Holy Word Should Read the Appointed Gospel for Jubilate Sunday

From: Pastor Gurgel

SPREAD the WORD Holy Word Ministry Expansion Project April 23, 2010 There is nothing more exciting and rewarding than Spreading the Word of Christ's love and grace! It is with this thought that this first of many communications is being sent to you regarding Holy Word's ministry expansion project: SPREAD the WORD! The origin of the SPREAD the WORD project is rooted in several past Holy Word initiatives and much prayer and meditation seeking Christ's guidance for the future of our church family. Given the tremendous effort and history associated with this project, the focus of this letter is to provide background information that led to initiating the project and to provide the project vision and mission statements that have helped to guide the project thus far. Future communications will dive into more current details about the project and strive to answer questions Holy Word members may have about this exciting ministry expansion project. So what is the foundation for SPREAD the WORD? First and foremost SPREAD the WORD is based on Christ's Great Commission as stated in Mark 16:15. He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." Through God's grace Holy Word has been priviledged (sic!)to start several mission churches over the past 15 years. Blessed fruits from these outreach projects include the following Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) churches: Cross and Crown in Georgetown (97 souls), Risen Saviour (sic!) in South Austin (123 souls), Living Waters in Marble Falls (20 souls), Trinity in Temple (81 souls), Abiding Saviour in Killeen (102 souls) and Christ the Rock in Round Rock (110 souls). During these years, God provided Holy Word with unique opportunities to minister to our Apache brothers and sisters in White River, Arizona, and our spanish (sic!) speaking neighbors. In 2003 Holy Word engaged with Forward with Lutheran Schools (FWLS), a consulting ministry that existed to help WELS congregations advance the gospel of Jesus by starting and strengthening early childhood ministries. FWLS, in coordination with Holy Word's staff and Church Council, held several member focus group meetings to gather feedback and gain insight into future directions for Holy Word's school ministry. Project leaders also conducted research to learn more about the surrounding area demographics and growth patterns. The resulting report recommended that Holy Word look to relocate the school to the Pflugerville/Round Rock area. In 2009, Holy Word's Church Council and staff developed a long term strategic plan for the church and school. During this planning process, serious consideration was given to the past fruit-filled outreach projects that God gave Holy Word the opportunity to lead. The FWLS report for strengthening our early childhood ministries was also a significant input to this process. At the conclusion of this planning project, the Church Council presented to the congregation Holy Word's 10 Year Plan that included a vision statement declaring that.... HOLY WORD, IN THIS DECADE, desires to SPREAD the WORD to others by establishing a SECOND SITE for EDUCATION AND WORSHIP. The following three mission statements were developed to help guide future progress on this project. God willing, and with the approval of the Voters of Holy Word, we will... SPREAD THE WORD by September 2010, HOLY WORD will hold worship services at a temporary SITE SPREAD THE WORD by September 2011, HOLY WORD will purchase a second SITE SPREAD THE WORD by September 2012/2013, HOLY WORD will operate a second SITE for worship & education Finally, in April of 2009 Holy Word extended a call for me to come and continue the planning process, lead additional outreach efforts and develop tactical plans to move the SPREAD the WORD project forward I accepted the call and began working on this project in September of 2009. Praise God for the leadership and vision of Holy Word's Church Council, staff and congregation! God willing, and with the approval of the Voters of Holy Word, we will begin holding worship services at a temporary site in the Pflugerville area by September 2010! At this time we would ask each of you to personally pray, asking for God's guidance and gracious support as we strive to Spread the Word. Subsequent project letters will begin to address potential questions that members may have about this project and will provide invitations and opportunties (sic!) for members to put their talents and gifts to work supporting SPREAD the WORD! In HIM, Pastor Gurgel Christ's Great Commission He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." ~ Mark 16:15 Questions If you have questions you would like addressed in future SPREAD the WORD communications, please email them to spreadtheword@holyword.net or place your questions in church mailbox S12.

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GJ - The ex-SP shows that he used the same spelling textbook as the other pastors in his synod. The only one who laughs about this is the Church Lady.

If Gurgle does for Holy Word what he did for WELS and his district, the banks should call in all their loans.

Bragging about Round Rock? That black hole for subsidies is nothing more than a channel for copied Schwaermer sermons and programs.

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bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Holy Word Should Read the Appointed Gospel for Tom...":

Gurgel's spelling leaves me speachless. :)

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GJ - I got it, Bruce. I spotted one right away, and it was such a howler that I looked for more, as any good editor would. I wondered about the British spelling of Savior, permissible - but in Texas? That was another error. It took me a few seconds to verify it was Savior rather than Saviour.

Anyone can produce a typo, but this went out to a whole list and no one caught the errors. Perhaps no one tried.

Team Patterson - where spelling don't count.

Buggy Trashy Splashy Noisy Birdy

All finches love Nyjer seed, which will last long in a "sock" feeder.

One reader wondered about his suet feeder not getting any action so far, so I created the headline to illustrate how to have a lively bird experience.

Buggy
The bug eaters love suet, so I would hang suet where the feeding can be enjoyed by everyone. Birds are wary, so it takes several weeks to get them eager to feed. The process speeds up with the other methods employed below. Bug eaters include starlings, all woodpeckers, and bluebirds.

Trashy
A trashy yard does not have to look like Dogpatch. The term is used for areas left wild, such as an isolated area with long grass and weeds or berries. Piles of brush are loved by birds for resting and also by insects for breeding. Compost is alive with food for birds, so a compost area will be a permanent bird feeder. Plantings can be designed for being bird and insect friendly: sunflowers, butterfly bush, trumpet vine, raspberries, blackberries, and gooseberries. Mud and manure are good for birds and butterflies, believe it or not.

Splashy
Birds have to clean themselves and drink water, so they gather around water sources. The more sources, the better. They like shallow water and splashy sounds, which can be created with simple devices such as a leaky vessel suspended above a pan of water. I borrowed my dog watering device for the birds, since the dogs were raiding the shallow pan. The ceramic pan will now be a backup for dogs and birds alike.

Noisy
Birds cannot help themselves when they are having a good time. If they are cleaning and feeding, they will make happy noises, and that will attract even more birds - numbers and species. Throwing seed down by the suet will attract the ground feeders, who will make the suet feeders less wary.

Birds count on a scout to check an area first. If the scout is calm, more will settle around and wait their turn. If the scout flies away, they all leave at once. Only God knows how they figure this out.

Birdy
If I want to watch birds through our picture windows facing the ravine, I place myself where I can sit motionless in comfort. Birds stop seeing a motionless figure.

I have watched birds from a few inches away simply by continuing the feeding and showing up to look at them through the window. They become used to a non-threatening figure. Close-up views are especially fun.

I created a bird swing with two chains and a metal rod. I suspended that from two hooks outside a picture window when we lived in New Ulm. The birds rested on the swing before and after feeding. The total cost of the swing was a few dollars.

A bird-friendly yard will be endlessly entertaining and educational. People often despise the common birds, like sparrows and starlings, but those birds do more than their share in eating weed seeds and pests.

Birds are smart enough to train humans. Once the birds realize that I am the keeper of the food, they let me know they are around. Jays shriek or make their bell-like sounds. Robins perch on a nearby limb. Hummingbirds fly inches away, looking for another fine shower from the garden hose.

The Gospel Is Not for the Rich, Powerful, and Wise

The nuthatch was designed by the Creator to eat bugs and larvae
lodged in the bark of trees and hidden in bushes.

"Early in the morning it rises, sits upon a twig and sings a song it has learned, while it knows not where to obtain its food, and yet it is not worried as to where to get its breakfast. Later, when it is hungry, it flies away and seeks a grain of corn, where God stored one away for it, of which it never thought while singing, when it had cause enough to be anxious about its food. Ay, shame on you now, that the little birds are more pious and believing than you; they are happy and sing with joy and know not whether they have anything to eat." Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed. John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, V, p. 114. Trinity 15 Matthew 6:24-34

God is celebrating Creation Day by sending a gully-washer of a rain to Northwest Arkansas. I have noticed a relationship between weather and bird feeding. When a big storm is on the way, feeding accelerates. If the birds come out in the rain in numbers, they sense the storm will be long.

The best time to feed birds is right after a sleet storm. God's bird-feeders are trees and bushes, especially in winter. The only time they are really famished comes after the ice covers over their meaty, fatty foods - bugs served on bark and lodged in bushes.

The squirrels, who can be fussy about their food, and careless in their eating, lose their sloppy habits after a winter storm. They will pry each kernel of corn from the ice on their feeders. They will not let a single morsel slip away. They feed earnestly, devouring every scrap available.

