The ELCA Vault - Room 24
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The ELCA Vault is a collection of articles, blogs, and documents related to the ELCA. The purpose of the Vault is to provide this important information to it's readers and at the same time not overload other sections of the website so as they become too convoluted.
I’m Gettin’ Hitched to a Dude!In just a few days I’ll be marrying the man I love in a chapel on the grounds of a seminary run by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. . .
LOSING LUTHER. . .Bolz-Weber’s ministry is the end-result of the dialectical approach to Lutheran theology, especially by way of Forde. It is no surprise that a profanity spewing drag queen would be held forth as a model of Christian piety by one who so consistently adheres to a system that has no room for the good, the true, and the beautiful. . .
What You Lose When You Abandon Adam and Eve: A Light Critique of the Common Confession. . .But at the very least, we should acknowledge that a faithful engagement of today’s debates demands a renewal of preaching and teaching creation among all Lutherans, and especially traditional believers in the ELCA. Creation reveals the purpose of everything. . .
Fresno Lutheran church votes to welcome gay members, perform same-sex weddings
. . .But what he found was something different. Jennie and her family still love and support him. And when he told his congregation, they gave him a standing ovation. . .
Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/living/religion/article31847613.html#storylink=cpy Lutherans call for 200,000 refugees to be admitted to US in 2016 including 100,000 Syrians. . .In response to this global refugee crisis, the largest since World War II, you can urge the President and Congress to increase the annual refugee admissions goal, or “Presidential Determination” from the 2015 number of 70,000 to 200,000 for 2016 and prioritize receiving 100,000 Syrian refugees in this number. . .
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Replies to Bishop Chilstrom (2010)
. . . the ELCA has violated its own statement of faith, which says that the Bible is the authoritative source and norm of our proclamation, faith and life. . .
On Burning Bridges...
. . .The issue bothering me was that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), through its medical plan for clergy and church employees, will yet pay for abortion services with no questions asked. Thus I find it a stretch that friends and acquaintances remain in the ELCA. . .
Sodom, we have a problem
. . .At HerChurch/Ebenezer Lutheran in San Francisco, still affiliated with the ELCA, the liturgy of the “divine feminine” is celebrated every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Led by Pastor Stacy Boorn and her priestesses and staff, no pagan ritual is left unexplored: “Our prayers and liturgy reach back into the storehouse of tradition to bring forth names [such] as Mother, Shaddai, Sophia, Womb, Christ-Sophia, Midwife, Shekinah, Kundalini, She Who Is.”...And HerChurch welcomes children. Special workshops are held for girls as young as 5 to train them early in biblical unfaithfulness. . .
Audacity (eye-opening look at the controversial topic of homosexuality)
Some lessons from Eastern Europe on being God's resistance movement
. . .I remember a phone conversation with the late Dr. Robert Bertram during my ELCA years in which I whined about how much I hated being a curmudgeon. "Bob," Dr. Bertram replied, "read Jeremiah. The only people God calls to be curmudgeons are the ones who hate it.". .
Installations, commissioning and environmental actions highlight annual synod
. . .The assembly passed a memorial which will be sent to the 2016 ELCA Churchwide Assembly on "Eco-Reformation in the Context of Climate Change." The memorial asks the assembly to make climate change and ecological justice major themes in the church's planning and activities leading up to and following the observance of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. . .
Dr. Martin Luther King and Same Sex Attraction - Witness Stone Blog
. . . it is necessary to deal with this problem by getting back to some of the experiences and circumstances that lead to the habit. In order to do this I would suggest that you see a good psychiatrist. . .
What Makes a Church a Church?
. . .There are many churches in our own denomination, the ELCA, where every note played in worship is pitch perfect and the liturgy is done with slavish exactitude, but where neither its pastors or its people believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, or that He is God in the flesh, or that He physically rose from the dead, or that He gives life beyond the grave, or that Jesus is the only Son of God and Savior of the world. . .
God Is a Majority of One!
. . . For many years the ELCA has been operating under the false notion that by majority vote of poor, sinful human beings they may decide what is “true” and “right”before God, even though God has already spoken in His Word – the Bible. . .
