ICHABOD, THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED - explores the Age of Apostasy, predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, to attack Objective Faithless Justification, Church Growth Clowns, and their ringmasters. The antidote to these poisons is trusting the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace. John 16:8. Isaiah 55:8ff. Romans 10. Most readers are WELS, LCMS, ELS, or ELCA. This blog also covers the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the Left-wing, National Council of Churches denominations.
Church and Change bio: Ron started his ministy (sic) by serving three congregations in Colorado. He served for 30 years at St. Peter Lutheran Church, Appleton, WI and is now retired. During his ministry at St. Peter he served as Circuit Pastor, Chairman of the Board of Regents at Fox Valley Lutheran High School, Secretary of the Fox River Valley Conference, on the Governing Board at Luther Preparatory School, and Circuit Chairman. He has been a promoter of creating innovative ministries for a changing world. His wife, Renate, and he have three children.
John has left a new comment on your post "What Can Anyone Do - WELS and Other Disasters":
Maybe the pastors and laity of the ELS and WELS refuse to confess the truth and fail to replace the scoundrels because many of the Church and Changers are the more senior pastors.
It's easy to say that the laity must do their part. The problem is that in many cases the laity has had the same pastor for many years. They have come to trust him. Why should they not?
Then, slowly but surely the pastor introduces Church and Change into the congregation. The leaders of the congregation are first sucked in. After a while, the pastor has his supporters, also folks trusted in the congregation.
I've seen it happening. It's an awful thing to behold.
When there is resistance, the C & C'ers back off. Just to re-group, mind you. They will be back.
Who's going to challenge these senior, trusted pastors? No one. Once the lay leadership of a congregation is sucked into C & C by the pastor, the congregation will follow. It may take awhile, but it will happen.
Scott E. Jungen has left a new comment on your post "Not Everyone in WELS - Party in the MLC":
I realize this is the way the WELS is. I've personally watched as DP Engelbrecht stood by and allowed a false teacher to run rough-shod over a congregation. It cost my wife her ministry. She dared to stand up to the false teacher and the DP.
Now I'm a former teacher, and am just the member in the pew. How so you suggest the average WELS member respond to an Englebrecht, Kelm, Jeske, Olson (sadly the list can go on and on!) Or, in other words, what can we do?
Scott
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peeved (http://peeved.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Not Everyone in WELS - Party in the MLC":
What irks me is that WELS and MLC do almost everything in their power to vindicate their critics – the critics who call WELS a bunch of crackpots.
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GJ - I resisted WELS' corruption in Columbus in the 1980s. The apostates were blaming me then, just as they are now. I even heard that Deputy Doug blamed me for the mess he has created with his incompetent leadership. That is a minor compliment, showing that people do read this blog. The Fox Valley map lights up with every post.
What can anyone do? I follow Luther in applying the Word. I cannot judge what God will do with His Word. A corollary is Chytraeus warning - Never doubt the goodness of God. When troubles come because of the Word, that is also an important part of God's gracious work.
I have been deeply disappointed in WELS clergy and laity, and disappointed in the micro-minis and independents. However, stumbling about in the minefields of apostasy has yielded many benefits.
I found it especially galling that DP Robert Mueller and his paid assassin Paul Kuske moved heaven and earth to get a known multiple adulterer and abuser of teens into the ministry. False doctrine? - proven in front of witnesses and denied, even to the point of "I don't have that in my notes." WELS is pro-life? Ask them about the abortion. Etc.
And the conservative candidate to replace the disgraced Mueller was someone who went along with it completely, John Seifert. The way to become a DP is to go along with false doctrine, not oppose it. Robert Mueller's only sin--in the eyes of the Michigan district--was to vote to close Northwestern College.
The politicians are all the same, so why trust a DP or SP? Synodical politicians are the result of God's Word, not the guardians of God's Word.
If pastors and laity refuse to confess the truth and fail to replace the scoundrels, they buy their own troubles. False doctrine is also efficacious. It pounds, destroys, eviscerates, and delivers people to their Father Below.
