http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/elca/ en-us Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:43:51 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045192/posts Officials of the declining 4.9 million Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) have revealed what God’s priorities are in the U.S. presidential campaign. And remarkably, the divine priorities was very akin to the Democratic Party’s priorities, if not further to the left. Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson, with three other ELCA officials generously wrote both presidential candidates a public letter with the divine guidance. Although famed Protestant Reformer Martin Luther championed the Bible as God’s exclusive revelation, modern ELCA activists have located more useful counsel in the secular welfare state and environmental agenda. “The Scriptures are clear about God's concern for... FrontPageMagazine.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045192/posts#comment Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:43:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2045156/posts Observe that the Lutherans cite government as “an important catalyst in God’s work.” In fact, their agenda implies that government is virtually God’s only instrument. The Lutherans want government to abolish poverty, prohibit war, cleanse the environment, engineer egalitarian justice globally, and seemingly usher in The Millennium through additional regulation and taxation. If government can achieve so much, who needs God, much less the church? Cross Action News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2045156/posts#comment Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:31:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2042827/posts The Episcopal Church has been at the forefront of baptizing active homosexual lifestyle as God-blessed. Since 1960, that denomination has decreased in membership by 48%. The United Methodist Church has been roiled by those adamant on establishing homosexual lifestyles as Christian legitimate. In the fight for one side or another that denomination has decreased in membership by 25%. The Presbyterian Church (USA) has likewise been embroiled in the tussle. That denomination has decreased in membership by 44%. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has also been riddled with in-house fighting over homosexual lifestyles as anti-God or pro-God. That denomination's membership... Magic City Morning Star http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2042827/posts#comment Wed, 9 Jul 2008 11:32:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2042513/posts Lutheran Letter to the Candidates July 8, 2008 We write to you representing the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, Lutheran Services in America, and Lutheran World Relief. Lutherans have a long history and wide experience with direct ministry and advocacy related to health and human services, relief and development, refugee protection and immigration. Lutheran ministries reach every state in our nation and are present in more than 60 countries, serving millions of the most vulnerable people in America and throughout the world each year. Loving and serving our neighbors -- Lutherans make a difference.... Evangelical Lutheran Church in America http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2042513/posts#comment Tue, 8 Jul 2008 19:01:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2041798/posts STATEMENT ON THE ANTICHRIST Introduction to the StatementAs Martin Luther grew in his appreciation of the gospel, he also grew in his recognition that the Papacy is the Antichrist. A 1954 WELS pamphlet entitled Antichrist put it this way: “It was because Luther cherished the Gospel so dearly that his faith instinctively recoiled and protested in unmistakable terms when the Pope put himself in the place of Christ and declared His work insufficient and in vain. That is the use to which Luther’s faith put the prophecy of Scripture. For him the tenet that the Pope is the Antichrist was... Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod Website http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2041798/posts#comment Mon, 7 Jul 2008 13:33:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2036997/posts ARUSHA, Tanzania (ELCA) -- The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) can help create a global movement to limit or halt environmental degradation, but it must have many partners and large numbers of people to be effective, said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Hanson made the comment at a June 25 news conference following his report to the LWF Council, which is meeting here through June 30. The LWF is a global communion of 140 churches in 78 countries, representing 68.6 million of the... ELCA News Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2036997/posts#comment Thu, 26 Jun 2008 23:07:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2034116/posts June 20, 2008 ELCA Bishop Calls for Prayer, Action Concerning Domestic Disasters 08-095-MRC CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), asked the 4.8 million-member church to join him in "prayer and action" for people facing adversity this spring after tornadoes and floods struck the central United States and the humanitarian crisis following an immigration raid in Postville, Iowa. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested about 390 workers May 12 at a meat processing plant in Postville, making the raid the largest at a single location in U.S. history.... ELCA New Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2034116/posts#comment Fri, 20 Jun 2008 23:22:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2032464/posts BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany could elect its first openly gay Lutheran bishop next month, a move conservatives say would alienate many Christians and open divisions in the Church. The July 12 election brings to Germany the question of gay clergy and same-sex unions which has caused rifts in several countries and faiths, including the Anglican community. Horst Gorski, a senior cleric from Hamburg, is standing for the post of bishop of Schleswig in northern Germany against Gerhard Ulrich, a senior cleric from the Schleswig area. The incumbent bishop is retiring in September. Gorski is a widely respected theologian and he... