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Aided by pro-Palestinian propaganda, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) continues it's advocacy for actions that hurt Israel and that aid the terrorists in Gaza. The ELCA's spiel, posted below, states the number of Palestinian people killed in Gaza. Those numbers come from Hamas' Health Ministry. PUSH FOR CEASEFIRE BETWEEN ISRAEL & HAMAS CONTINUES: ELCA advocacy continues to urge Congress and the Administration to: (1) Publicly call for a ceasefire to prevent the further loss of life; (2) Prioritize the protection of all civilians, including by urgently securing the entrance of humanitarian aid into Gaza and working to secure the release of hostages; and (3) Urge all parties to fully respect international humanitarian law. Over 27,000 Palestinian people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, of which approximately 70% are women and children, and 1.9 million have been displaced from their homes (approximately 85% of the population). As of Jan. 29, 69 U.S. legislators have voiced calls for a ceasefire. ELCA is calling on senators to co-sponsor Senator Van Hollen amendment, which requires that “weapons received by any country under the [request be] used in accordance with U.S. law, international humanitarian law and the law of armed conflict.” The measure also requires the president to report to Congress on the matter and, according to the press release, to strengthen “current law that prohibits U.S. security assistance to any country that prevents or restricts U.S. humanitarian assistance to those in need.” Why It Matters to the ELCA Freed by the transformative life of Christ, the ELCA is committed to accompaniment, advocacy and awareness-raising with our partners in the Holy Land and in the United States. Sumud, an Arabic word meaning “steadfastness” used to describe this ministry and work since Oct. 2023 ELCA announcement, connects ELCA members to our companions in the Holy Land and seeks to follow the guidance, support the leadership and amplify the voices of our Palestinian partners. Together with our Lutheran companions, we accompany Palestinians and Israelis, and many other Jews, Christians and Muslims, in working to establish the justice required for peace. What’s Next In January, the Senate tabled Senator Bernie Sanders’ effort to curb military aid to Israel during Israel-Hamas war, but “the roll call vote begins to reveal the depth of unease among U.S. lawmakers over Israel’s prosecution of the war against Hamas…In all, 11 senators joined Sanders in the procedural vote, mostly Democrats from across the party’s spectrum, while 72 opposed.” A number of senators were unable to travel in time for the vote in D.C. due to winter weather storms. The future of the resolution is unclear, but Sanders has vowed to continue to advocate oversight from Congress. (See here)
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The Vice President of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Imran Siddiqui, took to Facebook to address some of the new state child protection laws, which he calls "anti-trans laws". He calls them "unchristian". See the full statement below.
Siddiqui also addressed what he called "my trans family in Christ" saying, "Know that you are deeply loved by God. Not in spite of who you are, but because of the entirety of who you are." This seems to say that the ELCA Vice President believes God loves the transgender aspect of these persons. Up till ten years ago most would call these transgender thoughts dysphoria, confusion, spiritual deception, and/or sin-based. 
ELCA head bishop sides with homosexuals, not Catholic adoption agency, in Supreme Court case7/12/2021 (The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) The Supreme Court this month unanimously ruled that a Catholic adoption agency in Philadelphia receiving government funding should not be forced to violate its beliefs by giving children to homosexual couples. Elizabeth Eaton is head bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. She recently did a gay pride video to celebrate pride month and now has come out with a statement regarding the Supreme Court decision: "The ELCA stands with our LGBTQIA+ siblings in Christ...affirming (their) vocation..as parents and foster parents." It is tragic that the ELCA has decided to side with practicing homosexuals and not the Catholic Church, which is simply trying to live the faith it has practiced for 2000 years. God invented the family. It takes a father and a mother to create a child. It is sad that the ELCA leadership apparently thinks it knows better than God on how to design the human family. Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock https://www.elca.org/-and-Events/8111  Living in and embracing sinful behavior is wrong. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has chosen to defy God and His will by celebrating and encouraging sinful sexual lifestyles. But more than that, the ELCA is advocating for children to be placed in households that are openly living in sexual perversion. In the ELCA article linked below the ELCA's Presiding Bishop writes about "...recognizing and affirming the vocation of LGBTQIA+ people as parents and foster parents." People living the LGBT life should be lovingly cared for as we pray they would chose to live in obedience to God. But children should not be placed in a household where the adults have decided to joyfully and defiantly live in sexual sin. So the ELCA is harming both those that are attracted to people of the same sex and also children who are forced to live in that defiant-to-God household. (See the ELCA article here) 
A letter signed by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is calling for President Trump's removal from office. Even more shocking, the ELCA comes against anyone who believes the 2020 election was fraudulent saying, "In addition, we recognize the need to hold responsible not only those who invaded the Capitol, but also those who supported and/or promoted the President’s false claims about the election, or made their own false accusations." (See here)
Buckle-up God-fearing Christians, in a country that was built on freedom of speech, half of our society, big tech and the faux-Christian community have succumbed to hate and are now calling for repercussions for those with thoughts and beliefs that are not their own. It is time to reexamine your relationship with God, invest in your faith, grow in your knowledge of God's Word and train up those around you to do the same. Fear not, God is with you. Here is the article on the ELCA website announcing the "ELCA presiding bishop joins NCC leaders in letter to vice president, Cabinet and Congress." 
