THE ELCA VAULT - ROOM 29
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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.
Is the ELCA Church Council Out of Touch with Reality? (page 7). . .(The ELCA) also needs to repent of its own acts of betrayal of trust, violation of agreements, and marginalization and even bullying and intimidation of pastors and congregations who hold to traditional views. It also needs to seriously re-examine its own theology. . .
St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, in Quakertown, closes its doors after 159 years. . .And now, for reasons including declining membership, 159 years of faith, worship, and community on 10th Street are closing its doors. . .
ELCA Leaders on SexSee what the ELCA and its leaders are saying about sex.
Pastor to Melt Jewelry into Golden Vagina. . .although you present yourself as the queen of non-judgmentalism, this publicity stunt reeks of it. . .
ELCA Long Term Disability (Portico) Policy - Not Much Coverage for Lutheran Pastors. . .Lutheran pastors and their congregations would do well to go onto the open market and purchase a long-term disability insurance policy that offers better protection than this Portico policy and which offers meaningful access to the courts if benefits are not properly paid. At very least Lutheran pastors should know that this Portico policy is, at best, a C+ policy. . .
Blooming Prairie, MN ELCA Church Closes - Witness Stone Blog. . .Trinity Lutheran Church in Blooming Prairie, MN Closing.
Southern Baptists versus United Methodists. . .It’s important to reiterate the details of Mainline Protestantism’s long and ongoing spiral as a warning to other churches. Whatever the problems of evangelical Christianity, becoming more like liberal Mainline Protestantism is not a remedy. . .
Frock shock: See what new church superstar says about porn. . .Her agenda is simple: To take antiquated, patriarchal, biblical ideas about sex, gender and human bodies and “burn them the f— down and start all over.”. .
BreakPoint: When “Christianity” Is Pointless. . .a self-named “pastrix” in the liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, downplayed the immorality of pornography. In a recent, hard-to-follow interview with a New Jersey LGBT publication, she seemed to be arguing that viewing pornography is mostly fine, as long as it’s “ethically-sourced.”. .
How one of the youngest pastors in town became a leading activist for progressive issues. . .But her core mission to lift up the voices of immigrant and refugee communities, LGBTQ people and other marginalized groups starts at Capitol Hill Lutheran Church, in the gentrifying East Village neighborhood. . .
Progressive pastor to melt “purity rings” into vagina statue | Ben DaviesA Shocking Loss of Faith: Reflecting on the Closing of So Many Churches. . .As for the mainline (largely white) Protestant churches, I would argue that a collapse of faith has depleted them, at least collectively. Many of them ceased preaching the “old time religion” a long time ago, having largely assimilated to a post-Christian world and acclimated to the sexual revolution. Gone are the moral demands of the gospel, which have been replaced by a social “gospel.” Gone is the drama of salvation. Jesus is less Lord and Savior and more a good man and ethical teacher. . .
Feminist Pastor to Melt Purity Rings in Rejection of Church Teaching...But What Is Her Real Impact?. . .Check out the fruit.With all the media buzz surrounding her (she has a New York Times best-seller, too!) and the fact that her “Shameless” purity certificate is getting free publicity everywhere from The Huffington Post to conservative sites, this supposedly famous religious icon can’t get an audience in the church she founded. . .
Feminist Pastor Melting Down Christian 'Purity Rings' To Create A Vagina Statue. . .The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has developed generally liberal views on abortion, homosexuality and universalism. . .
Liberal Lutheran pastor to melt purity rings into vagina sculpture to 'take down' church teachings about sex. . .Pastor Tom Brock, who left the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America over its stance on abortion, homosexuality and universalism, has denounced Bolz-Weber's comments and the ELCA for not disciplining her.
Bolz-Weber said she has never been criticized by her denomination. . . Female 'Pastor' Is Melting Down Purity Rings to Create a Golden Vagina. . .Like the serpent-Satan in the Garden of Eden, Bolz-Weber is giving people the freedom to ignore God's command to "not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance." This "pastor" is leading people down the path of rebellion — a path that will end in the eternal destruction of those who refuse to repent, believe, and submit to the Lordship of Christ. . .
