THE ELCA VAULT - ROOM 33
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 its readers, and at the same time, not overload other sections of the website so as they become too convoluted.
Synod Votes To Close Webster’s Historic Bethany Lutheran Church. . .the Synod is claiming the church property and all other assets as its own, which includes an adjacent residential property the church rents out. She said the double lots, coupled with liquid assets, are valued at more than $1 million. . .
'Wonderful memories': Shelton church closing doors after 123 years. . ."But it’s time to move on.” . .
Reaching 100 Years In Dallas, Lutheran Church Grapples With COVID And Decline. . .Evangelical Lutheran Church in America had seen a steady decline long before outbreaks of COVID-19 closed church doors. In North Texas, that fact is evident in ELCA congregations. According to data from the Northern Texas-Northern Louisiana Synod, one of 65 synods under the ELCA, the pandemic has closed three congregations since 2019. Since 2013, the synod lost 6 congregations. . .
This Sunday, it's time to leave your church. . .Do you still want to participate and give money to an organization that supports the oppression of women and the LGBTQ+ community, or is now the time to leave your church? . .
Grantees Center LGBTQ People Pushed to the Margins to Lead Policy and Culture Change(from the Arcus Foundation) . . .Also receiving grants this funding cycle are Global Network of Rainbow Catholics, UHAI EASHRI Company Limited, La Red Latina Luterana Por Diversidad (administered through the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America), . .
Signaling You Are Safe
. . .Don’t shop at places that are super explicit and public about being against LGBTQIA+ folks and let people know why if they ask. #ChikFilA. . .
My Freedom Day as a Female, Black and Queer Pastor. . .So, to recap, it’s OK to be female, Black and queer in the ELCA as long as it does not make the 97% European-American demographic of our denomination uncomfortable in any way. I call Bu. . .
A Lutheran Perspective on the ELCA. . .Diversity and inclusion initiatives allow a wide range of teaching and practice within the church body, as seen in Her Church (originally, Ebenezer), an ELCA congregation based in San Francisco. The congregation openly practices witchcraft and worships the “feminine” aspects of God, referring to God as “the goddess.”. .
No Acceptance of Confessional Faith at My ELCA Seminary. . .I attended United Lutheran Seminary (United), in Gettysburg, for 3 semesters. My time there led me to realize that there was no place for a confessional Lutheran faith within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). . .
Why Our Churches Are Full of Unconverted Preachers. . .Sadly, the doctrine of the fear of the Lord is frowned on by many in the contemporary Church. God is love and, therefore, shouldn’t be feared. But Scripture says differently. . .
St. Timothy Lutheran Church Celebrates 5 Years As A Reconciling In Christ Community. . .the congregation has put together a series of activities to celebrate...The book group is currently discussing Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the US by the Reverend Lenny Duncan, a pastor in the ELCA. Rev. Duncan urges congregations to follow in the revolutionary path of Jesus and offers a blueprint for churches to take on forces of this world that act against God: whiteness, misogyny, nationalism, homophobia, and economic injustice. Other activities planned include an LGBTQ+ movie night. . .
|
|
SD churches suffering decline in affiliation, attendance
. . .Attendance at Lutheran churches in South Dakota is down about 14 percent since 2013, and the ELCA recently closed churches in Newell and Bradley, South Dakota. . .
Shore church extends welcoming attitude to LGBTQ teens
. . .The Rev. Mary Farnham, pastor of Trinity, has worked hard over her 26-year-tenture to make it “an accepting community offering a safe space for LGBTQ youth and adults.” . .
Church Holds ‘Pride Worship Service’ Featuring all LGBTQ Songs
, , ,The horrid service was held June 2, 2022, at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Milwaukee, WI. Several gay and trans speakers spoke about the need for queer inclusion interspaced with pro-LGBTQ hymns, using the story of Ruth and the way she and Naomi clung to each other after the death of Elimelek as a model of queerness. . .
St. Paul's Lutheran Church hosts Pride kickoff event
. . .“We noticed that in a lot of churches, the LGBTQ+ community is not celebrated," said Pastor Diana Edis. "We need people to know that God loves them, not in spite of who they are, but because of who they are and who they love.” . .
God the Mother, transgender bishop and speaker at Lutheran youth camp, Mennonites to do gay weddings, and the day a tornado hit a liberal church convention…
. . .How did it happen? Why once biblical denominations have gone heretical. . .
A Call of the Southwestern Texas Synod, ELCA
. . .Katy Miles-Wallace is the Mission Developer of Technicolor Ministries, a supplemental accompaniment ministry to the LGBTQIA+ community in the Southwestern Texas Synod. . .
