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| That did not take long! |
The voting for Number Two in ELCA is taking place. They have a strange system, thanks to the WELS donation of Seminex leadership. The second most influential person is the Secretary, who can either be lay or clergy, male female or undecided.
The current Secretary did a lot to polarize ELCA by turning the 2009 resolution inside-out. The actual vote was to allow gay ordination and marriage, to let people dissent from that position. Swartling made gay advocacy the only position to be tolerated, so the purging began in earnest, much like LCMS and WELS getting rid of those who did not like the Church Growth Movement.
ELCA's local bishops often went after the choice properties, which were plums to be grabbed, especially since ownership of the congregation meant grabbing the funds as well. The Wisconsin and Missouri sects have done the same, WELS most recently with St. John in Milwaukee (church and endowment funds). These Gospel-drenched bishops (ELCA, LCMS, WELS, Episcopal) do not mind closing down a congregation entirely if they can get their revenge on dissenters.
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All for Holy Mother Synod?
No - $120 million for Habitat for Humanity. |
The ELCA dissenters were slow to anger, quick to forgive any new imposition of the gay agenda, until 2009. That turned ELCA from a 5.3 million (baptized) denomination into a 4 million (or less) group. Swartling also decided that ELCA was in fellowship with any religious group in the world but not with the departing groups, LCMC and NALC. Clergy belonging to those NALC or LCMC were often excommunicated and removed from the congregation, but many parishes chose to leave ELCA. So there. Except ELCA sued that those faithful to ELCA were the real congregation.
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Pope John the Malefactor, ELS,
rules by permission of the WELS. |
If you see any parallels with LCMS or WELS, do not be shocked. ELCA, WELS, and LCMS work together and think exactly alike. The difference between the bullying of Buchholz and Seifert and Harrison is minor. Pope John the Malefactor got rid of congregations and pastors simply for disagreeing about a point often disputed in the Olde Synodical Conference. He rewarded himself with an all-expenses paid world tour. Doubtless the Third World was excited to see their pope, kiss his ring, and bow in submission.
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| ELCA Pastor Anita Hill was ordained in 2001 during Mark Hanson's bishopric in the Twin Cities. |
Swartling did not act on his own. He was carrying out the demands of the Network, as they called it in the old days, when ELCA was starting.
Mark Hanson became ELCA Presiding Bishop by allowing defiance of the policies of ELCA (wink, wink) and ordaining a lesbian pastor "illegally."
First PB Herb Chilstrom has revealed in an article that his administration was smoke and mirrors, pretending to advocate one standard (traditional) while moving ELCA into open gay advocacy.
Richard Johnson, Loyal ELCA
I took a coffee break. When I returned, David Swartling was giving his report. Charles told me I hadn't missed anything.
One interesting thing he says: In 2013 only 7 congregations have taken "first votes" to leave ELCA and "we are starting to hear anecdotal reports about congregations voting to come back." (Applause)
In his written report, he provides some stats about congregation leaving since 2009--a total of 647. One especially interesting set of statistics was about which synods have been most impacted:
SW Texas (33 congregations, 22%)
Western Iowa (27, 18%)
North Carolina (37, 16%)
Montana (18, 14%)
South Dakota (35, 14%)
Northeastern Iowa (24, 14%)
East Central Wisc (16, 12%)
Eastern Wash-Idaho (11, 11%)
Pacifica (12, 10%)
NW Minn (26, 10%)
NW OH (19, 10%)
Central Southern Illinois (15, 10%)
North. Great Lakes (9, 105)
Grand Canyon (9, 10%)
Those least impacted (no numbers, but 0 or 1 congregations lost)
Alaska, Arkansas-OK, Caribbean, Metro Chicago, Metro DC, Metro NY, New England, New Jersey, Slovak Zion
Another interesting stat: 16% of all congregations with worship attendance of 800 or more have left; 8% of congregations with worship attendance of 351 to 800; 6% of those 101 to 350; 6% of those 51 to 100; 5% of those 50 or fewer.
Destinations of congregations leaving: 348 to LCMC, 228 to NALC, 12 independent, 9 to AFLC, 7 to AALC, 5 to LCMS, 31 to other/unknown.
End of secretary statistics.
Mark Hanson did his purging work well for 12 years, so why did the convention turn against him, only to applaud him warmly once he lost his position? I noticed that he and Eaton (who won) were both quite nervous in their speeches. Both seemed to be measuring their words with extreme care. I believe Hanson already knew he was going and Eaton had the votes. He tried to tell everyone how wonderful ELCA had become, and Eaton acknowledged the grief. At one point she said, "When I was coming out...[painful pause, bad words to use, could be a pratfall] of an worship service, someone said..."
Too Bad and Thanks for All the Fish:
ELCA NEWS SERVICE
August 15, 2013
ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson delivers his final report
13-57-MRC
PITTSBURGH (ELCA) -- In his last report as presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the Rev. Mark S. Hanson said there is an opportunity for the 4-million-member church -- in anticipation of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation -- to let go of being competitive in a religious marketplace and embrace the opportunity to be who we are in Christ.
Hanson delivered his report to the 952 voting members of the 2013 ELCA Churchwide Assembly meeting here Aug. 12-17 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The churchwide assembly is the highest legislative body of this church. The theme for the assembly is “Always being made new.” This year marks the 25th anniversary of the ELCA, and the 500th anniversary of the Reformation will be observed in 2017.
“We are ambassadors bearing the good news that God is not in the sin-accounting business,” said Hanson. “To do that, to bear the witness of whom God is in the world is to be who we are as evangelical Lutherans. As Paul wrote, ‘we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ.’”