The Lutherans who appreciate their doctrinal heritage are not the sons of DPs, the descendants of synodical authors, nor the children of circuit pastors. If they have not endured the cold, November drizzle of apostasy or the dark night of the soul, they simply repeat the bromides that keep their tummies full. They find g-r-e-y areas of Scripture on a regular basis. They defend the indefensible. They declare: 'And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry." ' (NKJ Luke 12:19).

Those who read the blogs or writings of LP Cruz, Freddy Finkelstein, and Brett Meyer will find that they have struggled with the issues of the Gospel for many years. The word scholarship is not based on the Greek word for IQ or formal education, but on the word for leisure. They have taken the time to study the Confessions to sort out the issues of the day, based upon their own experiences.

There is an immense gulf between those are who are starved for the real Gospel and those who are kept by synod subsidies, foundation grants, and gifts from adulterous men. Kept pastors are safe pastors, equivocators, wafflers, timid souls. Faith in God's Word makes men bold, but trust in material riches will always make ministers into milque-toasts of moderation.

As Chemnitz wrote so eloquently in the Book of Concord:

"We have no intention of yielding aught of the eternal, immutable truth of God for the sake of temporal peace, tranquility, and unity (which, moreover, is not in our power to do). Nor would such peace and unity, since it is devised against the truth and for its suppression, have any permanency. Still less are we inclined to adorn and conceal a corruption of the pure doctrine and manifest, condemned errors. But we entertain heartfelt pleasure and love for, and are on our part sincerely inclined and anxious to advance, that unity according to our utmost power, by which His glory remains to God uninjured, nothing of the divine truth of the Holy Gospel is surrendered, no room is given to the least error, poor sinners are brought to true, genuine repentance, raised up by faith, confirmed in new obedience, and thus justified and eternally saved alone through the sole merit of Christ." (Closing of Formula of Concord, Trigl. p. 1095) Francis Pieper, The Difference Between Orthodox And Heterodox Churches, and Supplement, Coos Bay, Oregon: St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 1981, p. 65. Tappert, p. 632. Heiser, p. 294.

PS - Freddy's pastor gave that Pieper essay to me, about 23 years ago.

ELCA's Time Bombs

ELCA's Stan Olson is greasing the skids of apostasy.

I wrote about all this 23 years ago and published it, quoting people and citing all the evidence. A PhD in chemistry said, "I wouldn't have believed it, but you provided all the evidence."

Very few pastors left because of the 1987 merger, but gay quotas were already instituted then and were bound to create the results of the 2009 ELCA CWA.

Here are some of the ELCA time bombs, which Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson and others are trying to laugh away:

1. Over 200 parishes have already taken the first vote to leave, and they are the largest, most prosperous congregations in ELCA. The giant Community of Joy in Phoenix left with a 100% vote.

2. Almost all the income flows from the very congregations leaving ELCA, leaving the denomination with the low producers, as they say in sales.

3. Many unsuccessful votes, either on the first or second vote, are splitting the congregation, effectively turning a larger congregation into a zombie. The breakaway congregations will probably thrive.

4. No one knows exactly how many congregations will clamp down on giving, even though they are staying for the time being.

5. ELCA is being sued by ELCA, a messy kettle of fish. The publishing house pension fund went bust, so they are suing ELCA. I like it. My rejoinder in court would be, "Hey, start publishing some decent books and you won't go broke."

6. Thanks to the management skills of PB Hanson, ELCA has grown considerably light in their lavender liturgical robes. Even his liberal allies are enraged at his tactics and abandonment of theology. The former liberal leaders are downright caustic in their remarks, some approaching the polemical style of this blog, though lacking its substance.


Jerry Kieschnick's morganatic union with ELCA seems to be floundering, as people see how slick, cool, and utterly incompetent their SP is. Color him gone.

Pope John the Malefactor, capo of the Little Sect on the Prairie, is being discussed as a goner, too. He may stay because the ELS does not have the nerve to fire him by voting him out, as they should. They may fear him going back to teaching. Instead of being gone but not forgotten, he will be forgotten but not gone.

Cloned from the Land Down Under

LP Cruz:

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Some Tips to the Calvinist Becoming Lutheran

If you were like me, I was a Charismaniac Calvinistic Evangelical - who had no confession. Deep down inside I knew the problem was this - what should I confess? Because frankly, my confession at that time came from the kitchen. It did not come from the study room.

If you are one of those who walked the same path as I did, here are some tips for the trip, based on my experience.

Don't start off reading some Lutheran theologian like Walther and Pieper. Not that they do not have useful things to say, and not that one can not learn from them, but the issue for you is not what this or that theologian said. Because at the end of the day, you will not be signing your name on the books they have written. At the end of the day, you will have to sign your name to a confessional statement.

I know, I know, some give you the impression that Walther's and Pieper's books etc are part of the BoC, and they appear as if they have signed thier names on the Synodical Father's books. But let us be honest, their books are not part of the Book of Concord.

Most Calvinists who turn Lutheran almost invariably become a fan of the Synodical Fathers, they get loved and get considered to be their hero. For after all why would a Calvinist read a Lutheran theologian if in the first place, he/she did not have anything already bothering the conscience? Mind you these Fathers do have a lot to say about the perils of Calvinistic theology. They pinpoint well the ills of Calvinism. Saying they are anti-Calvinists is an under statement. So for a Calvinist who is already sad about the uncertainty brought about by that theology, reading the Fathers seems like having a liberator releasing you from the jail of mental anguish, and depression, the misery induced by uncertainty . Their reputation of being anti-Calvinists are so strong amongst (what is called - repeat-after-me) Lutherans that a Lutheran questioning these Fathers is immediately branded - guess what - a Calvinists! (I wanted to say I laugh my ___ off, but this blog is rated G).

There was a time when I was bothering more with some books other than the BoC, finally I slapped myself in the head and I said - you must go through the process. The process is the BoC first! Is the Lutheran confession Biblical? That is the question on the table. I said to myself I have no right reading this or that book if I have not answered the question about the BoC. That is why today I do not have lots of books authored by Lutheran theologians. I got delayed by the BoC. I have a few but not a lot.

So as you read and listen to say Issues Etc. never forget to take the Bible in your left hand and take the BoC on your right. Then start scrutinizing what the BoC says compared to Scripture. Spend time doing that. For my case I went to the heart of the whole thing - Justification like that found in the Apology Article IV. I would also read what the BoC says on Original Sin, Repentance, Free Will, Election etc. I cannot part with my Tappert BoC because it is heavily annotated with my notes, incidentally the red covering has turned to white, due to handling.

Why do I say go to the BoC first? Because IMHO if we do not go to the Confession, then we will be repeating the mess we found ourselves in and then all over again. It is again sailing through the high seas with a ship that has no rudder. Also when controversies explode, and they will, you will not know where to stand. You will have a pastor dictating to you and ruling over your conscience. So we are back again, in the same mess.

It is a great shame, if someone can quote what the Synodical Fathers said, but that someone does not have a clue as to what the BoC said. It is a great shame too is to endorse the BoC and not have read it. That would be terrible too.

Let me share with you what the late Reformed theologian H O J Brown said. He said that between Calvinism and Lutheranism, Calvinism has produced more heresies than Lutheranism (but who knows, it may be catching up). You can read this in his book - Heresies. Brown was impressed that when the BoC came out 8,000 pastors and thelogians signed it.

One more thing. Whereas in Calvinism, you see regional confessions, you won't find that in Lutheranism. In Calvinism you have confessions like Heidelberg, Belgic, Helvetic, Westminster, Savoy Confessions. Notice how many confessions there are? You have none of this in Lutheranism. There is no such thing. It does not matter which country you come from, if you cannot in good conscience endorse the BoC as correct exposition of Scripture - then you are not a Lutheran (at least not Confessional that is).

Lastly, where does the BoC shine? In its exposition of Justification By Faith Alone.


God bless.

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GJ - The pastors who think the Book of Concord is "old-fashioned, out of date, and not interesting" are ignorant louts who should be chased out of town and pelted with dog manure, to quote our Confessions.

Creation Day - 2010

Willowcreek's Little College is a fad promoter.

For Creation Day I fired up the grill and sent a huge cloud of carbon dioxide into the air, cackling with delight. Al Gore may curse me, but the Icelandic volcano smoked extra hard as a testimony against the pagan tree-huggers best remembered in the Hitler video satire.

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From California:

The penchant for hopping on the pantheistic earth worship symbolism has a long acceptance in WELS. While still a member of a WELS congregation here in California, there was a likeable nice young summer vicar assigned to the congregation. When he arrived from Wisconsin, he had a bumper sticker widely used by what was called the Ecology Movement in the 60;s and into the 70's. It was a version of the flag done in green with the ecology "e" letter where the blue field of the flag would be. It's still around now and then.