Traditional Methodists Search for New Path Forward
. . .Progressives may have expected growth after conservatives left. After all, conflict was ended, restrictions were overthrown, the church was now open to “all.” But this never happened. . .
Lutherans confront ‘perfect storm’ after trans bishop fired Latino pastor
. . .When the Rev. Megan Rohrer was elected bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Sierra Pacific Synod in May 2021, it was celebrated as a revolution both in and outside the ELCA, the nation’s largest Lutheran denomination. Rohrer had become the first transgender bishop of a Protestant mainline church. . .
The Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America – Dr. Cary Larson, 8/17/22
. . .Podcast about the happenings at the 2022 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. . .
Lutheran Church of the Incarnation closes after 42 years
. . .The church’s property and other assets will be managed by the Southeastern Synod of the ELCA in Atlanta. . .
Major Disaster On Its Way: A Preview of the ELCA Churchwide Assembly
. . . There is much coming up which be of grave concern to Biblically faithful, confessional Lutherans. . .
Park Church CO-OP Warns Against ‘Predatory’ Metropolitan New York Synod (ELCA)
. . .“The reality is they’re going to be making an immense profit; while they’ve invested something like $700,000, they claim, they’re flipping the building for $4.5 million,” . .
USA’s Largest Lutheran Denomination Blasts SCOTUS for ‘Praying Coach’ Ruling, Overturning Roe
. . .Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, (ELCA) has naturally come out swinging against all things good and godly, blasting the recent Supreme Court ruling that determined that football coach Joseph Kennedy has the constitutional right to pray on the field after his team’s games. . .
Love is Transformational (from WELCA)
. . .Reconciling in Christ (RIC) program works to ensure the welcome, inclusion, celebration, and advocacy for people of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions; work for racial equity and commit to anti-racist work and support the national program. . .
Spirituality and sexuality often clash. These Green Bay churches made the effort to be designated LGBTQ friendly.
. . ."I brought it to God. I was like, ‘I need to be up front and honest: I’m gay. I’m going to be gay,'" she said. "And it was this overwhelming sense of God like, ‘Yeah, I know. I made you.'" . .
The ELCA's SW MN Synod Assembly canceled because of low attendance
. . .If there is not quorum in attendance, the Assembly cannot perform its business...As of Friday, May 20th our registered voting members was well below quorum. . .
The Woke Spirits of the ELCA - Past, Present, and Future
. . .Fast forward more than twenty years, and we see that the ELCA in McDaniel’s day was quaint indeed by comparison. But the ax was indeed laid at the root even then. . .
An Analysis of Recent Events in the ELCA Sierra Pacific Synod
. . . I have been certain that eventually the ELCA will crash...That “eventually” could very well be soon.
Latino group denounces ELCA head’s decision not to punish trans bishop
. . .“In this weak and compassionless statement, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton framed racist actions as ‘unwise decisions’ and ‘unfortunate events,’ completely ignoring the suffering of an entire community of color of the church-body she is called to serve,” the Latino Ministries Association said. . .
Did Jesus Die For Our Sins?
. . . evidence of how widespread this belief is is abundant, and it seems to be growing. . .
What a Difference a Day Makes
. . .Bishop Eaton had a very interesting and typically ELCA way of twisting the Bible and distorting theology in order to justify what her presence and actions were legitimizing. In her sermon message, Bishop Eaton noted that Jesus Christ’s identity as both fully human and fully divine were not an “either/or” but a “both/and”. It is absolutely astounding to me to think that a church leader would believe that the two natures of Christ – His being both fully divine and fully human – are somehow support for transgender and non-binary ideology. . .
Speaking of the Gospel of John
. . .There are many within the ELCA who reject the teaching that Christ died for our sins. Instead they make Good Friday into the supreme example of Jesus’ bold political protest against the Roman empire, even unto death. . .
Theological Gravity
. . .could find vanishingly fewer students who took theology seriously as something that was not to be trifled with, had eternal consequences, and for which bad theologians put their own souls and the souls of those they influence at risk. . .
ELCA's Hope Lutheran in Riverside CA closes
. . .After serving the community faithfully for 65 years, Hope Lutheran Church in Riverside held their final service, a Service of Holy Closure, on Sunday, March 27. . .
Texas faith groups mobilize against governor’s order to probe child trans treatments
. . . The Sunday after Abbott issued his directive, the service included a prayer for trans youth, their parents and families and for those who provide gender-affirming care. . .
‘We Say Gay’ Rally At Bridgehampton School
. . .Its purpose was to voice opposition to Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill, which has become known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill because of a provision outlawing discussion of sexuality and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. . .