The Book of Concord says, in the words of Luther:
12] And what need is there of many words? If I were to recount all the profit and fruit which God's Word produces, whence would I get enough paper and time? The devil is called the master of a thousand arts. But what shall we call God's Word, which drives away and brings to naught this master of a thousand arts with all his arts and power? It must indeed be the master of more than a hundred thousand arts. 13] And shall we frivolously despise such power, profit, strength, and fruit-we, especially, who claim to be pastors and preachers? If so, we should not only have nothing given us to eat, but be driven out, being baited with dogs, and pelted with dung, because we not only need all this every day as we need our daily bread, but must also daily use it against the daily and unabated attacks and lurking of the devil, the master of a thousand arts.
The indolence of WELS, at these current district meetings, tells me that no one is willing to drive the false teachers from town, to pelt them with dog manure. They are only too happy to pelt someone who agrees with the content of the Book of Concord.
Blaming me shows that WELS leaders cannot face their own horrible, dishonest, even criminal behavior. Yes, criminal. When someone feeds adulterous pastors and teachers into the system, lying for them, they are copying the Church of Rome while clucking their forked tongues about the papalists. Do not forget the WELS church workers can marry, so that excuse is out the window.
Fox Valley is a case study in the spread of apostasy - with the blessing of the leaders, the clergy, and the laity. The circuit has a long, inglorious history - bad stewards of the mysteries of God. Not their mysteries, not their personal sandboxes and their personal meat markets - God's mysteries.
Fox Valley boasts, among other crudities, two parishes (or is it one?) where Craig Groeschel's disgusting drivel is copied and promoted and passed off as sermons, as worship. Ski and Glende, football buddies from Michigan Lutheran Seminary, tag team as Groeschel copiers. Is this a secret? No. Have countless people told them how wrong it is? Yes. Has Deputy Doug done anything? Yes - he has scolded those who object to this plagiarism, laziness, and false doctrine.
I heard that a VP of the Northern District visited Ski's CORE, so he could join in the whitewash. I used to watch Michigan District capons doing the same thing. Some would object strenuously at first and have a sudden conversion experience at the right moment. WELS clergy are famous for that.
So WELS clergy guys - do you know how disgusted the laity are with you? I don't mean the get-along go-along corporate laity types that you covet for committee work. I mean the ones who cry when they read the latest outrages. You are all responsible because you do nothing about it. The prosecution (moi) will stipulate that everyone knows about Larry Oh, Ski, Glende, and Kelm being false teachers (and WELS has a deep bench). What have the WELS pastors done? Exactly nothing. And the ELS? Same thing - nothing.
The Blessings
Enough on the jeremiad. There are countless blessings to applying the Word, even if the barbarians extend the Left Foot of Fellowship. I am happy for all the friends I have in the various synods, even happier for those who no longer waste my time with their posturing.
If we have to see the ugliness of demonic hatred when we bear the cross, we also get to see another side of life, hidden from the belly-servers. Truly miraculous things happen all the time, and God does provide. He even provides until He provides. I wish more people could see that.
I have asked men, "Why do you need a synod to make you a pastor? Start a Bible study in your home. Worship with a group. If a congregation develops from that, fine." That is not the only way. I have nothing against men working through Lutheran groups, as long as they apply the Word and Confessions. That could even work in ELCA, although expulsion would follow sooner than most venues.
Unlike most WELSians, I was well qualified to teach but not looking for that. VP Hategood assured me I would never teach - an odd introduction indeed. Contrary to the sage advice from Rev. Hategood, WELS led me into teaching a wide variety of courses to people all over the world. The obnoxiousness of WELS made that possible, and I still enjoy higher education. Many people wish they could work exclusively from their homes, as I do.
Even though I needed medical coverage for Mrs. Ichabod, very good coverage came along in various ways, first from her work when she became disabled, then from a special policy in St. Louis, next from an unusual provision in Minnesota, finally from Medicare Advantage, each one when needed. God provided. LI did very well in his chosen field with many contributions to his local (independent) congregation.
Writing about theology works best when there are doctrinal conflicts, and those have never ceased. I enjoy that and many people seem to appreciate it too.