Someone called attention to the inappropriateness of it especially since he would be considered to represent what the church stood for. He didn't see why it should be an issue, and thought it OK since to him it meant being a good steward of God's Creation. It was an example of the total disconnect on the part of WELS, that the world's symbols and methods had meaning, much of which was antithetical to Christianity. It seemed incredulous that WELS colleges and seminary would not prepare the students and seminarians to know and recognize that the message sent by displaying such symbols sent a message known and recognized by the world, not one of a naïve vicar's own interpretation. The bumper sticker remained until he returned to Wisconsin.

Four Atheist Essays in the Holy of Holies: WELS Essay Files

Hmm. LCMS CGM. No WELS CGM. No, let's try atheism.
Yes - Freedom From Religion.

Peterson, Curtis A.

Titles:

1. A Second and Third Look at Church Growth Principles
2. Dangers and Opportunities in the Contextualization of the Gospel
3. The Case for Remaining in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in a State of Confessional Protest
4. The Doctrine of Church Fellowship in the Lutheran Confessions

He is still publishing, too - for atheism.

Financial Peas University

This Seminar is based upon Financial Peace University (FPU), a life-changing program that teaches you to achieve your financial goals by eliminating debt, saving for the future, and giving like never before. More than 1 million families have attended FPU with amazing results. You will be challenged and motivated to make a plan for your money and change your family tree forever! The specific topics covered will be: saving, budgeting, and eliminating debt. The fee is $15 per family (payment due by the beginning of the first session). Childcare and a light supper will be provided.

• When – This course will be offered as a two part seminar on Sunday, April 11^th and Sunday, April 18th, from 4-7pm.
• Leader – Donna Nitschke (Donna is a certified counselor with Financial Peace University and has counseled over 400 families in the FPU principles.)
• Where – Old Settler’s Association (where we meet on Sunday mornings)

p.s. If you have a spouse, we strongly encourage both of you to be there together.

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GJ - Correction on the headline. Mrs. I says, "Financial Peace, not Peas."

I thought Easter Sunday was so two weeks ago.

Sig Becker's UOJ

Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "WELS Church Lady":

Siegbert W. Becker is used as the holy doctrinal standard for WELS defense of UOJ. Here's a beaut from Becker on the Kokomo statement #1

The first Kokomo Statement, 1) Objectively speaking, without any reference to an individual sinner’s
attitude toward Christ’s sacrifice, purely on the basis of God’s verdict, every sinner, whether he knows
it or not, whether he believes it or not, has received the status of a saint.

Becker, "One really becomes a guilt-free saint only through faith, if we limit ourselves to the biblical usage of the word. However, since our holiness, as Augustine says, consists in sin’s remission rather than in life’s perfection, we could say that when God forgave the sins of the whole world he regarded all sinners as guilt-free, but if they are guilt-free we might also say that they are considered sinless in the sight of God. But a sinless person is a holy person, a saint. The fact that unbelievers do not consider themselves to be forgiven does not change the truth of God’s Word that tells us that God does not impute the sins of all men to them, or that through one man justification has come upon all men." Page 14 http://www.wlsessays.net/files/BeckerJustification.PDF

Oh! don't limit yourself to the Biblical usage of the word!!

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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "WELS Church Lady":

Additional WELS golden nuggets on the Kokomo statements via S.W. Becker states, "The
third statement is a basically good summary of our position" Becker follows with, "it is especially necessary to point out that the statements do not contain false doctrine."

Kokomo statement #1 - Becker, "the meaning of the statement is nevertheless clear and correct."

Kokomo statement #2 - Becker, "we could say that when God forgave the sins of the whole world he regarded all sinners as guilt-free, but if they are guilt-free we might also say that they are considered sinless in the sight of God. But a sinless person is a holy person, a saint."

Kokomo statement #3 - Becker, "The third statement is a basically good summary of our position,"

Kokomo statement #4 - Becker, "Even the fourth statement can be defended even though it leaves much to be desired. As we have said, the statement is not drawn from a WELS source. If it is true that God has forgiven the sins of the world then it is also true that he forgave the sin of Judas."

http://www.wlsessays.net/files/BeckerJustification.PDF

WELS Church Lady

An act of God - the Easter egg hunt was rained out.
Lutherans were egg-static.


WELS church lady has left a new comment on your post "Brett Meyer Tries To Organize the Ball of Yarn Cal...":

If the powers that be think you can have a UOJ conference without the ichabodians knowing about it, they are sadly mistaken. We were on to them LONG before the conference. Why did Schleicher defend Kokomo?? Don't write a check that you can't cash. Bourman's essay? Where is it? Was he indeed the UOJ hold-out? Teaching Justification by Faith as noted in the Bible and BOC? Perhaps. Who knows, it could be just like the rest. Computer and technical errors do occur!

Hey, Five vicars will be assigned and guess what church in Austin is getting one. One lucky vicar will work alongside ex SP Gurgel. The four other assignments were worthy, Gods' blessings on those vicars and the congregations.

In Christ,
from WELS church lady

Freddy Asks a Question

Hoenecke's professor at Halle, Tholuck, was a Universalist.

Freddy Finkelstein has left a new comment on your post "LP Cruz Explains Calvinism to the Crypto-Calvinist...":

If, as LP suggests, it is true that UOJ has turned the Law into a farce, it would explain the conspicuous rarity of Second-Use preaching. Who really needs it after all? Why not dumb-down Law preaching and adopt a more relevant, seeker-sensitive effeminate approach? You know, upside-down evangelism! Speak the Gospel, and the Law stuff can come later, if at all. That is, Speak to the unconverted righteous person as if he is already a believer! But wasn't that Karl Barth's error, a notion he derived from a mistaken interpretation of Aquinas? Wasn't failing to take sin seriously a hallmark of neo-orthodoxy? And wasn't Karl Barth a celebrity at Fuller in their early days?

If LP is correct in his analysis, it seems to me that in UOJ, while the doctrine of Original Sin is still acknowledged, the doctrine of Actual Sin has been rejected.

Is this the case?

Freddy Finkelstein

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GJ - WELS Pastor Robert Schumann, a Wally Oelhafen fave, loved the Church Growth Movement and preached that the Law was obsolete - the classic Antinomian position. His members asked him if he really meant that - and he did mean it. He also denied Creation, which is why St. Paul, German Village left the ALC - denial of Creation.

WELS really did a number on that congregation. They made Stolzenburg a fake-pastor for years, and now Floyd is taking members from St. Paul whenever there is turmoil. With such abysmal doctrinal leadership, turmoil is a sure bet.

Antinomianism is big in WELS, but try to explain that to a layman whose pastor is sleeping around the parish.

Brett Meyer Tries To Organize the Ball of Yarn Called UOJ

The DNA comes out in the long run.


Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Make This a Dialogue on UOJ":

I'm wading through the essay titled is Objective Justification Universalism. http://scdwels.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/schleicher-paper.pdf
(I'm a bit grumpy because I was so thoroughly enjoying "Luther vs. the Pietists" - outstanding!) This WELS essay is replete with the standard contradictions and "Repeat After Me" UOJ statements.

One specific section needs more attention.

Page 5, "14 Justification does not involve a change in our nature, for Scripture speaks of the nature of 15 those justified as still sinful. Paul speaks of “God who justifies the wicked'' (Ro 4:5). He states, 16 “Christ died for the ungodly. . . . While we were still sinners, Christ died for us'' (Ro 5:6,8). 17 As our confessions state: “To be justified” here (James 2:24) does not mean for a
18 righteous person to be made out of an ungodly one, but to be pronounced righteous in a forensic sense'' (Ap IV:252)."

Questions: When is a man born again? When does a man die to sin and raised again to life in Christ? When does man, by the grace and work of the Holy Spirit, put off the old man and put on Christ? When does the carnal mind of man die and is given the Holy Spirit's spiritual mind? When does the Holy Spirit make of an unjust man a just man?

John 3:3, "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

Colossians 3:9-10, "Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:"

2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

71] "but we maintain this, that properly and truly, by faith itself, we are for Christ's sake accounted righteous, or are acceptable to God. And because "to be justified" means that out of unjust men just men are made, or born again, it means also that they are pronounced or accounted just. For Scripture speaks in both ways. [The term "to be justified" is used in two ways: to denote, being converted or regenerated; again, being accounted righteous. Accordingly we wish first to show this, that faith alone makes of an unjust, a just man, i.e., receives remission of sins".
http://www.bookofconcord.org/defense_4_justification.php

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GJ - Now Brett. You know what happens when someone asks a WELS guy a pointed question. They answer a question with a question.

"Who told you this?" and

"How do you know Greg Jackson?"

They even have WELS Facebook police, who want to know why someone is listed as my friend. Alone in the world, I have 960+ FB friends, including Waldo Werning and Ed Stetzer.

Alone in the world, I am in constant contact with Little I and his family, who live a few minutes away. Brett: Just between you, me, and 8,000 readers - I cannot comprehend how WELS Stormtroopers can maintain such a colossal display of ignorance. Nothing seems to dent the depravity of their malice.

