Here is an interesting list of the resolutions adopted at the Saint Paul Area Synod Assembly. Of course they voted to oppose the Minnesota Marriage Amendment (the MN amendment defines marriage to be only between one man and one woman. - Resolution 2012-1: Native American Reconciliation - Adopted with amendment
- Resolution 2012-2: A Resolution Opposing Voter Identification Amendment to the Minnesota State Constitution - Adopted
- Resolution 2012-3: Facilitate Lutheran Discernment Relative to Military Participation - Adopted with amendment
- Resolution 2012-4: A Resolution Opposing Marriage Amendment to the Minnesota State Constitution - Adopted
- Resolution 2012-5: Becoming a Multicultural and Anti-Racist Church - Adopted as amended
From the Saint Paul Area Synod website. (see here)
The state of Washington passed a law legalizing same-sex marriage which will take effect June 2012. Opponents of this law have started gathering signatures for a petition which would cause the law to be subject to a state-wide voter referendum (Referendum 74). In response to the petition, retired Evangelical Lutheran Church in America pastors Donald Heinz, Paul Borg, Don Clinton, Daryl Daugs, Richard Hermstad, Bob Keller, Bob Olmsted, Dick Werner and Lyle Miller wrote a letter published in the Peninsula Gateway, a news publication in Gig Harbor, WA. In the letter, the retired ELCA pastors proclaim their support for same-sex marriage and ask people to not sign what they call the “anti-gay” petition.
Calling the petition “anti-gay” shows me that these ELCA leaders have little respect for people who believe God’s Word on homosexuality. They feel that they sit in a position to judge those in favor of traditional marriage, and to deem them with derogatory terms. I also find it interesting that these are retired ELCA pastors, people who most likely have been leaders in the denomination for many, many years.
The retired ELCA pastors’ letter also states:
“We do not oppose Referendum 74 because we are moral relativists who merely want Christianity to adapt itself to shifting winds. But we do note that all demographic studies make obvious that the anti-gay prejudice will be obsolete by the next generation.”
“. . . the real threats to marriage and family in the United States come from heterosexuals.”
“. . . We are particularly dismayed that the lovely sounding ‘family values’ pitch is, in fact, Christian code for homophobia and historic prejudice.”
“Conservative Christianity, whether evangelical or Catholic, seems preoccupied with the dangerous sexuality of women and the cultural border-crossings of gays.”
“. . . Christians must not simply tolerate but welcome and embrace gays and join in celebrating their life together.” (see here)
As you can read, these retired ELCA leaders are very devoted to the cause of gay marriage and they have little regard for those who disagree with them.
So why are some of you content with being a member in the ELCA?
Financial trouble in the liberal Saint Paul Area Synod. Synod Bishop Peter Rogness reports, “after sailing through the first ten months of fiscal 2011 (Feb. 1 to Jan. 31) a healthy four percent ahead of the previous year, we encountered a poor December and January and ended the year 4.1 percent behind last year, the lowest mission support level in what has been a consistent range for 24 years. The synod council in January made some adjustments to the 2012 budget passed last May, and we will present for the 2013 budget a conservative plan that calls for drawing on reserves, and we will plan to conduct a review through the end of this year and hold out the possibility of another adjustment.” (read here)
--------ELCA pastor Grant Stevensen heads the faith department of Minnesotans United for All Families, an organization whose goal is to defeat a Minnesota Marriage Amendment which defines marriage as being between one man and one woman. (see here)
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Part of Edina Community Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Edina Minnesota’s Easter offering to go to gay advocacy group. The church newsletter tells us,
“This Easter, we lift up our neighbors of all ages by supporting organizations reaching out to the whole family:
Lutherans Concerned/North America and Plymouth Christian Youth Center.
Lutherans Concerned continues to seek full inclusion for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) individuals and families in all ELCA congregations. . . Please supports these organizations by participating in this year’s Easter offering.” (page 2)
This newsletter also has a large graphic telling everyone to “Save the Date” for an upcoming (gay) Pride Parade. (page 10)
And Edina Community Lutheran Church has launched a “Marriage Task Force, formed after the congregational vote to officially oppose the state constitutional amendment on marriage” happening in the state of Minnesota. (page 11) (see here)
A Lutheran pro-homosexuality organization reports that an ELCA bishop, the third one Exposing the ELCA has highlighted this year, is advocating for gay marriage. LCNA says, “Richard Graham, ELCA Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Synod, will be attending the rally in favor of marriage equality . . .” The bishop was reported to be attending a rally and conducting “lobbying visits to legislators in support of marriage equality bill in Maryland.” (see here)
(see the other ELCA bishops advocacy actions here and here)
In the same vain, a keynote speaker at this summer’s 2012 ELCA National Youth Gathering went to her state legislature (CO) to speak in support of “civil unions for GLBTQ couples.” (see here) This is the same person (ELCA pastor, Nadia Bolz-Weber) who recently performed a transgender renaming service at her ELCA church. (see here)
So to all those ELCA members who think that the actions and policies of the ELCA will not affect you, what to you think now? To those of you sending your kids to the ELCA Youth Gathering, do you realize you are sending them into the lion's den? To those of you who think the actions of the ELCA leadership go against God Almighty’s will, how do you justify your contentment continuing to be part of this denomination?