Bill Tesch is excited, as you can read in the below post about Kevin L. Strickland, an openly homosexual man (married to a man), becoming bishop of Southeastern Synod, ELCA. Calling the Holy Spirit "her." Below Rev. Bill Tesch writes about NOT being elected as bishop of the ELCA's South Dakota Synod saying "I had thought I might be called, but the Holy Spirit, in her typically messy way, has revealed that I am not." What about false religions? Politics? Check out the following by the ELCA bishop:
(The following article is from Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.)
Watch the video below to see where offering dollars go in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The video claims that ELCA advocacy does not push a political agenda, while pushing the LGBTQAI+ agenda to the hilt. You may go to ELCA.org and view their press releases of liberal causes. As I said in an earlier post, the ELCA does not lean to the left, it falls over to the left. But, they say, they don't have a political agenda. In Jesus our Savior, Pastor Tom Brock (See video here or below) 
(The following article is from Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.) Look at the picture below and you will see Elizabeth Eaton, head bishop of the liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, holding hands with pro-abortion rights Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi on the right and homosexual ELCA Bishop Guy Erwin (who has a "husband") on the left. This is not surprising since Eaton has publicly defended abortion rights, transgenderism and homosexuality. The below video claims that the ELCA is neither blue nor red politically, but look through the news releases at ELCA.org and you will get a different story. The ELCA doesn't lean to the left, it falls over to the left. Eaton publicly was thrilled by the recent Supreme Court decision affirming transgender rights and she did a video celebrating gay pride in June. In a press release some months ago Eaton reminded that the ELCA supports abortion rights when she thought some conservative states would make restrictions on abortion. The ELCA continues its practice of paying for abortion for any reason in the denomination's healthcare plan, which is funded by offering dollars. Yes, that is right, your ELCA offering dollars can go toward killing unborn children for any reason whatsoever. Sincerely in Christ, Pastor Tom Brock 
Some of our more extreme members of society are calling to abolish and defund police in the United States. Not surprisingly, ELCA pastors have been joined in, voicing this radical and dangerous idea. Below is a sampling.
ELCA pastor, Elle Dowd, posts continually on this topic. Last week she shared an article that is seeking to "Defund Police," "Remove Police from Schools," and "Free People from Jails and Prisons." Here Rev. Elle Dowd is posting information about abolishing the police. ELCA Rev. Emily Scott has been active on social media encouraging the defunding of police: Marching in a protest, ELCA pastor, Adam Dowd writes "#abolishThePolice." On another post, Rev. Adam Dowd writes, "This is why we need #AbolitionNow #veteransforpeace #NoGoodCops" (see here) Infamous ELCA pastor, Lura Groen, wants to abolish police: Atticus Zavaletta, an ELCA trans vicar, wants to defund the police: 
See link here. Then we have ELCA Rev. Clint Schnekloth posting an article about the police abolition movement: 
ELCA seminary student, Amy Courts, posted this article about abolition of the police: Amy Courts goes on:
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Joelle Colville-Hanson, Director for Evangelical Mission, Northeastern Iowa Synod of the ELCA posted this:
President Trump's updated immigration policy, which applies heavy restrictions on immigration from certain countries, is being branded as racist by a top Evangelical Lutheran Church in America leader. A recent ELCA Facebook post shares an article written by Assistant to the Presiding Bishop of the ELCA Kathryn Lohre and highlights the quote,
"We are denouncing this policy not only as anti-Muslim, but also as racist and xenophobic..." The updated policy added the following countries to the United States immigration restriction list: Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Eritrea, Myanmar, Sudan and Tanzania. The ELCA has always been against the "travel ban," but they cheapen real racism and xenophobia by trying to brand this policy as such. The fact that one of the top leaders in the ELCA wrote this, and the ELCA chose to share and highlight this quote in their social media, should be concerning to all. 
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America cares about this planet, and that is admirable. But all too often this platform results in extreme measures and calling for policies based on questionable-science and conclusions. In an article from the ELCA's Living Lutheran website, Amy Reumann, Director of ELCA Advocacy, states, "Climate change is the result of human sinfulness, as we in the U.S. consume more than our fair share of natural resources through unsustainable lifestyles and energy use while those who contribute least to greenhouse gas emissions are suffering its impacts the most.” (See here) Ruth Ivory-Moore, the ELCA Program Director for Environment and Corporate Responsibility, similarly states, “All of creation is experiencing the impact of global warming. These extreme weather patterns result in unprecedented floods, droughts and wildfires, and rising sea levels that are leading to the degradation of the earth. And the consequences are not being borne equally. The most vulnerable among us are paying a higher price; that is, they are disproportionately impacted with extraordinary losses and damages. We are truly in a dire situation, but there is hope—both spiritually and scientifically.” These are highly questionable statements. Offering dollars given to the ELCA go to pay for this kind of advocacy. 
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, through its advocacy office, celebrated gay Pride Month this past June.