Alone in the world, I hear from various clergy and laity on a daily basis. I could list the names and titles, but I won't. Many times they write just to fill me in, and I keep that information for background.

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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Freddy Asks a Question":

Mr. Finkelstein, this is the case.

It is in fact worse than that if such a distinction can be made considering the consequences of perverting the Gospel of Christ. UOJ teaches that although God has declared the whole unbelieving world to be righteous, forgiven of all sin (justified) and guiltless by His divine verdict, they are also at the same time condemned and under his wrath because they don't believe that they have already been declared at peace with him and righteous. Consider the implications of this. For a sinful man to be forgiven by God he must have Christ's righteousness. To have Christ's righteousness and considered by God to be sinless, justified and righteous but still be under God's wrath means that Christ's righteousness and the bestowal of it upon man is not effective in making that man a child of God and no longer under His wrath and an heir to eternal life. UOJ is an attack on the righteousness of Christ. Either Christ died for all sins and his righteousness removes all sin or it doesn't. UOJ teaches that unless the unbelieving world believes they are already forgiven of all sin they go to Hell for the sin of unbelief. Wait - so Christ didn't pay for the sin of unbelief? His righteousness doesn't remove the guilt of the sin of unbelief? The same unbelief we were all born with? Christ himself states that he died and paid for the sin of unbelief. Romans 11:23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again.

Just another horrible perversion of Scripture by the false man made doctrine of UOJ.

***

GJ - That ball of yarn just won't unravel, Brett!

LP Cruz Explains Calvinism to the Crypto-Calvinists

John Calvin had trouble with Law and Gospel. Calvinist John Newton: "Twas grace that taught my heart to fear..."


L P has left a new comment on your post "Make This a Dialogue on UOJ":

Sorry to come late.

OK here is my bit. I am reviewing the Schleicher Paper.

He asked Is Objective Justification Universalism?
Me: Does he still need to ask? (LOL)

OK seriously we have these
1. The need to identify universalists societies which the paper does is useful but in the end, irrelevant. Why? Because one can be inventing its own brand of universalism and the fact that your position does not match the others do not imply your position is not a form or shape of universalism.

2. God has declared the world righteous for Jesus' sake. This is an objective reality, whether anyone believes it or not. Even if the whole world rejected the message of the gospel, it would still remain an objective reality that God had acquitted the world of sin.

Does the author believe in Law and Gospel distinction? Or in the first place does the author KNOW the distinction between Law and Gospel? It does not appear that he does by that statement. Proof: If the whole world is now declared righteous for Jesus sake, then what is the need to preach the Law and then the Gospel?. There is no more Law to preach. For what does the Law accuses us - precisely we are WICKED we are Unrighteous. But since the Gospel - so he says is that - God HAS declared the world righteous of Jesus sake, already then there is no more Law to preach. Since the author misses the Law, by default, he misses the Gospel as well. Even if he does what Dr . Siegbert Becker says - you do not preach the Gospel to the impenitent wicked (his words) unbeliever, still the Law he preaches is actually a farce. For he knows that this unrepentant unbeliever by his "Gospel" is already forgiven even before he was born, so the Law he preaches carries no sincere threat. The Law has been reduced to hypotheticals, it becomes a myth.

3. Another one he says Calvin would accept that justification is objective in nature (as it applies to the elect)

He is right about Calvin but he does not see that UOJ is really Calvinism in spirit. Calvinism sees at least for the elect already saved even without faith, which is what UOJ does except it does this universally!

4. Again category mistake equating the Atonement with Justification as on bottom paragraph p.5 God has justified the world

5. This paper is filled with so many flaws, I could not keep count of them. For example quoting Mt 9:2 and arguing that believing is synergism. Did this author even read carefully the passage? For in that verse before Jesus pronounced the forgiveness of sins, Jesus saw something ..."and Jesus seeing their faith, said to the paralytic - Take courage My son your sins are forgiven".

Clearly this teaching says believe you are already justified and so you are. Or else believe that you are not and so you are not. It all depends on what you believe. Now who is making faith in this manner a form of works?

Just like Calvinism, this paper muddles up the object of faith. For example, the paper mentions belief in Jesus. But what does believe in Jesus mean?

6. The paper is flying at mach speed, in lampooning faith in Christ as a none event, as if faith is something easy. Yet it is precious to God. The category mistake is just disheartening. For example when quotes "It is finished" - He mistakes this payment as automatically equivalent to justification. Rather it meant "paid in full". Tetelestai. In fact in the Bible, if you disbelieve this, you are still in your sins and the Scripture describes you as not righteous but "wicked". So one needs to wonder, if God declared the whole world already as righteous, then how does and why does he send them ever to hell (any of them for that matter). So God sends people whom he already declared righteous to hell. Or when anyone who is already declared righteous and then disbelieves God takes it back and calls them wicked. This paper make God an Indian giver (so to speak).


More could be said...

LPC

***

GJ - LP is good at examining the contradictory nature of UOJ. What keeps the little UOJ Klan operating is their inner conviction that they have the true Gospel.

My advisor at Notre Dame was Tjaard Hommes, a Remonstrant (Arminian) from Holland. His interest in Calvin, Schleiermacher, and Barth encouraged me to do plenty of research in those areas. Since he earned his doctorate at Harvard, the books I read were written by his professors and fellow students at Harvard. That was a far cry from the yellowed dog notes of the Mequon Sausage Factory, where brains are permanently entombed in talking points.

Remonstrants broke with traditional Calvinists over a number of points. They rejected Limited Atonement and Double Predestination. In keeping with the traditions of Zwingli and Calvin, they did not reject Enthusiasm.

Therefore, UOJ is Calvinism without the Limited Atonement. As Luther warned, when the Means of Grace are denied, all kinds of foul errors rush in.

At Notre Dame I edited a number of articles, written by Hommes, for scholarly journals. The process of getting them ready and seeing them in print was another stimulus for research rather than repeat-after-me slogans. As the sole Lutheran in my area, I was always being asked about Lutheran doctrine. But it was the anti-Lutheran, divorced, adulterous clergy in Columbus who really energized my research in the Confessions. They were UOJ and Church Growth, just like their counterparts in Texas.

Knapp's Portrait Contributed by...Someone

George Christian Knapp, Halle Pietist, still in print today.
Are those bees flying around his head?

Lectures on Christian Theology, p. 318.

1833 - in English!

By Georg Christian Knapp (Halle University), trans. Leonard Woods.

Translator's note• [This is very conveniently expressed by the terms objective and subjective justification. Objective justification is the act of God, by which he proffers pardon to all through Christ; subjective is the act of man, by which he accepts the pardon freely offered in the gospel. The former is universal, the latter not.]

Knapp's Halle lectures were first read in 1789, so we have the remnants of the Synodical Conference using a formula from a Pietistic book translated in 1833 but written 40 years before. Knapp was a standard Protestant theology book throughout the 19th century and remains in print today.

Walther started in 1847, although Loehe really began the Missouri Synod. Can we believe that Walther had no knowledge of Knapp in German, when Walther himself was a Pietist?

The great scandal of Midwestern Lutheranism comes from their anti-Luther Pietism embodied in Woods' double-justification scheme.

Anything else is Calvinism to them, and that proves how little they know about Christian doctrine.

WELS Munchkin Buried

Raabe posed with his own statue. He attended Northwestern College, Watertown.

Link

Meinhardt Raabe, who portrayed the Munchkin coroner in the "Wizard of Oz," will be buried Tuesday morning near his hometown in Jefferson County.

The public is welcome to attend the visitation for Raabe, starting at 10 a.m., in Immanuel Lutheran Church in Farmington, on county Highway B, three miles east of Johnson Creek. A funeral service will begin at 11.

Small in stature, at 4 feet, 7 inches tall, Raabe parlayed his role in the 1939 film into a lifelong adventure. He appeared at Wizard of Oz festivals around the country and joined the remaining Munchkins when they were honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles.

Raabe, 94, had one of the few speaking roles among the Munchkins, the group of little people who gathered to celebrate the death of the Wicked Witch of the East. In song, Raabe made the official declaration: "As coroner, I must aver, I thoroughly examined her. And she's not only merely dead, she's really most sincerely dead."

The movie, however, was just one part of his life. Raabe worked for 30 years as a spokesman for the Oscar Mayer Co., became a licensed pilot and served in the Civil Air Patrol.

Raabe is survived by a sister, Marion Zieglemann, of Watertown.

---

Another WELS celebrity is the late Buffalo Bob, from the Howdy Doody show. Wikipedia says he died Presbyterian, but a WELS pastor told me Bob played organ for WELS churches in North Carolina. Wickedpedia is often wrong on details, so corrections are welcome.