Interesting ELCA Post About Michael Brown - Witness Stone Blog
The ELCA has taken some heat by some for posting the following comment/prayer. . .
Vive les Maquis!
. . .The ELCA nomanklatura, to be sure, had- as one high-ranking ELCA official once virtually admitted to a group of us in private- decided that, by hook or by crook and no matter how long it might take, the ELCA laity would be won over- or overpowered. And they were right. . .
CORE Voice Newsletter
(ELCA related articles on page 2 and 3)
Answering Rachel Held Evans’ misguided Planned Parenthood post
. . .When babies are being shredded from the womb and picked apart in the lab and sold to researchers, we don’t stop and think about a plan to ease out of it happening; if we are pro-life, we stop it. Period. . .
Racially welcoming denominations? LCMS is second from the top; ELCA third from the bottom
. . .Interesting. I wonder whether it might not just be a matter of who takes the Great Commission- and "inclusiveness-" more seriously in practice rather than theory. Kind of hard to whip up much missionary fervor among universalists, after all. . .
Rural Harmony church closing in a year
. . .The closing of St. Paul’s will also affect St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in Granger, which has shared a pastor with St. Paul’s for many years. . .
The most and least racially diverse U.S. religious groups
. . .Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (a mainline denomination), the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (an evangelical denomination) and the United Methodist Church (the largest mainline church) are all more than 90% white. . .
Altared States for Same-Sex Duos
. . .Rev. A.J. Striffler, First Lutheran’s pastor, quoted what he called “amazing words” from the Supreme Court ruling: “Marriage embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice and family.” The ruling, Striffler said, “recognizes gays and lesbians as full citizens of this land.”. .
How Liberalism is Hurting the Church
No storm can shake my calm
(Ordination of transgender ELCA pastor. ELCA website posts this article). . .At the climax of the litany of vows read by Bishop Jim Gonia of the ELCA Rocky Mountain Synod, the heavens crackled with a mighty fulmination. The congregation gasped and chuckled in response to the lightening, and a pastor near me could be heard whispering: “That was the moment of ordination. God surely is present in this place.”. .
Love Wins
. . .Those brothers and sisters in Christ that remain in fellowship with churches like the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, United Church of Christ and the Episcopal Church in America as they celebrate this decision need to carefully assess their relationship with these wayward organizations and see just how it fits with the way our Lord and Savior wants us to walk in this world. . .
ELCA Celebrates Sin - Witness Stone Blog
Last month the United States Supreme Court ruled that there is a federal constitutional right to same-sex marriage. Here is how many leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America responded. . .
Nadia Bolz Weber: A pastor for America's outsiders
. . .One third of her congregation is gay, lesbian or transgender. And they celebrate that fact. There is even a "Minister of Fabulousness", a drag queen called Stuart. . .
The journey of one transgender Latina in the church
. . .“Nicole is a wonderful example of the way in which changing attitudes and policies in the church are expanding horizons for ministry,” said the Rev. Ron Roschke, assistant to the bishop of the Rocky Mountain Synod ELCA. “It has been a joy to work with her as she prepares to become an ordained pastor. . .
Grand Forks church embraces same-sex marriage, others hew to traditional views
. . .Christus Rex Lutheran Campus Center on University Avenue has not had any requests to host a same-sex marriage since the Supreme Court ruling passed, said Kathy Fick, campus minister and director of the center.
"But would we do it at Christus Rex? Absolutely," she said. . .
"But would we do it at Christus Rex? Absolutely," she said. . .
Religious leaders have mixed response on gay marriage ruling
. . .Bishops Jeff Barrow of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Greater Milwaukee Synod and Steven A. Miller of the Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee said they were "grateful" for the decision.
"I think it's justice," said Barrow, whose denomination allows congregations to choose for themselves whether to bless same-sex unions. . .
"I think it's justice," said Barrow, whose denomination allows congregations to choose for themselves whether to bless same-sex unions. . .
