Churchmouse Campanologist | Huguenot MereauThose Are My People

Churchmouse Campanologist | Ringing the bells for Christian traditions and getting our story out there. If we don’t, who will?:

"The Huguenots used a special coin — a méreau (pl. méreaux) — to identify themselves during persecution.

The photos and source material, except where otherwise indicated, is from the Huguenot Society of South Africa.

In the 16th century, however, a church elder gave one to each adult in good standing with his church. This meant that he could approach the Lord’s table and receive Communion. Whether the méreau was devised by John Calvin or he only strongly encouraged its use is unclear."

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GJ - One part of my family, my father's mother's kin, came from France. They are the Noel clan, and we had reunions every year.

ChurchMouse is number 3 in all-time favorite posts. He wrote to tell me that more readers come from Ichabod than any other site. But Fox Valley keeps insisting no one reads this blog!

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Rev. A. Nony Mouse Hates These Sayings. But Loves ... Oct 3, 2007,	9646
Churchmouse Campanologist | Ringing the bells for ... Mar 14, 2013,	6575

Lutherans elect Elizabeth Eaton as first female presiding bishop:

Lutherans elect Elizabeth Eaton as first female presiding bishop

By Matthew Davies | August 15, 2013 1 Comment |

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Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Presiding Bishop-elect Elizabeth A. Eaton and her husband, the Rev. Conrad Selnick, an Episcopal priest, react shortly after her Aug. 14 election. Photo: ELCA

[Episcopal News Service] The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton was elected Aug. 14 as presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). She was elected on the fifth ballot at the 2013 ELCA Churchwide Assembly meeting Aug. 12-17 in Pittsburgh.

Of the 889 votes cast, 445 votes were needed for an election. Eaton received 600 votes and the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop for the past 12 years, received 287. Eaton is the first female to be elected as a presiding bishop of the ELCA. Three out of the four nominees were women.

“We are a church that is overwhelmingly European in a culture that is increasingly pluralistic. We need to welcome the gifts of those who come from different places, that is a conversation we need to have as a church,” Eaton told the assembly shortly after the election.

Eaton currently serves as bishop of the ELCA Northeastern Ohio Synod. Prior to becoming synod bishop, she served as pastor for ELCA congregations in Ohio. She earned a Master of Divinity degree from Harvard Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a bachelor’s degree in music education from the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio.

Eaton is married to the Rev. Conrad Selnick, an Episcopal priest who is rector of St. Christopher’s by the River Episcopal Church in Gates Mills, Ohio.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Eaton “is considered a moderate who supported the denomination’s decision to allow partnered gay clergy while allowing room for churches to disagree.”

Eaton’s six-year term as presiding bishop will begin on Nov. 1.

The Episcopal Church and the ELCA have since 2001 enjoyed a full communion relationship, known as Called to Common Mission, through which the two churches are committed to finding opportunities for combined mission and disaster relief efforts, planting new ministries together, joint congregations and shared personnel. Eaton is a member of the national Lutheran-Episcopal Coordinating Committee, which implements the full communion agreement.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori issued a statement giving thanks for Hanson’s “faithful ministry” and for Eaton’s election.

Jefferts Schori said she has learned much from Hanson’s “prophetic and gifted evangelical ministry, and I pray that the next chapter of his ministry may be a rich blessing to him, his family, and many others.”

Jefferts Schori said she now looks forward to working with Eaton “as we grow in our Call to Common Mission. There are excellent foundations already in our common work, and I expect further growth as we seek to serve God’s mission as ministers of justice and healers of the breach. I anticipate a journey of mutual discovery of the gifts God so richly bestows on our two Churches, particularly in new contexts and populations. May God bless the journey and may God bless the pastoral leadership of Bishop Eaton.”

The Rev. Margaret Rose, the Episcopal Church’s ecumenical and interreligious deputy, echoed the presiding bishop’s comments. “We are grateful for the more than 10 years of partnership with Presiding Bishop Hanson and our Call to Common Mission and look forward to the ‘new things’ the Holy Spirit will send as we deepen that work with Presiding Bishop-elect Elizabeth Eaton.”

– Matthew Davies is an editor/reporter of the Episcopal News Service.

