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Lutherans Concerned / North America (LC/NA) responded with sadness to yesterday's announcement proposing a new church body to be formed by and for former ELCA members and congregations opposing the full inclusion of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities in the life of the church. In August 2009, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, by a 2/3 majority, passed a social statement on sexuality. The statement, "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust" described as faithful four positions on beliefs within the denomination on the inclusion of people in same-gender relationships. The four positions ranged from the view that same-gender...

Minneapolis, Minn., Nov 20, 2009 / 03:54 am (CNA).- Following the decision of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) to allow sexually active homosexual clergy, an objecting Lutheran group has begun to form a new church body for those Lutherans who want to “remain faithful to the Orthodox Christianity of the last 2,000 years.”Lutheran CORE leaders on Wednesday said their working group would immediately begin drafting a constitution and taking other steps to form the new denomination. They hope to launch the denomination by next August.Rev. Paull Spring, a retired Pennsylvania ELCA bishop and chairman of Lutheran CORE said...

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand. -- Romans 5:1-2a November 19, 2009 Sisters and brothers in Christ of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, I greet you with the words of the apostle Paul to the Romans: "Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand" (Romans 5:1-2a). Where does the Evangelical Lutheran Church in...

Gay, lesbian priests nominated for bishop LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Two Episcopal priests in same-gender relationships are among the nominees for assistant bishop of Los Angeles, officials said Sunday. The Rev. John L. Kirkley of San Francisco and the Rev. Mary Douglas Glasspool of Maryland will be among six candidates on the ballot when lay people and clergy vote in December, despite a long-standing request from world Anglican leaders for a moratorium on consecrating openly gay bishops. Los Angeles Bishop Jon Bruno said in a statement Sunday that he was "pleased by the wide diversity" of the nominees. Separately, the...

Episcopal Church leaders in Los Angeles today nominated an openly gay priest and an openly lesbian priest as bishops, becoming one of the first dioceses in the national church to test a controversial new policy that lifted a de facto ban on gays and lesbians in the ordained hierarchy. The nominations of the Rev. John L. Kirkley of San Francisco and the Rev. Canon Mary Douglas Glasspool of a Baltimore-based diocese are likely to further inflame theological conservatives in the U.S. church and their global partners in the Anglican Communion, who have repeatedly warned about the repercussions of such action....

Anaheim, Calif. (AP) -- Episcopal bishops authorized the church Wednesday to start drafting an official prayer for same-sex couples, another step toward acceptance of gay relationships that will deepen the rift between the denomination and its fellow Anglicans overseas. The bishops voted 104-30 at the Episcopal General Convention to "collect and develop theological resources and liturgies" for blessing same-gender relationships, which would be considered at the next national meeting in 2012. The resolution notes the growing number of states that allow gay marriage, civil unions and domestic partnerships, and gave bishops in those regions discretion to provide a "generous pastoral...

Associate director of Duke University's Center for Health Policy, Frank Lombard, was recently arrested by the FBI and charged with offering up his adopted 5-year-old African American son for sex to an undercover cop. Lombard admitted to molesting his own adopted son to the undercover officer in an online chat room under the user name "Perv Dad for Fun". He invited the under cover officer to travel to North Carolina to rape his already-molested adopted son. Lombard faces 20 years in prison if convicted but is not eligible for the death penalty.Lombard bragged to the detective that “the abuse of...

The next stage of the Anglican Communion's attempt to resolve its differences over theology, sexuality and the authority of scripture will involve more "listening processes," but this time those processes will be paid for by a retired Episcopal priest who advocates same-sex blessings. The money given by the Episcopal priest will be monitored by a group of sex "experts" who advocate a vision of sexual freedom and "justice" that bears little resemblance to mainstream Christian doctrine or tradition, and at least one of these "experts" believes that pornography, bestiality, and multiple sex partners are not inherently harmful or wrong. Working...

Episcopal Church fires 61 priests and deacons in the Central Valley. Part of the reason, is they followed former Bishop John David Schofield when he rebuked the national church for its stance on the ordination of gays into the priesthood. The 61 clergy had six months to deny or recant their stance against...