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Eastcoast:
"As far as I have heard, all the district conventions were mostly blather and that's about all. Ours sure was. Besides myself - numerous times - no one else got up to argue for Confessionalism. At least not that I heard...."
Scott E. Jungen has left a new comment on your post "WELS Church Lady Dreaming":
Dr. Jackson, I totally agree with what you say about the video. I just wanted to add that on top of it all, it just wasn't very good.
I too realize that the days of "what happens on The Hill stays on The Hill" are loooong gone.
Point of clarification: When you say "MLC is proud of this effort", do you mean students, administrators, or a mixture of both?
Scott
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Garrett has left a new comment on your post "WELS Church Lady Dreaming":
Well, of course the music is protected, but DMCA cannot remove such a video protected under fair use: one common use being 'Parody'. Not necessarily illegal, but still shamefully copied. Certain CLC and LCMS members (certainly pastors) still give me a funny look when I mention MLC or that I am a WELSian.
I still don't understand where guffaws come from when college students watch. When I sat at the debut, I was facepalming and headdesking the whole nine minutes. I ended with a very concave forehead.
This will probably haunt MLC for a long time. Sin is very, very, attractive. If PinMLC gets taken down, men will either complain loudly enough to get it put back up, or will do it themselves.
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GJ - When I did some research on Party in the Fire Island Pines, the first issue was whether the owner of the music objected. The owner decided to let that pass, giving their permission after the fact. I question whether MLC sought or received permission after the fact. I do not believe "parody" allows them to steal music and re-broadcast it. The homosexuals in the original knock-off were pleased at being copied by a Wisconsin Lutheran College, but that does not give the college a free pass to steal the music for itself.
Many videos are pulled from blog sites because the blogger does not have permission to use the material, and that includes music remixes. I loved one where two girls lip-synced a mod version of White Christmas. That was yanked for legal reasons. Bing Crosby's estate is tough on copiers.
BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg’s apologized Wednesday for "clumsily" referring to people impacted by the Gulf oil spill as "the small people."
The Reformed Church in America adopted a resolution expressing "concern" over the Evangelical Lutheran Church's controversial action to allow partnered homosexuals to be on the clergy roster.
The resolution was approved during the RCA's 204th General Synod, which concluded Tuesday.
It comes nearly a year after the ELCA's highest legislative body voted to permit persons who are in "life-long, monogamous, same gender relationships" to serve as clergy. The ELCA also adopted a social statement on human sexuality, acknowledging that there is no consensus in the denomination on homosexuality and recommending that the ELCA commit itself to finding ways to recognize same-sex relationships.
The Lutheran body's actions have raised a red flag for at least one of its partners. The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod – the second largest Lutheran church body after the ELCA – is reconsidering its cooperative relationship with its sister Lutheran denomination.
RCA leaders, however, have voted to dialogue more with the ELCA on the pro-gay actions.
The two denominations have been full communion partners for more than a decade, recognizing each other "as churches in which the Gospel is rightly preached and the sacraments rightly administered according to the Word of God" and providing for the orderly exchange of ordained ministers.
When the ELCA opened the doors to noncelibate gay and lesbian clergy in 2009, the RCA – which currently does not affirm homosexual behavior and holds that it is contrary to the will of God – had no plans to end its relationship with their Lutheran brethren.
"Cutting ties with the ELCA over their Assembly’s narrow decision would witness to the world that Christians will fight and divide themselves from one another, and break the bonds of Christian fellowship, over such an ethical difference," RCA spokesman Paul Boice told The Christian Post last year.
Still, the RCA voted to express concern with the actions and to direct a panel to discuss and explore the ELCA's human sexuality statement with representatives from the ELCA "in the spirit of 'mutual affirmation and admonition' called for in the Formula of Agreement." The panel will report on the progress of the dialogue to the General Synod in 2011.
RCA delegates also approved a resolution that invites the ELCA, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the United Church of Christ and the Christian Reformed Church to join in a "consultation on the interpretation and use of Scripture in moral discernment and ethical decision making."
The ELCA welcomes the dialogue and invitation, the Rev. Donald J. McCoid, executive of ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations, told the ELCA News Service.
Notably, McCoid said that the discussions are not intended to alter the full communion partnership the denominations have.
