Category: Herchurch

Information About ELCA Pastor Arrested for 'Suspicion of Possession of Child Pornography'

11/27/2018

The following blog contains additional information about ELCA pastor Steven P. Sabin, upon his arrest for "suspicion of possession of child pornography, possession of more than 600 files of child pornography and distribution of child pornography."

(See here)

Rev. Steven P. Sabin was, up until a week ago, the pastor at Christ Church Lutheran in San Francisco, CA.

(See below and here)

In 1998, ELCA Rev. Steven P. Sabin was “removed from the ELCA clergy roster for being in a committed, same-sex relationship while serving as pastor at Lord of Life Lutheran Church, Ames, Iowa.”

In 2010, Rev. Steven P. Sabin was "welcomed back" into the ELCA and to the ELCA clergy roster. This happened because of the ELCA's 2009 decision allowing practicing homosexuals to be pastors in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

When reinstated, Rev. Sabin said, "For two decades, many have been grieved and alienated by the ELCA's exclusion of gay and lesbian pastors blessed with loving spouses. I hope and pray that they can, like me, lay aside the hurts and take hope from the gracious power of God to renew and direct the church into evermore faithful and effective proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I hope that this will be the beginning of a new period of evangelical outreach for the ELCA aided by our new witness to the forgiveness and grace of God truly being for all people...Like the psalmist, I can only observe with awe and gratitude: 'This is the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes.'" (see here)

Pastor Sabin served as one of the primary ordaining clergy in the ELCA's first ordination of a transgender pastor. See video below. Also participating in that ordination is the pastor of the ELCA's goddess worshiping church, herchurch.

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ELCA Church Holds 'Goddess Harvest Festival'

11/15/2018

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Last weekend a church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Ebenezer Lutheran Church, (also known as "herchurch") in San Francisco, CA, held their 2018 Goddess Harvest Festival.

At the Goddess Harvest Festival one could take a "Goddess Painting Class." Below is how the ELCA church described the class:

"Join Jennifer and Katie for an afternoon encountering the Divine through painting! This fun, no-talent-required class will guide you from start to finish in creating your own sacred icon of the Divine Feminine. This class we will honor the Goddess of Willendorf, the Neolithic Great Mother." (see here)

The ELCA church's website gives additional information about their monthly "Goddess Painting" class which is captured below. Every month they paint a different goddess. The list is:

"2018 Goddesses:
January: Cerridwen, Celtic goddess of the cauldron of transformation
February: Wakahiru-Me, Japanese goddess of the morning sun
March: Butterfly Maiden, Native American Spring goddess
April: Hina, Hawaiian Moon goddess
May: Hathor, Ancient Egyptian goddess of childbirth and beauty
June: Tree Goddess
July: Minoan Snake Goddess
August: Mami Wata, African ocean goddess
September: Arianrhod, Welsh/Celtic goddess of weaving cosmic time
October: Hecate, Greek goddess of the crossroads of life and death
November: *second Sunday of the month* Willendorf, Neolithic Mother goddess
December: Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas" (see here)

Note, herchurch calls this "encountering the Divine through painting."

This is not a Christian activity. In fact, it is in direct opposition to God's First Commandment which says "And God spoke all these words:

'I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

You shall have no other gods before me.'" - Exodus 20:1-3.

It is hard be believe, but herchurch, which has a long disturbing history (see here) is in good standing with the ELCA. The ELCA is complicit in this evil practice.

Here are some other activities that took place at the Goddess Harvest Festival:

- Spirit Voices Of Light/Totem Animal Allies Mask Making
"Join Deborah...to explore connection with totem animal allies through a Shamanic journeying and mask making process. For this workshop, Deborah will lead participants using the combination of Shamanic journeying with the creation of a mask for each person. Participants will leave at the end of the workshop with a mask pulled from their face. Space is limited to 10 participants."

- Make your own Goddess Totem
"You are invited to make a small goddess figure using polymer clay, which hardens by baking. You will be amazed at how easy it is to create these personal totems to take home! All supplies provided. Take yours home to bake or pick it up Sunday, baked for you."

- Liturgy of the Divine Feminine
"Honoring and raising up the Divine Feminine in the cosmos, community and ourselves. All are welcome.
(ELCA) Pastor Stacy Boorn"

- Tai Chi Chih
"In this easy, gentle movement class, participants will engage in moving meditation to enliven them with the natural flow of energy known as chi. Tai Chi Chih’s 19 movements and one pose promote health, well-being and longevity."

