Charlie Sue Update for the PARK! and the Convention

 

Charlie Sue came in from the back yard to say hello and whittle down my resistance  to the PARK! That one word energizes her and gets her running, jumping, leaping, and warmed up. Touching one sock was enough for her to increase the energy even more. Two socks? Guaranteed!

We were watching a little bit of ELCA in sunny Phoenix. 

• Archbishop Liz Eaton is just a few days away from retirement, USA. 
• Bishop Susan Johnson seems to be ready to retire from the Canadian version of ELCA, eh? 
• Secretary Sue Rothmeyer is Number Three, just to give some balance. She is retiring in October.
• Just to keep things even, a lady from the audience sang.

ELCA Archbishop Liz Eaton - "If hell exists, I think it's empty."

ELCA's 2025 Assembly Hosting a Reconciling in Christ Gay Ministry Event

 

The Rev. Colleen Hetrick, Director of Digital Ministries

and a member of the Virginia Synod’s Tapestry Team that addresses LGBTQIA+ inclusion,

will be meeting with the Apostles Reconciling in Christ Team

on Tuesday, July 29th, at 7:00 PM on Zoom.

Anyone is welcome to attend—please contact Betsy Liljeberg for an invitation to the Zoom meeting.

ELCA's Swan Song - Phoenix Baking in Its Fiery Doom - July 28 - August 2.

 

ELCA's endorsement of the treacherous Covid vaccine greased the slide into more disasters.

"In 2009, the denomination cleared the way for openly gay and lesbian ordination, causing losses in a church that had already been losing members for years. The Chicago-based denomination has trimmed jobs and restructured while redirecting resources into evangelization, especially to Latinos and other groups."

Nothing is more alarming than seeing and hearing apostasy at its worst, an itching to leverage the previous mistakes. The mainline denominations have raced to the bottom by throwing off the shackles of traditional liturgies, hymns, and sermons. 

The Lutherans are no better, and that includes the wobbling LCMS, the shriveled WELS, and the pitiful Little Copper Chapel on the Prairie (ELS). "Marvin! Marvin! Why did you leave the conservative Lutherans behind with salmonella ice cream trucks and Schwan buildings?"

ELCA Phoenix Assembly - 2025. Splitsville?

 

Fifty years and how many merging mergers of a seminary? - Voila! - a new shrunken rented seminary is managed by the Church of Rome. Notice the glee versus the glum.

The Lutheran Congregational Support Network (LCSN) has recently released three more videos which tell of big changes that are on the horizon for the ELCA.    

HERE is a link to Part 5 – “Changing the Constitution: The Fast Track Proposal.”

In July 2025, key constitutional amendments will be up for a vote – amendments that could reshape the church’s future.  This video explains what is at stake and what these changes could mean.  We urge you to watch this video so that you will understand the ELCA’s fast-track proposal and why it matters. 

HERE is a link to Part 6 – “The ELCA’s Game Changer?”

This video unpacks a seemingly simple question posted by ELCA Vice President Imran Siddiqui: “If you were to change the organizational structure of the ELCA, how would you do it?” It explores how a single footnote in a recent report could have significant implications for congregational autonomy.

What does it mean when a lawyer-vice president calls a proposal to “eliminate congregational home rule” a “game changer (esp. in the legal sphere)”?  This video takes a close look at:

• How and why Section 9.22 of the ELCA constitution could be used in new ways
• How a simple footnote could point toward a path for imposing churchwide mandates without congregational consent
• The growing tension between local autonomy and centralized authority in the ELCA

HERE is a link to Part 7 – “Churchwide Assembly: Who Gets to Vote?”

This video tells of another change that will be voted on at the triannual gathering this summer – adding voting members who are not part of congregations. Instead, they represent Synod-Authorized Worshiping Communities (SAWCs), which are groups that are directly created and controlled by the Synod.  You will also hear about other aspects of the amendment like the addition of voting members based on demographic categories and how this continues a broader institutional shift that sidelines congregational voice.

These changes are not theoretical. They could reshape how your ELCA congregation operates, makes decisions, and defines its mission.

If you have not already done so, I highly recommend that you go to the LCSN’s website (LINK) and sign up to be on their email mailing list.  On their website you will find videos they have already released about the ELCA’s quest for ever greater control.  The LCSN very intentionally approaches matters related to the ELCA not in terms of theology, and not in terms of cultural issues and Biblical moral values, but in terms of the ELCA’s Constitutions and the whole matter of congregational autonomy. 

Having Trouble Sleeping at Night? Bored To Tears of Laughter? Glad You Read Ichabod?

 

Verbatim below - but color-enhanced for laughter.

In key action, the council received the final report and recommendations of the Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church (CRLC). In response to its recommendations, the council:

• Authorized its Executive Committee to consult with the Strategy Toward Authentic Diversity advisory team to review its purpose and to create an ELCA handbook that includes recommendations for diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) standards for congregations.
• Directed the Office of the Secretary to explore collaborating with ELCA full communion partners, as neutral parties, to develop processes independent of the churchwide organization to resolve conflicts within this church.
• Requested that the Committee on Appeals develop resources to help synods identify candidates for synod consultation committees who demonstrate competency in working with people of varied ethnic backgrounds.
• Voted to establish a task force on interdependence and purpose to assess the ELCA’s statements of purpose, current governance structures and how those structures have or may have perpetuated systemic inequities, and to recommend changes to the current synod structure.
• Authorized the Executive Committee to create a financial coordinating task force to review existing ELCA financial management resources; explore greater collaboration and shared financial processes among the financial functions of the three expressions of the church (congregations, synods and the churchwide organization); and encourage greater collaboration among the separately incorporated financial ministries (the ELCA Foundation, the Mission Investment Fund and Portico Benefit Services).
• Encouraged rostered ministers, congregations and synods to identify and share existing resources on congregational management and governance.
• Affirmed the vocation of ministers of Word and Service and encouraged congregations and synods to educate their members about the role of these ministers and the varied contexts in which they serve.
• Adopted a continuing resolution that establishes the ELCA Association of Synod Vice Presidents.

Recommendations for the 2025 Churchwide Assembly

The council also recommended that the 2025 Churchwide Assembly:

• Adopt the proposed social statement Faith and Civic Life: Seeking the Well-being of All and its proposed implementing resolutions. Creation of the social statement was authorized by the 2019 Churchwide Assembly.
• Adopt proposed editorial changes to the social statement Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust in response to the memorial “Reconsideration of Social Statement on Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust,” which was approved by the 2022 Churchwide Assembly.
• Approve the following triennial budget proposals: (1) a current fund-spending authorization of $61,500,000 for 2026; (2) a current fund-income proposal of $56,915,000 for 2027 and $56,320,000 for 2028; (3) an ELCA World Hunger spending authorization of $21,550,000 for 2026; and (4) an ELCA World Hunger income proposal of $21,300,000 for 2027 and $21,050,000 for 2028.
• Authorize the Church Council to revise the spending authorizations after periodic [downward] review of revised income estimates.
• Adopt additional bylaw amendments to “Constitutions, Bylaws, and Continuing Resolutions of the ELCA” to allow for exchange of deacons with certain full communion partners and to establish additional standards for rostered ministers.
• Receive the 2024 Lutheran-Orthodox “Common Statement on the Filioque.” “The Filioque” refers to the words “and the Son,” which divided the Eastern and Western churches when they were added to the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed in 1054 (“We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified”). This year marks the 1,700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed, a unique opportunity for reconciliation between Eastern and Western Christianity.

Read a full list of actions taken at the meeting.

Mother's Day advice