From Faith LCMC in Moline, Illinois:
May 6, 2010
Ms. Kim Meyer, Church Council Secretary
Faith Lutheran Church
1611 41’st Street
Moline, IL 61265-3499
Dear Ms. Meyer and Members of Faith Lutheran Church Council:
Grace and peace be unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I am in receipt of your correspondence dated April 23, 2010 indicating your vote to leave the ELCA.
The constitution of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America states that congregations of which the predecessor body was the Lutheran Church in America (ELCA Constitution 9.62g) must receive permission from the synod to leave the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Because Faith Lutheran Church is a congregation formerly of the Lutheran Church in America, the Northern Illinois Synod must take action on Faith’s desire to leave the ELCA.
Therefore, we invite you, and any others whom you wish to accompany you, to attend the Northern Illinois Synod Council meeting on Saturday, May 15, 2010, 10:30-11:00 a.m. at the synod office in Rockford. The purpose of your visit would be to present your request and rationale for Faith’s desire to separate itself from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. A presentation up to 15 minutes and then time for vicious personal attacks questions would be helpful for the synod council as they act upon your desire to disassociate with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Please contact my secretary, Ms Julie Lewis, by way of letter or email (jlewis@nisynod.org) of your willingness to attend this meeting and sharing (sic! - should be "to share") your rationale of Faith’s desire to leave the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
In Christ,
Bishop Gary M. Wollersheim
***
GJ - Bishop Gary has a point. The ELCA merger was arranged so that LCA congregations would have a hard time leaving. The ALC congregations were given a window of four years, but most did not take an opportunity to leave.
ELCA bishops are kicking congregations out for joining the LCMC, which Faith has already done.
They are already disciplining congregations for withholding the loot that belongs in the episcopal palace.
Gary probably wants the congregation to crawl on its knees and beg to leave. Or he may wish to engage in a protracted legal battle. Church executives love to play nasty with other people's money.
What exactly could he do with the congregation giving no money and joining LCMC? Take away their faithelca.org URL? I doubt they want that anyway.
The main point is punishing Faith for publishing the truth about his diabolical methods.
And he wants to lay his consecrated and consecrating hands on anything of material value.
His grammar is a bit rusty, or his hands were trembling with rage as he typed.