(See here)

If you are an ELCA member, you should ask yourself why you part of a denomination that allows this.

Rev. Tom Brock shared his thoughts on Facebook about the "Goddess Harvest Festival," which you can read below:

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Goddess Harvest Festival at ELCA Church with New Age Workshops

10/16/2016

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(The following was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and twitter - here.)

Ebenezer Lutheran Church, now called Herchurch, is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Herchurch worships God as "the goddess" and "Mother". At its upcoming Goddess Festival, here are some of the workshops:

Mandala making (my note: mandalas are Hindu symbols)
Sacred drumming
Goddess painting
Our Earth Mother, ourselves…
Cleaning out and owning your queer identity: a healing guided meditation with healing priestess
Yoga for ecstasy and healing (see here)

If you are a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and this doesn't get you to leave, I ask you to ask yourself "What would?" ELCA leadership does not discipline this congregation and in the past has defended it.

Sincerely in Christ,

Pastor Tom Brock
pastorsstudy.org

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ELCA Congregation Brings in Witch/Priestess to Help Paint Hindu Goddess

9/19/2016

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(The following was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and twitter - here.)

Herchurch, a feminist congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, worships "the goddess" and God as "Mother". Now the church is bringing in a witch to help congregational members paint a Hindu goddess.

Years ago, the pastor of Herchurch took her women on a retreat and gave them each a piece of clay to make an Asherah statue so they could worship the forbidden "divine feminine." (Asherah was the pagan goddess that Old Testament Jews were forbidden to worship).

When people have complained about this congregation in the past, the ELCA bishop in California defended it. National ELCA headquarters had a speaker at one of Herchurch's events.

This congregation worships pagan images of God, brings in a witch, and remains in full fellowship with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America--- no discipline whatsoever.

Check out Herchurch.org. This is perhaps the worst heresy I have seen in the ELCA.

In Jesus our Savior,

Pastor Tom Brock
Pastorsstudy.org

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ELCA Goddess Worshiping Church

2/15/2016

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Ebenezer Lutheran Church in San Francisco, better known as "herchurch," is a goddess worshiping church that is operating in good standing and with the full knowledge of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The ELCA has placed their stamp of approval on the worship of false gods by their knowledgeable allowance of it. Here is what herchurch has been up to lately.

What is better for Christmas than a prayer to the goddess Sophia, posted on their church Facebook page? -

Next month herchurch will be offering an opportunity to partake in the Spring Equinox Women’s Ritual called "Animal Medicine." Herchurch describes this three-hour ritual saying, "In the silence of the quiet mind, we create the sacred fertility in which we receive the messages of Spirit. The Equinox is a time to honor and balance polarities – female/male, dark/light, body/spirit, below/above. Through the Earth and Sky Animal Medicine Spread, each participant will connect with specific aspects of animal spirit guides to interweave her own polarities and create greater balance within, and in the world as a whole." (see here or view screenshot below)

Asking ELCA members to connect with "animal spirit guides" is really an invitation to connect with demonic spirits. Leviticus 19:31 says "You are to consult neither mediums nor familiar spirits. You are never to seek them—you'll just be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God." And God's Word tells us in 1 John 4:1 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” What are the leaders of this church and the ELCA doing, allowing this kind of evil in the denomination?

How about another prayer? This time to a creepy looking Irish goddess. Here are a couple of excerpts from the herchurch Facebook post:

And

Finally, herchurch has a list of books on the church website that they offer as "Recommended Reading." Here are a number of them:

Rebirth of the Goddess by Carol P. Christ.
Living in the Lap of the Goddess by Cynthia Eller
She Who Changes, Re-Imagining the Divine in the World by Carol Christ
The Alphabet Versus the Goddess by Leonard Shlain
Mary Magdalene – Beyond the Myth by Esther De Boer
The Creation of Feminist Consciousness by Gerde Lerna
Return of the Great Goddess by Burleigh Muten
The Heart of Christianity by Marcus J. Borg
When God Was A Woman by Merlin Stone
Saving Jesus From Those Who Are Right by Carter Heyward
In Search of the Christa-Sophia by Jann Aldredge-Clanton

This is crazy stuff.

