Our Policy Statements
The strength of our community lies in our shared beliefs about the common good despite our individual differences.
In keeping with our church covenant, the Lake Street Church congregation has adopted the following policy statements.
Climate
In keeping with our covenant which states, “We affirm our kinship with the earth and all of its people” and “We promise to be stewards of the earth, sustaining it for future generations by cultivating self-discipline and gratitude”:
We honor the science of global warming and the short time period projected to avoid catastrophic tipping points. We take responsibility for stabilizing our climate and for the preservation of water, soil, and air quality necessary for life.
Therefore, it is the policy of Lake Street Church to support all reasonable efforts to protect and preserve the sacredness and viability of the environment including supporting environmental justice and other actions to reduce our carbon footprint.
Gun Violence
In keeping with our covenant which states, “To act against injustice and for peace”:
It is the policy of Lake Street Church to support all efforts for gun control to remove guns designed solely for the killing of other human beings from the public, and to support efforts to enact any and all other legislation to lessen the possibility of death from mass shootings, domestic violence, suicide and accidental shootings that plague the United States as a result of the proliferation of guns in this country.
Healthcare
In keeping with our covenant which states, “We seek to be transformed as we wake to the hidden wholeness of life”:
It is the policy of Lake Street Church to claim health care as a basic human right and to support all efforts to extend affordable health care coverage to all.
Economic Justice
In keeping with our covenant which states, “We pray together to love justice, act kindly, and walk humbly with God”:
It is the policy of Lake Street Church to support issues of economic justice, including the right to a “living wage,” programs to provide opportunities to lift people out of poverty, affordable housing, the elimination of food insecurity, quality education, and the creation of well-paying jobs in disadvantaged communities.
Criminal Justice Reform
In keeping with our covenant which states, “Our covenant with one another is rooted in the Christian tradition and the living practice of Jesus to welcome the excluded and care for the vulnerable”:
It is the policy of Lake Street Church to support criminal justice reform with an emphasis on rehabilitation and to include alternatives to incarceration for non-violent offenders, the mentally ill, and the elimination of discriminatory treatment of minority individuals.
Oppression and War
In keeping with our covenant which states, “We promise to make this church a womb of contemplation and action, so as to clarify our vision and strengthen our resolve to act against war and for peace”:
It is the policy of Lake Street Church to support efforts to help all oppressed peoples throughout the world, to oppose war as a political tool and to support the efforts of people for self-governance, “of the people, by the people and for the people.” *
* Abraham Lincoln
Immigration
In keeping with our covenant which states, “Our covenant with one another is rooted in the Christian tradition and the living practice of Jesus to welcome the excluded and care for the vulnerable”:
It is the policy of Lake Street Church to advocate for comprehensive immigration reform and to support the humane treatment and respect of all immigrants who are seeking entry to our country, recognizing that the United States is a nation of immigrants.
Racism and Discrimination
In keeping with our covenant which states, “We stand together in celebration of the divine that moves within, among and around us” and “We pray together to love justice, act kindly and walk humbly with God”:
It is the policy of Lake Street Church to embrace people based upon “the content of their character rather than the color of their skin” ** and to embrace people based upon the “content of their character” rather than their sexual orientation. It is the policy of Lake Street Church to recognize that we are all children of the Creator. We are committed to work with our brothers and sisters to dismantle systemic racism.
We recently stepped forward along with other faith communities to support the City of Evanston’s reparations programs by adopting a Reparations Resolution.