STRENGTH FOR THE STRUGGLE
WITH REV. JOSEPH ELLWANGER
CIVIL RIGHTS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE VETERAN
Pastor Joe Ellwanger, with Joyce pregnant with their first child at the rear, led the first Southern white citizens’
march in support of voting rights, a group of 72, from a church in Selma to the Dallas County Courthouse, the
day before Bloody Sunday in 1965. Earlier, Joe had been the only white person to help officiate at the funeral
service for three of the four girls killed in the 1963 bombing of Birmingham’s 16th St. Baptist Church. In 2008
he received the Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award
from the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Other recipients
have included Rep. John Lewis, Ambassador Andrew Young,
Rev. Joseph Lowry, and Danny Glover. Now “retired” from
longtime parish ministry in Milwaukee, in 2014 Joe authored
Strength for the Struggle, a memoir and congregational
handbook for a faithful witness to the Gospel and God’s
vision of justice, including racial justice, economic well-being,
hospitality toward immigrants, criminal justice reform, and
human rights for LGBT people. Joe and Joyce continue their
witness through community organizing and other means.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22
PACIFIC LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL LUTHERAN SEMINARY
10:30 am Gathering with Refreshments on the Chapel Patio
(provided by the Student Association)
11:00 am Worship in Word and Sacrament in the Chapel of the Cross
(Pastor Ellwanger presiding)
12:30 pm Community Lunch and Fellowship in Sawyer Commons
(cost $5.00) conversation with Joe and Joyce
SATURDAY, APRIL 25
HOPE LUTHERAN CHURCH
2830 MAY RD., EL SOBRANTE, CA 94803
(510) 222-6394
9:00 – 10:00 am Continental breakfast, Strength for the Struggle,
conversation (RSVP’s appreciated). Prior to the 10:00 am start of
Dismantling Racism: An Introductory Workshop, same location;
for workshop info: [email protected], 510-222-6394;
registration questions: [email protected], 650-590-0980)
SATURDAY, APRIL 25
ST. JOHN’S LUTHERAN CHURCH, 1701 L ST.
SACRAMENTO, CA 95811, OEHLER HALL SOUTH
4:30 pm Strength for the Struggle, presentation and discussion
(following the pre-Detroit Sierra Pacific Synod youth gathering)
SUNDAY, APRIL 26
ST. MARK’S LUTHERAN CHURCH, 1600 UNION AVE.
FAIRFIELD, CA 94533 (707) 422-4741
Pastor Ellwanger, preaching, 8:30 and 10 am
Copies of
Strength for the Struggle
will be available for purchase
and signing by author.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Mark Carlson, Lutheran Office
of Public Policy – California
[email protected]
(916) 447-6666