Yes, Evangelical ‘Abstinence Culture’ Is A Bust, But The Answer Isn’t A Sexual Free-For-All. . .Nadia Bolz-Weber is a liberal teacher in the “ELC”A (“Evangelical Lutheran Church” in America—their locale is really the only word that doesn’t justify scare quotes). She’s requesting purity rings from evangelicals who’ve lost their ability to honestly wear them, so she can melt them down and cast a vagina idol as a statement of defiance against Jesus’s teachings about sex. . .
ELCA Seminaries After CWA 2009: What a Difference a Day Makes. . . The group met with Bishop Eaton, who took a few questions. One recipient asked why the ELCA allows partnered homosexuals like herself to be subject to discrimination since congregations can choose not to call her solely because of her sexuality. Bishop Eaton replied that many synods were assigning women and minorities as pulpit supply and interims to such congregations so that they "broaden their horizons." . .
Lutheran pastor says Christians’ attitude towards sex ruins lives. . .Mainwaring then directed his readers to Exposing the ELCA, a website which is critical of the teachings and pastoral practices of the Lutheran sub-denomination. . .
Commentary: “Ethically sourced porn?”—A response to Nadia Bolz-Weber. . .Personally, I find the concept of “ethically sourced porn” about as absurd as “ethically sourced cyanide.” Pornography is corrosive to relationships, individual sexual health and spiritual vitality.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:18-20: “Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So, glorify God in your body.”. . Anti-Porn Activist: 'Ethically Sourced' Porn 'Sounds Like an Oxymoron'. . ."I would contend that there is a place for shame in life, it's part of how our consciences work, and we need more of it rather than less in today's compass-less world.". .
The Pastrix Goes Pornstrix. . .If there is a more cartoonish example of progressive Christianity than a foul-mouthed lady pastor praising consumption of “ethically-sourced porn,” I can’t think of it.
The Pastrix is a minister of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, which has been in steep decline for some time. . . |
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The Hermeneutic of Harm
. . .What strikes me is that the hermeneutic of harm argues BACKWARDS, not from Scripture but to Scripture. Normally, a Christian would figure out what the Bible says about a topic, and then let that teaching determine the Christian’s position on that topic. The hermeneutic of harm begins with the position, then goes back to the Bible to construct a tortuous reading that supports that position. . .
LGBT Obsessed ELCA Church - Witness Stone Blog
Reformation Lutheran Church in Columbia, South Carolina says "All Are ALWAYS Welcomed & Affirmed Here! . .
ELCA: foreshadowing a UMC future?
. . .Soon after the vote it became clear to the traditionalists that there was in reality only one acceptable position and it wasn’t theirs. Since the the decisions of 2009 the ELCA has intentionally become more progressive and the traditionalists who remain in that denomination have been marginalized . . .
Ecumenism is glorification and love
. . .The ELCA is committed to confronting barriers - racial, ethnic, cultural, religious, age, gender, familial, sexual orientation, physical, personal and class that often manifest in unjust treatment, inequality, exclusion and violence. . .
Board of Trustees of United Lutheran Seminary statement on systemic racism
. . .The Board of Trustees of United Lutheran Seminary acknowledges with sorrow that the patterns and structures of the Seminary, the ELCA and other churches, and our society are all enmeshed in forms of systemic racism. . .
Gay Lutheran activist performs local concert while on tour of national parks
. . .Meyer will perform in Story City on Sunday, Sept. 23, at 7 p.m. at St. Petri Lutheran Church. Admission will be a free-will offering. . .
LGBT Fight Comes To Orthodoxy
. . .I had a number of conversations at the conference with Orthodox converts who came to Orthodoxy out of churches that had surrendered orthodox Christian teaching on sexuality, and which had since begun sliding into moral and theological disarray. . .
Three Signs of the Church’s ‘Spiritual Disorientation’
. . .Once feelings and emotions replace truth as the most important point of reference, we use them as our primary means of engaging the world. In our efforts to avoid making people feel bad, we dodge the truth. Feelings become more important than reality itself. . .
