President Schroeder Remarks about Missouri Synod:
"WELS President Mark Schroeder delivers his president’s report to the synod convention in New Ulm, Minnesota. In this report, President Schroeder offered comment about the Missouri Synod."
This convention may want to consider a resolution encouraging the continuation of these contacts. (President Schroeder noted that the LCMS passed such a resolution seeking for conversations with WELS and ELS.)
'via Blog this'
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What a gift Emmaus has become to the Holy Christian Church. [God must be truly thankful for us.]
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GJ - I could not let this pack of lies slip by without comment. The myth now being peddled is that WELS and Missouri have been alienated ever since 1961. But - thanks to scripted, annual get-togethers at the Emmaus Conference, they are brudders again. Sniffle.
In fact, WELS and Missouri have been working together with ELCA for decades. I had Christian News publish a photo of the three synod presidents working together at a national conference in 1991. Here is the caption from ELCA's The Lutheran magazine.
"CHIEFS CONFER: Waiting their turn to speak at a recent Lutheran leadership consultation are Dr. Carl Mischke, president of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Church...Bohlmann...and ELCA Bishop Herbert W. Chilstrom. At the July 18-20 event in Snowbird, Utah, in the Wasatch Mountains, 130 Lutheran leaders gathered to articulate a 'vision of leadership' for their
respective church bodies."
The Lutheran, (ELCA) September 4, 199, p. 33.
The story was told more fully by Lutheran Brotherhood, who paid for the extravaganza of love.
Pictured together: Rev. Carl Mischke, Rev. Ralph Bohlmann, and Bishop
Herbert Chilstrom (ELCA).
Lutheran Brotherhood, Bond,
"Preparing the Church for the Next Century,"
Fall, 1991, p. 12.
Besides this, the four-letter synods also participated in a highly organized Church Growth experiment in 1993, called the Church [Growth] Membership Initiative.
"To the reader: This binder contains a summary of activities and findings of the Church Membership Initiative funded by AAL. A meeting in February, 1993 at Orlando involving congregational participants and church executives was phase three. This summary focuses on the findings of phases one and two. As is the nature of such studies, emphasis is on research and statistical analysis. Such studies do provide helpful indicators. Such an approach, however, cannot directly reflect spiritual reality, which must remain with the judgment of those dispensing the means of grace. Phase four--utilization of information coming out of the first three phases--is open ended for whatever church body [ELCA, WELS, LCMS] will determine such use
to be."
Rev. Wayne Borgwardt,
Church Membership Initiative, Narrative Summary of Findings, 1993,
Aid Association for Lutherans, 4321 N Ballard Road,
Appleton, WI, 54919-0001,
June 30, 1993.
Five copies at Martin Luther College (WELS).
BV 4523 .C48 1993 c.5
"In 1970 there were 500,000 more baptized members of Lutheran congregations than was the case in 1990. The Church Membership Initiative project was undertaken to understand and address this decline...
Contact: Rev. Mary Ann Moller-Gunderson, Executive Director, Division for Congregational Ministries, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 8765 W Higgins Road, Chicago, IL, 60631, 312-380-2570;
Rev. Lyle Muller, Executive Director, Board for Evangelism Services, The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, 1333 S Kirkwood Road, St. Louis, MO, 63122-7295, 314-965-9000;
Rev. Wayne Borgwardt, Administrator for Worker Training, Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran
Synod, 2929 N Mayfair Road, Milwaukee, WI, 53222, 414-256-3236; Mr. Douglas
Olson, Aid Association for Lutherans, 4321 N Ballard Road, Appleton, WI, 54919,
414-734-5721."
Church Membership Initiative, Narrative Summary of Findings, 1993,
Aid Association for Lutherans, 4321 N Ballard Road,
Appleton, WI, 54919-0001, June 30, 1993.
"Four people from each of 61 growing congregations gathered to share their congregational development experience, to react to the utility of toolbox items uncovered in Sections 2B and 2C above, and to exchange views with church body officials. Approximately 125 church body officials [ELCA, WELS, LCMS] and other guests observed these congregations and participated in the discussions."
Church Membership Initiative, Narrative Summary of Findings, 1993,
Aid Association for Lutherans, 4321 N Ballard Road,
Appleton, WI, 54919-0001,
June 30, 1993. p. 20.
"The IMAGINE 2000+ A.D. symposium involved the gathering of 61 growing congregations to describe their ministry. The congregations were grouped with other congregations of similar size and ministry setting."
Church Membership Initiative, Narrative Summary of Findings, 1993,
Aid Association for Lutherans, 4321 N Ballard Road,
Appleton, WI, 54919-0001,
June 30, 1993. p. 12.
ELCA-WELS-LCMS Worship: Joy Radio Show
"A new sacred classical music radio program soon will be available to radio stations across the country. The hour-long, weekly program, called "Joy," is an inter-Lutheran project of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. "Joy" will be produced by KFUO-FM in St. Louis and will be funded by Aid Association for Lutherans, a fraternal benefit society. 'I'm excited about being involved in this project which is the first joint venture into ministry that has ever been done by these three Lutheran churches,' said the Rev. Richard Jensen, a member of ELCA communications staff and the Joy Advisory Committee.'Joy is a program of sacred music. The focus is on the classics of sacred Christian music..."
ELCA Newsbriefs, Christian News, 12-9-91, p. 2.
"The article in Christian News to which you refer escaped my attention until one of our other pastors called it to my attention soon after it appeared. Initially I even had difficulty relating to it. After thinking about it for a time I remembered that I was asked about a year ago whether the WELS would endorse or be in sponsor of such a program. My answer then was 'No" and still
is. I have consistently taken the position with the fraternal benefits societies that 'pan-Lutheran' projects almost inevitably exclude us from participation because of our fellowship principles. The leadership of the fraternals has respected our position. So the statement by a member of the ELCA
communications staff that this is the 'first joint venture into ministry' ever done by these three Lutheran churches is simply not factual. It has been called to the attention of those who made this statement."
President Carl H. Mischke (WELS Synodical President),
Letter to Pastor xxxx, 1-3-92.
"Your September 21 article in Christian News perpetuates a lie, slanders leaders of your church and risks spiritual offense to weak brothers and sisters. You describe a conference on leadership in which fellowship lines were clearly drawn and at which testimony to the truths which separate Lutherans was publicly given as 'a joint ministry conference with a liberal agenda.' Then you add,
'Months later, the three groups [ELCA, LCMS, WELS] joyfully announced a joint religious radio show, Joy, also funded by Lutheran insurance money. WELS participated in 'Joy' from the beginning and continues to be a part of the project.'"
Pastor Paul Kelm (WELS),
Letter to Gregory L. Jackson,
9-23-92.
WELS was lying 22 years ago and Mark Schroeder continues the deception. In his opening PR statement he affected a tone of righteous indignation when talking about ELCA, but these projects continue in stealth mode now. ELCA was astounded that WELS was denying the Joy Radio partnership. The secretary to the ELCA leader said, "John Barber is at all our meetings." I phoned Richard Jensen, who said, "You believe me, don't you?" He was staggered that Carl Mischke called the news release false.
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The theology of Kent Hunter
is WELS practice. |
