Et cetera : What Iowa Christian leaders are saying about the ‘one, big, beautiful bill'

By Tom Foley

As Iowa Christian faith leaders are preparing for the impact President Trump's "one big, beautiful bill act" will have on their parishioners, many of them are voicing their opinions to the communities they serve. 

The expansive bill includes cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, health care services, additional work requirements and new immigration policies. 

"With the 'big, beautiful bill,' I keep thinking to myself, we have so many generous people in the neighborhood and we have so many generous organizations but can those institutions and those people continue to be as generous once this bill goes through?" said Rev. Lizzie Gillman, priest at St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Des Moines. 

"The Gospel in itself is political in the sense that laws and policies affect people and people are made in the image of God," Rev. Minna Bothwell, pastor of Capitol Hill Lutheran Church in Des Moines said. "We are called as a church to tend and care for God's people."

The social justice committee at Capitol Hill Lutheran Church made a post urging parishioners to contact Congressman Zach Nunn and "let them know this budget does not reflect your values or your faith." Bothwell said she "stays true to the text," of the Gospel and whenever Jesus addresses "something difficult in the community," she will talk about it on Sunday.

The church's social justice committee meets weekly to discuss the church's missions "to address the concerns of the community and the impact bills and laws have on real people that we serve every single day."

Pastor Joseph Hall of Crossroads Church in Council Bluffs also openly discusses his political beliefs with parishioners. 

"If we can't talk about it in church, where are they going to hear it? You know, from the lame-stream media? From liberals? They're not quiet about their beliefs and their stance and so I'm the same," Hall said. "I can't sit silent because somebody's going to teach my people, one way or the other. They better hear it from me, from a biblical, faith standpoint."

Recently in a court filing, the Internal Revenue Service stated churches could openly campaign and endorse candidates. Hall responded to this news in a Facebook post, stating "This pastor endorsed without their permission. But thank you anyway. Maybe now more pastors won't sit silently while their nation is at stake?!" 

He said he has been named "America's most patriotic pastor" by "several sources" and wears the title "proudly."

He was included in the book "Donald Trump's Army of God," by Clifford Cook and Anise Cook, a book on Christian nationalists in Iowa but claimed the reporters tried to "give us a bad name." 

When Trump was running his campaign in Iowa, Hall served as a caucus captain and "hosted multiple events for the Trump team." He has also opened multiple Trump rallies including the recent America250 kickoff at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.

Hall claims the separation of church and state has always been taught wrong: "It was never to take the church out of the state, it wasn't to take people of faith out of the government, it was to not allow the government to control the church," and that "godly, biblical values should direct every policy in office." 

The Rt. Rev. Betsy Monnet, 10th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, however, says that within the Episcopal church "all of our sermons ought to be based on the Gospel." She said the church is "attempting to preach the Gospel" and "the values that are behind it" but parishioners may not hear their priests referring specifically to pieces of legislation or "individual political positions."

"Somebody who goes to an Episcopal church will probably hear prayers for the hungry, for the poor. Prayers for immigrants and prayers for those who are in danger. Prayers for those who are seeking healthcare and so on. Prayers for our creation, that we might be good stewards of it," Monnet said. 

The Congressional Budget Office states the total federal spending for SNAP will be reduced by $287 billion between 2025 and 2034. According to a study done by Feeding America, this number is roughly equivalent to between 6 billion and 9  billion meals per year.

Brother James Dowd is a Benedictine monk and founder of The Benedictine Way in Omaha. His work as a monk has taken him to congregations across Iowa and the surrounding states, including a recent visit to St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral in Des Moines.

At St. Paul's, he delivered a homily urging members of the congregation to "love urgently" those impacted by the bill passing, specifically including immigrants, the trans individuals and those who will lose SNAP benefits.

According to Dowd, the Omaha neighborhood where his team hosts a food pantry has an unemployment rate of around 8%, compared to the rest of the city where it's "virtually nonexistent." He said between the cuts to the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement and the cuts to SNAP benefits, his St. Benedict's Food Pantry will see two things: "the folks who are already coming will need more help and new people are going to be coming on top of it." 

His team's pantry operates two days a week, Saturday morning and Tuesday afternoons. The Saturday morning slots are mostly attended by elderly individuals, he said.