"In the committee meetings, it was the expressed intention to have a dialogue with the ELCA and other Formula of Agreement partners. There was not any consideration to suspend or change the relationship of the RCA with the ELCA," he said.
The Rev. Douglas Fromm, RCA associate for ecumenical relations, also explained that the decision to adopt the resolutions was "to honor the full communion" relationship.
The RCA, ELCA, UCC and PC(USA) signed the "Formula of Agreement" in 1997 establishing a full communion partnership.
In other business during the General Synod, the RCA adopted the Belhar Confession as the denomination's fourth standard of unity to the Book of Church Order. The last time the church adopted a new standard was more than two centuries ago. Rooted in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, the Belhar Confession confronts the sin of racism and affirms unity and reconciliation among Christians.
A United Methodist school in California is reportedly the first seminary in the United States to become multi-faith. Featured in a recent Los Angeles Times article, Claremont School of Theology outside Los Angeles will begin clergy training for Muslims and Jews this fall, and hopes for future Buddhist and Hindu programs.
Concerned about the new direction, United Methodism's oversight agency for its 13 official seminaries cut off funding to Claremont early this year and will reevaluate the cut-off later this month. Claremont was getting about $800,000 annually from the denomination. But the school says it has been offered $10 million from private supporters for the interfaith initiative. About 70 of Claremont's 275 or so students are United Methodists.
"Eventually, I suspect we will have a cluster of seminaries," Claremont President Jerry Campbell told a church publication early this year. "Each with its own specialty, but in an environment that emphasizes mutual understanding and makes religion the parent of peace rather than the parent of conflict."
At a press conference on June 9, Campbell officially unveiled the multi-faith plans, joined by Jewish and Muslim partners. "This is a very American approach. It's an expression of American religion and American religious attitude," enthused Jihad Turk, religion director for the Islamic Center of Southern California, which is partnering with Claremont. An imam who has studied in Iran and Saudi Arabia, Turk promised: "We promote a theology that is inclusive, that is cooperative, and that is pluralistic in tone and tenor." Citing "fanatics" who "promote theology of death," he asserted that Claremont's interfaith project is the "strongest counter argument" to "fear, hate and violence."
Claremont's first Muslim professor is a woman who declared at the press conference: "We are redefining what it means to be righteous in the 21st century." Najeeba Syeed-Miller insisted Claremont's goal was not to "dilute our faith but to be better Muslims, Jews, Catholics, Hindus, Protestants or whatever faith you bring." She urged a "theology of courage" focused on "collaborative action" on issues like homelessness and hunger.
Having struggled with financial solvency and even its accreditation in recent years, Claremont seems to see the multi-faith project as its redemption. Founded in 1885 as a Methodist seminary, in the 20th century it followed most other Mainline Protestant seminaries into theological liberalism, which morphed into radicalism in the 1960s. Claremont became especially renowned for Professor John Cobb, one of the architects of Process Theology, which asserts that God is constantly evolving and mutating rather than immutably sovereign. In the early 1970s, Cobb founded the Center for Process Studies at Claremont, partnering with Professor David Ray Griffin, who is now a leading 9/11 conspiracy theorist. Griffin, who now heads the center and remains at Claremont as professor emeritus, believes the Bush Administration exploded the World Trade Center to justify its imperialist wars. Process theology, with its notion that God is incomplete, is especially susceptible to vast and dark conspiracy theories, since it rejects orthodox Christianity's confidence that a sovereign God ultimately defeats all evil.
Besides Process Theology, Claremont has been host to countless other theological fads and isms over the last half century or more, with its main stumbling block being primarily orthodox Christianity. California continues to host numerous robustly evangelical congregations, such as Rick Warren's Southern Baptist Saddleback Church, which regularly draws about 20,000 worshippers. But thanks partly to Claremont's revisionist theological influence, which de-emphasizes evangelism and Christianity's uniqueness, United Methodism has lost about half its membership in California and elsewhere on the West Coast over the last 40 years. Less than 4 percent of all United Methodists are now on the West Coast or in Rocky Mountain states. The few remaining evangelical United Methodist clergy in that region typically attend a non United Methodist seminary, including evangelical Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, which has about 4,500 students.