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2032464/posts#comment Tue, 17 Jun 2008 21:45:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2030294/posts ELCA Presiding Bishop, Other Religious Leaders, Meet with Obama 08-087-JB CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) was among more than 30 national Christian leaders who met here June 10 with U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. Hanson was invited by Obama's staff to meet privately with the Senator in a meeting in which Darfur, the Iraq war, gay rights, abortion and faith issues were discussed, the Associated Press reported. Hanson said the meeting's purpose seemed to be an effort by Obama "to begin... ELCA News Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2030294/posts#comment Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:39:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2030110/posts A local church conference questions how much the CEO of a social services nonprofit earns. A local congress of Lutherans wants to know why the top executive of a large, church-affiliated social services agency has a compensation package topping $1 million. In 2006, the Rev. Dr. Daun E. McKee, CEO and president of Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries, collected $385,947 in salary, $582,925 in benefits and a $63,591 expense account for a total $1.03 million, according to tax records. McKee's compensation topped all other nonprofit executives in the region, according to the Central Penn Business Journal. Diakon officials defend McKee and... York Daily Record http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2030110/posts#comment Thu, 12 Jun 2008 20:09:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2027416/posts Joint Statement on Sudan: Presiding Bishops Urge Prayers for Peace, International Action for Stability by The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and The Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, The Episcopal Church June 4, 2008 Over the past several weeks, we have watched with great sorrow as the new outbreak of violence in Sudan has threatened the resumption of widespread conflict in a nation just three years removed from decades of civil war. Our sense of foreboding is heightened because the violence has come in and around Abyei, a town whose history, resources, and proximity to the border... Evangelical Lutheran Church in America http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2027416/posts#comment Sat, 7 Jun 2008 01:00:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2026513/posts Federal prosecutors are reviewing the case of a Lancaster man accused of stealing more than $1 million from the regional governing body of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, lawyers said. Lower Paxton Township police arrested Barry R. Herr, 61, of the 2100 block of Creek Hill Road in March and accused him of misappropriating $1,004,732 in church money. Herr was charged with 36 felony counts of criminal use of a communication facility and one felony count of theft by deception in a scheme police said dates to at least 1991. Herr was released on $25,000 unsecured bail. Prosecution of... York Daily Record (PA) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2026513/posts#comment Thu, 5 Jun 2008 16:27:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2022797/posts Comments on the "Draft Social Statement on Human Sexuality" by Dr. Hans Schwarz (ELCA Pastor and Professor at the University of Regensburg, Germany) May 5, 2008 [You may also download Comments as a pdf file] "ELCA social statements are theological and teaching documents that assist members in forming judgments on social issues. They offer a framework for moral discernment. They also set policy for this church, guide its advocacy, and aid its life as a public church" (I). This means that a social statement does many things: teach, assist members in forming judgments, set policy, and above all provide a... WordAlone http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2022797/posts#comment Thu, 29 May 2008 03:59:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2019714/posts he Rev. Steven L. Ullestad, bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Northeastern Iowa Synod, Waverly, and Ralston H. Deffenbaugh Jr., president, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, Baltimore, expressed concern about the impact of immigration enforcement raids on children and families in a May 20 statement submitted to the U.S. Congress and entered into the Congressional Record. The statement is in response to the May 12 federal immigration raid at a meat processing plant in Postville, Iowa, where federal agents arrested more than 310 men and 76 women working at the plant. "Adults were immediately separated from their children and... ELCA via PRNewswire http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2019714/posts#comment Thu, 22 May 2008 15:17:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2018464/posts ELCA NEWS SERVICE May 19, 2008 Michael Burk Elected Bishop of ELCA Southeastern Iowa Synod 08-065-JD* IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The Rev. Michael L. Burk, executive, Worship and Liturgical Resources, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Chicago, was elected May 17 to a six-year term as bishop of the ELCA Southeastern Iowa Synod. He was elected on the fourth ballot for bishop during the synod assembly here May 16-18. On the fourth ballot, Burk received 312 votes to 92 for the Rev. Kurt R. Nordby, assistant to the bishop, ELCA Southeastern Iowa Synod, and director, Illowa Lutheran Coalition, Rock Island,... ELCA News Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2018464/posts#comment Tue, 20 May 2008 03:01:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2017555/posts A Critique of the "Draft Social Statement on Human Sexuality" Prepared by the Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality, Church in Society Evangelical Lutheran Church in America by Carl E. Braaten (May 2008) [You may also download the Critique as a pdf file.] I am aware that this social statement is a first draft. The Task Force has asked for suggestions and criticisms that might be helpful in producing an improved and final version. The authors of the document claim that it is based on Lutheran theological foundations. My critique will examine whether this proposed social statement is faithful... LutheranCoRe http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2017555/posts#comment Sun, 18 May 2008 03:13:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2009361/posts United Methodists declared Monday a "banner day" as they approved a full communion agreement with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The new relationship between the two major Protestant denominations is not a merger but a recognition of each other's ministry and mission. Full communion recognizes that each church has "the one, holy, catholic and apostolic faith" expressed in the Scriptures and confessed in historic creeds and the core teachings of each denomination. The two churches also