Crazy is a good word to describe this next comment by ELCA pastor, Clint Schnekloth, administrator of the ELCA Clergy Facebook page, as he defends the goddess worshiping ELCA congregation in San Francisco saying:

The following are some past blogs about herchurch that show the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's allowance, support and acceptance of this goddess-worshiping church. (see here, here and here)

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ELCA Synod Praises Goddess Worshiping Church

7/12/2015

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Posted by Sierra Pacific Synod - ELCA on Sunday, July 12, 2015

The ELCA's Sierra Pacific Synod was at the ELCA goddess worshiping Ebenezer Lutheran Church (Herchurch) in San Francisco today. They posted three pictures of their time there and included this message -

"Today's worship at Ebenezer/Herchurch was warm and welcoming! A joyful way to start a new week."

The ELCA is plainly and simply an evil denomination. The 1st commandment means nothing to them, the Bible is arbitrary.

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"You Shall Have No Other gods Before Me"

2/5/2014

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The San Francisco Conference of Lutheran Churches, ELCA has a disturbing blog detailing their involvement and participation in non-Christian religious activities.

This conference of ten ELCA parishes along with three affiliated outreach ministries celebrated “Pluralism Summer” last year. Here is how they describe it.

“As we approach the final third of our 'Pluralism Summer,' I’m reminded of how much I still have to learn. Our guests have fed us with such a rich banquet of information, personal stories and experiences: from chanted Baha’i prayers to a Wiccan guided meditation to a Sufi’s reflections on Ramadan – and more.

And there’s still good stuff to come: Sufism Reoriented, Hindu, Secular Humanism, Sikh, as well as a woman extraordinarily ordained as a Roman Catholic priest. At the end of the summer, we’ll go off on a congregational retreat to Mercy Center, where one of their specialties is a program of East/West meditation. We’ll get to spend some time with Fr. Greg Mayers, who is both priest and Zen master.

Some people may see this venture as a slippery slope into relativism, but I would heartily disagree.” (see here)

One of the churches involved also hosted a “goddess craft sale” and "goddess Harvest Festival” last fall. Among the many activities was a workshop conducted by Mz Dionne Kohler, Drumming Priestess. Mz Kohler writes -

“I am guided by Gaia and the rhythms of Our Mother Earth. As the Spirit Moves
you...please join us, Nov. 16th & 17th.”

Another workshop was titled, “Energize, Renew and Uncoil Your Divine-ness with Kundalini Yoga” (see here)

Below are the 10 parishes that are part of the The San Francisco Conference of Lutheran Churches, ELCA

Christ Church Lutheran, ELCA
Pastor Steven P. Sabin
Website:http://www.christchurchlutheran.org/

Ebenezer/herchurch Lutheran, ELCA
Pastor Stacy Boorn
Website:http://www.herchurch.org/

First United Lutheran, ELCA
Pastor Susan M. Strouse
(Dean, San Francisco Conference of Lutheran Churches)
http://www.fulc.com/index.htm
Pastor Susan’s Blog at http://progressivechurch.wordpress.com/

Grace Lutheran Church, ELCA
Website: http://www.gracesf.com

Lutheran Church of Our Savior, ELCA
Interim Pastor David Rohrer

St. Francis Lutheran Church, ELCA
Website: http://www.sflcsf.org/

St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, ELCA
Pastor Elizabeth Ekdale
Website: http://www.stmarks-sf.org/

St. Mary and St. Martha Lutheran Church, ELCA
Pastor: Stacey Siebrasse
Website: http://www.smsmlutheranchurch.org

St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church of San Francisco, ELCA
Website: http://www.stmatthews-sf.org/

Saint Paulus Lutheran Church, ELCA
Pastor Dan Solberg
Website: http://www.saintpaulus.org/index.html

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ELCA Church Tower to Have Hindu Goddess and Naked Woman Mural

3/16/2013

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Imagine driving down the road and passing by a beautiful old Christian church. Now imagine that church has a huge painting of a bare breasted women/goddess on it for all to see. Not only that, the mural also includes an eight armed goddess named Kali. Kali is a Hindu goddess. Hard to conceive of, but that is what you will find beginning this November if you drive passed the ELCA's Ebenezer Lutheran Church (also know as herchurch) in San Francisco, CA. The church plans on placing this mural on their church tower for everyone to see.

The ELCA church's website tells us about the mural saying,

“The Goddess mural will rise 64 feet high with four basic symbolic representations of the divine feminine: The Earth Mother, the Black Madonna, the Christ-Sophia, and an androgynous Kali-Kundalini figure whose chakras merge with the phases of the moon and the universe. They will be surrounded by colorful and playful animals, birds, plants and earth’s elements.” (see here)

Here is a link that shows what the mural will look like (on the left hand side of the page).

