The Liberal Lutheran Church Today
Like us
  • Home
  • Responses
    • From Pastors and Churches
    • Study Guide
    • From ELCA members and others
  • Articles
  • Contact
  • Witness Stone Blog

The Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Said What?

5/21/2013

5 Comments

 
The ELCA is in full communion with the Episcopal Church.

Take a few minutes to read what Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori, said in a recent sermon.  Here is a report about the presiding bishop's message, and here is the complete sermon.


How about a sneak peak? The Episcopal Church's Presiding Bishop instructed:
  • Based on Acts 16, Paul was blind to what God was doing when he exorcised the demon from a slave girl.
  • Paul deprives the demonically possessed slave girl "of her gift of spiritual awareness."
  • The leader of the Episcopal Church then says, "Paul can’t abide something he won’t see as beautiful or holy, so he tries to destroy it.  It gets him thrown in prison.  That’s pretty much where he’s put himself by his own refusal to recognize that she, too, shares in God’s nature, just as much as he does – maybe more so!,”

There is more said by the Presiding Episcopal Bishop so please read the above links. 


As mentioned above, the ELCA is in full communion with the Episcopal Church.  The ELCA's official website explains what 'full communion' means. It says:

'Full communion' means a mutual recognition that the partner churches hold 'the essentials of the Christian faith' within the catholic and apostolic tradition. In such a relationship, according to 'Called to Common Mission,' neither church 'seeks to remake the other in its own image, but each is open to the gifts of the other as it seeks to be faithful to Christ and his mission. They are together committed to a visible unity in the church's mission to proclaim the Word and administer the Sacraments' ('Called to Common Mission,' paragraph 2).

Full communion describes a relationship in which the partner churches fully recognize each other as part of the whole Church of Jesus Christ and seek to cooperate with each other in witness, life, and service. Mutual recognition of Baptism and a sharing of the Lord's Supper, allowing for joint worship and an exchangeability of members, also are part of a relationship of full communion." (see here)



5 Comments

Chronology of Grace Lutheran Church - Eau Claire, WI

5/1/2013

9 Comments

 
Many of you have probably read something about the legal battle between Grace Lutheran Church in Eau Claire, WI and the ELCA. Here is a good rundown of all that happened.  This was posted on a Lutheran message board.  (see here)

Here is a brief summary of what has happened so far.  Offer a correction if you think any of this is not accurate.

Grace Lutheran Church in Eau Claire, Wisconsin was going through the process of trying to leave the ELCA.

At least one of the pastors stated that others were interfering in the ministry of the congregation.

They failed to get a two thirds majority vote to leave the ELCA.

The synod bishop informed them that they would hold a special service of the congregation in which he would preside and the pastors of the congregation would assist him.

The congregation council decided not to hold the special service the bishop had scheduled for them, and that service was not held.

The congregation council voted to affiliate with the LCMC in addition to being a congregation of the ELCA.

With the encouragement and support of the synod bishop, some of the members stopped attending services at Grace Lutheran and formed a worshipping community called Amazing Grace which held services in the building of another congregation.

The congregation council of Grace Lutheran moved those who had stopped attending their services from the list of voting members to the list of associate members.

Some of the members of Amazing Grace Lutheran sued Grace Lutheran.

The circuit court judge ordered that Grace Lutheran could not hold their annual meeting, or elect new officers until the case was settled.

Grace Lutheran complied with that order and continued on with the officers who had been elected previously.

The synod decided that Grace Lutheran could not be affiliated with the LCMC and that those who had been moved to associate member status were still voting members of Grace Lutheran.

The circuit court judge agreed with the synod.

Grace Lutheran complied with that order.

The synod bishop removed the pastors of Grace Lutheran from the clergy roster of the ELCA.

The synod decided that those who had continued to attend services at Grace Lutheran had been disloyal to the ELCA and had to be moved from the list of voting members to the list of associate members, and that the keys to the property of Grace Lutheran had to be handed over to the members of Amazing Grace Lutheran.

The circuit court judge agreed with that decision of the synod.

The leaders of Grace Lutheran complied with that order and handed over the keys to the property to a representative of the synod and those who had been members of Amazing Grace.

A representative of the synod told the employees of Grace Lutheran that they had a certain amount of time to remove any of their personal property from the property of Grace Lutheran.

The Grace Lutheran building is now locked up and not being used by anyone.

Those who were members of Amazing Grace, who are now the only voting members of Grace Lutheran, held a Sunday Service in the building of another congregation.

A number of those who by the order of the court are no longer voting members of Grace Lutheran held a Sunday Service, Sunday School and a meeting in a funeral home chapel.  At that meeting they voted to form a congregation that would be affiliated with the LCMC and asked the former pastors of Grace Lutheran to continue serving as their pastors.  They are calling this congregation they are forming Saving Grace Lutheran.

As of now, the only voting members of Grace Lutheran are those who were members of Amazing Grace.  Since the voting members of the Grace Foundation are the voting members of Grace Lutheran, those who were members of Amazing Grace also control the ministries and property of that large foundation.  (It is possible that the orders of the circuit court judge, enforcing the decisions of the synod, may be appealed to a higher court.)

I doubt that many think this is good for the reputation of that synod or the ELCA.

                     Mel Harris
9 Comments

    ​Dan Skogen

    ​
    "Then he (Joshua) took a large stone and set it up there under the oak near the holy place of the LORD.

    'See!' he said to all the people. 'This stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the LORD has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God.'
    Joshua 24:26-27


    Your gift can help us continue
    this ministry



    Categories

    All
    Abortion
    Augsburg University
    Bishop Hanson
    California Lutheran Univ
    Cartoon
    Church
    Climate Change
    #DecolonizeLutheranism
    Dig Deeper
    Eaton
    Elca
    ELCA Advocacy
    Elca Seminaries
    ELCA Youth Gathering
    Freedom Of Speech
    Gay
    Gay Bar
    Gender Neutral Language
    George Soros
    Guns
    Heresy
    Heretics
    Homosexual Relations
    ICE
    Illegal Immigration
    Immigration
    Israel
    Jesus
    Lcmc
    Lcms
    Lgbt
    Luther College
    Luther Seminary
    Membership
    Mother God
    Nadia Bloz Weber
    Naked
    NRA
    Other Gods
    Pastors
    Politics
    Pornography
    Pronouns
    Queen
    Racism
    Salvation
    Sanctuary
    Synod
    The Bible
    The Resurrection
    Umc
    United Nations
    Universalism
    Video
    Virgin Birth
    Wordalone Ministries

    Archives

    January 2023
    August 2022
    July 2022
    May 2022
    October 2021
    September 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    September 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    June 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    March 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    September 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010

    RSS Feed

     

Home

Responses

Articles

Blog

Contact

ELCAToday.com
Copyright © 2015