recognize the authenticity of each other's baptism and eucharist and the full interchangeability of all ordained ministers. "It's not merger," said Bishop Melvin... Christian Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2009361/posts#comment Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:03:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2003760/posts Dear sexuality task force, First I must compliment you, the Human Sexuality Task Force of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, on a well-documented and thorough study of the sexuality issue. You have put much work into a very difficult subject, and at the present I’m not sure what more you could do given your stated assignment and the lay of the land. I felt that you tried to be open to all views, but I do have some critical comments that I hope will help bring this topic to light from a different perspective. First I have to comment... WordAlone Network http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2003760/posts#comment Sat, 19 Apr 2008 00:33:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1997118/posts Several U.S. mainline Protestant denominations are about to face their latest showdowns on one of the most vexing issues since slavery: whether to break from biblical morality as traditionally understood to allow clergy with homosexual partners and to sanction blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples. "Mainline" groups (predominantly white, with early American roots, and affiliated with the National Council of Churches) contain vocal, well-organized liberal and evangelical combatants. The resulting dispute "certainly has taken a big toll," says Jack Haberer of Presbyterian Outlook, an independent magazine that airs varied views. "For some, it's the total compromise of all things moral. For... WORLD http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1997118/posts#comment Sat, 5 Apr 2008 12:57:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1995986/posts Divestment: Coming to a Denomination Near You   By Dr. Earl TilfordFrontPageMagazine.com | Thursday, April 03, 2008 For a generation after World War II, particularly given revelations of the Holocaust, most American Protestant denominations embraced a more tolerant attitude toward Jews. Since the 1980s, however, there has been a marked shift, evident in the anti-Israeli positions adopted by more liberal denominations like the United Methodist Church (UMC); the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA); the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA); and the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. (PCUSA).At its April meeting in Fort Worth, the National Conference of... FrontPageMagazine.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1995986/posts#comment Thu, 3 Apr 2008 12:43:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1993816/posts RIVERSIDE, OH (WIVB) - - Missing since Wednesday, Lyndonville pastor Craig Rhodenizer was found early Friday morning inside a strip club, KC Lounge, in Riverside, Ohio near Dayton. Officer Rhett close spoke with the pastor in the parking lot. Rhett Close, Riverside Police Officer, "He started to become a little bit emotionally stressed at that point. State he didn't know how he got there or why he was even ther." While the pastor may not remember how he got to the club, at least one dancer there claims to remember what he did while he was there. According to the... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1993816/posts#comment Sun, 30 Mar 2008 01:09:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1993712/posts A pastor whose disappearance from a small town in upstate New York triggered a search by police and the FBI was found earlier today — inside an Ohio strip club. Police said that when the Rev. Craig S. Rhodenizer, 46, was confronted by an officer, he began crying and said he couldn't remember anything about the 36 hours he was missing. But dancers at the club remembered Rhodenizer. They told investigators that Rhodenizer spent two hours drinking, soliciting dances and making threatening comments. He also said he wanted to take the dancers back to his motel, according to the police... ABC News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1993712/posts#comment Sat, 29 Mar 2008 20:05:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1989914/posts A task force drafting a statement on sexuality for the nation's largest Lutheran group said Thursday that the church should continue defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. However, the panel did not condemn same-gender relationships. The committee expressed regret that historic Lutheran teachings have been used to hurt gays and lesbians, and acknowledged that some congregations already accept same-sex couples. The report released by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is part of the denomination's yearslong effort to bridge internal differences over the Bible and homosexuality. AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1989914/posts#comment Sat, 22 Mar 2008 17:43:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1985135/posts A task force drafting a statement on sexuality for the nation's largest Lutheran group said Thursday that the church should continue defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. However, the panel did not condemn same-gender relationships. The committee expressed regret that historic Lutheran teachings have been used to hurt gays and lesbians, and acknowledged that some congregations already accept same-sex couples. The report released by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is part of the denomination's yearslong effort to bridge internal differences over the Bible and homosexuality. The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, a separate, smaller group, is... AP via SFGate http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1985135/posts#comment Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:32:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1978101/posts February 28, 2008 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, "Proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable ... do the work of an evangelist ... " (2 Timothy 4:2a, 5b) "Bishop Hanson, what is your number one priority for the ELCA?" The question was addressed to me recently with great clarity and a desire for specificity. My answer? That we be an evangelizing church. The questioner nodded with what I took to be a gesture of agreement and walked away. I am curious how my questioner would have responded to his own question. And I am... Evangelical Lutheran Church in America http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1978101/posts#comment Fri, 29 Feb 2008 05:06:50 GMT