Hanson said that in his past 12 years as ELCA presiding bishop he has been blessed “to witness the Spirit’s power at work throughout this church and among our global and ecumenical partners.”
He said he sees “the Holy Spirit at work” among ELCA congregations who are responding to the call to be engaged in mission planning, among the thousands of ELCA youth gathered in New Orleans in 2011 for worship and service, in the wisdom, patience and strength of the ELCA’s 65 synod bishops and the ELCA Church Council, among people who are affected by natural disasters and in the lives of people overseas.
“Yes, we can trust the Holy Spirit, who is at work through this church as we are deeply rooted in Christ and always being made new,” Hanson told the assembly.
“We have something to say to people who are searching for the good life. It is the story of a gracious God who calls each one of us by name through baptismal waters, gathers us into the community of faith, the living body of Christ and sends us forth in so many varied callings in daily life to love and serve the neighbor, to care for family and friends and God’s creation to strive for justice and peace and in word and deed to share the good news of Jesus Christ,” he said.
In his report, Hanson shared that on a flight back to Chicago he noticed a bottle of soap in the airplane restroom. “I took it out and asked the flight attendant if I could borrow it for a few minutes … to copy down the brand and description [which] is called ‘Pure Grace.’”
“Think how prevalent this message is in our lives: if you live more purely, invest wisely, pray fervently, think positively, give generously, advocate passionately, then you will have achieved a state of grace and made your life whole,” he said. “People deserve to hear a different Gospel, the message about the God who really is pure grace, the God who really does wash us clean -- body, soul and spirit. What an opportunity we have in the coming years when attention will focus on the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.”
Throughout his report, Hanson responded to the question, “What if the Holy Spirit is writing new chapters for the Book of Acts? What will those chapters tell of what the Holy Spirit is doing among and with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America?”
He said that it is his hope that the writer of the new chapters of Acts would describe how the Spirit empowered the people of the ELCA with attentive listening, spiritual renewal in the personal lives of members and in the nearly 10,000 congregations of the ELCA, moving into becoming communities of radical hospitality and deepening this church’s engagement globally.
Among the videos shown in his presentation, Hanson shared a video of Archbishop Kawak of the Syrian Orthodox Church and invited the assembly “to witness to the power of the cross and resurrection in the midst of unimaginable suffering and death” in Syria. Hanson also offered a prayer for the people of Egypt in light of lives lost there.
“Such is the work of the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts and in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Planting the church and being uprooted, moving on for the sake of the Gospel, we are committed to respond to those who have been uprooted by war and famine, by natural disasters and political oppression, by poverty and ecological destruction,” he said.
In his continued response to what would be written in the new chapters of Acts, Hanson said that “let it be told with all humility that the generosity of ELCA members became the occasion for jubilation and thanksgiving for God’s amazing grace” and that in the coming years for the ELCA, “let us build upon our strong system of theological education” and leadership development in this church, particularly recognizing and supporting the leadership already being given by youth and young adults.
As he concluded his report Hanson said, “May those chapters added to the Book of Acts declare the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America was anointed with the power of the Holy Spirit and in Christ is always being made new.”
After his report, Hanson was presented with the Servus Dei Medal.
End of Hanson exit.
Eaton is married to an Episcopalian and has two daughters.
Two other women bishops were nominated and voted into the Fab Four, including the head of the powerless bishops' conference (Crist). The run up for Eaton showed that all the Network votes were going to her, because "it was time for a woman to be Presiding Bishop." Hanson really sounded clueless in his typical bureaucratic remarks, and that could not have helped. I believe he entered the convention knowing he was a gonner. Perhaps his supporters thought that having several women candidates would split the vote for him to win. He started out with half the votes (needing 75%) and went down from there.
Crist sounded this way in her Q and A sessions, "I am just a symbol for now, so I will enjoy my moment in the spotlight."
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ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson participated in Elizabeth Eaton's
installation as a local bishop. |
What Now - LCMS, WELS, and ELS?
The three Emmaus partners act as if they just discovered talking and working together. How on earth did they manage to organize four-synod events 20 years ago? Did they use a necromancer, an magical globe, or did they just sit down and figure out how to spend Thrivent's loot according to ELCA dictates?
- Sunbird Leadership Conference
- Church Membership Initiative
- Multi-Cultural Goals
- Joy Radio Show
- Large Congregation Conference
- Lutheran World Relief
- United Nations. The Michigan District, WELS, gave to the UN.
Now their work with ELCA will be even more obvious. I have wondered how they could act so superior to ELCA while subordinating themselves to the ELCA agenda at every turn. Deception gets easier as the soul darkens, I imagine.
Missouri voted overwhelmingly to continue work with ELCA - when they elected Matt Harrison as Synod President. His campaign manager is Paul McCain, who happened to stop blogging for several weeks, just before Harrison was re-elected. Lex plagiarendi, lex credendi. That means - "Whacha plagiarize is whacha believe."
McCain grooves on Roman Catholic kitsch, such as the Virgin Mary breast-feeding a fake saint from 20 feet away. His scholarly posts are a hoot - either directly from The Catholic Encyclopedia or stolen from the blogs of friends.
McCain's pal Tim Glende plagiarizes Groeschel, Stanley, Driscoll, and the rest.
The Olde Synodical Conference sprang from the diseased loins of Bishop Martin Stephan. They are doomed, unless they confess their false doctrine, repent, and believe in the Gospel.