Yes, the first Clarabell was Bob Keeshan, who would go on to become the venerable Captain Kangaroo. Originally, he was just an NBC go-fer who handed props to and ran errands for Buffalo Bob. However, it was decided that since he was seen on camera, he should have a costume. Thus, Clarabell was born. (fiftiesweb.com)

ELCA Defections Continue

ALPB

"Another congregation from Capt. Thin for this thread.

Christ The King Lutheran Church in Fallbrook, California took their second vote on April 18. The vote to leave the ELCA passed with a 95% majority. CTKLC is one of the largest congregations in the Pacifica Synod."

Captain Thin:

This page last updated April 5, 2010.

A .doc file of the following information is now available for download. Right-click here and choose “Save As.” (The .doc file last updated April 5, 2010)

A few months have now passed since the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America passed by a vote of 559-451 a resolution allowing practising homosexual people in committed relationships to serve as rostered clergy of the church. What follows is a sampling of the fallout. It is by necessity an incomplete list. Some congregations’ votes have not been reported in the media. Some congregations have chosen to remain in the ELCA, while condemning the August vote. Numerous congregations are still in the discernment stage as they decide what they should do. And of course numerous individuals have left ELCA churches as a result of the vote.

NOTE: Official withdrawal of membership from the ELCA by a congregation requires two votes, held 90 days apart, that each reach 2/3 majority. Hence the “first vote”/”second vote” language that follows.

2009

August 24 – St. Timothy Lutheran Church (Charleston, West Virginia) covers the word “Lutheran” on its sign.

August 26 – International Lutheran Renewal (ILR) Director Paul Anderson encourages each church to pray about leaving: “Those who leave can depart without shame from a Church that has lost its moorings. Those who stay to be a voice from within must pray for courage and focus, lest they lose their cutting edge and sink into trivialities rather than kingdom issues.”

August 31 – The International Lutheran Council (ILC) “in light of the current turmoil regarding same-gender relationships” releases a statement affirming its commitment to a biblical understanding of human sexuality.

September 6 – Zion Lutheran Church (Mission Valley, Texas) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes with a 95 percent majority.

September 13 – Calvary Lutheran Church (Evergreen, Montana) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA and joining Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC), which passes.

September 13 – Hebron Lutheran Church (Hebron, Kentucky) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 138-6 vote.

September 13 – St. Peter Lutheran Church (Ceylon, Minnesota) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It fails to reach 66% majority by 8 votes. Church leadership decides that another vote on the matter will not be allowed. As a result, numerous individuals and families leave the congregation, many joining local LCMS churches.

September 20 – El Camino Pines Lutheran Church (Frazier Park, California) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes.

September 20 – Emmanuel Lutheran Church (Walla Walla, Washington) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes with an 87% majority.

September 26 – Lutheran Coalition for Reform (CORE) is re-established as “a free-standing synod for all faithful Lutherans” which intends to work with “other compatible churchly organizations leading toward a possible reconfiguration of North American Lutheranism” during an assembly of more than 1,200 Lutherans from the United States and Canada. Leaders will reconvene in a year’s time to decide whether to stay in the ELCA, form a new denomination or join an existing one.

September 27 – St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (Minneapolis, Minnesota) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA and joining LCMC, which passes with a majority of 96 percent.

September 27 – St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church (Roanoke, Virginia) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA and joining LCMC, which passes with a 342-143 majority. The congregation is considered “one of the largest, if not the largest” congregations in the Virginia Synod.

September 27 – Community Church of Joy (Glendale, Arizona), the 10^th largest congregation in the ELCA, holds its second vote on leaving the ELCA and joining LCMC. It passes unanimously.

September 27 – Bethany Lutheran Church (Bigfork, Montana) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, but fails to reach 2/3 majority.

September ?? – First Lutheran Church (Fargo, North Dakota), the second largest ELCA congregation in Fargo, redesignates its benevolence funds to bypass the national ELCA offices.

September ?? – Pontoppidan Lutheran Church (Fargo, North Dakota) votes to suspend its funds to the ELCA.

September ?? – St. Paul Lutheran (New Braunfels, Texas) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes.

September ?? – St. Andrew’s Lutheran (Weesatche, Texas) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes.

September ?? – Peace Lutheran Church (Rockdale, Texas) decides to suspend benevolence payments to the ELCA.

September ?? – Bethlehem/West Elbow Lake Lutheran Church (Elbow Lake, Minnesota) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes in a 42-11 vote. However, because of concerns as to whether proper notice was given, the vote will be retaken December 13.

September ?? – Trinity Lutheran Church (Hermiston, Oregon) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. While a majority vote in favour of the proposal (52-30), the vote fails to reach the 2/3 majority needed to pass. A second vote held at a later date also fails to pass. One member notes, “We now have a divided congregation and a pastor who wrote on his door of his office ‘pastor in exile’.”

October 1 – LCMS President Gerald B. Kieschnick sends a letter to ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson and the Conference of Bishops stating, “I share this letter with you to confirm what I have already stated, namely, that this is a very serious matter, one that we cannot ignore. To the greatest extent possible, it would be a blessing to our ongoing cooperative relationships if the actions taken at the ELCA Assembly were not implemented, nor given influence, in the context of inter-Lutheran ministries involving the LCMS and the ELCA, so that these relationships would be neither damaged nor destroyed.”

October 4 – Christ Lutheran Church (Odessa, Washington) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 55-12 vote.

October 11 – Wangen Prairie Lutheran Church (Rural Cannon Falls, Minnesota) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, but fails to reach 2/3 majority by one vote. The church would vote again November 15, 2009. This time, the vote passes (see details in November 15 entry).

October 11 – First Lutheran Church (Little Falls, Minnesota) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, but it fails to pass. As a result, Senior Pastor Bjorge resigns (effective October 20). Following resignation, he begins leading worship for a group (many being disaffected members of First Lutheran and other local congregation Bethel Lutheran) who plan on starting an LCMC church in Little Falls.

October 11 – Christus Lutheran Church (Clintonville, Wisconsin) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 162-28 vote.

October 13 – In North Carolina, approximately 450 vote unanimously to form a North Carolina chapter of Lutheran CORE.

October 18 – Concordia Lutheran Church (Kingsburg, California) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes overwhelmingly by 121 to 14.

October 18 – Singsaas Lutheran Church (Hendricks, Minnesota) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes.

October 18 – Christ Lutheran Church (Cottonwood, Minnesota) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. 74 vote to leave, but 44 vote to stay meaning the necessary 2/3 majority is not reached.

October 18 – Peace Lutheran Church (Pendleton, Oregon) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. The motion is defeated in a 57-121 vote. Disaffected members form Faith Lutheran Church.

October 18 – Rodnes Lutheran Church (Erskine, Minnesota) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes with an 80% majority.

October 18 – Advent Lutheran Church (Murfreesburo, Tennessee) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It fails to reach 2/3 majority.

October 18 – Christ Lutheran Church (Prattville, Alabama) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It fails to reach 2/3 majority.

October 20 – Hope Lutheran Church (Fargo, North Dakota), a congregation with two campuses and the largest ELCA congregation (10,000 +) in North and South Dakota, announces that it has suspended funding to the ELCA.

October 21 – The Economist reports that “at least a dozen congregations have already left to join Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ.”

October 22 – Breham Banner-Press reports 120 gathered this day to discuss the “rebirth” of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Texas (ELST). The First (German) Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Texas existed as a separate denomination from 1851-1896 before being subsumed by larger groups which eventually became part of the ELCA.

October 25 – Bethel Lutheran Church (Little Falls, Minnesota) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which fails. Disaffected members join likeminded disaffected members of First Lutheran Church (including Senior Pastor Bjorge who resigned after his church voted to stay in the ELCA) with plans of starting an LCMC congregation in Little Falls.

October 25 – Zion Lutheran Church (Des Moines, Iowa) holds its first vote to leave the ELCA, which passes.

October 25 – Immanuel Lutheran Church (Waukee, Iowa) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes.

October 25 – Hopeful Lutheran Church (Florence, Kentucky) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes.

October 25 – Richland Lutheran Church (Richland, Washington) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 269 to 57 vote.

October 25 – Mount Pilgrim Lutheran Church (Haralson, Georgia) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes unanimously. An additional vote to join the LCMC also passes unanimously.

October 28 – Christ the King Lutheran Church (Hutchinson, Minnesota) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes with a 226-99 majority.

October 29 – The ELCA issues a news release stating that at least 50 churches have held first votes to leave the ELCA since the August vote. Only five have failed.

October ?? – Oak Valley Lutheran Church (Velva, North Dakota) holds its first vote to leave the ELCA. 70% vote against the measure and it fails.

October ?? – St. Timothy Lutheran Church (Charleston, West Virginia) removes the cloth blocking the word “Lutheran” from its sign. Underneath “Lutheran” a new sign has been placed which states “Reclaiming the Name.”