The ELCA’s Minneapolis Area Synod assembly “went on record against changing the state Constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman.
Their vote made them one of the largest faith groups yet to formally oppose the amendment that will go before voters Nov. 6, which would ban same-sex marriage in Minnesota.”
Lauren Morse-Wendt, an author of the ELCA resolution in support of gay marriage, said, “(T)his marriage amendment to define marriage between a man and a woman is a discriminatory amendment which would deliberately deny justice to a portion of the population of Minnesota.”
A Minneapolis Area Synod spokeswoman said she “hopes congregations will study the resolution and ‘consider how they will respond.’”
“The Minneapolis synod's resolution states that the amendment ‘would prevent one group of committed couples and their families from pursuing ordinary legislative or legal means to gain the support and protections afforded to all others.’” (see here)
The ELCA leadership is on an all-out offensive to legalize gay marriage. So much so that they have taken an aggressive position against defining marriage to be only between one man and one women.
The ELCA likes to say they are loving and welcoming, but the truth is that they are acting in hate for God and for their fellow man. God warns us to stay away from sin because He knows how destructive it is. The ELCA leadership’s position results in those with same sex attraction being bound in sin. How evil is that?
Only those who support the ELCA’s policies and theology should remain members. If you disagree with the ELCA it is time to get yourself, your family and your friends out. The ELCA has turned its back on the God of the Bible and is running full speed with the god of this world, the god who wants us to be bound in sin and separated from God.
For the second time in the last two weeks an ELCA bishop is taking a public stand, advocating for homosexual marriage in his state. The Rev. E. Roy Riley Jr., bishop of the New Jersey Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America co-authored a column that was published by NJ.com, a New Jersey online newspaper.
In the column the ELCA bishop and two other faith leaders say, “(a)s representatives of faith traditions that struggled for decades with this issue, we know that attitudes about homosexuality do not change easily. Still, it pains us that so many opponents of marriage equality invoke a handful of scriptural texts — open to a variety of interpretations — to deny their fellow citizens equal treatment under civil law.”
The authors then list reasons why, they believe, the Biblical verses warning against homosexual relations should not be followed.
Then they state, “(t)hanks to the wisdom of the First Amendment, differing theological notions about the nature of marriage will continue to flourish across our diverse religious landscape. But a state has neither the right nor the competence to promote one of those theological understandings in opposition to others — particularly when doing so deprives some citizens of the rights enjoyed by others. . .It is our prayer that the state’s legislators will find the wisdom to act with . . . impartiality and justice.” (see here)
This is your ELCA leadership. Denying the clear reading and teaching of scripture (God’s word). Encouraging people to immerse themselves in sin. Trying to persuade state legislators and the public to support what they want, gay marriage.
(blog from 2-2-2012 reporting on ELCA Bishop, Chris Boerger, of the Northwest Washington Synod public statement in support of homosexual marriage)
_Here is a statement made by ELCA Bishop, Chris Boerger, of the Northwest Washington Synod to the Washington state Senate Government Operations, Tribal Relations & Elections Committee:
"Mr. Chairman, I am Chris Boerger, the bishop of the Northwest Washington Synod of the Evangelical Church in America . . . In 2009, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America voted to commit itself to find ways to allow congregations who choose to do so, to support and hold publicly accountable lifelong monogamous same gender relationships . . .One of the people who had questions about our doing this said, "Bishop, isn't that marriage?" And my response is, "Well, in everything but name." The reality is, the Lutheran church has always held that it is the state that defines what marriage is; it's the church that then blesses people who enter into that relationship. We have now stated our desire to bless those who are publicly accountable in lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships. We can't call it marriage, you can . . . we ask for that freedom." (see here, beginning at the 1:12:20 mark)
I find it very interesting that this high level ELCA leader said that the ELCA sanctioned gay marriage in 2009. The ELCA leadership used to claim that they did not. They wouldn’t even admit they were “blessing” gay unions.
This isn’t the first appearance of Bishop Boerger on Exposing the ELCA. Here is a story we linked to in which he boldly stated, “It is ‘blatant sin’ for human beings to fail to protect creation.” (see here) The Bishop makes a highly questionable and subjective declaration like this, yet he encourages people to embrace a sinful lifestyle which is clearly in opposition to scripture. What a picture of the leadership of our dying denomination.
_The ELCA made the decision to disobey God’s Word when they “RESOLVED, that the ELCA commit itself to finding ways to allow congregations that choose to do so to recognize, support, and hold publicly accountable life-long, monogamous, same-gender relationships.” When the decision was made, many ELCA leaders tried to convince people that this did not mean “bless” homosexual unions and marriages. It was a deceptive argument meant to keep as many biblically literate ELCA members (financial contributors?) as they could in the denomination. We all knew, at the time, that ELCA pastors would soon be blessing and performing homosexual unions/marriages.