A fundraising page for herchurch's project has this to say about the mural, “Ebenezer/herchurch Lutheran (herchurch) refers to the Divine Presence through many names and metaphors. More than 50,000 years ago the sacred one was called mother. Breaking recent tradtion from male diety, this mural aims to herald the return of the feminine divine in modern Christian, interfaith and feminist spirituality.” (see here)

Ebenezer/herchurch Lutheran has been worshiping pagan gods for quite a while now, with the full knowledge and approval of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. I say this because it is a fact that ELCA leadership know what is being taught and what goes on at this church, and they allow it to continue. (see here, here and here) They have the power, authority and responsibility to stop it and they do not. A church leader from the ELCA Office of the Presiding Bishop even spoke at a herchurch feminism conference showing the audience pictures of a female Jesus. (see here)

The fundraising page goes on to say the painting will be, “Attached via panels to the East face of the purple herchurch tower, this mural promises to be a focal point in the world famous San Francisco mural collection. . .The dream is to share the beauty to all who pass and prophetically envision our mission of rebirthing the divine feminine in ourselves, the church and the world.”

A Hindu goddess (as well as the other pagan gods) lifted up and worshiped by a Christian church is pure wickedness. They are blatantly breaking the commandment set by God, "You shall have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:3) It is offensive, sinful, blasphemous and evil. ELCA members, know this: your leadership allows it!

What kind of God-honoring Christian denomination would do that? And what about the huge painting of a topless woman/goddess being placed on the church tower? Children will see it. Yet, many of you will still support the ELCA.

Think about it. Is this the kind of denomination you want to be part of? Sure it's no fun to leave your ELCA church, the one you have been going to for so long, the one that has so many of your friends attending. But remember, your church is part of the ELCA which allows goddess worship and openly stands against God's Word in so many areas. This is a denomination that has taught YOUR pastor.

So what is more important to you, going to your comfortable church or going to a church that believes the Bible and worships the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and His Son Jesus Christ? One day you may need to justify your decision to God Almighty.

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Top ELCA Leader Shows Pictures of Jesus as a Female

12/9/2011

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I just came across a recap of the happenings at the now famous ELCA and worshippers of Isis conference, officially called “The 5th Annual Faith and Feminism – Womanist – Mujerista Conference,” that was held at the ELCA’s Ebenezer Lutheran church (herchurch) in San Francisco. (See the previous blog here). The synopsis of the conference provided some extremely important information. Dr. Mary Streufert, the ELCA Director for Justice for Women, from the Office of the Presiding Bishop was a keynote speaker at the conference. During her teaching titled, "Jesus Christ Beyond the Divide: A Christian Feminist Proposal," she presented images of a female Jesus to the gathering. This comes from the account of Dr. Aldredge-Clanton, which was posted on Ebenezer Lutheran's website. I think it is reasonable to assume they are giving a truthful account of what happened. Here is what Dr. Aldredge-Clanton said exactly, “. . . I experience Dr. Mary Streufert’s erudite and engaging presentation that includes female images of Jesus Christ, providing a bridge for feminism to move into traditional Christianity.” (read here)

On an older Ebenezer Lutheran church webpage, which detailed the then upcoming conference, a preview is given of Dr. Streufert’s talk. At the end of the preview it says, “(y)ou can expect some interesting images!” (see here)

I find it very troubling that a leader in my denomination, straight from the headquarters of the ELCA and Office of the ELCA's Presiding Bishop, is mocking our Lord and Savior like this. How fitting that Dr. Streufert does this at a conference at which many of the teachers and speakers are priestesses of Isis or of other goddesses. Maybe even more troubling than Dr. Streufert’s blaspheme is the fact that the ELCA is allowing this.

I have to believe that showing images of a female Jesus is nothing new to Dr. Streufert. In Dr. Streufert’s book, Transformative Lutheran Theologies: Feminist, Womanist, and Mujerista Perspectives, she writes a chapter titled, “The Person of Christ from a Feminist Perspective: Human and Divine, Male and Female.” (see here)

Propagating a female Jesus is blasphemous. Changing Christ into a god of your own fashion and design, in opposition to the testimony of Scripture, is in reality, creating a new god. This female Jesus, which feminists in the denomination love to call “Sophia,” is not The Son, Jesus. It is a false god. The ELCA is promoting and involving itself in idolatry.

