News Releases

LSA President and CEO Attends Easter Prayer Breakfast at White House

April 11, 2010 – Baltimore, MD – Jill A. Schumann, President and CEO of Lutheran Services in America (LSA), was among Christian religious leaders who participated in the Easter Prayer breakfast hosted at the White House on April 6.

Schumann said, “I was very pleased to be a part of a program that put emphasis on service to the neighbor, country and world. With LSA’s overriding commitment to love and serve the neighbor, the theme was especially resonant.”

In his remarks to the religious leaders, President Obama said, "One of my hopes upon taking this office was to make the White House a place where all people would feel welcome." The White House has previously held a Seder to mark Passover and an Iftar with Muslim Americans to break the daily fast during Ramadan.

The President spoke of the meaning Easter held for him and concluded by saying, “So, on this day, let us commit our spirit to the pursuit of a life that is true, to act justly and to love mercy and walk humbly with the Lord. And when we falter, as we will, let redemption -- through commitment and through perseverance and through faith -- be our abiding hope and fervent prayer.”

He thanked the leaders who were present, saying: “Many of you are living out that commitment every day. So we want to honor you through this brief program, celebrating both the meaning of Easter and the spirit of service that embodies so much of your work.”

Schumann said, “It was an honor to represent more than 300 Lutheran health and human service organizations at this breakfast and to carry the message of Lutheran care for the neighbor to Administration representatives and the other leaders who were present.”

Video and a transcript of President Obama's remarks at the April Easter Prayer Breakfast are at http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/white-house-easter-prayer-breakfast.

Lutheran Services in America creates opportunities with people in thousands of communities throughout the United States and the Caribbean as an alliance of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, and their more than 300 health and human service organizations. Working neighbor to neighbor through services in health care, aging and disability supports, community development, housing, and child and family strengthening, these organizations together touch the lives of more than six million people or one in 50 Americans each year.

###