We were right. Exposing the ELCA has documented it, showing ELCA pastors performing, supporting and offering to perform and bless homosexual unions and marriages. (see here, here and here)
And now the list gets bigger. There are some Evangelical Lutheran Church in America pastors in Illinois who want everyone to know that they will “perform a religious rite for same sex couples entering a civil union AND perform it at the house of worship.” Since these pastors have made it a priority to inform as many people as possible about their decision, Exposing the ELCA will help. (I give credit to the pastors for publicly admitting their willingness to perform homosexual marriages/unions. There are some ELCA pastors who will perform them, but they will not talk about it openly.) Here are the Illinois ELCA pastors’ names and the churches they serve:
Rev. Bill Veith - Trinity Lutheran Church - Alton ILRev. Elizabeth Palmer - Augustana Lutheran Church of Hyde Park - Chicago ILRev. Dr. George Koch - Ebenezer Lutheran Church - Chicago ILPastor Craig Mueller - Holy Trinity Lutheran Church - Chicago ILRev. Michelle L. Miller - Holy Trinity Lutheran Church - Chicago IL Pastor Monte Johnson - Immanuel Lutheran Church - Chicago ILRev. Liala Beukema - Lake View Lutheran Church - Chicago ILPastor Timothy J. Brown - Luther Memorial Church of Chicago - Chicago ILRev. Brian Hiortdahl - Resurrection Lutheran Church - Chicago ILRev. Erik Christensen - St. Luke's Lutheran Church of Logan Square - Chicago ILRev. David L Lewis - Salem Lutheran Church - Chicago ILRev. Fred Kinsey - Unity Lutheran Church - Chicago ILRev. Olin Slett - Holy Trinity Lutheran Church - Elgin ILRev. Betty E. Landis - St. Paul Lutheran Church of Evanston - Evanston ILRev. Kathy Nolte - Good Shepherd Lutheran Church - Oak Park ILRev. Suzanne Anderson-Hurdle - Good Shepherd Church- Romeoville ILRev. Melody Eastman St. - Paul Lutheran Church - Wheaton ILReverend Lloyd A. Heroff - Retired - Fort Myers FL
(see here)
Here are a few more Illinois ELCA pastors who will “perform a religious rite for same sex couples entering a civil union.”Pastor Keith Fry - Elgin ILRev. Dr. Marnie Rourke - Oak Park IL
(see here)
One day, in the near future, the ELCA will officially sanction same-sex marriage. It is inevitable.
Way back in May 2004, the ELCA Sierra Pacific Synod Assembly passed a resolution entitled “In Support of Civil Marriage.” (Resolution 04-05) It said,
“Resolved, that the Sierra Pacific Synod in Assembly affirms that marriage and other civil rights protections are essential to making all families safer and more secure; and be it further
Resolved, that the Sierra Pacific Synod in Assembly affirms the right of every American to marry, including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender couples; and be it finally
Resolved, that the Sierra Pacific Synod in Assembly supports the efforts to make civil marriage for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender couples a reality in our country and opposes any attempts to discriminate against lgbt couples and individuals.” (see here)
Exposing the ELCA has detailed a lot of information showing ELCA leadership who are in support of gay marriage. (see here) We now add this next piece of information to our collection.
A California-based Lutheran website claiming to be a “Christian Ministry for all sexual orientations and gender identities” goes so far as to list some Los Angeles ELCA churches who will perform same-sex marriages. The website says, “Can we get married in church? Yes!! There are pastors and congregations in Los Angeles that will welcome you and are ready to help you plan your wedding day!” (see here)
And a few sentences later, “You may also directly contact one of these churches in your area, whose pastors have already agreed to (and are happy to) perform same-sex weddings:
Altadena: Pastor Ruth Sievert, Christ the Shepherd Lutheran Church
Canoga Park: Pastor Wayne Christiansen, Faith Lutheran Church
Glendale/Burbank: Pastor Keith Banwart, St. Matthew's Lutheran Church
Hollywood: Pastor Dan Hooper, Hollywood Lutheran Church
Hollywood: Pastor Mark Rasbach, Hope Lutheran Church, Hollywood
Los Angeles: Pastor Carlos Paiva, Angelica Lutheran Church
Manhattan Beach: Pastor Luther Martell, Trinity Lutheran Church
North Hollywood: Pastor Sue Devol, St. Matthew's Lutheran Church,
Santa Monica: Pastor James Boline, St. Paul's Lutheran Church,
West Los Angeles: Lutheran Church of the Master.”
God must be very sad that these church leaders are leading people into bondage. Like it or not, if your church stays in the ELCA, it will one day be happening there.
ELCA Bishop, the Rev. Robert Rimbo of the Metropolitan New York Synod signed a statement which says, “We, the undersigned, urge the New York State Legislature to protect families in New York State by extending marriage to same-sex couples.” (see here)
(Read the full statement here)
If you think gay marriages will not become the norm in the ELCA, think again. See the following;
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