Redeemer Lutheran Church to join Bangor Pride Parade
. . .Pastor Elaine Hewes, long-time pastor at Redeemer, said, “I’m very grateful for our participation in the Pride Festival this year—something that’s new for us. When we went through the process to become RIC several years ago, there was a lot of learning and growing in the congregation, but we didn’t know exactly where that would lead us. This feels like the right next step.” . .
CORE Voice - Lutheran CORE
A couple of ELCA related articles worth reading.
Arizona ministers use sermon series to critique ‘progressive’ faith
. . .Good and Felten had a conversation about a newspaper article in which Felten made comments about the resurrection of Jesus being metaphorical. . .
Local Hero: Pastor Dan Hooper
. . .Hollywood Lutheran Church officially adopted a vigorous stand against Proposition 8 and authorized Pastor Dan to speak and act to defeat it. While same-sex marriage was briefly legal before the proposition passed at the polls, Pastor Dan and Carl were united in marriage in the Sanctuary of the church before a hundred guests. . .
Can a Christian be Homosexual?
. . .homosexual activity is incredibly dangerous and self-destructive. When you simply read about the medical risks and the sort of pathological damage that is inflicted through sodomy and through other male homosexual acts, for example, this is one of the most self-destructive lifestyles that you could encourage a person to get on. To encourage a person to embark on a homosexual lifestyle is like encouraging somebody to start chain smoking or mainlining heroin. It is that dangerous. . .
'Moral Monday' Activists Arrested While Protesting Rauner's Proposed Budget Cuts
. . .21 activists were issued citations by Chicago police after sitting down in the street and blocking traffic at the intersection of Canal and Madison streets. . .Bishop Wayne Miller, with the Metropolitan Chicago Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, was among the 21 people issued citations for blocking traffic. . .
Lutheran, LDS leaders find common ground during regional meeting
. . .assembly activities on Saturday included excursions to Temple Square, a viewing of “Meet the Mormons” and tours of the Beehive House. . .
The Incredible, Shrinking ELCA
. . .Donations to the ELCA on the national level were $88 million in 2008 but plunged to only $40 million in 2011. . .
LGBTQ Weddings
. . .YES! We have ordained Lutheran pastors who will happily perform your wedding and give you pre-marital counseling. . .
Liturgical dancer Roberto Lara at the opening of Synod Assembly
Metropolitan New York Synod
St. Olaf Kink Club: Normal and beneficial
. . .The St. Olaf Kink club helps bring awareness to a harmless and wide-spread activity. Although the demonstration may make the more modest blush, it is a symbol of progress in society, whether one prefers to be tied up or not. . .
Dwight Hopkins presents Earth Week lecture on environmental racism April 25 at LSTC
. . .will speak on "Ecological Justice/ Environmental Racism," in the Earth Week Lecture at the Lutheran School of Theology. . .
Nicole M. Garcia
. . .During my gender transition, I rediscovered my faith in God. That journey has led me to the point where I am a candidate for ordained ministry in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. I am attending Luther Seminary. . .
Don’t Blame Obama for America’s Moral Decay
. . .I, for one, place the entire blame at the feet of some church leaders—those who actively worked to obliterate the biblical moral code, and those who, by their silence, essentially acquiesced to its destruction. . .
Apropos of which...
. . .And we've allowed ourselves to be intimidated. And where, by contrast, have the demonstrators been to support those Christian bakers whose consciences would not permit them to bake "wedding" cakes for gay couples? . .
Detroit area 'Lutherpalians' blend faiths
. . .a Lutheran-Episcopal community now called Spirit of Grace Church with about 140 members — one of only four such mixes in the region and about 50 nationwide, church officials said. . .
Shattering Signs in the Heavens and the Earth (Acts 2:19)
. . .I just learned of a plainly divine response to the wicked compromise in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. It occurred almost four years ago and cannot be dismissed. . .
At St. Olaf. . .In late March, the Gender and Sexuality Center (GSC) held PGP Awareness Week. PGP stands for “Preferred Gender Pronouns.” These are the pronouns people use to refer to themselves, such as “he/him,” “she/her,” “they/them,” “ze/zir” or “xi/xir.”. .