At less than 10 percent of Fuller's size, and having struggled financially for years, despite a United Methodist subsidy equal to about $10,000 per each United Methodist student, Claremont envisioned institutional salvation outside Christianity. But Claremont still hopes to reclaim its United Methodist funding by placing its non-Christian programs under a legal umbrella called The University Project. Claremont insists it will continue to cherish its Methodist "presence" on campus and will remain under the governance of the United Methodist Church. The school's board includes the United Methodist bishops of Phoenix and Pasadena, both of whom presumably supported or did not resist the new interfaith direction when the board approved it in 2008. Unsurprisingly, both bishops preside over dwindling flocks and are renowned advocates for homosexual causes and liberalized immigration advocacy, while failing to attract many homosexuals or immigrants to their United Methodist churches.
Producing ministers who actually win converts and sustain congregations may recede in importance if Claremont can gain liberal donor dollars for its multi-religious path. As one Claremont board member has explained: "The confessional seminary is a dead duck." The $10 million interfaith gift is coming from a liberal Methodist couple in Phoenix and compares to Claremont's less than $8 million total budget in 2006-2007, when Campbell was first becoming president and struggling to save the school.
Another issue is whether Claremont's multi-faith initiative will reproduce new adherents of religious pluralism or provide an opening for orthodox Muslims who, unlike the liberal Methodists who run Claremont, believe in proselytism and the objective truth of their own religion. And if the latter, how will dedicated pluralists who largely reject Christianity's unique truth claims accommodate Islam's own potent truth claims?
Bedazzled by a $10 million gift and a dramatic financial reversal after a near implosion, Claremont's momentarily celebrating president, faculty and board may not have thoroughly pondered the ultimate repercussions of a multi-faith seminary whose only core dogma is seemingly self-preservation.
King of Grace Church Council Draft Document for Planning June 2010
The Mission, Vision and Long Range Planning Statements, along with the LRP Objectives, were adopted in 1994 and 1995. Regardless of the passage of time much of what was said then is applicable in today's church/school environment. It sets forth a working platform as we proceed ahead with a defined 3 year Long Range Plan.
Mission Statement
The purpose of King of Grace Lutheran Church is to further the growth of our Lord's Kingdom. We learn this from Article II of the present Constitution which states: The purpose of this Congregation is the expansion of His Kingdom in the hearts of the Congregation members and to all people throughout the world.
We believe it is the will of our Lord that His church on earth makes disciples. For this to be accomplished He has given us His means of grace, the Gospel in Word and Sacraments; His power for the salvation of all who believe. We believe that as we baptize and teach in His name, He will be present with his power and blessing.
Vision Statement
The Members of King of Grace Lutheran Church and School will be:
Faithful to the Word of God and will boldly confess our faith through traditional and progressive worship and ministries.
A membership equipped for evangelism to expand His Kingdom by bringing God's Word to our neighbors, our communities, and to the world.
Supporting our membership and serving our communities with innovative Christian studies and programs.
Recognized as an open, friendly, sensitive and caring congregation, focused on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Committed individually, and as a congregation, to Biblical stewardship principles.
A Lutheran Christian Education leader in Minneapolis and suburbs, with special emphasis on the Preschool through Eighth Grade.
Long Range Planning Statement
The purpose of a King of Grace Long Range Plan (LRP) is to provide a blueprint for continued organization/congregational growth and improvement which considers progress to date and newly identified membership needs with the Lord's counsel and to His glory.
Benefits of LRP Planning
It glorifies God through good stewardship of time, talents and treasure.
It creates awareness among the members of the church's work.
It promotes communication among members leading to better understanding.
It provides guidance and direction enabling members to work as a team.
It fixes a timetable for action.
It offers a means for measuring progress and achievement.
It contributes to a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction.
LRP Objectives
Worship service attendance growth each year.
Enhanced worship services consistent with our doctrinal position.
Enrollment growth and program improvements in all Christian education ministries.
Increased membership retention.
Increased membership assimilation, nurturing and assistance.
Increased Christ-centered youth fellowship opportunities.
