The Lutheran Office of Public Policy – California makes statements and takes positions on public policy in accordance with the Holy Scriptures, the Ecumenical Creeds, the Lutheran Confessions, and ELCA Social Statements, Messages,  and Social Policy Resolutions. The social statements of the ELCA’s predecessor church bodies also provide a policy base for LOPP-California’s advocacy.

Criteria for Making Decisions on Public Policy Issues

When making a decision about public policy issues, we ask the following questions:

• • How urgent is the need to be addressed?
  • How many people are affected by the problems?
  • Is this a timely issue?
  • Will it be possible to address the issue in upcoming public policy deliberations?
  • What is the possibility of achieving the desired outcome?
  • How important is this issue – e.g. does it cause or contribute to other problems about which the church is concerned?
  • Is there a special reason for the ELCA to take a leading role in addressing this issue?
  • Is there sufficient staff time for effective advocacy?

In addition to the expertise of the Director of the LOPP-CA, the advice and counsel of a Policy Council consisting of Lutheran individuals from across the state are utilized in researching and prioritizing responses to public policy issues.