November 1 – Faith Lutheran Church (Moline, Illinois) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA but fails to reach 2/3 majority by a margin of 18 votes (182-118). However, motions to end benevolence funding to the ELCA, and join the LCMC both pass with votes of 195-104 and 190 to 109 respectively. A new vote on leaving the ELCA is held January 10, 2010.

November 1 – Community of Hope Lutheran Church (Rosemount, Minnesota) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes.

November 1 – Trinity Church (Pell Lake, Wisconsin) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes unanimously.

November 2 – Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church (Bessemer City, North Carolina) mails a letter to the ELCA informing them of their decision to end financial contributions to the denomination.

November 8 – Disaffected members of ELCA congregations in Effingham County (Georgia) hold the first worship service of a new alternate congregation (Lutherans for Bible Based Beliefs). The members of this alternate congregation intends to continue worshipping together until their respective congregations vote to separate from the ELCA. If their congregations vote to remain, then this alternate congregation could “very easily become permanent.”

November 8 – Central Lutheran Church (Elk River, Minnesota) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes easily in a 574-171 vote.

November 8 – Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church (Castroville, Texas) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes with a 67% majority.

November 8 – First Evangelical Lutheran Church (Orange Grove, Texas) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes with an 83% majority.

November 8 – Hosanna Lutheran Church (St. Charles, Illinois) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes by a margin of 89.2% (207-25). A second vote to join the LCMC passes by a margin of 90.1% margin (209-25). Hosanna Lutheran Church had changed its constitution in 2004 to require only one vote to leave the ELCA.

November 8 – St. John Lutheran Church (Edgar, Wisconsin) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. While 106 vote in favour of the resolution, 67 vote against, resulting in a failure to reach 2/3 majority by four votes. Later that night, all congregational leaders and council members resign their positions, with the exception of one deacon.

November 11 – King of King’s Lutheran Church (Woodbury, Minnesota) is reported as having withheld $30,000 in funds to the ELCA while it reflects on theological issue arising from the August vote.

November 11 – Shepherd of the Woods Lutheran Church and School (Jacksonville, Florida) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA which passes with an 85% majority. An additional vote to join the LCMC (to take effect after the second vote on leaving the ELCA) passes with an 89% majority. According to Rev. Johnson, suggestions have been made that the congregation will be pressured to return subsidy funds received from the ELCA during 1988-1992.

November 14 – The Northeastern Iowa Synod Council votes 10 to 5 (with one abstention) to uphold existing 1990 ministry policies in the synod (which require homosexual clergy to remain celibate), with a further vote of 8-6 (two abstentions) repudiating the General Convention’s August vote as unconstitutional. The Council also called on the Northeastern Iowa Synod to officially affirm its commitment to the 1990 policies at its assembly in 2010.

November 15 – St. John Lutheran Church (Boerne, Texas) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes.

November 15 – Wangen Prairie Lutheran Church (Rural Cannon Falls, Minnesota), after holding a failed vote to leave the ELCA on October 11, holds a new vote which passes. Rev. Joy Gonnerman announces her resignation from Wangen Praire and intention to serve elsewhere in the ELCA.

November 15 – Joyful Harvest Church (Johnsburg, Illinois) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA and joining the LCMC. The resolution passes in a 71-19 vote.

November 18, 2009 – Lutheran CORE leaders announce an acceleration in their plans to leave the ELCA. CORE originally announced it would remain in the ELCA for a full year before deciding if splitting from the ELCA was absolutely necessary. That year commitment has now been scrapped. A working group will immediately begin drafting the constitution of a new Lutheran denomination, with plans to have it launch by August 2010. In the meantime, CORE will continue to operate as a free-standing synod of the ELCA.

November 18 – John Brooks, spokesman for the ELCA, reports that since the August vote, five congregations have ended their affiliation with the ELCA. Another 87 congregations have held first votes on leaving the ELCA; 28 of these have failed.

November 20 – LCMS President Gerald B. Kieschnick issues an open letter in response to CORE’s November 18 announcement that they will be accelerating the formation of a new Lutheran denomination for disaffected members of the ELCA. Noting again that such division in the ELCA is a natural result of the August vote which ignored the clear teaching of Scripture, he offered the continued prayers of the LCMS for the ELCA and other denominations divided by the issue of homosexuality, and charged all members, congregations and leaders of the ELCA: “As [you] deliberate and determine future courses of action in the days ahead, we urge [you] to be guided by the Word of God and the consensus of 2,000 years of Christian theological affirmation regarding what Scripture teaches about human sexuality. We offer this assurance of prayer and encouragement to faithfulness with deep humility and keen awareness of the reliance of all upon the grace, mercy, and forgiveness of our great and holy God.”

November 22 – Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church (Weddington, North Carolina) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA this day.

November 22 – Zoar Lutheran Church (Tofte, Minnesota) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA and joining the LCMC. Both resolutions pass with an 85% majority.

November 22 – Lutheran CORE’s website, as of this day, lists 87 member congregations.

November 25 – Peñasquitos Lutheran Church (San Diego, California) holds its second vote to leave the ELCA. It passes with a 97% majority. Peñasquitos was one of the largest congregations in the Pacifica Synod, with an average attendance of about 850.

November 25 – St. John’s Lutheran Church (Rincon, Georgia) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which fails.

November 26 – The Oromo Evangelical Lutheran Churches of the ELCA issue a statement condemning the General Convention August vote. It is further reported that these Ethiopian-American ELCA congregations (along with their international Oromo Lutheran partners) “have unanimously voted to join Lutheran CORE.”

November ?? – St. Matthew Lutheran Church (Galena, Illinois) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It fails to reach 2/3 majority.

November ?? – Geneva Lutheran Church (Geneva, Illinois) holds a vote on affiliating with the LCMC. It passes unanimously.

December 6 – St. Paul’s Lutheran Church (Maumee, Ohio) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes with an 87% majority.

December 6 – Faith Lutheran Church (Grantsburg, Wisconsin) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. The vote fails as 119 vote in favour of the resolution while 154 vote against it. Disaffected members of Faith Lutheran and other local ELCA congregations have been holding alternate worship services in Siren, Wisconsin. This vote “solidifies their plan to start a new Lutheran church.”

December 6 – Christ Lutheran Church (Whitefish, Montanna) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. The resolution passes in a 171-23 vote. A second resolution on joining the LCMC passes in a 171-16 vote.

December 6 – Bethel Lutheran Church (Springfield, Georgia) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes.

December 6 – Zion Lutheran Church (Des Moines, Iowa) holds its second vote on leaving the ELCA.

December 6 – First Lutheran Church of Harvey (Harvey, North Dakota) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes with 2/3 majority.

December 6 – Stanfold Lutheran Church (Rice Lake, Wisconsin) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 50-0 vote.

December 6 – Peace Lutheran Church (Palm Bay, Florida) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which falls just short of 2/3 majority with 64.5%.

December 11 – Lutheran CORE’s website as of today lists 114 member congregations in the USA. It also lists 4 Canadian Oromo member congregations, and 15 international Oromo member congregations.

December 11 – LCMC’s website as of today lists 212 member congregations in the USA, and an additional 48 international member congregations from seven other nations.

December 13 – Zion Lutheran Church (Clear Lake, Iowa) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. The resolution passes in a 238 to 119 vote, exactly the 2/3 majority needed to pass. [Bishop Steven L. Ullestad (Northeastern Iowa Synod) is disputing the results of this vote, suggesting that there were 366 (and not 357) members registered to vote at the meeting and that thus 244 (not 238) votes were needed. The congregational president denies the charge.]

December 13 – Bethlehem/West Elbow Lake Lutheran Church (Elbow Lake, Minnesota) will retake its first vote on leaving the ELCA. The previous vote, taken in September, passed but questions were raised as to whether proper notice had been given.

December 13 – American Lutheran Church (Long Prairie, Minnesota) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. The resolution passes in a 129-11 vote.

December 13 – Hebron Lutheran Church (Hebron, Kentucky) holds its second vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 117-4 vote. The congregation subsequently joins the LCMC.

December 13 – Zion Lutheran Church (Finland, Minnesota) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. The resolution fails to reach 2/3 majority in a 27-20 vote.

December 13 – St. Luke’s Lutheran Church (La Mesa, California) holds its second vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes. The congregation further votes to officially join the Fellowship of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (FELC).

December 13 – Hope Lutheran Church (Smithfield, Nebraska) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes. A previous vote to join LCMC had also passed.

December 13 – Resurrection Lutheran Church (Fredericksburg, Virginia) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It fails in a 101-136 vote.

December 13 – Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church (Smithfield, Nebraska) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 72-29 vote (1 abstention). An additional vote to associate with the LCMC passes in a 76-24 vote (1 abstention).

December 13 – Prince of Peace Lutheran Church (Rockton, Illinois) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes by 76%. A further vote to join the LCMC passes with an 81% majority.

