Gathered around word and sacrament, we remember and celebrate this gift of peace given the world in Jesus Christ. They need to be supported as they live out their vocation for the sake of the common good. These stances alone, however, cannot presume to stop the tide of violence, much less address the causes. Violent crime and those who perpetuate it must be stopped. The challenge is to restrain violence in ways that effectively limit it, and that do not simply repay violence with more violence.
Some violence is a reminder of the failure to ensure justice for all members of a society.
Others suffer from individual pathologies. Attention must be given to those especially vulnerable because of the breakdown of families and other communities of moral formation. This message was approved by the board of the Division for Church in Society and adopted by the ELCA Church Council on April 18. 1994. For example, see Article 16 of the Augsburg Confession. The proposed statement is to be considered at the 1995 Churchwide Assembly.