In most cases, some money given to ELCA churches makes its way to ELCA synods, which in turn distributes some of that money to ELCA Churchwide. ELCA Churchwide uses some of the money received to promote and advocate for things they believe in, decisions headed by the ELCA Advocacy division. Therefore money given by individuals pays for the ELCA's extreme and often unBiblical policies, beliefs, pastors and leadership.
Just days ago, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) displayed their support for "climate justice" by posting an article on Facebook titled "As Climate Summit begins, Churches Call for Action Now!"
The ELCA Facebook post quoted the article saying, "As people of faith, we call on the nations gathered at this summit to act ambitiously to address the impact of climate change.” ELCA Advocacy also chimed in on climate change with this post: From the Southwestern Texas Synod of the ELCA: More on climate change from ELCA Advocacy:
The ELCA also offered a webinar called "Moving Forward: A Guide to Climate Action For Your Congregation and Community." More can be found on the ELCA website on their "environment" page. 
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) met last month for their 2019 Churchwide Assembly. One event scheduled was a march to an ICE building in support of migrants, immigrants and illegal immigrants. Below are social media entries of the event from the ELCA, ELCA participants and observers:
The spring and summer of 2019 saw synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America holding their assemblies. It is a time when the liberal of liberals, the radical of radicals put down their keyboards and take a pause from their social media rantings to go to their ELCA synod assembly in order to vote for their favorite causes and elect their leaders.
Some of this year's attendees and happenings are contained below: Homosexual bishop, Guy Erwin was re-elected to another 6-year term by the Southwest California Synod. The synod Facebook page shared the news and a picture from SoCal Lutherans, which says they are "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, and Allied Lutheran Christians in Southern California." 
During the Delaware-Maryland (DE-MD) Synod Assembly one of the most vile pastors in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America was elected to the synod Discipline Committee, Rev. Lura Groen. (Read about her here)
Pastor Tamika Jay claims she is part of the DE-MD Synod and she wants attendees to know that "...not 'agreeing' about the rights and welcome of all of G-d's people is not about unity. That is bigotry."
Pastor Jay goes on to say that she is "proud of us" (the DE-MA Synod) for voting be a RIC (LGBT approving) Synod.
An article from the ELCA magazine Living Lutheran reports the Northeastern Minnesota synod passed resolutions on "polices that welcome migrants, opposing conversion therapy and calling for a commitment toward gender justice": 
A Pacifica Synod of the ELCA resolution was approved for "full participation of rostered ministers in equality, diversity and anti-racism training." Another resolution passed calling for "the use of inclusive and expansive language for humankind and God." (See page 38 here) I do not know exactly what this Tweet and the list of "Questions for Candidates" by the Upstate New York Synod means, but it doesn't sound good.
The Sierra Pacific Synod Assembly passed Resolution 2019-4 Regarding a Social Statement on Gender Identity and Gender Expression. It said: "RESOLVED that the Sierra Pacific Synod memorialize the 2019 Churchwide Assembly of the ELCA to commission a study leading to a social statement on gender identity, gender expression and human sexuality; and be it further RESOLVED that this study should facilitate education among our members so as to build awareness of the broad varieties of gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation among God's people, as well as provide pastoral care insights regarding concerns and issues of the transgender experience and gender non-conformity." (See here) ELCA Pastor Emily Scott, a past speaker at the ELCA Youth Gathering, wrote to those attending the Delaware-Maryland Synod assembly encouraging people to write on their name tag which pronouns people should use when addressing them.
Someone at the Oregon Synod Assembly of the ELCA Tweeted:
The ELCA's Saint Paul Area Synod Assembly's action:
At the Metropolitan New York Synod they "set the agenda for the Synod's strategic plan for the upcoming year, including major initiatives surrounding ecumenical efforts, inclusion of immigrants, and programming celebrating LGBTQIA+ congregants. The group also passed a resolution for consideration to the ELCA National Church Assembly in August, to declare itself as a "Sanctuary" Denomination, ready to seek justice and protection for refugees and undocumented people; and a resolution to endorse the Poor People's Campaign and encourage its members to participate where appropriate in the organizing, advocacy, and actions of the campaign." (See here)
Also the Metro New York Synod:
The Northwest Washington Synod passed the following resolutions:
The South-Central of Wisconsin ELCA synod passed resolutions "in support of immigration reform and refugee resettlement" and "human rights of Palestinian children." (see page 38 here) A workshop called "Transgender 101" was held at the Southwest California Synod Assembly. Below is a bunch of news from the New Jersey Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America:
Finally, the Metro D. C. Synod of the ELCA passed a memorial about the "process around revising" Vision and Expectations:
Below are comments by our friend, Rev. Tom Brock about resolutions and ELCA assemblies: Can you help Exposing the ELCA continue its ministry work? Your gift helps us do so. |
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
1 Thessalonians 5:21 Dan Skogen
Former ELCA seminary student and former ELCA member who is fed up with the ELCA's consistent mockery of God's Word. If you have been helped and blessed by Exposing the ELCA's ministry, please help us continue to proclaim the truth of God's Word to ELCA members who need to hear it.
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Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. - Ephesians 5:11
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