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Herchurch Pastor Hopes Feminists Destroy Historic Christianity

11/4/2011

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There has been a lot of talk and publicity on the idolatry and goddess worship happening at the ELCA church, Ebenezer Lutheran, in San Francisco (otherwise known as “herchurch”). If you haven't seen it yet please check out what is happening at their November conference (see here and here). Of great importance is the fact that the ELCA Office of the Presiding Bishop is being represented at the conference and that person will be speaking. Since this is an important topic, I thought I would share with you some more information about this conference and the ELCA pastor responsible for it.

First, I came across a blog discussing “herchurch’s” 2009 conference. This comes from the perspective of one of the conference speakers. She says:

“I was very, very surprised at the feeling of singing words of love and praise to the Sacred Feminine in hymn tunes which were already familiar.”

“A rich and wonderful conference such as this with the title ‘Marys, Madonnas, Goddess-with-Us’ wouldn’t be complete without small group workshops for integrating sacred feminine spirituality through creative artwork or conversations with presenters, or more meditation and chanting. . . I kept seeing people walking around with Goddess dolls, wands really, that were magical and potent and strong in color and feeling. It turned out they were from a workshop given by the artist Linda Roberts. They were personal creations that each creator seemed to be in love with, and I’m sure they will grace many home altars.”

“Once we understand that Mary Magdalene is the voice of the Goddess Herself in Christianity, it becomes very interesting to learn her symbolic language so we can hear her better in our own dreamworld and artwork.”

“It was a very full weekend; full of love, full of respect for Rev. Stacy Boorn and her courage within Christianity, and full of secret hopes for the religious changes we need to support ‘the New Creation’ we all want.” (see here)

Now let’s hear from the woman who is responsible for this yearly conference, “herchurch” pastor Stacy Boorn (ELCA).

Toward the beginning of the interview Pastor Boorn talked about the people’s reaction to her church’s name, “herchurch”:
“. . . when we posted that on the front of the church, people would drive by and then identified the congregation as “herchurch,” knowing what we meant the deity was “her.”

The interviewer, soon after, asked about referring to goddess as “holy other.” Rev. Boorn, in her response said, “ . . . but ‘holy other’ also gives a sense of tie, I think with many religions’ traditions.”

Here are some more statements made by Rev. Boorn from that interview:

“. . . but way beyond the writing of those scriptures (the Bible) the wonderful work that we’ve tied into was Maria (inadible) Buddhist and others who showed us that for tens, and tens, and tens of thousands of years that there have been women leading societies, and goddess the head of that, and they produced peace communities . . .”

“For example, you know we have a Wednesday evening goddess rosary which is a ritual that we’ve developed . . . in a very similar way to a ritual of the Anglican or the Roman Catholic prayer beads but with a more intentional liberation connectiveness to the holy mother, goddess of us all. And so for some, people will pray prayers envisioning an actual in the womb or the Earth as the body of the 'holy other' or the cosmos as the mother so it is wide open and I think that is the important part of it. On this journey with ‘she who is,’ there are many voices in the feminist religious world who have various takes, and I think it is important in what we do in this ritual community is to listen and use them all for our richness.”

“. . . we have in our communion at the goddess rosary, some persons who, when we talk about ‘mother, maiden, crone,” as a symbol or metaphor for the 'holy other,' there will be some in our community who will actually name three goddess, Isis and others . . .”

“The day is coming, I hope, when the patriarchal religious traditions are totally dismantled and something new comes forth and I think the feminists are going to make that happen.”

“Hopefully our congregation will not be just one but one of many. And when we can be a model for others we are grateful to do that.” (listen here)

This goddess worshipping church, supported by the ELCA leadership wants to be a model for other churches. Their pastor wants to see feminist goddess worship dismantle and replace historical Christianity worldwide.

We cannot say “well this is just one church.” Not when this church has been supported and protected for years by the ELCA leadership. Not when the ELCA Office of the Presiding Bishop is represented at their goddess worshipping conference. The ELCA leadership is moving the denomination in this same direction. I know I do not want to be part of a denomination that encourages the worship of demons and pagan gods.

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ELCA Office of the Presiding Bishop and Worshipers of Isis

10/24/2011

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Fellow members of the ELCA, don’t miss this.