With Fixation on ‘Doctrine of Discovery,’ Christians Ape a Secular Alternative to Christian Doctrine
. . .Still, Christ prevails despite sin and heterodoxy. Even a misguided campaign against a Doctrine of Discovery cannot long hinder His purposes.
Losing Faith: Why South Carolina is abandoning its churches
South Carolina churches are shedding thousands of members a year, even as the state’s population grows by tens of thousands. . .
Fewer ministers, heavier burden
. . .Today the average church in the United States is shrinking, as are church budgets and full-time jobs. It means there are fewer recruits willing to be pioneers in a new spiritual landscape that requires them to juggle faith, fundraising and Facebook. . .
The Damnable Heresy of Universalism (by former ELCA young person)
Groomed at Lutheran church in Hanover, victim of abuse says no congregation is safe
. . .It was soon after Wagaman became an active member of St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Hanover in 2010 that an adult, involved member of the church started to groom Wagaman. . .
"Please, Lord, Spare the Congregations"
. . .The ELCA is raising up a generation of pastors who emphasize justice, de-emphasize Jesus, and who do not have the resilience and stamina to survive in the parish. . .
Salem Lutheran Church Welcomes First Openly Gay Pastor To Northern Illinois Synod
. . .“The spirit still moves and opens our eyes to an ever-expanding circle of who God’s family is. And we find that any time you draw a line between yourself and the other, you look up and Jesus is standing on the other side with the other,” said Fields. “So we might as well keep expanding the tent there.”. .
Bisexual Pride - Witness Stone Blog
. . .This woman is sadly deceived and needs our prayers. Even more so, the teenagers that were subjected to this lies of the devil (as this article highlights) coming from the ELCA and its minions. . .
A Greeting to ELCA Youth at the Gathering - Witness Stone Blog
. . .The below is what greeted ELCA Lutheran teenagers when 31,000 of them attended the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's national teen gathering in June. . .
Video of Disturbing Comments By ELCA Youth Gathering Speakers And Radical Politics
Reverend Bolz-Weber leaves her ELCA Lutheran congregation in hands of homosexual pastor "married" to a drag queen - Witness Stone Blog
. . .If you are still a member of the ELCA I ask you to ask yourself "If this doesn't get me to leave the ELCA, what will?" . .
Headed for a larger stage, Nadia Bolz-Weber leaves her ‘house’ in order
. . .The service was like any other at HFASS (pronounced “half-ass”): children played freely in the aisles, the a capella choir finished its opening hymn and Bolz-Weber invoked God using both feminine and masculine imagery. . .
Nadia Bolz-Weber Steps Down as Pastor to be “Public Theologian”
. . .it is her unorthodox conclusions on sexual sin, hell, and public support for Planned Parenthood that earns the Religious Left’s admiration. . .
A Lament for the ELCA (page 3)
. . .The outcry that I have heard about the choice of speakers for the recent ELCA Youth Gathering is far stronger than anything else I have experienced since the events leading up to and following the ELCA’ s 2009 Churchwide Assembly (CWA). People are out-raged that the ELCA would choose someone who re-jects marriage by any definition as normative for sexual activity and a transgender activist to address our young people. . .
Wild Goose Festival’s Upsetting Pro-Abortion Presentation
. . .I anticipated trouble as soon as two of the three speakers arrived wearing Planned Parenthood of Memphis t-shirts that read, “Trust Women.”...work as Planned Parenthood abortion doulas...Button is the only panelists who identified herself as a Christian and noted that she is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). . .
What Happens When We Fail to Warn
. . .We’re only allowed to say nice things, to encourage. We’re not allowed to plead with tears, to warn of coming danger, to urge our listeners to flee from impending judgment, be it in this world or the world to come. . .
Mystery of Liberal Church Decline
. . .They routinely ignore or minimize their half century of perpetual decline. At their recent denominational conventions, both the Episcopal Church and Presbyterian Church USA largely pretended all was well. Meanwhile, they doubled down on radical political, theological and sexual stances. . .
Liberal ‘Clergymen’ – Of Their Father, the Devil
. . .the head “death-scort” at the local Planned Parenthood facility in Columbus is a Lutheran pastor. . .The pastor banged on a “cowbell” inches from our faces for 2 hours straight, never stopping. . .
