LCMS initial reaction to Thrivent’s ‘Financial Neutrality Policy’

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, guided by the Word of God, is unabashedly and actively pro-life. Thus we are deeply concerned by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ decision, announced Feb. 6, 2014, to adopt a “Financial Neutrality Policy” effective immediately to guide its decisions for outreach funding of charitable organizations.

Under this new policy, neither pro-abortion nor pro-life organizations are eligible to receive outreach support or funding from any of Thrivent’s charitable assistance funding programs. While we applaud the restrictions on funding pro-abortion organizations, this is not the outcome we had envisioned for the more than 50 pro-life charitable organizations that have received Thrivent assistance in the past to provide key support for women, children and families. Sadly, this leaves many Christian pro-life agencies providing these pivotal services in a position of unexpected financial shortfall.

Synod leadership is keenly aware of these troubling events and is in the process of reviewing the details and implications of this new policy to determine a course of action in response to it.

In the meantime, under the new policy, we understand that LCMS members may earmark their Thrivent Choice Dollars® for their local parish, and we encourage LCMS parishes receiving these funds to use them to fund pro-life organizations. We further encourage LCMS Thrivent members to contact Thrivent directly with any questions or concerns about its policy.