December 16 – The Longmont Times-Call reports John Brookes (spokesman for ELCA) to have said 135 congregations have held votes on leaving the ELCA, 97 of which have passed first vote and are in consultation periods as of this date.

December 19 – Zion Lutheran Church (Guyton, Georgia) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which fails. Disaffected members of local ELCA congregations continue to hold alternate services together under the title Bible Based Lutherans of Efingham (BiBLE Church). (As of March 28, 2010, the new congregation changes its name to Bible Lutheran Church).

December 20 – Grace Lutheran Church (Detroit Lakes, Minnesota) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. The resolution fails in a 48-92 vote.

December 20 – El Camino Pines Lutheran Church (Frazier Park, California) holds its second vote on leaving the ELCA and joining the American Association of Lutheran Churches (AALC). It passes with a 98% majority.

December ?? – A tri-parish in Pennsylvania leaves the ELCA after calling a pastor from the Evangelical Lutheran Conference & Ministerium (ELCM). The three churches involved are St. Paul Lutheran Church (McConnellsburg), St. Paul’s Lutheran Church (Big Cove Tannery), and Mount Zion Lutheran (Little Cove).

?? – Pondera Valley Lutheran Church (Conrad, Montana) holds its first on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 94-18 vote.

?? – Golden West Lutheran Church (Conrad, Montana) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 32-10 vote.

?? – Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church (New London, Wisconsin) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It fails in a split vote with 76 in favour and 77 against. The 76 in favour of breaking ties with the ELCA leave the congregation, and begin a new congregation called “Shepherd of the River” which officially joins the LCMC December 6, 2009.

?? – Peace Lutheran Church (Edgar, Wisconsin) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes unanimously.

?? – Pilgrim Lutheran Church (Payallup, Washington) splits after a vote. The senior pastor and a number of congregants leave to start a new congregation.

?? – Bethel Lutheran Church (Colorado Springs, Colorado) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes.

?? – Thanksgiving Lutheran Church (Bellevue, Nebraska) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes.

?? – Rejoice! Lutheran Renewal Church (Northfield, Minnesota) holds its first vote on leaving the ECLA. It passes.

?? – Skien Lutheran Church (Sloan, Iowa) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes.

?? – St. Nicodemus Lutheran Church (East Aurora, New York) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes.

?? – Grace Lutheran Church (Oconto Falls, Wisconsin) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes.

?? – Northland Lutheran Church (Iola, Wisconsin) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes.

?? – St. Peter’s Lutheran Church (Big Falls, Wisconsin) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes.

?? – St. Paul’s Lutheran Church (DuPont, Wisconsin) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes.

?? – Zion Lutheran Church (Manawa, Wisconsin) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes.

?? – First Lutheran Church (Ogdensburg, Wisconsin) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes.

?? – Christus Lutheran Church (Clintonville, Wisconsin) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes.

?? – St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (Gillet, Wisconsin) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes.

?? – Skien Lutheran Church (Sloan, Iowa) holds its second vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes. In response, Rev. Lilette Johnston resigns as pastor.

?? – Eagle Grove Lutheran Church (Eagle Grove, Iowa) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It fails to reach 2/3 majority.

?? – Ascension Lutheran Church (Navarino, Wisconsin) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which fails to reach 2/3 majority by 2 votes. In response, Ascension’s pastor resigns from the ELCA.

2010

January 10 – Laurel Hill Lutheran Church (Clyo, Georgia) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 47-0 vote.

January 10 – Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (Springfield, Georgia) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes.

January 10 – St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church (Roanoke, Virginia) holds its second vote on leaving the ELCA and joining the LCMC, which passes in a 350-104 vote.

January 10 – Faith Lutheran Church (Moline, Illinois) reholds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 208-78 vote.

January 10 – St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (Minneapolis, Minnesota) holds its second vote on leaving the ELCA and joining the LCMC. It passes unanimously.

January 10 – Northland Lutheran Church (Iola, Wisconsin) holds its second vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in 86-5 vote. The congregation subsequently joins LCMC.

January 10 – St. John’s Lutheran Church (Springfield, Minnesota) holds its [first?] vote on leaving the ELCA. The motion gains 63% support, just short of 2/3 majority. On January 24, the church votes to redirect all benevolence from ELCA, and further joins LCMC and WordAlone in a 71% majority vote.

January 14 – Bishop David Zellmer (South Dakota Synod) announces he has no intention of leading his synod out of the ELCA, ending speculations on the matter.

January 17 – Moe Lutheran Church (Roseau, Minnesota) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 95-39 vote.

January 17 – Peace Lutheran Church (Palm Bay, Florida) holds its second attempt at a first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 176-80 vote.

January 17 – Singsaas Lutheran Church (Hendricks, Minnesota) holds its second vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes.

January 17 – Immanuel Lutheran Church (Rockfalls, Illinois) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It fails to reach the required 2/3 majority. Disaffected members form a new church after three days: New Life Lutheran Church (Sterling, Illinois). Their first service draws 103 congregants.

January 17 – Christ Lutheran Church (Reese, Michigan) votes to affiliate with the LCMC.

January 17 – Jerusalem Lutheran Church (Rincon, Georgia) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which fails. Disaffected members of local ELCA congregations continue to hold alternate services together under the title Bible Based Lutherans of Efingham (BiBLE Church). (As of March 28, 2010, the new congregation changes its name to Bible Lutheran Church).

January 19 – ELCA Secretary David Swartling issues a memo to synod bishops and vice presidents with the title “‘Dual Rostering’ of ordained ministers and congregations is impermissible under the Constitutions, Bylaws, and Continuing Resolutions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.” The document may have major implications for congregations currently dual-rostered or intending to dual-roster with CORE, LCMC, or another group.

January 24 – Hosanna! Lutheran Church (Lakeville, Minnesota) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes with a 92.5 % majority. Hossana! is the second largest ELCA congregation in Minnesota with an average attendance of 4,500 people per Sunday.

January 24 – Sychar Lutheran Church (Silver Bay, Minnesota) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 48-17 vote. An additional vote to affiliate with the LCMC passes in a 49-15 vote.

January 24 – Holy Cross Lutheran Church (Maple Lake, Minnesota) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. The vote passes with a 92% majority. An additional vote to join LCMC passes with a 93% majority.

January 24 – Mount Pilgrim Lutheran Church (Haralson, Georgia) holds its second vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes with a 94% majority.

January 24 – Lord of Life Lutheran Church (Portage, Michigan) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which fails.

January 24 – St. Matthew Evangelical Lutheran Church (Columbus, Georgia) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It fails in a 54-99 vote. Three weeks later, Rev. Larry Barksdale resigns.

January 24 – Bethel Lutheran Church (Colorado Springs, Colorado) holds its second vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes. An additional vote to join LCMC also passes.

January 24 – First Evangelical Lutheran Church (Barberton, Ohio) holds its [second?] vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes.

January 24 – Faith Lutheran Church (Hartwell, Georgia) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes.

January 24 – Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church (Lake Oswego, Oregon) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. The vote gains 64% support, just short of the 2/3 majority needed to pass. Disaffected members begin a new LCMC church “Community of Faith”.

January 30 – The Northeastern Iowa Synod rescinds a controversial resolution (see entry for November 14, 2009) which refused to acknowledge the results of the nationwide convention in August. Vice-President Susan Armstrong explained the about-face, stating, “Concerns were raised that the synod council had made decisions that placed the council as a higher authority than the local congregation. There was also the concern that the synod council had placed itself as a higher authority than the churchwide assembly.”

January 31 – Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church (Afton, Minnesota) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes with a 90% majority (410 of 455 present). An additional vote to join LCMC passes with a 91% majority (414 out of 455 present).

January 31 – South Zumbro Lutheran Church (Kasson, Minnesota) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 74-11 vote. Unconfirmed reports suggest the ELCA refuses to acknowledge the vote, and that the congregation has sought legal counsel.

January 31 – St. Paul’s Lutheran Church (Oregon, Illinois) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes.

January 31 – Christ Lutheran Church (Otsego, Minnesota) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 160-8 vote.

January 31 – Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (Monroeville, Pennsylvania) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA and joining the LCMC. It fails to reach 2/3 majority in a 113-111 vote (with 2 abstentions).

January 31 – First English Lutheran Church (Wausau, Wisconsin) holds a vote affirming its affiliation with the ELCA. It passes in a 153-64. In response, Rev. Scott Mann resigns and announces his intention to help disaffected members to start a new congregation, possibly with the LCMC.

January 31 – Thanksgiving Lutheran Church (Bellevue, Nebraska) holds its second vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 283-32 vote.

January 31 – Pondera Valley Lutheran Church (Conrad, Montana) holds its second vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes.

January 31 – Golden West Lutheran Church (Conrad, Montana) hold its second vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes.