New First Lutheran Church pastor highlights inclusivity in worship
. . .Culuris said the First Lutheran Church caught his attention, due to its inclusivity. He highlighted the recent visit of a transgender pastor to the First Lutheran Church, and the church’s participation in a circle of welcome for an Afghan family resettling in Minnesota. . .
Communications To ELCA Leaders
. . .I am constantly amazed over how arrogant, self-righteous, ungrateful, and inconsistent the “woke” agenda actually is. . .
Some Hastings clergy mark Ash Wednesday with glitter to support LGBTQ faithful
. . .Local groups, including Hastings IDEA: Inclusion, Diversity & Equality Alliance and Afton Indivisible supported Le Buhn. And several area clergy — including an Episcopal priest, a few Lutheran pastors, and a Presbyterian pastor — joined him for Ash Wednesday events downtown. . .
St. James Lutheran Church closes its doors after 65 years
. . .The property will be gifted to the Sierra Pacific Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). . .
A Review of Think.Believe.Do
. . .me to do a review of a new curriculum from Augsburg Fortress’s Sparkhouse. That curriculum is entitled T.B.D.: Think. Believe. Do. Sparkhouse touts it as their newest youth curriculum. . .
Greenpoint's Park Church Co-op Fights Unexpected Closure
. . .Greenpoint’s Park Church Co-op is scheduled to close its doors next June after the local Lutheran governing body abruptly pulled funding for the congregation. . .
Evangelical Lutheran LGBTQ ministry group suspends first transgender bishop
. . .The group said the bishop’s membership suspension “is not only a response to recent harm done … to the Latinx community in Stockton, CA,” noting it came after Bishop Rohrer rebuffed an “invitation” to repair relationships ruptured by “the bishop’s racist words and actions [that] have harmed members of the ELM staff, board, and community.” . .
Drag Queen Story Hour For Children Comes To Church
. . .At the forefront of this push has been the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) which has taken more steps to promote Queer & Progressive Theology than possibly any other denomination. . .
Former ELCA Bishop and Active Voice for LGBT Rights Dies
Lowell Erdahl
. . .Throughout his life he was an advocate, champion, and leader for peace and justice. He was an active voice for non-violence, racial justice, and LGBT rights and equality. . .
. . .Throughout his life he was an advocate, champion, and leader for peace and justice. He was an active voice for non-violence, racial justice, and LGBT rights and equality. . .
The Evangelical Lutheran Church's first transgender bishop is being booted (not from ELCA)
. . .when Megan Rohrer, a woman who claims to be a man and insists on being referred to by the pronouns "they" and "them," was installed as the bishop of the Sierra Pacific Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. This was one of those "firsts" that simply thrill leftists. Suddenly, the left had achieved the first transgender bishop. . .
The Removal of Rev. Rabell-González: A Case Study in ELCA Corruption and Racism
. . ."Rev. Nelson Rabell-González was fired from his position in retaliation for refusing to comply with a corrupt, racist ecclesial system that has sought to silence, muzzle, humiliate, and professionally crucify him for the past year. ". .
Pulpit panic: Half of Protestant clerics looking for exits, survey reports
. . .The percentage of pastors contemplating quitting jumps to 51% in the mainline Protestant denominations, which includes the American Baptist Churches USA, the Disciples of Christ, the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church. . .
ELCA's Pastor of Public Witness and Drag Queen Wish "Happy Advent"
Nadia Bolz-Weber.
After 96 years North Park Lutheran Church closes down
. . .The church is closing because of pandemic hardships, declining attendance and an aging congregation. . .
Concerns Over a Confession
. . .If the church of Jesus has nothing unique, valuable, and important to offer to other people, then I could see why we might feel the need to confess devaluing other religions. But if the church of Jesus does have something unique, valuable, and important to offer to other people, then it is not that we devalue other religions. Rather it is that we value people. We love people, and we want people to know and love Jesus and to know that Jesus loves them. . .
Get Woke, Empty the Pews
. . .Guns are not idols but tools; in this case, a tool of self-defense without which Rittenhouse likely would have been murdered. And what on God’s green Earth does “white supremacy” have to do with anything? It was not a factor in the trial, for the good reason that it had nothing to do with the case. This is the kind of mindless blather that we have come to expect from liberals and, sadly, from the ELCA. .
Rotterdam’s Messiah Lutheran, SafeHaven LGBTQ+ to hold festival for new center
. . .decided to keep the property and turn it into a community center that anyone regardless of faith could use. It is now holding a music festival Friday to raise funds for the center and SafeHaven LGBTQ+ Inc., an organization formed by Legacy Casanõva, a Black transgender LGBTQ activist. . .