. . .Lutheran (ELCA) pastor Alexia Salvatierra spoke on faith-rooted organizing for community change. . .Her session spent significant time on the Old Testament system of the year of jubilee, a theme of Lisa Sharon Harper’session as well. Salvatierra and Harper held this system up as a model for today. . .
Pew: Evangelicals Stay Strong as Christianity Crumbles in America
. . .mainline Protestants have lost almost 3.5 percent of their population share and are currently less than 15 percent of American adults. . .
The 5 Most Liberal Lutheran Colleges in America
. . .Here is a list of five of the most liberal Lutheran Christian colleges in America: . . .
Columbus ‘jury’ (at ELCA college) concludes Abraham guilty as charged
. . .Abraham was overwhelmingly found guilty of attempted murder at “The People vs. Abraham,” a mock trial held at Capital University in Bexley. The program was presented by the university’s Law School. . .
Gettysburg is Reconciling in Christ
. . . seek to be an official “Reconciling in Christ,” community, with explicit welcome for lesbian, gay, and transgendered persons, the board decided by unanimous vote to pursue RiC status. . .The decision makes Gettysburg the fourth ELCA seminary to seek and receive RiC status, following Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, and The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. . .
Who will stand up for the Christians?
(written a student at St. Olaf College) . . .There is something wrong here. If students are encouraged to be cognizant and tolerant of each individual group or religion, then Christianity should not be excluded.
It is not only regarding issues of persecution that Christians are challenged, but also on matters of homosexuality, abortion and other issues where more conservative ideologies are being challenged. . .
It is not only regarding issues of persecution that Christians are challenged, but also on matters of homosexuality, abortion and other issues where more conservative ideologies are being challenged. . .
Third Lutheran ordains first gay, partnered pastor
. . .There are several members of clergy in the Indiana-Kentucky Synod who are in same-sex partnerships, Gafkjen said, but Renner is the first in the region to be ordained as a "brand new" pastor. Ordination is "always an important thing" for the church, he said, but to ordain Renner fairly soon after the 2009 decision is "pretty momentous.". .
Advocates on either side of marriage case make presence felt
. . .On April 26, leaders of nearly 20 religious affiliations had publicly declared their communities’ support for marriage equality.
The procession started at the Church of the Reformation, an Evangelical Lutheran Church of America congregation on Capitol Hill. Its pastor, the Rev. Michael Wilker, said the congregation intentionally had been “out of compliance” with denominational practice until the ELCA permitted the ordination of gay clergy in committed relationships in 2009. . .
The procession started at the Church of the Reformation, an Evangelical Lutheran Church of America congregation on Capitol Hill. Its pastor, the Rev. Michael Wilker, said the congregation intentionally had been “out of compliance” with denominational practice until the ELCA permitted the ordination of gay clergy in committed relationships in 2009. . .
The Cost of Compromise
. . .Infiltrating churches under the guise of tolerance and cooperation is one of Satan’s most cunning ploys. He does not want to fight the church as much as join it. Undiscerning believers who partner in a common spiritual cause with unbiblical forms of Christianity or other false religions open the door wide to satanic corruption. The appearance of unity, no matter how enticing, is not worth sacrificing the clarity of the gospel. . .
Presbyterian Church: Evangelicals suddenly on the wrong side in gay marriage debate
. . .the PCUSA reports the dismissal of approximately 200 pastors, that figure does not reflect the number of churches that are disaffiliated with nor recognized by the denomination. Nor does it show, she adds, the losses of congregants in churches as a result of a pastor being forced out. . .
Forum debates religious rights laws, individual rights
. . .Baylor said that within the religious community, and especially among Lutherans, synods and congregations have been looking at overall issues of sexuality. Of the three major Lutheran organizations in the U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America — with which Carthage is affiliated — is the most inclusive. . .
Liberal Religion and Easter Victory
. . .Fosdick, like nearly all enlightened Mainline Protestant clergy of his day, preached an enlightened Social Gospel that believed the church’s chief duty was to socially and politically build a better world. . .
