Lutheran Seminary at Gettysburg Stand Against Gambling Facility
The Board of Directors at Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (LTSG) has adopted a statement opposing the proposed gambling facility for the historic city on May 4.
The Board of Directors at Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (LTSG) has adopted a statement opposing the proposed gambling facility for the historic city on May 4.
According to the news released by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), a developer had announced plans on April 26 to build a slot-machine casino on the east edge of Gettysburg, where the oldest of the eight ELCA seminaries resides.
The 24-member board cited the most important factors for the seminary’s opposition: economic justice, community impact and symbolic consideration of Gettysburg as a national historic treasure.
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"The expansion of gambling is not healthy for this or any other community that cares about its quality of life and its commitments to education, history and the common good," the board said.
The Seminary’s opposition reflects its long standing position against gambling, also taken by the the ELCA’s Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs and the Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania, which have generally opposed gambling and advocated specifically against the legislation legalizing gambling in Pa. adopted by the PA General Assembly last July.
"Gettysburg Seminary has a long-standing commitment to be a good citizen, concerned for the well-being of this community that is our home. Our board went on record opposing activities that in our best judgment will detract from the well-being of local
residents and our millions of guests," said the Rev. Michael Cooper-White, the president of LTSG.
In the statement, the seminary board called upon the “greater Gettysburg community, its institutions and governmental authorities to join in opposition against any plans to develop a legalized gambling enterprise in Adams County of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”
