Lutheran Office of Public Policy - California, an Advocacy Ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

		The Lutheran Office of Public Policy—California An Advocacy Ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 1701 L Street Sacramento, CA 95811 Voice: (916) 447-6666 Fax: (916) 447-6668 E-Mail: lutheranadvocate@earthlink.net The Lutheran Office of Public Policy–California is a justice advocacy ministry of the Pacifica, Southwest California & Sierra Pacific Synods, and the Church in Society Program Unit of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Criteria for Making Decisions on Public Policy Issues

When making a decision about public policy issues the following questions may be asked ...

	Is there a policy base for addressing the issue in the official statements of actions of the ELCA or its predecessor church bodies?
	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 possiblity of achieving the desired outcome?
	How basic 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—California, 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.