Word from Wiese

Ideas from the Bishop

Ideas from the Bishop

Word From Wiese

January 14, 2026

Friends in Faith,

I’m so appreciative that readers of this WFW include both Republicans and Democrats, young and old, and folks who can see events differently and articulate important and varying opinions.

Most of you know COS is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Sixty-five bishops lead our sixty-five geographical synods. Every six years, we prayerfully discern and elect a presiding bishop to lead the whole church. Our new presiding bishop, Bishop Curry, is from Chicago, just like the newly elected pope. From time to time, presiding bishops offer reflections to the church. To give you a taste, today I pass along his comments about last week’s events in Minneapolis.

My hope is that whether you agree or not with everything the bishop writes, his words will be helpful in your prayerful analysis of these very interesting times.

Thanks for the hard work each of you does in keeping your hearts and minds open, seeking what it means to live, speak, and act faithfully each day or, as Martin Luther King Jr. prayed, keeping the arc of the moral universe bending toward justice. I’m grateful for your energy.

In Christ’s hope,

Pastor Fritz

Bishop Curry Issues Statement on ICE Shooting in Minneapolis

January 9, 2026

Learn to do good; seek justice; rescue the oppressed; defend the orphan; plead for the widow. (Isaiah 1:17).

Alongside our siblings in Christ in Minneapolis and throughout Minnesota and all who have been impacted by aggressive immigration enforcement and violence by federal law enforcement agents, I mourn the shocking shooting death of Renee Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent on Jan. 7, 2026. I join calls for a thorough investigation into this case, accountability for the shooting and a de-escalation of ICE enforcement across the United States. Alongside the Lutherans who have held vigils in Minneapolis and around the country, our church prays for God’s peace in this community and justice in this case.

The ELCA is committed to upholding and guaranteeing basic human rights for the safety of migrants and their families.

Our church works toward just and humane policies affecting migrants in and outside the United States. We decry language that dehumanizes immigrants who are beloved children of God and escalates tensions between federal agents and communities. Surges of immigration enforcement and violent encounters like we are seeing in Minneapolis — as well as in Chicago; Atlanta; Los Angeles; Portland, Ore.; and Washington, D.C.— have indiscriminately targeted our neighbors, creating fear and uncertainty. This has created conditions where immigrants, those accompanying them and federal agents are all at risk.

ELCA social teaching provides guidance in complex situations: “Public safety depends upon trust in law enforcement to respect and protect the rights of all” (“Gun-related Violence and Trauma”). As a church, we are concerned by the trend of law enforcement and federal agents involved in immigration enforcement relying on the use of force in our communities without sufficient accountability or oversight.

God calls us to be witnesses to God’s presence, healing and hope. I invite ongoing prayers, vigils and advocacy for peace and justice, and I affirm the ELCA’s “pledge to continue our church’s historic leadership in caring for refugees and immigrants” (For Peace in God’s World).

In Christ,

The Rev. Yehiel Curry

Presiding Bishop

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Reflection Questions from Pastor Fritz

  1. Where do I notice my heart closing or opening when I encounter viewpoints or events that challenge my own assumptions, and how might God be inviting me to listen more prayerfully?
  2. Bishop Curry calls the church to seek justice and uphold human dignity. What might it look like for me, in my daily life and community, to “learn to do good, seek justice, and rescue the oppressed”?
  3. In uncertain and divided times, how can I participate in bending “the arc of the moral universe toward justice” while still remaining rooted in Christ’s hope rather than fear or anger?