January 31 – Hopeful Lutheran Church (Florence, Kentucky) holds its second vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes.

January 31 – St. Paul Lutheran (New Braunfels, Texas) hold its second vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes with an 86.2% majority. An additional vote to join LCMC also passes.

January 31 – Christ Lutheran (Santa Clarita, California) votes to suspend benevolence funding to the ELCA. An additional vote to join LCMC also passes.

January ?? – St. John Lutheran Church (Edgar, Wisconsin) splits. Approximately 120 congregants leave to incorporate Hope Lutheran Church, leaving a weekly attendance of about 30 at St. John Lutheran.

January ?? – Disaffected ELCA members in Easley, South Carolina form Emmanuel Lutheran Church.

January ?? – Peace Lutheran Church (Hazen, North Dakota) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes.

January ?? – East Lake Andes Lutheran Church (Lake Andes, South Dakota) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes with a 74% majority.

January ?? – Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (Boardman, Oregon) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes with in a 29-0 vote.

January ?? – Calvary Lutheran Church (Minong, Wisconsin) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which fails by ten votes. Approximately 60% of the congregation leaves to incorporate New Hope Lutheran Church

January ?? – Disaffected ELCA members in Eau Claire, Wisconsin begin the formation of a new congregation.

January ?? – Rejoice! Lutheran Renewal Church (Northfield, Minnesota) holds its second vote on leaving the ECLA. It passes.

January ?? – Immanuel Lutheran Church (Waukee, Iowa) holds its second vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes.

February 7 – The Omaha World Herald reports that 220 congregations have taken first votes on leaving the ELCA. Of these, sixty-four have failed.

February 7 – St. Luke Lutheran Church (Cottage Grove, Minnesota) will hold its first vote on leaving the ELCA.

February 7 – Wingard Memorial Lutheran Church (Clyo, Georgia) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 13-0 vote.

February 7 – Christ Lutheran Church (Reese, Michigan) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes with an 85.4% majority.

February 7 – Central Lutheran Church (Elk River, Minnesota) holds its second vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 546-85 vote. It previously voted on January 31 to join the LCMC.

February 8 – Christus Lutheran Church (Clintonville, Wisconsin) holds its second vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 162-28 vote. The congregation subsequently joins the LCMC.

February 10 – Shepherd of the Woods Lutheran Church and School (Jacksonville, Florida) holds its second vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes with an 89% majority.

February 14 – Grace Lutheran Church (Oconto Falls, Wisconsin) holds its second vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 138-25 vote. The congregation subsequently joins the LCMC.

February 14 – St. Nicodemus Lutheran Church (East Aurora, New York) holds its second vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 53-1 vote. The congregation subsequently joins the LCMC.

February 14 – Zion Lutheran Church (Manawa, Wisconsin) holds its second vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 71-8 vote. The congregation subsequently joins the LCMC. Zion’s pastor will continue to serve the congregation for a short time while seeking another call to an ELCA congregation.

February 14 – First Lutheran Church (Ogdensburg, Wisconsin) holds its second vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 32-2 vote. The congregation subsequently joins the LCMC. First Lutheran’s pastor will continue to serve the congregation for a short time while seeking another call to an ELCA congregation.

February 14 – Bethel Lutheran Church (Holdrege, Nebraska) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It fails to reach 2/3 majority by 7 votes (136-78). Disillusioned members plan to meet February 18 to discuss what their options now are.

February 18 – Lutheran CORE releases “A Vision and Plan” for the formation of the new denomination North American Lutheran Church (NALC).

February 21 – Faith Lutheran Church (Hutchinson, Minnesota) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 178-23 vote.

February 21 – St. Luke Lutheran Church (Colorado Springs, Colorado) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes with a 96% majority.

February 21 – Christ Lutheran Church (Odessa, Washington) holds its second vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 67-11 vote (2 abstentions).

February 21 – Joyful Harvest Church (Johnsburg, Illinois) holds its second vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 77-29 vote.

February 28 – Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church (Hermiston, Oregon) hold its third attempt at a first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in 45-1 vote. [Previously, an August vote failed to pass by 7 votes. A November vote failed to pass by 4 or 5 votes. ]

February 28 – Faith Lutheran Church (Lakeland, Florida) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 54-23 vote.

February 28 – Richland Lutheran Church (Richland, Washington) holds its second vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 236-18 vote. An additional vote to join LCMC passes in a 238-13 vote.

February 28 – Christ our Shepherd Lutheran Church (Peachtree City, Georgia) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It fails to reach 2/3 majority.

February 28 – The synod council of the Florida-Bahamas Synod rejects the request of St. Peter Lutheran Church (Fort Pierce, Florida) to leave the ELCA. The congregation, which unanimously voted twice to leave the ELCA, was formerly a member of Lutheran Church in America (LCA) before the denomination joined ELCA. Former LCA congregations require permission of their synod in addition to two 2/3 majority votes in order to leave the ELCA. It is believed that this is the first vote to leave the ELCA which has been refused by the denomination.

February ?? – Geneva Lutheran Church (Geneva, Illinois) holds its [first?] vote on leaving the ELCA, which fails. Disaffected members leave to organize New Hope Lutheran Church, which holds their opening worship service March 15.

March 7 – St. Paul Lutheran Church (Sterling, Illinois) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It fails to reach 2/3 majority by 4 votes.

March 7 – Geneva Lutheran Church (Geneva, Illinois) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It fails to reach 2/3 majority in a 109-80 vote. The vote follows a November vote to affiliate with the LCMC which passed.

March 7 – Wangen Prairie Lutheran Church (Rural Cannon Falls, Minnesota) will hold its second vote on leaving the ELCA.

March 13 – The Chicagoist reports that since the August vote, 62 congregations have officially severed ties with the ELCA while nearly 200 others have passed first votes to leave the denomination.

March 14 – St. Paul Lutheran Church (West Manchester Township, Pennsylvania) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 177-35 vote.

March 21 – St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (Stendal, Indiana) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 62-2 vote.

March 21 – Christ the King Lutheran Church (Evans, Georgia) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes.

March 21 – Trinity Lutheran Church (Hixton, Tennessee) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It fails.

March 21 – St. Timothy Lutheran Church (Charleston, West Virgina) will hold its first vote on leaving the ELCA.

March 21 – St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (Gillet, Wisconsin) holds its second vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 90-36 vote. The pastor will continue to serve the congregation for a short time while seeking a call to an ELCA congregation.

March 23 – St. Peter’s Lutheran Church (Big Falls, Wisconsin) holds its second vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 72-7 vote. The congregation subsequently joins the LCMC.

March 23 – St. Paul’s Lutheran Church (DuPont, Wisconsin) holds its second vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 28-5 vote. The congregation subsequently joins the LCMC.

March 28 – Christ Lutheran Church (Dallastown, Pennsylvania) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 112-5 vote.

March 28 – East Lake Andes Lutheran Church (Lake Andes, South Dakota) holds its second vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 50-8 vote. A subsequent motion to join the LCMC also passes.

March 28 – Living Word Lutheran Church (Grapevine, Texas) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It passes in a 261-115 vote.

April 11 – Hope Lutheran Church (Smithfield, Nebraska) will hold its second vote on leaving the ELCA.

April 18 – Prince of Peace Lutheran Church (Rockton, Illinois) will hold its second vote on leaving the ELCA.

April 18 – Peace Lutheran Church (Palm Bay, Florida) will hold its second vote on leaving the ELCA.

April 25 – St. Paul Lutheran Church (Peirora, Illinois) will hold its first vote on leaving the ELCA.

April 25 – La Casa de Cristo Lutheran Church (Scottsdale, Arizona) will hold its first vote on leaving the ECLA.

May 9 – Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church (Afton, Minnesota) will hold its second vote on leaving the ELCA.

May 16 – Hosanna! Lutheran Church (Lakeville, Minnesota) will hold its second vote on leaving the ELCA.

June 6 – Faith Lutheran Church (Lakeland, Florida) will hold its second vote on leaving the ELCA.

June 6 – Christ Lutheran Church (Reese, Michigan) will hold its second vote on leaving the ELCA.

June 6 – Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church (Abington, Pennsylvania) will hold its first vote on leaving the ELCA.

September 12 – Assuming the first vote passes as expected, Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church (Abington, Pennsylvania) will hold its second vote on leaving the ELCA.

?? – Bethel Lutheran Church (Springfield, Georgia) holds its second vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes.

?? – Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church (Joppa, Maryland) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA, which passes. Trinity is the largest ELCA congregation in the Delaware-Maryland synod.

?? – Trinity Lutheran Church (New London, Connecticut) holds its first vote on leaving the ELCA. It fails in a 77-76 vote. Dissafected members leave to create an LCMC congregation.

***

GJ - ELCA keeps saying - not that many have voted twice to leave.