Governor Sibelius protected Tiller, who gave her tons of money. All the Lutheran synods (LCMS, WELS, ELS, CLC) working with ELCA through Thrivent are Tiller enablers. If you are in bed with ELCA, do not call out from the sheets, "But we are pro-life, unlike ELCA."
ELCA NEWS SERVICE
June 4, 2009
ELCA Congregation Grieves after Member Shot in Church
09-127-FI
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The funeral for Dr. George Tiller will be June 6 at College Hill United Methodist Church, Wichita, Kan. Tiller was shot and killed May 31 while serving as an usher for Sunday worship at nearby Reformation Lutheran Church, where he was a member. Tiller was 67.
The funeral will begin at 10 a.m. Tiller's family requested College Hill because it offers more available seating than Reformation. "All the different stages and symptoms of grief are happening here," said the Rev. Lowell R. Michelson, senior pastor for Reformation, a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). He said many began their "journey of healing" by gathering the evening of the shooting for a vigil with the Rev. Gerald L. Mansholt, bishop, ELCA Central States Synod, Kansas City, Kan.
This week a team of crisis intervention specialists is meeting with members of Reformation in groups and individually, Michelson said. The specialists "helped us name some of those things that we haven't been able to put a name to in our anger, sadness, confusion and disbelief." They will continue counseling the congregation through weekend worship services. The Rev. Kristin M. Neitzel, associate pastor, is working with parish nurses and lay ministers to care for "those folks who are noticeably absent," Michelson said. They will be mobilizing all congregation members to support each other in the days ahead.
Michelson is preparing to preach the funeral sermon. He said the family selected verses from the Gospel of John, in which Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live." Others at the funeral will reflect on Tiller's life, and Michelson said he plans to "talk about the promises of God and the hope that we have in the one who loved us first."
Tiller was one of a few doctors in the United States who provided abortions after the 21st week of pregnancy. Scott P. Roeder, 51, was arrested and charged with murder in connection with the shooting.
According to KAKE television, Wichita, the family's lawyer, Dan Monnat issued a statement: "While the funeral of Dr. George Tiller will be open to the public, Dr. Tiller's family has requested that no video or audio recording be allowed during any portion of the funeral service Saturday.
The family respectfully asks that all media honor their wish to preserve the privacy of the occasion, both inside the church and in any overflow areas."
The family's lawyers issued a statement earlier at the request of Jeanne Tiller, the Tillers' four children and 10 grandchildren:
"We would like to express the family's thanks for the many messages of sympathy from our friends and from all across the nation. We also want to thank the law enforcement officers who are investigating this crime.
"Our loss is also a loss for the city of Wichita and women across America. George dedicated his life to providing women with high-quality health care despite frequent threats and violence."
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The full text of a statement by the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, is at http://tinyurl.com/p8y69r on the ELCA Web site.
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ELCA NEWS SERVICE
June 1, 2009
Lutheran Leaders Respond to Slaying in Wichita Church
09-126-FI
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), issued a statement in response to the May 31 murder of Dr. George Tiller at Reformation Lutheran Church, an ELCA congregation in Wichita, Kan. Tiller was serving as an usher for Sunday morning worship when he was shot and killed. A suspect was arrested later in connection with the killing.
"Dr. George Tiller and his wife, Jeanne, were gathering with the people of Reformation Lutheran Church to worship and to celebrate Pentecost -- the coming of the Holy Spirit to God's people," Hanson said. "In the wake of his death we pray that the Holy Spirit will comfort his family and all who mourn."
"We pray for the courage to be peacemakers, rejecting violence as a means of resolving differences. We trust God's promise that neither death nor life nor anything in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord," Hanson said.
The Rev. Lowell R. Michelson and the Rev. Kristin M. Neitzel are pastors of Reformation Lutheran Church. The congregation is part of the ELCA Central States Synod, led by Bishop Gerald L. Mansholt. Michelson and Neitzel posted a public statement on the congregation's Web site, noting that Tiller had been a longtime member of the congregation.
"In the wake of this tragic event, our deepest concern is for the family of George Tiller. We ask the community to join us in prayer for them as they face the difficult days ahead. Our hearts ache with them. We also ask that the family's privacy be respected," the pastors said.
They added that counselors were helping members of the congregation. "We pray for healing and peace to be restored. We offer our thanks for the many prayers of support from across the country," Michelson and Neitzel wrote.