She Just Does Not Get It
. . .I have also heard many stories of bullying, intimidating, threats to take property, and efforts to get as many dollars as possible from congregations who wish to leave. I know of retired ELCA pastors who were told by their synods that they would be removed from the ELCA clergy roster if they did not leave a congregation that has voted to disaffiliate from the ELCA. I know of a seminarian who was no longer welcome at an ELCA seminary once the congregation that she was affiliated with began the process of leaving the ELCA. . .
ELCA Bishop Rinehart Promotes 'Day of the Dead at Santiago Apóstol Houston'
. . . In this event, death is splashed with color and hope. It may include family visits to a cemetery and a family altar that has photos of loved ones, small candied sugar skulls, the skeleton prints of José Guadalupe Posada, pan de los Muertos and things that the departed loved. . .
Protestant Modernism’s End
. . .In the 1990s I heard Spong speak at Foundry United Methodist Church, where he denounced the Christmas story of Wise Men, singing angels and a wondrous star as fable. . .
San Francisco’s first trans bishop is here to heal our spirit
. . .“It seems like it was just yesterday that Megan walked down the aisle at Ebenezer Lutheran Church,” said Bea Chun, pastor at St. Francis Lutheran Church, referring to Rohrer’s ordinance as pastor. “They continue to stay in touch and it’s so admirable. Megan is coming back to St. Francis for service in November on the Trans Day of Remembrance.” . .
At Peace Lutheran Church, new pastor seeks to create safe space for all teens
. . .As an openly queer woman, Anne Wickland intends to create a space welcoming to all young people, including those of the LGBTQ community. . .
Bethany Lutheran Church closed Sept. 12
. . .The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which provided legal representation to under-served Muslim immigrants at the height of Islamophobia in our country, had its offices in the church building. . .
Many faith leaders say no to endorsing vaccine exemptions
. . .Similarly, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America issued a recent statement encouraging vaccine use and saying that “there is no evident basis for religious exemption” in its own or the wider Lutheran tradition. . .
‘I prayed’: Facebook faces praise and doubts as it rolls out new prayer tool
. . . “Bishop Paul Egensteiner of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Metropolitan New York Synod said...I also pray that Facebook will continue improving its practices to stop misinformation on social media, which is also affecting our religious communities and efforts.”. .
The sinking ‘LGBT inclusive’ Protestant churches
. . .The reality, nevertheless, is that the church attendance and membership in theologically liberal churches that support the LGBT agenda is not growing, quite the opposite. . .
Faith groups accuse GOP senators of ‘apparent anti-Muslim animus’ for stalling Biden nominee
. . .“We do not normally comment on presidential appointments, nor the Senate confirmation process, (but) we feel morally compelled to speak out,” the letter said. . .
Interim minister joins St. James in Brunswick
. . .Hilgeman said he believes that scripture teaches people are created by God to be as we are and that science shows that people don’t choose be become gay and lesbian.
God made animals and then Eve because he didn’t want Adam to be alone, Hilgeman said, and some are born to find companionship with others of the same gender. . .
God made animals and then Eve because he didn’t want Adam to be alone, Hilgeman said, and some are born to find companionship with others of the same gender. . .
Q&A with (ELCA) Bishop Tim Smith
. . .Given the nature of our congregations, we don’t really have a clergy shortage. We have ordinands who are eager to receive a call (LGBTQIA+, persons of color, women in ministry). There are all kinds of -isms in the synod. We need to do encouragement and modeling. When I came on staff, we were all white and straight. So it’s not just one thing. It’s just an ongoing commitment and awareness I need you to challenge me on. Sometimes I wish I were Methodist, so I could just appoint people. . .
Seminary Professors Give Solid Biblical Support for Traditional Views
. . .As a retired pastor who is rostered in a Lutheran church body that has contained on the homepage of its website links to resources from ReconcilingWorks, and whose presiding bishop did not give me the courtesy of responding to my email when I asked her why the ELCA website never also contains links to resources with traditional views. . .
Global Missions 2021: How Did We Get Here … What Now?
. . .Those persuaded that missions = colonialism, or church members in our pluralistic age that believe that all religions are roads to the same God, are probably happy with the state of things. . .
Local pastor (ELCA) sues Washington Co. leaders, accusing them of violating civil rights
. . .Schnekloth was also removed July 15, the day the pro-life resolution passed. . .
Speaking Truth to Error
What Does ReconcilingWorks Want?
. . .they are committed to the gradual conversion of all congregations, synods, and seminaries to their position. . .
Set aside principles to do what’s right (pro LGBT article by retired ELCA pastor)
. . .Sometimes, doing what’s right involves updating one’s principles so they’re more current and useful rather than setting them aside.