VirtueOnline - News - Exclusives - ELM GROVE, WI: Anglican Parish Retaken by Episcopal Diocese Lays Empty:
For 65 years, four generations of priests have faithfully preached the gospel to 3,400 Episcopalians at St. Edmund's Episcopal Church. It has been no small achievement. Elm Grove is not one of the highest density populations in America, but its bucolic setting in Waukesha County has a population of some 6,500, most of them Christians of one denominational stripe or another.
On January 31, the congregation's world came to a shattering end. The priest, the Rev. Dr. Samuel Scheibler was removed from his church buildings at 14525 West Watertown Plank Road, Elm Grove, by judicial order. It was a shattering moment for the priest who has served the church for more than 3 years.
The Episcopal Church has taken a theological and moral turn for the worst and advocates a gospel that is no gospel at all, as well as a sexual pathway that this and many Episcopal churches across the country find totally unacceptable. They have declared themselves in broken communion. Hundreds of churches have left The Episcopal Church along with tens of thousands of parishioners. It has been a journey without end.
The Rt. Rev. Steven Andrew Miller, the eleventh bishop of Milwaukee, completely bought into The Episcopal Church's liberal positions and was not prepared to negotiate for the property. Today the church stands empty.
'via Blog this'
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bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "VirtueOnline - News - Exclusives - ELM GROVE, WI: ...":
The bit about the church being large in a rural setting is of course dated. It was that way when the church started up 65 years ago, but now Waukesha County has 400,000 people in it: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/55/55133.html
Elm Grove, WI, is only 19 miles west of the conservative Episcopalian Nashotah House Seminary, Delafield, which is near Oconomowoc: http://g.co/maps/hqf2s
Nashotah is in the Anglo-Catholic tradition, and the Elm Grove Episcopal church nearby probably is, too.
The kicked out Episcopal congregation is meanwhile worshiping at the Elm Grove Lutheran Church, an LCMS church:
http://www.stedseg.org/ournewhome.htm
http://www.egl.org/
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GJ - Bruce, do you get the impression that those Eastern liberals do not know much about fly-over country?
My good friend from Notre Dame taught at Nashotah House (Episcopal Seminary). Gaylin Schmeling, the president of the Little Schoolhouse on the Prairie, earned an STM there.
I wanted to see how many students were there. I was shocked to see one photo labeled as studs2011.
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bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "VirtueOnline - News - Exclusives - ELM GROVE, WI: ...":
Yes, Bethany Seminary only has five students at the seminary taking classes, but six vicars out in the field. They only graduate between zero and six students per year. They are one of the few seminaries in the world with a 1:1 teacher-student ratio:
http://www.blts.edu/2011/08/2011-2012-school-year-begins/
The seminary enrollment this year numbers eleven. There are six vicars, three seniors, no middlers, and two juniors.
The teaching staff for the seminary this year is as follows: Thomas Flunker, Adolph Harstad, Thomas Kuster, Michael Smith, and Gaylin Schmeling.
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GJ - They seem to have far more students than calls. And yet the future reminds me of a quip from Bainton, when the graduating class from one liberal seminary married the graduating class from another liberal school.
Walther may get his pan-synodical seminary yet.