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Episcopal Church Began Suing to Steal Property After They Elected the First Female Presiding Bishop. WELS-LCMS-ELS Do This with Male Leaders. VirtueOnline - News

VirtueOnline - News:

VIRGINIA: Falls Church Anglican leaders will Appeal Property Ruling to Supreme Court

By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org 
August 13, 2013 

The leaders of the largest formerly Episcopal parish in Virginia - Falls Church, Virginia - that was once affiliated with the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia but broke away from the Episcopal Church over its departure from the historic faith, said this week that they plan to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. 

The Falls Church (Anglican) CANA congregation with some 2000 members and 7 church plants, led by the Rev. John Yates, will ask the high court to overturn the Supreme Court of Virginia's April 18 ruling in favor of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia. That state ruling upheld a 2012 decision that said The Falls Church Episcopal must be returned to the diocese even though it was built and paid for by its members.

An earlier appeal by the CANA group to the Supreme Court of Virginia for reconsideration of its unanimous decision was denied in June.

"It is unfortunate that this litigation continues," said Diocese of Virginia Bishop Shannon S. Johnston. "Nonetheless, we remain committed to focusing our energies on the work of the church. The Falls Church Episcopal continues to grow and thrive, and we all look forward to a time when we can put these issues behind us for good." Those sentiments were echoed by the Rev. John Ohmer, rector of The Falls Church Episcopal. "We will continue to focus not on the past, but on growing our present and future ministries," said Ohmer.

TFCA RESPONDS

In a question and answer as to why the parish continues to litigate for the property, parish leaders believe that only four of the nine justices of the Supreme Court must agree that their case should be heard. If that happens, they will take up the case. 

The cost of filing a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari will be no more than $110,000, said church leaders. "This sum is being covered through a special fund to be raised by a small group of parishioners. There will be no expenditures for this purpose from the general fund or the regular legal defense fund."

When asked if enough money had already been spent on this cause, the reply was, "If the Lord were calling us to bring the lawsuit to an end, then we would not want to spend another dime on the litigation-even if we believed success were guaranteed. The Vestry believes, however, that the church has been called to complete this step. We are looking at this as a sacrificial act that we have felt called to by the Lord. 

"From the beginning of our separation from The Episcopal Church, we stepped out in faith and have been walking in faith, not fully comprehending the Lord's plan. What others might count as loss, we count as gain in our relationship with Christ."

When asked why spending money on the legal process when money could be devoted to efforts focusing on a new building where a plant could be made, the leaders responded saying, "Our intention is exactly that-to focus intensely on seeking a permanent new home for TFCA and planting ourselves there with a renewed sense of mission, a vibrant ministry to all ages and groups within our midst, and outreach to the community that surrounds us, near and far. The generous offer that we have received of support for additional legal action will mean that a possible building campaign will not be encumbered by other financial burdens."

When asked what possible advantage is there to TFCA, leaders replied, "Win or lose, we will have held to our beliefs in a faithful effort to please God. If we lose in this phase, we have not lost much that was not already lost. If we win in this phase, we will have honored the leadership role God has placed on our church in setting a precedent that may be useful to other churches wanting to separate from an apostate denomination but less able to take the stand we've taken."

How does either winning or losing glorify God? "As with everything in life, our role is to be faithful to follow God's leading; it is His role to produce the results that He sees fit. We can only seek to understand God's plan, and recognize that we don't know it fully. We trust in Him and His purposes. 

"How can this be consonant with Scripture to continue resorting to the courts? "Throughout the lawsuit, we have felt that God was leading us to defend our property from the actions of The Episcopal Church and our former Diocese. John Yates addressed the issue from a Scriptural standpoint when we set out on this course in 2006. Sadly, we believe that we are dealing with a denomination that has lost its way, and that this is not a simple situation of two believers caught in a dispute. We also take encouragement from the fact that Paul, too, was not averse to availing himself of the Roman court system, appealing all the way to Rome. We know that faith sometimes requires perseverance over long periods. Joshua did not circle Jericho 4 times and then quit, or 5 times and then quit, or 6 times and then quit. He only quit when he had done all that the Lord asked of him and the walls fell."

