for at least four years, and even then, we do not know where the Spirit will lead us, as a task force, or as a denomination. The most painful part of this work is knowing in 2009, with the welcome of LGBTQ, many people felt this church was no longer for them. Other people, LGBTQ folks and their allies, celebrated that this church had finally made a place for them. Obviously, the 2009 decision made it possible for me to be ordained and to become bishop. I have very strong and happy feelings about this decision, but I know it came with a lot of struggle and many relationships were broken by this process. No matter what, I ask for this church to stand against hate of any kind. The world is suffering from so much discord and violence. I believe the church has a unique and critical role in speaking for love and justice in this time. I will work for a loving process on this task force. There are a lot of questions about what this task force is called to do. Many of your questions may be answered here. Please pray for the work of the church, on this task force and so many others who are trying to create the church of the future. Bishop Brenda Bos

Dear ones, I am writing in response to our nation’s elections more than two weeks after the votes were cast. I am confused, exhausted, unsure how to lead. And then it occurred to me: this “not knowing” is exactly the place God invites us to. II Corinthians 9 tells us God promised, “My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness” and later Paul admits, “When I am weak, then I am strong,” (II Corinthians 9). It seems to me the problem in American politics is we can never talk about weakness, except when mocking opponents. The world is filled with terrible strife and need, and each candidate must promise to have the answers in order to get elected. Of course people vote for that promise, in whatever package it is presented. What the 2024 election clarified for me is we simply cannot convince each other about anything. People on “the other side” think I’m crazy and dangerous, and the truth is, I often feel the same about people who vote for a different party than I do. I also think we struggle, as individuals and as the church, to know what are place in society is. Can one pastoral letter change Congress’ vote? No. Can I fret enough to sway an election? Clearly not. This does not mean I can advocate from being a religious leader; but it helps to know what my “lane” is. Bishop Dave Nagler of the Pacifica Synod says the nation is in spiritual crisis. I agree. We are not calling for the United States to become a Christian nation – I believe that is part of the problem – believing one religion has all the answers. But the soul of our country, our compassion, our generosity, our hope, hang in the balance. How shall we respond? Jesus drew us a picture of what the kin-dom of heaven looks like, filled with reversals of fortune and surprise endings and power being used in confounding ways. Why do we expect things to make sense when Jesus promised they wouldn’t? What is the church’s role today? The same it always was: care for the widow and orphan, feed the hungry, heal the sick. Visit those in prison, welcome the stranger. I’m not being political, I’m quoting scripture. The Bible never said, “Secure your borders, increase productivity and make sure you hoard wealth.” And look, I’m writing to the liberals as well as the conservatives here: we all hoard wealth, we all struggle with scarcity models, we are all afraid to lose too much. We all want power, and the church should be engaged in critiquing power and its use. Intolerance, both on the left and on the right, is the devil’s work. As soon as we decide our enemies are not really human, are sub-standard and impossible, we have lost any ability to move forward together. Putting up walls against enemies is the easy answer. The most vulnerable do need protection. I am not asking them to enter into the fray. But those of us with privilege and safety must engage deeper conversations to make life possible for those who do not have those rights. This is nuanced, complicated work. Jesus knew something about that, and I believe the Holy Spirit is poised to inspire us. Cruelty is unacceptable, in every situation. If President-elect Trump’s agenda moves forward, we will personally know people who are deported, or lose their marriage rights, or lose reproductive options. Our public lands will lose federal protections, our borders will be managed differently, international war and peace will shift. We need to be ready to respond, and most importantly, we need to be ready to care for those whose lives will be damaged or destroyed. We need to listen deeply to people who say they are suffering, even if we do not see it ourselves. Let’s listen when people complain about high prices and lost wages. Let’s listen when people worry about losing their marriage rights and risk deportation. Imagine that, listening and caring for all people, rather than just the ones we like. This is what it is to follow Jesus’ commandments. And here’s the really bold idea: let’s pray for our enemies. This is not weak – this is invoking the Holy Spirit to help us navigate our way forward. I know churches who prayed weekly for the president, until Kennedy was elected, or Nixon, or Clinton, or Trump. We seem to have missed the point: we are to pray for leaders, even if, maybe especially when, we consider them an enemy. We need divine help to heal our differences and stop hate. I’m not abdicating my responsibility to bring about change; I’m admitting we are going to need a spiritual revolution to get this done, and I for one have no idea how to do that, without spending enormous amounts of time in prayer and conversation. We need to stand in the midst of the chaos and understand it better. We also need to call out evil when we see it. But we must be willing to see evil in ourselves, beg God’s forgiveness, and be healed. I believe God will give us answers, if we ask the harder questions. Let’s not rush to feel better. Let’s sit in this difficult place of unrest and confusion, realize the Kin-dom of heaven is being birthed, and acknowledge this is exactly the place where God abides. Jesus told his disciples he was sending them out among wolves and commanded us to be crafty as serpents and innocent as doves. (Matthew 10:16) I think it’s time to take this commandment, along with love our neighbors as ourselves, very, very seriously. I will, and I ask God to help me.