Founded in 1941, LPF offers a wide range of resources, workshops, support, and encouragement. LPF's main priority is to support effective peace education and advocacy by its members and local chapters, networks, and congregations. Membership is open to any individual, chapter, or congregation. LPF periodically plays a significant role in the most pressing issues of our time. In recent years, these have included world
hunger,
landmines, and Senate ratification of the
Chemical Weapons Treaty. In 1999, LPF's national coordinator served as the U.S. delegate to meetings in India to help plan the UN Decade for Peace, the largest peace education program in UN history. LPF's top advocacy priorities have included challenging militarism, ending hunger and extreme poverty, federal budget priorities, opposing war and militarism,
climate change, the
Israeli–Palestinian conflict, youth and military service,
nuclear weapons, and gender, race and economic justice. Lutheran Peace Fellowship's leaders facilitate as many as 80 workshops and leadership trainings a year. Popular topics for LPF workshops include Current Advocacy Priorities, Biblical Peacemaking, Nonviolence for a Violent World, Leadership Training in Peacemaking, and How to Be a Bridge in a World Full of Walls. LPF has written many highly regarded peace education and workshop resources. For example, it is currently updating one of its computer-based education activities, two of which were included in one of the largest critical thinking programs in U.S. public education. Its eleven "PeacePoints" leaders' guides have been used to present over 1600 education forums and workshop sessions. The international LPF headquarters are located in Seattle, Washington, and there are local chapters and networks in many parts of the U.S. ==See also==