On 1 February 2025, Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn (ret.) posted a tweet on X (formerly known as Twitter), stating:

Now it’s the “Lutheran” faith (this use of “religion” as a money laundering operation must end):

Lutheran Family Services and affiliated organizations receive massive amounts of taxpayer dollars, and the numbers speak for themselves. These funds, total BILLIONS of American taxpayer dollars.

Here are just a few of the recent grants awarded (pre @RobertKennedyJr) by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS):

LUTHERAN IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE SERVICE INC: $367,612,906
LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF THE SOUTH, INC: $134,190,472.95
LUTHERAN SERVICES FLORIDA, INC.: $82,937,819.95

There are MANY more organizations cashing in on our hard-earned money. These entities are receiving huge sums, which raise serious questions about how taxpayer funds are being spent and who’s benefiting.

It’s time to hold these organizations accountable. American taxpayers deserve transparency. Enough is enough!

And there is much more where these screen shots below came from.

To read the Flynn tweet on X, click here.

Elon Musk retweeted on 2 February 2025 with the following superscription:

The @DOGE team is rapidly shutting down these illegal payments.

To read the Musk tweet on X, click here.

Several Lutheran social service agencies and Global Refuge (formerly known as Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services) do indeed receive sizeable payments from the federal government. The vast majority of payments to the Lutheran social service agencies is in the form of Medicare and Medicaid associated with extended care facilities (nursing homes and convalescent facilities). Global Refuge receives payments as a contractor of the federal government for resettlement and refugee services authorized by the federal government.

All the named agencies, as recipients of federal payments for contracted services, submit to rigorous audit procedures in compliance with the Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States. The accusation of "money laundering" is ridiculous, and describing these payments as "illegal" is, prima facie, absurd. The statements by both Flynn and Musk constitute defamation and libel.

During my time at Keyser and Westernport, some of my parishioners were served by the Tressler Home in Frostburg, MD. I never saw anything but superb care of the residents and their family members. Also during that time, I interfaced with a Lutheran social ministry agency seeking to bring adult day care to Keyser. The professionalism of the agency's representatives was matched only by their desire to serve people in need.

As part of my S.T.M. program, I took a course on the history of Lutheran social ministry. During this class, we met with representatives of multiple agencies, discussing not only the services provided but also the management and business end of the operations. A high level of transparency marked those conversations.

During the mid-Atlantic floods of 1996, Lutheran Social Services acted as the fiscal agent, supporting much needed assistance to the people of our territory.

It is not, however, this laudable track record of service that refutes the libelous and ludicrous charges of Flynn and Musk. It is the very accounting mechanisms of the federal government and oversight of the inspectors general that have year after year ensured that the law has been followed.

Lest we think that the accusation is levelled only at these church-affiliated agencies, note well that Flynn's statement refers to our religious tradition in general:

Now it’s the “Lutheran” faith (this use of “religion” as a money laundering operation must end).

There can be (and, in fact, are) differences of opinion in our society on the role of government in providing human services. Until now, the general opinion, as expressed in the laws heretofore established by Congress, policies heretofore executed by the various departments of the executive branch, and opinions of the Supreme Court, has favored the utility of the government underwriting of such services and in contracting with religiously-affiliated agencies and institutions to provide such human services. In conformity with the law and the conscience of these agencies, such services have been provided without prejudice or regard for the religious affiliation of those served.

One may take this as an attack on religion, but, first and foremost, it is an attack on corporate citizenship. These church-related agencies are non-profit corporations organized under the laws of their respective civil jurisdictions, as are the ELCA, our synods, and respective congregations (with the exception of most congregations in West Virginia, but they are covered under a different set of laws). As corporate citizens, we operate under and in accordance with applicable laws for the common good. Doing so is no crime, but falsely accusing our church-related agencies (and ecclesiastical bodies) of felonious activity, and by doing so impairing our ability to conduct lawful business, is.

Late in the evening of 2 February 2025, Presiding Bishop Eaton issued a public statement on Youtube, and Gobal Refuge issued a public statement on its website.

It is not lost on me that all this broke on the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord, a day when the church harkens again to the words Simeon spoke over the Chist child:

A light to lighten the Gentiles,
   and the glory of thy people Israel (Lk. 2:32).

As it also says in Holy Writ:

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. (John 3:19).

✠Riegel, 3 February 2025