As churches close, a way of life fades
. . .The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in Minnesota has lost almost 200,000 members since 2000 and about 150 churches. A third of the remaining 1,050 churches have fewer than 50 members. . .
New Jersey Lutheran Church Blesses Transgender Pastor At Renaming Ceremony
. . .the renaming ceremony and the strong liberal bend of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America denomination are not going uncriticized. . .
Spotlight: Libraries dedicating New Books to Reading LGBT Center
The LGBT Center of Greater Reading Located in ELCA Church
Things to do at Long Beach's Pride on the Beach
. . .Two local houses of worship are holding special LGBT-positive services...For the first time, the Rev. Eric Mull, pastor at St. John’s Lutheran Church by the Sea. . .
Catholic Diocese Leaves Maine Council of Churches to Distance Itself From LGBT Advocacy
. . .Previously, it was an unwritten rule of the council to only take public stands after a unanimous vote by its member denominations. . .
ELCA Pastor Presides Over Christian-Hindu Wedding Ceremony
. . .the couple walked around a fire-pot repeatedly, each journey representing a different journey that they would take together in their marriage, including that final journey through death into the next existence. . .
Christian seminary head fired for once helping people overcome unwanted gay attraction
. . .The recently hired president of a United Lutheran Seminary was terminated after students and staff discovered she had once worked for an organization that helped gays and lesbians deal with unwanted same-sex attraction. This despite the fact that she had long ago renounced the practice and her involvement. . .
Closure of 166-year-old church in South Baltimore 'the end of an era in that corner of the kingdom'
. . .The church drew about 1,000 people per week in 1900, when more than 11 percent of the city population spoke German. Today, it has fewer than 30 regular attendees. . .
ELCA Synod Bishop 'hopes to attend" Gay Pride Parade - Witness Stone Blog
. . .printed in the ELCA's Metro D.C. Synod's EVENTS DIGEST. . .
Perspective: The strange fruit of Good Friday White fragility series (Part four)
(Published in an ELCA Magazine. The author at ELCA's United Lutheran Seminary writes) . . .In the class I’m teaching on white fragility. . .
ELCA Retweet - Witness Stone Blog
. . .If you had any doubt if the ELCA has taken a side on the homosexuality debate look what the official twitter page. . .
Almost half of all authors on the Queer Grace Website Have ELCA Connections
Eight out of seventeen authors for the Queer Grace website are ELCA pastors, members or seminary grads.
The Return of the Zwickau Prophets
. . .I remember vividly attending a Synod Assembly in 2007/2008 where Presiding Bishop Mark Hansen, of the ELCA spoke about the proposed social statement on human sexuality, “A Social Statement on Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust.” I remember a recurring statement ushering forth from him. “It seemed good to the Spirit and to us...”. . .
A Very Brief History of American Lutheranism
. . .I would suggest that perhaps ELCA is not maintaining its membership rolls quite in the same way that LCMS and WELS do, with the result that membership is overstated. . .
ELCA Church Council meets under Future Directions 2025
. . .engaged in a discussion on gender identity and next steps in the council's decisions on existing gender-identity definitions and policies. The council was asked to study gender identity and review existing ELCA definitions and policies through a 2016 Churchwide Assembly memorial and a resolution on gender identity. . .
A Tragic Abandonment of Identity: The Secularization of America's Religious Colleges and Universities
. . .religious colleges and universities face a choice between two opposing worldviews: the traditional, spiritually embedded worldview upon which they were founded, or the secular, hedonistic, materialistic worldview that dominates them today. . .
Comments on Buchanan Column
. . .Most denominations today and not only the broadening Anglican Church have become “anything goes” churches. No disciplinary action is taken against churchmen and theologians who are universalist who claim no one is going to hell, insist the Bible is filled with errors. . .
Mystic Sexuality as Resistance (by an ELCA seminary student)
. . .Yes, there is something dangerous about mystics.
Something inherently political.
Something outside the status quo, something queer. . .
Something inherently political.
Something outside the status quo, something queer. . .