Next month, an ELCA church in San Francisco, CA, will be hosting its annual heretical conference called “The 5th Annual Faith and Feminism – Womanist – Mujerista Conference.” The ELCA church hosting this conference is called Ebenezer Lutheran, otherwise known as “herchurch.” Ebenezer Lutheran is the church of Rev. Megan Rohrer, the first openly transgender minister ordained by the ELCA.

This year’s conference has many non-Christian events on the schedule, (see here), but I would like to highlight a few of the conference speakers.

On Friday night of the conference, at 10 p.m., you can participate in guided meditations with Lady Lorean of Isis Oasis. I looked up “Lady Lorean of Isis Oasis,” and I found that she is high priestess and proprietor of a Temple and mystical center dedicated to the goddess Isis. For those who may not know, Isis is the “ancient Egyptian goddess of fertility.” (see here)

Why is this person being brought in to speak at a conference conducted by an ELCA church? And why is the ELCA churchwide allowing it? Good questions to ask as we attempt to understand more about Lady Lorean. Her website says:

- “If you are called by the Goddess, the Temple of Isis is the largest active Iseum in the world today. The Temple has initiated over a thousand priestesses in it’s thirty year history.” (see here)

- “You are invited to visit our mystical center dedicated to the Goddess Isis.” (see here)

- “THE STAFF . . . provides massage therapy, tarot, past life and astrology readings by appointment.” (see here)

Lady Lorean’s website also says that each week they offer "prayers at the altar of the great goddess Isis." (see here)

A poem on the website says, "I am Isis the goddess, and I am the lady of words of power. Isis, the goddess and great enchantress at the head of the gods." (see here)

Elsewhere, on Lady Lorean’s website, we read, “We are hoping to create a spiritual community of like-minded people who can live by the Laws of Maat, the ancient Egyptian Goddess of Truth.” (see here)

Again, the website makes it clear, “The Temple practices magic using rituals of ancient Egypt which are taught in our gatherings on Sunday afternoons. These have amazing properties of manifestation . . . (w)e worship nature, and observe all the gifts bestowed on the planet.” (see here)

You can’t make this stuff up!

Also speaking at the conference is Cea T. Hearth, “Priestess and Shamana” (see here) “What is a Shamana/Shaman” you may ask? “The word ‘shaman’ is often used to refer to a person in a particular community who is chosen by the spirit world to be a spiritual healer (a soul doctor) for the group and its members. . . The shaman is one who is able to communicate with the spirits, enter trance at will and inspire ecstatic healing in others. These abilities come from the spirit world, but they are honed by the shamanic initiate through practice.” (see here)

Not to be left out is “Isis Priestess Katie Ketchum” who is also conducting a conference workshop. (see here)

God tells us in Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me.” Yet this ELCA church brings followers of other gods in to speak and teach at their conference!

The ELCA churchwide has known about the anti-Christian happenings at “herchurch” for years, yet they allow the church to remain in the ELCA.

Not only do they know about the practices of this congregation, but would you believe that, a key note speaker of the conference comes straight from the Office of the Presiding Bishop, Director of Justice for Women for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Mary Streufert. (see here)

If that isn't a big stamp of approval, I do not know what is.

See more information about this ELCA sanctioned church. (here and here)

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Worshiping Other Gods in the ELCA

2/10/2011

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Time to check out another video from the ELCA church that calls itself “Herchurch.” Be prepared to witness the breaking of the 1st Commandment, among other things. (the video is at the end of this blog)

At the beginning of the video you will hear this -

Congregation: Beloved Mother of wisdom, you are black and beautiful.
ELCA Pastor Stacy Boorn: She is Queen and virgin, women onto herself. She is in violets, she is rising up. She is Mother, Mother of all, Mother of all that is.
Congregation: Beloved Mother of wisdom, you are black and beautiful.

At the 1:48 minute mark you will read that “Herchurch emphasizes dance, music and art as a form of worship to the Divine Feminine.”

At the 2:48 mark you will see a painting of a topless pregnant women.

Also starting at the 2:48 mark Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Pastor Stacy Boorn says, “Today we gather to be in the presence of that which is holy and good. Today we gather also to honor the black Madonnas who throughout history have been a reminder that our first Mother, the Mother of us all, our African Mother, our Mother Earth cries out from the stumps that are too often the remnant of a cut down life of (???).

