From praise to grief: How Christian denominations reacted to Supreme Court's abortion ruling
Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS)
The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) expressed satisfaction with the court's ruling, releasing a Friday statement declaring that the denomination has "always advocated for the value of human life, which is made in the image of God."
"Thus, the church rejoices in this ruling while also praying for those who are hurting and afraid," the statement reads.
LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison addressed the ruling in a separate statement released the same day.
"Today is a monumental day, a day on which we simultaneously rejoice, pray, give thanks, lament, repent and weep," Harrison stated.
He noted that the court issued its decision on the church's feast day celebrating John the Baptist, calling the two events a "happy convergence."
"Today we celebrate the birth of the one who, before He was born, leaped in joyful Spirit-inspired confession when his mother met the mother of his unborn Lord," he wrote. "Today we take comfort in our Lord's unborn forerunner and in the unborn Savior."
"We also rejoice at the resounding victory for life in the United States. Many of us long doubted it would ever come. The Lord has had mercy upon us, even us, sinners all, even in these times."
"Today we continue to speak out against the evil of abortion, which many will continue to practice and advocate in states bent on death," he continued. "Many who have been misled by the father of lies and the culture of death greet this day with weeping and gnashing of teeth. Today we continue to sing that the Lord' has visited and redeemed his people' (Luke 1:68)."
