Dear Mayor Paul TenHaken, Councilors Greg Neitzert, Marshall Selberg, Rick Kiley, Janet Brekke, Curt Soehl, Pat Starr, Christine Erickson & Alex Jensen:
As Pastors and Deacons in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, we take seriously Christ’s command to love and care for our neighbors. As Jesus tells us in (Matthew 22:35–40, Mark 12:28–34, and Luke 10:27a), the commandments to love God and neighbor are the two commandments on which all the other laws of God hang.
We believe that our responsibility to fulfill this commandment impacts how we understand the freedom we have as children of God — and as citizens of the United States, the state of South Dakota, and the city of Sioux Falls. As Martin Luther reminds us in The Freedom of a Christian, “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.” Following Luther’s example, we believe we do not have to fulfill God’s law to earn God’s salvation. But we still strive to fulfill those laws out of love for God and for our neighbor. Accordingly, we believe our freedom does not entitle us to do whatever we feel like, or to disregard the welfare of our neighbor; to the contrary, our freedom demands of us that we are to do our best to care for our neighbors and take their needs and safety into account in our decisions and actions.
COVID-19 brings sickness and death to our neighbors, and suffering and grief to their families.
According to numerous studies and the scientific consensus of health professionals, wearing masks is one of the most effective ways to slow the spread of this deadly disease.
Therefore, we ask you to vote to require face-coverings indoors. Doing so would not infringe upon any constitutional freedoms we have as American citizens, nor would it infringe upon the freedoms we have as God’s children. Rather, it would help us to more fully live out our freedom in Christ to care and love our neighbor, and in doing so, would help us live out the goal stated in the preamble of our Constitution — to “form a more perfect union…promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity…”
The issue in this debate is not freedom, but instead the best way that we can care for our neighbors and promote the general welfare of our great city. We believe that requiring face-coverings indoors is the best way to do that at the current time. We respectfully ask you to vote in favor of requiring face-coverings indoors.
Respectfully submitted,
The Rev. Constanze Hagmaier
Bishop, South Dakota Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Rev. Justin Kosec
Dean, Crossroads Conference of the South Dakota Synod
Pastor, Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, Sioux Falls
The Rev. Chris Matson
Pastor, Peace Lutheran Church, Sioux Falls
The Rev. Layne Nelson
Senior Pastor, East Side Lutheran Church, Sioux Falls
The Rev. Randall E. Gehring
Senior Pastor, Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, Sioux Falls
The Rev. Dr. Richard W. Swanson
Professor of Religion/Philosophy/Classics
Augustana University, Sioux Falls
The Rev. Dr. Paul HW Rohde
Springdale Lutheran Church, Sioux Falls
The Rev. Dr. Siri Beckmen Sorenson
Senior Pastor, Grace Lutheran Church, Sioux Falls
The Rev. Bailey Fossum
Pastor, Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Sioux Falls
The Rev. Amy Martinell
Pastor, Augustana Lutheran Church, Sioux Falls
The Rev. Ann Elizabeth Rosendale
Campus Pastor, Augustana University, Sioux Falls
Pastor Lori Hope
St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, Sioux Falls
The Rev. Christine Hallenbeck Ask
Pastor, Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church, Sioux Falls
The Rev. Jonathan Hallenbeck Ask
On Family Leave From Call, Sioux Falls
The Rev. David Bacon
Messiah Lutheran, Sioux Falls
The Rev. Laura J Phillips
First Palisade Lutheran Parish, Sioux Falls Resident
The Rev. Nicholas J. Collins
Lead Pastor, Holy Cross Lutheran Church & Preschool, Sioux Falls
The Rev. Katherine Olson
First Lutheran Church, Sioux Falls
The Rev. Elizabeth Pagnotta
Senior Pastor, Brandon and Split Rock Lutheran Churches, Brandon
Pastor Paul Matchan
St. John American Lutheran Church
The Rev. Robert Hansen
Peace Lutheran Church, Sioux Falls
Deacon Susan Wold Rohde
Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church, Sioux Falls
Deacon Jodi Hanson
Select Learning, Sioux Falls
Deacon Christie Meier
Trinity Lutheran Church, Tea
The Rev. Timothy Lemme
Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, Sioux Falls
Pastor Jeff Eisele
Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church, Sioux Falls
The Rev. Dr. Richard Bowman
Professor, Augustana University