If you have never heard of this heretical ELCA church before, please check out these links. (see here and here)

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Idolatry in the ELCA: Christ Sophia Mass

2/1/2011

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The ELCA has placed their opinion over God’s Word. The denomination's actions and teachings show us that they place their own authority over God’s authority. They have made themselves god and that is idolatry. Not surprisingly this isn’t the only form of idolatry happening in the ELCA.

ELCA church Ebenezer Lutheran, otherwise knows as herchurch, in San Francisco posted highlights from their Christ Sophia Mass in 2009 on youtube.

Pastor Stacy Boorn opens the service this way, “Welcome to the Christ Sophia mass, the incarnation of she who is all wisdom. . .”

At the 2:33 minute mark of the video you can view the singing of Silent Night, but notice the changing of the words, they sing “Christ Sophia is born, Christ Sophia is born.”

At the 2:46 mark you can see the congregation sing and dance to a song called “Grandmother Song.” The lyrics are, “Oh, Grandmother, I see you sitting in the East. I pray to you. I pray to you. You are sacred And you are looking at me.” This is repeated with only minor variations of the words.

At the 4:30 mark you can watch children sing to Christ Sophia, (to the tune of Angels From the Realm Of Glory) “. . . come (each?) worship, come (each?) worship, Christ Sophia sets us free.”

During Holy Communion, at the 8:26 mark you can see Pastor Stacy Boorn mouth what looks to be, “Body of Christ Sophia for you.”

This is not Jesus Christ they are worshiping. It is a different god.

The ELCA knows full well what is happening at this church. They approve it and welcome it. (see here)

Is God being honored in this?

Add another piece of evidence exposing the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

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Making Idols of Canaanite goddess, Is that Still Okay, ELCA Leadership?

11/4/2010

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Exposing the ELCA has highlighted Ebenezer Lutheran Church/“her church” in San Francisco in the past (read here on page 6 and here). This ELCA church is famous for goddess worship, praying the goddess rosary, praying to “Sophia” and “Mother,” as well as the use of female pronouns for the god they worship. The ELCA has taken no action to stop these practices/beliefs. We could only conclude that goddess worship is an acceptable practice in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Now we have an actual statement from ELCA leadership about the teachings of this San Francisco Lutheran Church. Bishop Michael Burk of ELCA Southeastern Iowa Synod spoke with Ebenezer Lutheran Church’s Bishop from the Sierra Pacific Synod (in August 2010). Bishop Burk had questions about reports he had heard of non-orthodox practices happening at the church. Here is his account of that conversation,

“After visiting with the bishop and with another synod staff member who knows the congregation and the pastor well, there is an acknowledgement that this congregation ‘pushes around the edges’ on matters that make some of us uncomfortable. Things like what they refer to this ‘rosary’ are seen by many to be outside the bounds, but don't rise to level of anything in the disciplinary arena. Speaking explicitly about the pastor and regular worship experience there, when folks have ‘dropped in unannounced’ they have experienced preaching that is decidedly within Lutheran orthodoxy and worship that is familiar and done with integrity. It was said that this small congregation is serving the local community very well, especially when it comes to reaching out to the local community.” (read here, go to comment 6)

We have now learned that Ebenezer Lutheran Church is offering women an interesting “spiritual retreat.” The church website says,

“Celebrate ‘She Who Is’
Encounter the Divine Feminine
with body, mind and spirit”

At this spiritual retreat you will experience -

“Sacred Re-imaging, rituals and work(play)shops, sacred sounds, altar building, meditation with the Cosmic Mother, Christian Feminist stories, beach walks, free time and relaxing with beauty that is around, among and within!”

The experience will include presentations on -

“God/dess Around Us
Language of the Goddess – Pr. Boorn (ELCA pastor)

God/dess Within Us
Connecting with God/dess – J. Dancer

God/dess Beyond Us
Spirit Shrines – Linda Roberts”

The Retreat gets even more interesting unfortunately. Ebenezer Lutheran Church’s website tells an attendee’s retreat experience where we read,

“Pastor Stacy reminded us of some of the discounted feminine images of God in the Old Testament—probably none of which were the products of female imaginations—and invited us to form our own images in clay of Asherah, the mother goddess of the Canaanites familiar to early Jewish inhabitants of Canaan. I am no artist. Warming and working the clay with my hands, I wondered whether my goddess would look anything like the photograph of an Asherah figure Stacy provided as a possible starting point . . .”

“The next project, led by Kathryn Wagner, was to make a mandala, a circular, meditative image of the self . . .”