What were the things the Vestry took into consideration when making this decision? "We prayerfully and mightily wrestled with and weighed this decision. We considered the cost, in monetary terms (even though the cost would be covered without a general appeal) and in terms of the burden it could place emotionally on the congregation-seven years is a long time to be in litigation. We considered the large investment already expended and the comparatively small investment now before us with a potentially large return both financially and in terms of encouragement to other congregations throughout the entire nation. We prayed. We read the Word. We listened to views expressed by members of the congregation. We consulted each other. We evaluated as a body all our own three arguments for and against. We considered the offer of a concerned group of parishioners to fund the appeal. In the end, we reached the conclusion that the Lord had not released us yet from this obligation and that we were bound to follow it to the end."

Leaders believe that the legal basis for their request that the Supreme Court of the U.S. hear the case is based on whether the First Amendment and prior Supreme Court decisions involving church property support reliance on church canons that are not embodied in the deeds or other ordinary instruments of property ownership under civil law. The petition will explain the importance of these issues to resolution of similar disputes throughout the country and to the clarity of the law.

Leaders say that they will know by late this year or early 2014 whether the U.S. Supreme Court will hear the case. They expect to have a decision by summer 2014.

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Glende Is Now in Fellowship with LOLCats

The NALC Met in August. They Are the Bishops' Synod - Departing from ELCA with Six Retired Bishops

Ken Sauer was the LCA Bishop in Ohio when I was ordained.
I left the LCA about 22 years before he left ELCA.

Here are the NALC resolutions.

Publish en clar for the Mequon graduates -
http://thenalc.org/wp-content/uploads/News/2013-Convo-bulletin-insert.pdf

As you can see from the PDF, the NALC and LCMC ordain women. They like the Church Growth Movement and look forward to working with ELCA in the LWF.

They also feel comfortable with non-Lutheran cell group material.

It's another scam! Run for the hills. These guys and girls are just retro ELCA.

Hanson Defeated, Eaton Elected ELCA’s First Female Presiding Bishop » First Thoughts | A First Things Blog

Hanson Defeated, Eaton Elected ELCA’s First Female Presiding Bishop » First Thoughts | A First Things Blog:

Hanson Defeated, Eaton Elected ELCA’s First Female Presiding Bishop

Thursday, August 15, 2013, 9:00 AM

Mathew Block | @captainthin

Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) was defeated yesterday in his bid for re-election. In his place, the ELCA has elected its first female presiding bishop: Bishop Elizabeth Eaton of the Northeastern Ohio Synod.
The election went to a fifth ballot, the ELCA notes, where Bishop Eaton received 600 votes to Bishop Hanson’s 287. Sarah Pulliam Bailey notes at Religion News Service that the election of Bishop Eaton was something of an upset: “The election was a surprise to many,” she writes, “as Hanson was expected to win an unprecedented third term after 12 years in office.” Before becoming Bishop of the Northeastern Ohio Synod, Rev. Eaton served as the pastor of Ohio congregations. She is married to Rev. Conrad Selnick, an Episcopal priest.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggests both Bishop Eaton and Bishop Hanson are considered “centrists” in the ELCA. It noted that while Bishop Eaton “supported the decision to allow local options on partnered gay clergy,” she further expressed the opinion that “being an inclusive church meant respecting those who had a different understanding of Scripture and doctrine.” “These people also have voice in this church,” she said. “We need to make room for those who do not agree with us, but agree with our claim upon the cross.”
90.5 WESA (Pittsburgh’s NPR News Station) adds some context from Bishop Guy Erwin, the man who became, earlier this year, the first openly gay person to be elected a bishop in the ELCA. He suggested Bishop Eaton’s election signals no change from the ELCA’s current stance (that same-sex pastors and marriages are a matter of “bound conscience” at the local congregational level). “I don’t know how she really feels about all these things,” he said, “but I don’t think you should confuse the fact that she’s trying to hit a conciliatory tone in her address to the assembly with the idea that there’s any kind of intention to change the policies as they’ve been established.”
The 2009 Churchwide Assembly saw the ELCA narrowly vote to allow the ordination of non-celibate gay pastors and the blessing of same-sex marriages. That decision led to a massive decline in ELCA membership over the next two years, with critics contending the ELCA had abandoned the Scripture’s clear witness on human sexuality.
The 2013 Churchwide Assembly is taking place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from August 12-17.
Photo: ELCA News Service

Comments (8)