The Episcopal Church filed suit Tuesday to regain control of Fort Worth-area church buildings and other property held by a breakaway contingent led by Bishop Jack Iker. "We're stewards of property that has been given for generations to the Episcopal Church. We can't just let people walk off with it," said Kathleen Wells, chancellor for the reorganized Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth. The suit was filed in Tarrant County district court and names Iker as a defendant, among others. -snip-

Faith forms a bond for a lesbian priest and a Mormon father of three A documentary film about same-sex marriage and theology leads to friendship, admiration and new understanding. By Duke Helfand February 7, 2009 Who could have foreseen what would happen between the Mormon filmmaker and the lesbian priest? Not Douglas Hunter, even after he took a leap of faith and trained his camera on the Rev. Susan Russell.

A photo exhibit featuring partners in same-sex relationships will be on display beginning Sunday at First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1609 University Ave. An open house will be held Sunday from 1-3 p.m., and the exhibit will be on display at the church for one week. The exhibit, titled "Shall Not Be Recognized," was created by Jeff Pearcy and Will Fellows in response to the passage of the 2006 marriage amendment in Wisconsin that does not legally recognize same-sex relationships. The display includes 30 photographs of couples who have been together for seven to 50 years. "In recent years,...

With quiet vows and an eye toward November's Proposition 8 referendum, Stephanie Sue Spencer and the Rev. Arlene Nehring made their 16-year union a legal California marriage in Hayward's Eden United Church of Christ, where Nehring presides as pastor. This "much-awaited day" wasn't quite the wedding they'd hoped for, but with voters going to the polls in a month in an election that could make their union unconstitutional, the couple felt it was better now than never. "People are hedging their bets," said Todd Bove, a member of the church who married his partner of 10 years just a month...

They say everything is bigger in Texas. But the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas makes one Texas-sized claim that few would expect in the conservative Bible Belt state - it says it is the world's biggest gay church. "I think this shows that God has a tremendously great sense of humour," says senior pastor and rector Jo Hudson. On a more serious note, she says the church, affiliated with the United Church of Christ, is a spiritual refuge for gay people of faith in a region associated with more conservative brands of Christianity. "Because we are in the Bible Belt...

SOUTH PLAINFIELD — At first, Andrea Leipow thought the severed human hand nicknamed Freddy, found in a mason jar of formaldehyde on a basement table, was just a bizarre joke. But when a resident at the home on the quiet suburban street read a satanic text in the language Enochian, the 25-year-old Leipow, who moved into the home in February, started to get "creeped out," she said. Things grew much darker at the house, which was shared by a group of people in their 20s, Leipow told the Home News Tribune yesterday. The two exotic dancers living there, Linda E....

Evidence Suggests Bentley Dabbled in OccultFriday, February 03, 2006, 10:53:11 AM By Josh Hinkle KCRG-TV9 News VIDEO (Cedar Rapids - KCRG) -- There are strange questions about the man found guilty in the murder of Jeseta Gage. But evidence still lingers concerning Roger Bentley, suggesting ties to the occult. KCRG-TV9 News has proof that those ties go back more than a decade. One piece of evidence that caught the victim's family off guard was the "Necromantic Ritual Book." Among other things, this book details the practice of using corpses to rause the spirit of the dead. The book was nothing...

Most Church of Satan members would support victory for the United States, since its secular form of government, as well as its culture, promotes individualism and freedom. This secularism is seen as "Satanic" by fanatical Muslims and rightly so -- from their perspective. The architects of the U.S. Government were Freemasons and they held many Satanic values, so we feel that Americans should embrace the role they give to us as "The Great Satan." Should a fundamentalist Islamic regime come to power, they would obviously treat Satanists as enemies of the state. To support that outcome would not be...

An engrossing tale of two congressional districts By William Mulgrew IMMEDIATELY after Election 2004, elite liberal pundits criticized Bush voters, labeling them what a friend of mine calls "the four R's: Rich, Religious, Redneck, and Retarded." Maureen Dowd achieved the greatest level of hysteria, accusing the GOP of pandering to "isolationism, nativism, chauvinism, puritanism and religious fanaticism." Others decry that President Bush supposedly "divided" us. But is our country "divided"? If so, to what extent and how? By looking at a county by county showing of the 2004 presidential election, the split between red and blue is mainly between city...

Sen. Kennedy Says Opponents of “Gay Marriage” Are Bigots Sen. Edward Kennedy has told A.P. that opponents of “gay marriage” are bigots. The news service reported last week: “Meanwhile, Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy criticized supporters of a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, saying that would be a civil rights setback. “Kennedy said bigotry should not be written into the federal constitution, and constitutional amendments should be about expanding rights and liberties.” Unitarians Confirm Our Forecast that Group Sex Will be Next The Unitarian Church is now welcoming those who believe in group relationships including the practice of “romantic love.”...