“On the shore of Monterey Bay, on Saturday night and Sunday morning, all ten of us prayed the Goddess rosary [some beaded their own Goddess Rosary that afternoon] beside a cross erected of driftwood and draped with seaweed. Stacy called us to remember the sea as the primal water from which life emerged, to think of it as the amniotic fluid of our mother's wombs . . .” (Read here)

One could write five articles on the non-orthodox, troubling, and heretical statements written about this "spiritual retreat." But we will just focus on "Asherah."

The image of Asherah, that ELCA pastor Stacy Boorn had the women on the retreat make, is a false god. As was mentioned above, Asherah is "the mother goddess of the Canaanites" that God continually told the Israelites to stay away from. Scripture speaks of Asherah and Asherah poles extensively and none of it is positive. Here is one verse (see more verses at end of this article) -

Deuteronomy 12:3 - Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and burn their Asherah poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names from those places.

I would be interested in hearing from ELCA headquarters and the synod bishops as to whether this new documented information of "herchurch" making idols of a false god (one the Bible specifically mentions and which is forbidden in scripture) is still considered acceptable practices for ELCA members. As you can read in the Bible verses below, it is not acceptable to God.

If making idols and the worship of false gods does not warrant expulsion, I don’t know what does. ELCA inaction here = acceptance/approval.

---------

More of what God’s Word says about Asherah/Asherah poles -

Judges 3:7 - The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD; they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.

1 Kings 14:15 - And the LORD will strike Israel, so that it will be like a reed swaying in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land that he gave to their ancestors and scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, because they aroused the LORD’s anger by making Asherah poles.

1 Kings 16:33 - Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him.

2 Kings 17:16 - They forsook all the commands of the LORD their God and made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the starry hosts, and they worshiped Baal.

Deuteronomy 7:5 - This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire.

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Worship of "Goddess" in the ELCA and Led by Synod Council Leader

5/19/2010

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Have you ever prayed to the Goddess? Recited the "Goddess Rosary?" Joined an ELCA Goddess small group? If you stay in the ELCA long enough you may just get your chance. ELCA church, Ebenezer Lutheran in San Francisco (http://www.herchurch.org) has been doing this for a long time, but they are not the only ones. Rev. Jeff Johnson, recently elected to the Sierra Pacific Synod Council, and his church University Lutheran Chapel (ELCA) in Berkeley, CA are conducting a monthly "Goddess Rosary" service.

Here is what the University Lutheran Chapel newsletter says about the service.

"Goddess Rosary.
Last Sunday of the Month Goddess Rosary, 6:45PM at the Chapel. During the 1-hour session, the Divine Feminine will be recognized and reclaimed through recitation of the Goddess Rosary, silence, music, and movement. This very special Rosary consists of prayers by feminist theologian Carol Christ and musician Sister Miriam Therese Winter. The evening will be based on Rev. Stacy Boorn’s Goddess-centered devotion at Ebenezer/herchurch Lutheran Church in SF. People of all gender identities are welcome." ( See here )

You can't have a Goddess service without praying the "Hail Goddess" prayer. It goes like this,

"Hail Goddess full of grace. Blessed are you

and blessed are all the fruits

of your womb.

For you are the MOTHER of us all.

Hear us now

and in all our needs.

O blessed be, O blessed be. Amen

(adapted from Carol Christ)

(see here)

One participant in the Goddess Rosary service (at herchurch) described her experience this way -

"From the basket of rosaries, I took into my hand a strand of vibrantly-colored beads with a silver goddess icon in place of the traditional cross. The goddesses came in a variety of shapes and sizes, celebrating the beauty of the feminine form; I found reflections of my own figure in the full hips and Rubenesque curves of my goddess. Once gathered, we began to recite together the “Our Mother” and “Hail Goddess” prayers."
(see here)

This is what is happening in the ELCA! The ELCA is well aware of this and they have chosen to accept it. If they didn't, they have the power to stop this practice. But the ELCA does not. This is false teaching and praying to a false god. This is on the ELCA's head. Let's not forget that they have promoted it in official publications (See on Page 6) AND have allowed a pastor who sanctions it to be on a Synod Council.

For those of you on the fence concerning if you want to remain in the ELCA, what is it going to take? For those that insist on staying in the ELCA, there is more than enough evidence that the ELCA has abandoned scripture and true Christian teaching (see here), you cannot deny it. You are living for your own desire for your church and placing that above the will of God which is clear to all in His scriptures.

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Dan Skogen

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