In a letter to the ELCA Central States Synod, Mansholt wrote: "In this time of tragedy and sorrow we give thanks to God who comforts us in times of need and loss. In the midst of things we are unable to understand ... we continue to trust in the communion of saints, the
forgiveness of sins, and the resurrection to life eternal. In that promise of God there is healing and hope for the whole world."
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Bishop Hanson's full statement is at http://tinyurl.com/m2gq82 on the ELCA Web site.
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Dr. George Tiller Admits to Performing Abortions the Day Before Delivery
Abortionist Tiller Admits to Performing Abortions the Day Before DeliveryHis Speech at National Education Association
By John-Henry Westen
ARLINGTON, VA, March 19, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Notorious partial-birth abortion specialist Dr. George Tiller of Wichita, KS, was caught on hidden video admitting to aborting babies a day before the mother's due date. Students for Life of America (SFLA) today released the video which was made at the Feminist Majority Foundation's annual Women's Leadership Conference held at the National Education Association (NEA) on March 9.
The video reveals Dr. Tiller showcasing massive and graphic pictures of children with fetal abnormalities that he had aborted, so as to make the case for late-term abortions as necessary medical procedure. SFLA's Executive Director Kristan Hawkins, who videotaped the conference and interviewed Tiller clandestinely, commented on the gruesome pictures of aborted children Tiller showed, saying, "One had an extra arm: could not that child had survived and received corrective surgery? Was violently killing the child the only way to go?"
"Pro-lifers are regularly condemned for displaying pictures of aborted babies, but here the pro-abortion crowd and the NEA are more than happy to showcase these graphic images, and even gave Dr. Tiller's presentation a standing ovation," added Hawkins.
Tiller, who currently faces 19 criminal charges for illegal late-term abortions in the state of Kansas, at first feigned ignorance of the Born Alive Infants Protection Act, a federal bill signed into law in 2002 that protects born children from murder and illegalizes infanticide. However when questioned further about the measure he spoke of his ideological objection to the legislation, saying, "Let's say you have 15 or 16, you had 1 slip out with a heartbeat; that is not a viable fetus, but that is born alive or has a heartbeat. Then you have to take that non-viable fetus and rush it directly to the hospital against the woman's wishes."
Given that the conference featuring Tiller was held at the National Education Association, it is probable that a good number of the more than three million members of the NEA would be voicing opposition if they were made aware of the situation.
"As a pro-life teacher, I can say this illustrates why I am no longer a member of the NEA," said Marla Mercer, a West Virginia teacher and former member of the National Education Association. "The NEA should not be involved in this issue; here they are hosting this controversial abortionist and his slideshow of babies he has aborted. There is no way any of my money will ever be used to advance the radical pro-abortion agenda of Planned Parenthood and the NEA."
Full video available online at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=wpr_sN04j_0 [18 or older]
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GJ - Believe it or not, the LCA passed a resolution against abortion at its 1978 convention in Chicago. Mrs. Ichabod and I were there. The resolution condemned abortion as a means of birth control. The conservative element who piloted this statement found itself ousted from the LCA.
My mother once attended one of the largest LCA congregations in America, about 5,000 baptized members. The pastor had to have a lot of clout and respect, right? One day he casually mentioned at a meeting that abortion was wrong. He found himself retiring a few weeks later. He was healthy, active, successful...and extended the Left Foot of Fellowship.
The death camp exhibits no signs of tolerance about their opposition. However, the nominally pro-life synods have no trouble being in bed with those who mourn a self-proclaimed criminal who made the Nazis look good in comparison. Ducking under the covers is not a convincing pro-life statement - WELS, Missouri, ELS, and CLC.
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Bruce Church has left a new comment on your post "Killer Tiller Thriller Filler: No Word About the B...":
Late-Term Abortionist, 'Faithful Lutheran' Martyr Like MLK?
Over at Get Religion, Mollie Z. Hemingway lamented how reporters are trying to use the murder of late-term abortionist George Tiller at church to challenge "popular perceptions" that abortionists can’t be a "faithful member of the Lutheran church" and love Jesus. Take this vomit-inducing introduction to a Religion News Service article by Lindsay Perna and Tiffany Stanley: [snip]
Read the rest here:
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tim-graham/2009/06/08/late-term-abortionist-faithful-lutheran-martyr-mlk