"The decision they're making is 'Do I pay for medicine, do I pay for food?' And that can literally be a life-threatening decision," Dowd said. 

On Tuesday afternoons, Dowd sees mostly mothers with young children who "just can't make ends meet." He said watching them coming home from work and picking their kids up but struggling to feed their kids is "the most heartbreaking."  

However, Hall sees "things a little differently."

"We try to bridge the gap and meet the need but then, not just give stuff away," Hall said. "That's not why we're called, we're called to lead them to a better life, to making better decisions, being better people, better citizens, better Christians."

Crossroads Church in Council Bluffs doesn't have any on-site outreach ministries but instead organizes a food and clothes drive for the local New Visions Homeless Services and hosts fundraising efforts "several times a year."

Hall is a U.S. Army veteran and has served as lead pastor of Crossroads Church for just shy of 13 years. 

"When hard-working, law-abiding, American-loving patriots take more money, that's a good thing. A big, beautiful thing. This is the greatest tax break in U.S. history," he said. 

Hall added, "the big, beautiful bill is a big, beautiful win" for the faith community, Christians, the church, the nation, and for citizens. He believes this budget bill will "secure our future," for both "America and Americans." 

Under the budget bill, beginning in 2027, taxpayers will be able to claim a credit of up to $1,700 a year to be used as qualified donations that support private K-12 school scholarships.

Hall says this "tax-credit for school choice" is a good thing for the faith community as it gives people of faith, who couldn't afford it before, the chance to send their kids to a Christian school and "get them out of the woke public school system where liberal, evil teachers are indoctrinating our children." 

The Iowa Department of Education already operates the Students First Education Savings Account. These accounts give taxpayer dollars totaling $7,826 per student for the 2024-2025 school year to eligible families to use on private school tuition and expenses. 

He also believes the new federal law protects religious freedoms and claims "the last administration was attacking and trying to eliminate" those freedoms.

"The impact of this bill is huge. It's the most pro-family, pro-worker, pro-Christian, pro-American bill ever passed, that's why it's called 'big and beautiful,'" Hall said. "Plain and simple, its America first. Not illegals, not other countries."

Bothwell calls the deportation-focused provisions in the budget bill "devastating," claiming it will "tear families apart" and "send people to communities that are unsafe." She said for families who are seeking asylum from political violence, "there are already quite a few fees to even get an attorney to help you file for asylum and file for a permit," which will be exacerbated by the new fees introduced. 

The new fees required by this bill include:

• a $100 non-waivable fee to apply for asylum and a $100 annual fee for each year the application is pending.
• A new application fee of $250 for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.
• An increased, non-waivable fee from $50 to $500 when applying for Temporary Protected status.
• An increased fee of $550 for an initial work permit based on asylum applications.
• A fee of $275 for each renewal or exemption of employment authorization.

"It's putting individuals who are already vulnerable in a more vulnerable place. I see our calling as Christians to ease burdens, not to create tolls," she said. "These punitive fees punish families who are fleeing violence and seeking safety which then compounds trauma with financial strain. Financial strain that already exists before this bill goes into practice."

Hall, however, believes in stricter rules. 

"Stricter rules on illegals, undocumented immigrants is a good thing just as stricter rules on criminals is a good thing. No consequences on criminals leads to greater crime," Hall said. 

This bill rewards and enforces "buying American, making American, staying in America," he said. "The fact of the matter is, if we are true and true Americans, we should love America and we should support America. If we don't love it, then you should find somewhere else to live."

"I don't think it's prudent budgeting as much as it is a denial of dignity," Bothwell said. "These are people, they're not faceless statistics, they're our neighbors, they are made in God's image and we are called to love and support them."

Bothwell's parish is composed of members "born on five different continents, and are from 23 different countries." She says many of the members in her congregation rely on SNAP programs and her parish helps them apply for food assistance. 

She referenced a study conducted by the Iowa Hunger Coalition that states over 60% of SNAP recipients report the affordability of healthy foods as a barrier to healthy diets, saying "over 60% of these recipients are working families they just don't earn enough to cover the cost of utilities."