A TECHNICIAN in the Royal Navy has become the first serviceman in Britain's armed forces to be officially recognised as a Satanist, the defence ministry said. HMS Cumberland Satanist on board ... the "bad" ship HMS Cumberland / File Chris Cranmer, 24, has been given the go-ahead by his captain to perform Satanic rituals on board the HMS Cumberland and is reportedly lobbying his employers to register Satanism as an official religion in the armed forces. "There is a guy who has asked to practice his (Satanic) beliefs on a Royal Navy ship," a defence ministry spokesman said. "His request...

The British Armed Forces has officially recognised its first registered Satanist, a newspaper reports. Naval technician Chris Cranmer, 24, has been allowed to register by the captain of HMS Cumberland, based at Devonport Naval Base in Plymouth. The move will mean that he will now be allowed to perform Satanic rituals on board the vessel. According to the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Cranmer realised he was a Satanist nine years ago. Religious values Mr Cranmer said that was when he stumbled across a copy of the Satanic Bible, written by Church of Satan founder Anton Szandor LaVey. He said: "I then...

Navy approves first ever Satanist Mr Cranmer will be allowed to perform Satanic rituals The British Armed Forces has officially recognised its first registered Satanist, according to a newspaper report. Naval technician Chris Cranmer, 24, has been allowed to register by the captain of HMS Cumberland. The move will mean that he will now be allowed to perform Satanic rituals on board the vessel. According to the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Cranmer realised he was a Satanist nine years ago. Religious values At the time he stumbled across a copy of the Satanic Bible, written by Church of Satan founder Anton...

I've protested and prayed in front of a local abortion clinic about 10 times over the last year. I thought I'd seen it all, but this last time really surprised me. There was a member of clergy there, wearing the collar. Along with some seminarians, they were escorting women into the abortion clinic. A friend of mine walked near him. (We have to stay on the sidewalk.) Typically the escorts do a genuinely excellent job ignoring protesters such as myself. But my friend and I honestly just wanted to ask this clergyman why he was doing this. He said it...

"Sexually Inclusive Christians" Celebrate Victories, Push for More Mark Tooley August 22, 2003 When arguing for church acceptance of homosexuality, most advocates talk about monogamy. But others are bolder. “I am a strong ally of those in healthy, polyamorous relationships,” declared Debra Kolodny. She argued that having multiple sexual partners can be “holy.” Kolodyn was leading a workshop at the WOW (Witness Our Welcome) 2003 convention, an ecumenical gathering for “sexually and gender inclusive Christians.” Hundreds of homosexual, bisexual, and heterosexual people gathered under the “queer” banner in Philadelphia August 14-17 to urge religious acceptance of non-traditional sexual behaviors. According...

A Matter of Common Sense Gay Pride Parade Features Catholic Parish/Priest By Phil Sevilla For the past 33 years, "gay" pride parades have distinguished San Francisco as the epicenter of the homosexual movement in America. On June 29, I was present to videotape and document with a small group of Catholic and pro-family journalists the parade and events at the Civic Center rotunda. I witnessed frontal nudity, lewd conduct, simulated acts of sodomy, and even profane slogans and caricatures mocking the pope and bishops. I filmed at least one Catholic priest, Father Edward Phelan, and members of his parish...

The Antiwar Movement's Nazi ConnectionBy Ben JohnsonFrontPageMagazine.com | April 25, 2003 In the run-up to the liberation of Iraq, conservatives were tempted to say the entire anti-war movement represented nothing more than a conglomeration of Stalinists, Castroites and Islamists. Such a description would not do justice to the "peace" movement: it would omit the role of vicious anti-Semites. FrontPage Magazine recently exposed the neo-Nazi Bill White’s Overthrow.com ("The Bottom of the Barrel"), but giving White a run for his bile is one Bruce Alan "Vincent" Breeding, a professional anti-Semite and sometime Satan-worshiper whose life’s purpose lies in fighting the Jews....

A government high school in California has allowed a Satanic "thought" club. Pupils at San Mateo High School launched the group to "rile things up" after studying the writings of the founder of San Francisco's Church of Satan, the San Francisco Examiner reported. Unless the children sacrifice animals (that wouldn't be P.C.), break laws or get violent, Satanic Thought Society may continue to "study alternative philosophies," San Mateo Superintendent Thomas More said.