 159 30reddit0 3

Devinicus August 15th, 2013 | 9:58 am

The ELCA “centrists” are either [1] revisionists who lack the power to press their case all the way, or [2] deeply self-deluded moderates who utterly fail to understand the situation in their church. I am happy to see Eaton as the latter if that is the more charitable view. Look at the recent history of TEC. “Centrist” Episcopalians were saying quite the same thing ten years ago as Eaton is saying today. Now in TEC, of course, “those who do not agree with us” are all gone. The same will eventually happen in the ELCA, although likely more slowly given the different social foundations of the ELCA compared to TEC. Just give it time.
John R. August 15th, 2013 | 11:09 am

I left the ELCA in 1994 because I saw the direction it was headed. While there are some good Christian parishes in the denomination, the main core of the denomination ought to be classed as either neo-Gnostic or neo-Pagan.
Ben August 15th, 2013 | 11:53 am

I’m an ELCA Lutheran, and there’s no doubt that ours is a church with severe problems. The election of Mrs. Eaton is a mixed message for those who would see the ELCA through the Decline-and-Fall-of-TEC prism. She was elected based largely on the argument that we need to regain our Lutheran voice and reverse the slide into generic mainline Protestantism. Excellent news! But of course the Lutheran confessions do not allow for female bishops, gay marriage, etc. Not so encouraging. For those unfamiliar with the history of the denomination, the national leadership was largely stacked against tradition orthodoxy from the beginning, via quotas and bylaws. But individual parishes are relatively independent, far more so than TEC or RC parishes. On the one hand, this lack of ecclesiastical discipline makes it easy for various churches to “push the boundaries” in ways that continually move the national church away from confessional orthodoxy. I think this is the experience many people have with the ELCA. But it also means that here in the upper Midwest, where a town’s churches are ELCA or LCMS not for doctrinal reasons but because the town was settled by Germans (LCMS) or Scandinavians (ELCA), it’s easy to ignore the national leadership and continue as confessional, orthodox Lutherans, as we always have. At some point these tensions will become too large, and will be resolved somehow, for better or for worse. It’s still too early to say how our new presiding bishop will contribute to that resolution.
Stephen August 15th, 2013 | 12:06 pm

I can’t help but think that Pastor Liz of Lake Wobegon Lutheran Church must be happy.
Curtis August 15th, 2013 | 12:52 pm

“a massive decline in ELCA membership” In what sense is an additional 4% loss “massive”? Here are the numbers http://www.elca.org/Who-We-Are/Our-Three-Expressions/Churchwide-Organization/Communication-Services/News/Resources/Stats.aspx
Eric Thorson August 15th, 2013 | 1:07 pm

It might be helpful for conversation if voices who oppose the ELCA’s 2009 decisions would at least become educated about the careful attention supporters have given to scripture. When we are characterized as being heretics who don’t believe in the Bible, we know better. We have been through long hours of study and prayer, and simply cannot find the scant and unclear evidence of scripture as justification for continuing to persecute sexual minorities.
Pr. LD August 15th, 2013 | 3:46 pm

Well said, Eric Thorson. Thank you.
Devinicus August 15th, 2013 | 4:16 pm

Eric, every Protestant “believes in the Bible”. Sadly, every Protestant denomination which “believes in the Bible” does not believe the same thing about the Bible or what the Bible teaches. So simply trotting out the sweat equity which the ELCA has invested into its New Dispensation is no argument at all. Ben, you say “She was elected based largely on the argument that we need to regain our Lutheran voice and reverse the slide into generic mainline Protestantism.” I will grant you this point as I no longer follow internal ELCA politics very closely. Yet I do note that Bishop Eaton is married to a TEC priest. That sure suggests generic mainline Protestantism to me.

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ELCA Got a Kick Out of ElCIC, Eh?PB Susan Johnson Cracks Them Up

ELCIC PB Susan Johnson is on the extreme Left.

http://www.alpb.org/forum/index.php?topic=5155.msg312623;topicseen#msg312623

Time to hear from ecumenical guests. First up, Bp. Susan Johnson from ELCIC. Draws laughter by saying that in honor of the ELCA's 25th anniversary, she has dyed her hair silver. We human beings are a bizarre mix of desiring and resisting change. God is calling us to a new thing, but we don't know what it is yet.