"Adding work requirements doesn't create self-sufficiency, it just kicks people off of programs who are already struggling to get by," she said. "It's kind of like, I don't know, pulling a ladder away from somebody, right? And then blaming them for not climbing the ladder you've just pulled away."

Beginning on Dec. 31, 2026, beneficiaries of Medicaid ages 19-64 will have to work 80 hours a month to be eligible for benefits. Currently, beneficiaries of SNAP programs without dependents aged 19-54 need to work for more than three months in three years.

The new work requirement will require beneficiaries ages 18-64 and those with children aged 14 years and up to work the same length of time, but it is currently unclear when these requirements will go into effect. 

Hall believes "restrictions are a good thing" because unrestricted access to food can "more times than not, enable their situation and enable their mindset." He said setting rules ensures people won't "take advantage of the system." 

He quotes 2 Thessalonians 3:10 "For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: 'The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat,'" to give a biblical argument for the implementation of work requirements for SNAP and Medicaid benefits. "The Bible is clear, it says if a man doesn't work, he doesn't deserve," he claims.

"A work requirement is just another hoop for people to jump through, if you've seen the actual SNAP application, it's like 15 pages long. You don't easily get into the program, it takes a lot of work," said Heather Wachendorf, minister of New Beginnings Christian Church in Urbandale. "And if you're involved in recertification and you're out there trying to find a job or a better paying job, it's another job just to ensure you have what you need."

Wachendorf's parish opened up a "community food closet" in part to address some of the shortcomings of the food pantry system. 

"Most food pantries are part of a network and you can only go to one food pantry in the network, once a month. And when you go, you only get three days worth of food. And so that just leaves a really big gap," Wachendorf said. "We decided to open up our food closet to be a give what you can, take what you need model."

In addition to addressing a specific need, by keeping the closet accessible and unmonitored 24/7, Wachendorf believes this model allows people to "maintain their dignity and their privacy." Wachendorf's parish partners with other churches to combine efforts in addressing food insecurity in their communities including St. Andrew's Episcopal Church.

Every Friday morning, Gillman's and Wachendorf's communities get together to "rescue" food from the Iowa Events Center, repackage it into individual meals and split the food evenly between the two communities' food closets. Gillman says these meals are especially important for consumers on the go, "like many of our houseless friends," who can utilize the microwave at the nearby gas station to enjoy a warm meal free of charge.

Gillman says that churches are partnering with their communities to do all they can but "Des Moines is getting hungrier and hungrier." 

"I see all these comments on social media saying 'the churches will take care of it, the churches will take care of the people,' and we are doing the best that we can now but we don't have the infrastructure to take care of these needs that keep popping up and popping up," Gillman said.  

She encourages every church in a metro area to have a community fridge because "it is the best way neighbors can share their gifts and provisions with one another," but also it allows parishioners "to meet each other." She says the space created by the community fridge has led to her meeting many of the local families and creating space for neighbors to "hang out." 

Another exacerbating issue for Gillman is that many of the individuals reliant on the churches' feeding programs are members of the "sandwich generation," meaning they are taking care of both young children and adults whom they can't afford to put into a nursing facility. 

She also said she feels "very afraid," that these health care cuts may cause closures to nursing homes and rural hospitals. She is also "worried" about the fact that Iowa is an OB-GYN desert and that pregnant mothers may not be able to get the care they need.

"Medicaid is not full of people who are trying to game the system, it's full of people who are hoping to someday not need Medicaid," said Monnet "The structure of our laws and the structure for exemption and our minimum wage laws and other employment laws are such that somebody can be working full time and still not afford their own insurance."

Monnet presides over all Episcopal churches in the state of Iowa. She expressed concerns that people will lose their medical coverage as a result of "onerous documenting requirements." She said that the U.S. is looking at Medicaid policy backwards by saying "the only people who deserve healthcare are the ones who can earn it somehow," rather than fostering a healthy society through providing health care to those in need. 

"If I look at Jesus and I look at what he did, during his lifetime, he healed whoever came to him. It didn't matter if they were rich or poor, it didn't matter if they were from the immediate community or far away," Monnet said. "People would bring him people from all over the place and he would heal them because health is important to God."

This story has been updated to clarify that Pastor Joseph Hall was called "America's most patriotic pastor" by "several sources" but not "Donald Trump's Army of God."