Nearly 230 Lutherans participated in Lutheran Day 2006.

Lutheran Day 2006
On March 30, at Lutheran Day 2006, nearly 230 Lutherans from across Illinois gathered in Springfield at the state capitol to advocate for more justice and compassion in the state’s public policy. Sponsored by eight Lutheran social ministry organizations and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s State Public Policy Office in Illinois, the goal of Lutheran Day was to educate grassroots Lutherans and staff of Lutheran agencies about a variety of public policy issues critical to people and organizations that serve people in need.

Lutheran Day also celebrated the breadth and depth of the Lutheran presence in Illinois, particularly of Lutheran human service organizations including Lutheran Social Services of Illinois. “The highlight of the day,” said Dan Schwick, director of LutheranAdvocacy.org, “was the experience of people praying for all of our government leaders by name -- praying for wisdom in their deliberations and especially compassion for the people who are too often left out of government decision-making.” An evening reception and banquet at the new Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum and the presentation of the second annual "Paul Simon Courage in Public Service Award" to former Illinois Governor James R. Thompson, capped the day of prayer, study, advocacy and celebration. Click here for a news release on lssi.org.

Lutheran Day 2005
Representing Sen. Dick Durbin in accepting the first annual Paul Simon Courage in Public Service Award from Patti Simon is Bill Houlihan, a member of the senator’s staff.  Representing the award’s sponsoring organizations at the April 26 Lutheran Day in Springfield, Illinois, are (from right) Dan Schwick, director of Lutheran Advocacy Network, Linda Miller, board member of Lutheran Social Services of Illinois, and Gene Svebakken, president and CEO of Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois.