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| Libby Lane |
ELCA bishops welcome new bishop of Stockport, Church of England
12/19/2014 12:00:00 AM
CHICAGO (ELCA) – The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and the Rev. Jessica Crist, bishop of the ELCA Montana Synod and chair of the ELCA Conference of Bishops, celebrate the appointment of the Rev. Libby Lane to serve as bishop of Stockport – the first woman bishop in the Church of England.
In a Dec. 18, 2014, letter to Lane, Eaton and Crist wrote: "With great joy we welcome you, our sister in Christ, to the ministry of oversight. We celebrate your appointment with the Church of England and offer our prayers as you take up this new call.
"Being 'the first' is a unique and sometimes complicated role. Layers of meaning are placed on even inconsequential actions. One becomes the example of an entire segment of humankind. Wear this lightly," the ELCA bishops wrote.
"In baptism God's Spirit gave you the gifts that you need to serve in this call. You said yes to God's invitation to serve God's people when you were ordained a deacon and a priest. Now as you prepare to say yes to God's invitation to be a bishop in God's church be assured of our support," Eaton and Crist wrote.
"Being 'the first' is a unique and sometimes complicated role. Layers of meaning are placed on even inconsequential actions. One becomes the example of an entire segment of humankind. Wear this lightly," the ELCA bishops wrote.
"In baptism God's Spirit gave you the gifts that you need to serve in this call. You said yes to God's invitation to serve God's people when you were ordained a deacon and a priest. Now as you prepare to say yes to God's invitation to be a bishop in God's church be assured of our support," Eaton and Crist wrote.
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| ELCA Bishop Elizabeth Eaton looks surprisingly like ELCA Pastor Megan Rohrer below. |
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| Megan Rohrer was ordained as a trans-sexual ELCA pastor in California. |
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| Robin Steinke is the new president of Luther Seminary |
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with more than 3.8 million members in nearly 10,000 congregations across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer, Martin Luther.
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| ELCA Bishop Jessica Crist is chairman of the Conference of Bishops. Kenneth Sauer held that position years ago and started the NALC in protest over the ELCA policies he helped to shape. |
Pastor Nathan Bickel -
When I came to this article, I quickly scrolled down with the thought in mind that these females could be self molested "transgenders," dissatisfied with Creator God's gender design. Then when I went back and started reading the script, I discovered that my initial thoughts were spot on - at least with one of them. No wonder much of Lutheran Christianity has gone downhill in our present culture!
