I told Mrs. Ichabod that WELS had another video on YouTube, the one embedded above. I said, "Someone uploaded it. I never upload to YouTube."
She said, "No one will believe you."
I clicked on the link, since people have accounts with YouTube and upload on their accounts, so they can have their own channel, as they call it.
SNAPWisconsin is the account holder. Click on that link and you will find videos associated with abusive clergy.
Congratulations WELS - after complaining--sanctimoniously--about ELCA and the Roman Catholics, you are now listed by the prime lobbying group - Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests - SNAP. The Roman hierarchy hates SNAP because SNAP has networked the victims with great effect. The group uploaded the arrest video to YouTube, which combined the defense attorney's lie about adult pornography when the charge was swapping files showing man-boy rape.
SNAP Wisconsin is the state-wide group. If you have a problem with WELS, contact SNAP and an attorney, not the cover-up magicians of WELS.
Wisconsin Lutheran College (WELS when fund-raising) featured one of the worst archbishops, Weakland, as their speaker in a widely promoted series, which also included various priests. Weakland had an affair with a young man and used church funds to pay blackmail to his lover, claiming the funds came from his own account. WELS deceived everyone about the lectures, never explaining why an official of Rome was speaking on behalf of the Wisconsin Sect.
 |
| Years ago, Wisconsin Lutheran College featured Weakland as their speaker, along with some of his priests. Weakland claimed that children invited sex with adults. |
This page used to link to the SP Schroeder/Hochmuth letter against ELCA for supporting homosexual clergy. Just as I expected, the page was removed. That is the WELS approach - hide the evidence, spin the story, and punish anyone who asks more than once about the corruption.
But relax. I found another copy on the Net, thanks to my extensive experience in tracking down synodical lies:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Aug. 21, 2009 Contact: Joel Hochmuth Director of Communications Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod joel.hochmuth@wels.net
WELS president expresses regret at ELCA decision on gay clergy
Milwaukee, Wis.—Rev. Mark Schroeder, president of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), is expressing regret at the vote of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) convention regarding homosexual clergy. Friday, delegates approved a resolution committing the church to find a way for “people in such publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships” to serve as professional leaders of the church.
“To view same-sex relationships as acceptable to God is to place cultural viewpoint and human opinions above the clear Word of God,” says Schroeder. “The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, along with The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, the Evangelical Lutheran Synod, and other smaller Lutheran synods, maintains and upholds the clear teaching of the Bible that homosexuality is not in keeping with God’s design and is sinful in God’s eyes.”
At the same time, Schroeder says WELS congregations stand ready to support those struggling with same-sex attractions. “As with any sin, it is the church’s responsibility to show love and compassion to sinners, not by condoning or justifying the sin, but by calling the sinner to repent and by assuring the sinner that there is full forgiveness in Jesus Christ,” Schroeder says.
WELS, with about 390,000 members and nearly 1,300 congregations nationwide, is the third largest Lutheran church body in the United States. In Wisconsin alone, there are more than 201,000 members and 417 congregations. “It’s unfortunate that many headlines have referred to the recent decisions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America as something ‘Lutherans’ have decided,” Schroeder says. “In fact, the ELCA is only one of many Lutheran denominations. We are saddened that a group with the name Lutheran would take another decisive step away from the clear teaching of the Bible, which was the foundation of the Lutheran Reformation.”
Schroeder says that WELS is firmly committed to upholding God’s design for marriage as outlined in Scripture—a design intended for one man and one woman. “We believe, and the Bible teaches, that God designed this relationship to be a blessing for men and women and for society. Any departure from what God himself has designed does two things: it denies the clear teachings of Scriptures and it undermines God’s desire that the man/woman relationship in marriage be a blessing.”
---
On the WELS.net site I found a reaction to that news release, but not the news release itself.
Feedback to a WELS news release quoting Pres. Mark Schroeder's reaction to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) decision to allow homosexuals in "lifelong, monogamous" relationships to serve as pastors continues to flow in.
On Aug. 21, the day the ELCA churchwide assembly approved the resolution, Communication Services posted Pres. Schroeder's response expressing WELS opposition based on clear biblical principles on the synod's Web site. A news release was also sent to Religion News Service for worldwide distribution.
So far, the reaction has been almost universally positive, with statements of support coming from both WELS and non-WELS members. "I appreciate your statement and share your disappointment," writes one woman from Michigan. "Thank you for posting the statement with a clear Biblical viewpoint."
"As a member of an ELCA church, I applaud you standing up for the Word of God and having the backbone to speak up and put your 8/21 letter on your Web site," writes another woman from Minnesota.
While it is impossible to gauge precisely how widely published Schroeder's comments were, the news release was printed virtually verbatim on more than a dozen blogs. Schroeder's comments were quoted in an MSNBC.com article (link no longer available) on the reaction to the ELCA decision from both WELS and the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.
---
Hochmuth was not excommunicated, but Rick Techlin and the Krohns were.
SP Schroeder:
Christians are not immune to Satan’s temptations. David, Paul, and Peter all knew from personal experience that believers can and do commit terrible and unspeakable sin. But they also knew and experienced the restoring power of God’s grace. Joel Hochmuth knows this as well. Joel is receiving pastoral care from his pastors and others. We are confident that the powerful working of the Holy Spirit in God’s Word has brought him to recognize and repent of his sin, and we also know that he has sought and received the comfort of forgiveness in the redeeming sacrifice of our Savior. Please pray that Joel will continue to be assured of forgiveness at the foot of the cross and that God’s grace will restore him, renew him, and strengthen his faith.
Serving in Christ, Rev. Mark Schroeder, WELS President