Deciding How to Live
. . .Chilton claims that after this encounter, “Jesus stands corrected...the woman has helped Jesus understand a difficult part of Scripture and a difficult part of his call.”
Folks, this is the cunning, shrewd, self-serving wisdom of the world dressed up as Christianity. It’s the same kind of sin the devil has been enticing proud people into embracing since the garden of Eden. . .
Folks, this is the cunning, shrewd, self-serving wisdom of the world dressed up as Christianity. It’s the same kind of sin the devil has been enticing proud people into embracing since the garden of Eden. . .
The incredible shrinking church
. . .To my Christian brothers and sisters who are still in the ELCA, I beg you: do not let the false teachers and prophets of the ELCA succeed in dragging you into hell. . .
Something to Talk About
. . .Then we have ELCA presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton using her bully pulpit to put in her two cents worth by addressing racial equity, or what the ELCA so often describes as, “white privilege”. . .
34,000 Black Churches Break Ties With Presbyterian Church USA
. . ."PCUSA's manipulation represents a universal sin against the entire church and its members. With this action, PCUSA can no longer base its teachings on 2,000 years of Christian scripture and tradition, and call itself a Christian entity in the body of Christ. It has forsaken its right by this single wrong act. . .
Faux Unity Trumps Orthodoxy (2009)
This is an example of why different denominations begin, and they typically involve a call to unity where true unity can’t exist.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America on Wednesday adopted a new social statement on human sexuality yesterday with exactly the two thirds votes it needed to pass. . .
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America on Wednesday adopted a new social statement on human sexuality yesterday with exactly the two thirds votes it needed to pass. . .
What's the difference between the ELCA and the Missouri Synod
. . . "Why are there such disagreements?” To understand the differences one must go beneath the surface problems and find the root causes behind them. There is actually a basic issue that drives all these differences. That issue has to do with the Scripture itself. The real truth most people don’t know is the ELCA and the LCMS have very different understandings of what the Bible is and what our relationship to it should be. . .
Where Christian churches, other religions stand on gay marriage
. . .while all of the major mainline denominations now allow gay clergy and welcome openly LGBT members, only two of these churches, the Presbyterians and the Evangelical Lutherans, have sanctioned same-sex marriage. . .
An Early Church Battle With Heresy
Presbyterians approve gay marriage in church constitution
. . .becoming the largest Protestant group to formally recognize gay marriage as Christian and allow same-sex weddings in every congregation. . .
Forgiving a Killer?
. . .Most news accounts of Gissendaner as theologian don’t elaborate on the details of her “brutal” crime, nor do they include comments from the victim’s family, who were of course also her family until she contrived to whack her husband. . .
'The ELCA is a Political and Social Activist Group With a Specific Cultural Agenda' - Witness Stone Blog
. . .The ELCA seminaries teach symbolic and allegorical reading of Scriptures, although they don’t call it that, and they have an agenda of radical feminism and full participation for homosexual practitioners to be pastors and administer and take part in the sacramental life of the church. . .
An Open Letter to the Gulf Coast Synod Assembly Planning Team
. . .I am absolutely convinced and clear that unless we put Jesus front and center of our evangelism and proclamation; unless we work to proclaim Jesus and His actions, the decline will continue. . .
Splitting the Evangelicals from Israel
. . .The Bible also commands Christians to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6), to speak out for Zion's sake (Isaiah 62:1), and to be watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem (Isaiah 62:6). . .
The Story of New Hope Lutheran Church
. . .They were troubled by one or more of the things the ELCA was doing and had done over the past several years, including the “Call to Common Missions”, the way the Synods dictate the Pastor Call and removal process, the way the “Study of Human Sexuality” was handled, the move towards Universal Salvation, and finally the straw that broke the camels back, the August 21st, 2009 vote. . .
Cheap Lent
. . .That's right, folks. If you don't really want to make the effort to, you know, actually go to church and get your ashes, there are 'churches' out there which'll meet you in the parking lot – or wherever – and give 'em to ya. No muss, no fuss, no effort, none of that actually having to attend services to get your ashes. . .