A congregation structured to provide improved administration and management.
Effective internal and external communications promotion the KoG ministry.
A unified budget based on well defined, prioritized ministries and capital projects including normal operating expenses.
Formally trained Christian stewards.
Formally trained lay leaders.
Formally trained Christian witnesses.
Increased individual involvement in congregational service, programs and social activities.
Greater participation in community outreach and educational activities.
Support for members who wish to attend Christian colleges, universities or seminaries that are in doctrinal agreement with King of Grace Lutheran Church.
Active fellowship and association with Lutheran Churches and Synods with whom we are in doctrinal agreement.
ELCA NEWS SERVICE
June 15, 2010
ELCA Welcomes Dialogue, Consultation with RCA, Reformed Church Partners
10-165-JB
Garrett has left a new comment on your post "Deputy Doug Englebrecht Re-Elected: WELS Will Cont...":
The Timid Lutheran is spot on. Wisconsinites are all impressed by Jeske's successes, and cloud their vision to look closer at his teachings.
I attended the conference monday. WLC's spotlight was a laughable video detailing everything they do except their Lutheran heritage and 'Lutheran' teaching.
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GJ - Oh noes!
From an eyewitness:
Schroeder also jokingly noted that our statistical reports remain fairly constant over the years, except for the newborn baptisms. "Men, I have a proposal on how to improve those numbers..." Rousing laughter.
By Anna Catherin Loll and Peter Wensierski
Shortly before Pentecost, Pastor S. received an unexpected early morning visit, not from the Holy Ghost, but from the police.
And lo and behold, the proliferation of cash may have been even more miraculous than initially assumed. The public prosecutor's office in the southern city of Würzburg now estimates that S. may have embezzled up to €1.5 million from collections and other church funds. The members of his flock in a wine-growing village in the northern Bavarian region of Franconia are stunned. They had blindly trusted their shepherd, who always seemed so humble and modest.
The Catholic Church is currently being shaken by a number of financial scandals, not only in Franconia but also in Augsburg, another Bavarian city, where Bishop Walter Mixa's dip into funds from a foundation that runs children's homes recently made headlines.
More than €40 million have gone missing in the Diocese of Magdeburg in eastern Germany, €5 million have disappeared in Limburg near Frankfurt, and it was recently discovered that a senior priest in the Diocese of Münster had 30 secret bank accounts. And while parishes throughout Germany are cutting jobs and funds for community work, many bishops are still living on the high horse. A brand-new residence? An ostentatious home for their retirement? Restoration of a Marian column to the tune of €120,000? None of these expenditures presents a problem to high-ranking church officials from Trier in the west to Passau in the southeastern corner of Bavaria, whose coffers are brimming with cash.
In many places, this blatant disparity, along with reports of mismanagement, misappropriation and pomposity have prompted the faithful to challenge church officials. They are accusing many bishops of just covering up the problem, as they did in the sex abuse scandal. They are determined not to allow anyone to see behind the curtain into their parallel world of bulging bank accounts and hidden assets, which, in some cases, have buttressed their power for centuries. The only aspect of church finances that is public is the diocesan budget, which derives its funding from the church tax -- but the church's true assets remain in the shadows.
Growing Questions About Church Funding
Now all of this wealth is becoming a political issue, however. The unemployed, recipients of housing assistance, families, communities, businesses, the military -- in the coming years, the federal government plans to deprive them all of billions of euros. But the church, of all things, is being spared, and hardly anyone questions the generous support it receives from the government.
Financially speaking, Germany's dioceses are in excellent shape. "The Catholic Church claims that it's poor, but the truth is that it hides its wealth," says Carsten Frerk, a Berlin political scientist who, after years of research, is publishing "Violettbuch Kirchenfinanzen" (The Violet Book of Church Finances) this fall. Frerk estimates the cash assets of the church's legal entities at about €50 billion. The Catholics, who are not releasing their own figures, accuse Frerk of being a prejudiced, atheistic critic of the church.
