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ERLC trustees set to meet for first time since Roe overturned

ERLC trustee chair Lori Bova addresses the group at their September 2021 meeting. BP file photo


NASHVILLE (BP) – Even as they celebrate significant gains such as the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission trustees will learn at their upcoming meeting that there is still plenty of work to do.

At their Sept. 12 gathering at the ERLC office in Nashville, trustees are expected to hear updates on several ERLC initiatives and could potentially receive a recommendation for a new president from the presidential search team

Baptist Press reached out to search team chairman Todd Howard and ERLC board chair Lori Bova for an update. Howard declined to comment and Bova had not responded at the time of publication.

Howard told Baptist Press in July that the team was “working through the process with an active candidate.” The ERLC has been without a permanent president since Russell Moore resigned in May 2021.

Jan. 22, 2023, marks the 50th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, which the ERLC will recognize with The Road to ROE50. An estimated 61 million unborn lives have been lost through abortion since the Supreme Court’s 1973 decision made the procedure legal throughout the country. 

ERLC’s Elizabeth Graham said The Road to ROE50 will look “to unify and accelerate effective strategies through pro-life work leading up to and following the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

With the overturning of Roe, the focus of the battle has now moved to state legislatures. Several groups look to push back on pro-life measures as has happened in Kansas

Pro-life discussions will include the Psalm 139 Project, which places ultrasound machines in pregnancy care centers. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee took part in one dedication earlier this year, and former NFL great Benjamin Watson continues to be an ardent supporter.

Discussions will also involve the ERLC’s Digital Public Square, a project designed to provide resources for working through “complex ethical challenges with biblical wisdom and insight.”

Those resources will go toward the church, business community and government leaders.

Issues covered by the project include the public nature of faith, religious freedom, hate speech/nonviolence, sexuality/gender issues, pornography, objectionable content, misinformation, digital authoritarianism, and discipleship in the digital age.