Grace Foundation, Eau Claire, is Pulled into Grace Lutheran Church Lawsuit - St. Paul religion & politics | Examiner.com:
In another stunning turn of events, Catholic attorney Drew Ryberg who vowed to “take back what belongs to the ELCA” has filed a motion on behalf of Amazing Grace and by proxy Bishop Duane Pederson’s Northwest Wisconsin Synod to prevent Grace Foundation from holding its annual meeting. As late as yesterday afternoon, according to court staffers, Ryberg signaled that he would be filing a motion to prevent Grace Lutheran Church from holding their second vote to leave the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The most recent filing is a shocking change in strategy.
A leader of Grace Lutheran Church says, “We always knew they were after the foundation money, but now they have proven it.”
The annual meeting of Grace Foundation is set for April 22nd, and items of business include electing foundation officers and hearing the Foundation’s Annual report.
At risk are over 600 jobs in the ELCA’s most recent bid to make Grace Lutheran Church and now Grace Foundation inoperable.
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Ryberg argues,
“The Synod Council has determined that defendants have associate status…. The by-laws of Grace Foundation, Inc. provide that only voting members of Grace Lutheran Church are members of it and able to vote… therefore defendants may not vote at the annual meeting for Grace Lutheran Foundation, Inc.”
What this would mean, if Judge GaleWyrick accepts Ryberg's motion, is Grace Foundation would probably keep all its current Board Members, but be limited in its ability to set operating budgets and spend money, the same outcome imposed on Grace Lutheran Church in January this year.
Ryberg claims facts up to now not in evidence.
Grace Lutheran Church has never been informed that it is only an associate member of the ELCA. The congregation continues to be on the ELCA list of congregations and as the defendant in the ongoing litigation is not an "associate member" of the denomination, nor are its active members who continue to worship at the church.
No process of denominational adjudication has been followed to establish that Grace Lutheran Church has been relegated to associate status by the Synod- a designation that does not exist for congregations- yet another example of Bishop Pederson’s refusal to follow the rules and constitution of his own denomination.
What's more is that in the ELCA, Bishops and Synods do not have constitutional authority to determine who can and can not be members of a congregation. Disciplinary action in the case of members takes place under the authority of the local congregation, and Bishops only have the authority to suspend a congregation, remove a congregation from the ELCA, or censure a congregation.
In these ugly turn of events, Bishop Pederson and Amazing Grace Church of Eau Claire have decided to put at risk thousands of families that benefit from Grace Foundation’s work and ministries.
Grace Foundation funds and operates licensed daycare, retirement housing, assisted living programs, skilled nursing care, community based residential facilities for the care of the elderly, and adult day services for older adults all across Chippewa Valley.
The mission of Grace Lutheran Foundation, as a complementary arm of Grace Lutheran Church, is to respond to the spiritual, physical and social needs of people in order to enhance human dignity and growth by providing high quality Christian-based services.
Grace Lutheran Foundation, through its continuum of care, provides client and family oriented services that enhance the many stages of a person’s life and has long been an important and integral part of the Eau Claire Community providing exemplary care and services.
The move is being described by some in the Eau Claire community as “despicable” and “depraved.”
The ELCA is a denomination that focuses primarily on social justice and social programs that care for people. Their latest move, putting thousands of families who receive care through Grace Foundation at risk, demonstrates how quickly the religious organization will abandon its own principles and do serious harm to individuals and families for money.
One former ELCA pastor says, “This is why so many congregations are clamoring for the exit doors in the ELCA. The leadership is unprincipled, vindictive, and destructive.”
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