The assets, accumulated over the centuries, are invested in many areas, including real estate, church-owned banks, academies, breweries, vineyards, media companies and hospitals. The church also derives income from stock holdings, foundations and bequests. As a rule, all of this money flows into the accounts of the so-called bishop's see. Only a bishop and his closest associates are familiar with this shadow budget, which tax authorities are not required to review. The public budgets of dioceses consist of far less than their total finances.
This complicated web is handled with such secrecy that not even the financial department heads of all dioceses openly discuss their finances with one another. Seemingly baroque structures make these finances even more difficult to fathom. Depending on the diocese, the administrators of the church's funds can be members of a church tax council, a diocesan tax panel, a financial board or an administrative board. Sometimes assets are also spun off into foundations.
Of Germany's 27 Catholic dioceses, 25 refused to provide information in response to a SPIEGEL survey, noting that this information "is not made public." Only two dioceses, Magdeburg and the Archdiocese of Berlin, which was on the verge of bankruptcy a few years ago, were somewhat more accommodating, probably because they have so few assets to hide in the first place.
Secret Assets
The vicar general of a well-heeled diocese, on the other hand, said: "Yes, the assets in the bishop's see are secret. But perhaps it would be better if you wrote: confidential." When asked to explain this secretiveness, a spokeswoman of the Diocese of Limburg responded: "That's just the way it is." Finally, a representative of the German Bishops' Conference said: "I don't want to talk to you about this."
The businessman was irritated by his experiences in the diocesan council. "I was surprised by the small size of the budget. It was something I thought we ought to look at," he says. At a council meeting, he asked a confidant of the bishop whether this was the entire budget. "There is also the budget of the bishop's see. But it isn't intended for the public," the official replied. When Steffen asked, "are you telling me that we can't see it, either?" the official said: "No!"
Trier, Germany's oldest diocese, is a good example of the Catholic divide between rich and poor. Bishop Stephan Ackermann, who also oversees sex abuse cases for the German Bishops' Conference, can be quite generous in financial matters, particularly when they involve prestigious projects adjacent to his bishop's palace. For example, the diocese currently has €1 million earmarked for a planned renovation of the square behind Trier Cathedral. Local church authorities want to make sure that the area looks its best, just in case the pope decides to lead an annual pilgrimage to the "holy robe" in 2012, joining the faithful in worshipping a robe that supposedly contains scraps from the robe Jesus wore.
Pastor Rydecki is one of the principles on that blog. I think the name Intrepid suits him (and his group). I have read his works and comments before. I particularly enjoy Gadfly , which I frequent. I like the way he uses language, “Don’t get into a spitting contest with a Cobra”.
Check out a good read.
“Explanation of the Common Service, Part I.”
http://www.intrepidlutherans.com/2010/06/explanation-of-common-service-part-1.html
Ichabod, The Glory Has Departed: The man who shall not be named, because everyone is afraid of him. He’s a man with a wit that cuts like a rapier and an amazingly prolific writer, too. Check out his book list.
He sticks up for the little guy and he doesn’t let the establishment types push him around, I like that.
The first time I read his blog I thought: “Wow, he really doesn’t hold back, and he tells it just like it is.” Brutally honest.
Missouri people have a wealth of insight and church history available to them if they’d read his back posts. I back-filled 30 missing years by reading his posts, I heard he’s up to 4,000 now, it didn’t seem like that many, but they’re all so interesting.
I like his blog roll, too. I frequent the sites. I would add them to my blog roll except I have technical difficulty with the Mac OS and iWeb margins. But let me list them here:
Call to Faithfulness
Extra Nos
Faithful Service
It's Time Welcome
Light from Light
Logos Bible Software Blog
Lutheran Colportage
Lutheran News
Necessary Roughness
Norman's Demesne
Sceleratissimus Lutheranus
The Brothers of John the Steadfast
The Finkelsteinery
The Gadfly
Timid Lutherans: A Definite Synodical Platform
What Sasse Said
A new addition on Ichabod’s webring is Timid Lutherans. I like his style and I don’t think he’s timid at all. Never mind that he’s anonymous, he probably has a very good reason.
I am among this blog ring, and I am grateful that Ichabod gave me a spot to unload a lot of angst, which I’m just about over with. I would have no traffic at all if not for his support. Thank you.