Next up, Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Kathryn Jefferts-Schori. Blah blah blah . . .

Dr. Olav Fyske Tveit, World Council of Churches General Secretary. WCC is a fellowship which needs you, and which you need . . . etc. etc.

Introduction of other ecumenical guests:
John Brodosky NALC
Dr. Butalia, World Sikh Council - Sikh and ye shall find. Freddie Mercury was Sikh, so it's good.
Rabbi Gutow, Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Thomas Hay, PCUSA
Natasha Klukech, WCC
Tracy Mariec, UMC
Betsy Miller, Moravians
John Roth, Mennonite Church
Dr. Sayyid, Islamic Society of NA
Jack Sullivan, Disciples
Karen Thompson, UCC
Lisa Vanderwal, RCA

Eloquent words from Hanson about the ELCA's ecumenical journey. Loud applause all along, and then the singing of "O for a thousand tongues to sing" (perhaps an odd choice with our inter-religious guests on stage).

Report of the treasurer. Not entirely good news, of course. Continued decline in mission support, but has showed "significant stabilization in Mission Support income and moderate increases in several other income categories."

Budget proposal came before the house, which includes 2014 spending authorization, 2015 and 2016 budget proposals. Again, the totals decline somewhat for each year.

SW Penn member in favor of budget, but a question: has anyone figured out average giving amount per "attending member" to meet budget? Answer: About $40 per year per attendee.

Youth member from Lower Susquehanna in favor of budget. Question about children's ministry--where are there funds for this? Bouman: "It's all through the budget" (new starts, education, etc.)

No more discussion, so prayer and then approval of the budget, 884-19. Boy, that goes a lot more quickly than at synod assembly!

Second ballot for secretary was taken. Ballot lists those who did not withdraw (so we don't know who that is yet; guess we have to wait for the results to figure it out).

They've put them up now. Top names: Stuart, Boerger, Grorud, Riegel, Gerking, Aldrich, Schreck, Anderson, Cooper-White, Peterson. In other words, the significant withdrawals were Swartling, Bender-Schwich (sorry, Peter), Horne. The ones on this list I omitted before in descriptions:

Kevin Anderson works in the churchwide office as associate director of worship.
Eric Peterson, synod vp of South-Central Synod of Wisconsin

Greetings from bishop of Lutheran Church in Malaysia, Philip Oi Peng Lok

Various presentations about global church.

ELCA Convention and Implications for LCMS and WELS

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.

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.

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.

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."

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.

Another Way To Increase Attendance. I Favor Popcorn and Ice Cream Sodas. Milwaukee church to reveal contents of mystery box on Sunday | FOX6Now.com

Gimmicks get old. Find new ones.

Milwaukee church to reveal contents of mystery box on Sunday | FOX6Now.com:

MILWAUKEE (WITI) — One church on Milwaukee’s south side may be packed on Sunday, August 18th. That’s because the church’s pastor is set to reveal a secret; one hidden for years inside the church itself.

On Tuesday, August 13th, subcontractor Kenneth Skodowski was working on a restoration project at Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church when his hammer drill came in contact with some kind of contraption in the cornerstone.

“I was like, ‘What the hell is this?’ The first thing that pops in my head is like some Illuminati-type stuff, that’s from the ‘Da Vinci Code!’ I don’t know what’s going on,” said Skodowski.

Pastor Joel Jaeger says the two items recovered include some sort of makeshift plaque and a copper box, which is welded shut.

“I knew, right away, that it was a time capsule, and I don’t know what we’re gonna find in there,” said Pastor Jaeger.

But Pastor Jaeger knows what he’d like to find…

“I’d love it if we’d find two 1901, five-dollar gold coins that would be worth $30,000 each, and then we could pay for this project,” said Pastor Jaeger.

Realistically, the pastor says he anticipates the box may contain a list of congregation members and/or newspaper clippings dating back to when the church was constructed in 1901.

Whatever the contents, Pastor Jaeger says he knows there is a lesson to be learned.

“It teaches a sense of history, and that, that what we’re going through, right now, may not seem real important. But ten years from now, a hundred years from now, it really is important. It talks about our roots, where we came from, and it gives us a sense of who we are,” said Pastor Jaeger.

The contents of that metal box will be revealed to the church’s congregation during Sunday’s services.

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