Bishop Stephan Gave Way to the Infallible Pope Walther. Bishop DeJaynes, RIP, Was Replaced by the Omniscient Bishop Heiser.

CFW Walther took over from Stephan. As one person said, "A bishop landed in New Orleans, and later a pope emerged." Jim Heiser replaced DeJaynes and took the Waltherian "Repristination Press" with him, slowly gathering fellow Ft. Wayne graduates who had been removed from their calls. 

The parallels between Walther and Heiser are too remarkable to be ignored. Both ached to be the big cheese, even if the facts had to be buried, denied, and twisted in various ways.

About Emmanuel

Rev. Paul A. Rydecki, Pastor

Greetings! Emmanuel Lutheran Church has been gathering around God’s Word and Sacraments in Las Cruces since the late 1970’s.  We officially organized as a mission of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) in 1987.  For awhile we met together in homes, at bridge clubs and at the local VFW, but since 1992 we have been gathering at our present facility on Highway 70. We became an independent Lutheran congregation in 2012, no longer affiliated with the WELS.

Rev. Paul A. Rydecki has been serving as our pastor since April, 2007. Pastor Rydecki graduated from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2000 after completing eight years of pastoral training and was ordained into the Office of the Holy Ministry in July, 2000. He served as a WELS missionary in Puerto Rico and in Mexico from 2000 – 2007 and was a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America (ELDoNA) from 2013 until 2022, when he chose to become an independent Lutheran pastor. He is fluent in Spanish, and also has a love for German, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew.

Jay Webber and Kincaid Smith, as ELS pastors and Ft. Wayne alumni, were there to draw the DeJaynes  Lutheran Confessional Synod into fellowship with the ELS and WELS. 

I talked to Heiser about why the LCS broke up, and he agreed that it was about infant communion, truly a fake cover-up story. He was furious about DeJaynes keeping the printed copies from Repristination Press but never mentioned criminal charges against DeJaynes. 

Many years later, one of our members discovered from the newspapers that DeJaynes was a public school teacher and a sex offender. That never came up in all the times I spoke with Heiser. Nor did Heiser explain how he graduated from Concordia, Ft. Wayne and started in the LCS with an ELCA pastor - DeJaynes - whose wife preached for him when her husband was away.

Notice the three pastoral popinjays

primping for a photograph when Christina Jackson was four days from passing into eternal life, only a few miles away. That is what ELDONA stands for - empty gestures, coveting real estate. How did the previous pastor walk off with $300,000 from parish equity? That pastor's wife was the treasurer! When I said the pastor's wife had a conflict of interest, I was hushed up by the deacon. After all, what did I know?

 Heiser parked the fish-hat, robes, and big stick for another merger with Objective Justification.

Knowing the Rolf Preus Synod was 100% Objective Justification, Heiser courted them to pump up the size of ELDONA.

Bishop DeJaynes - 

His Congregation's Decline

"After breaking away from the ELCA and adopting its own constitution and bylaws, the church did not prosper, and membership declined from several hundred to fewer than two dozen by 2001, according to circuit court records. Financial hardship followed, and that is when a further schism occurred."

+++

https://herald-review.com/news/local/lutheran-congregation-s-split-leads-to-final-service-in-church/article_a389d377-6925-59f2-8837-15da1ed68da8.html#tncms-source=login

DECATUR - The eight families that have been worshiping at Christ Lutheran Church, 34 S. Country Club Road, in recent years will hold their final service there at 9 a.m. Sunday prior to leaving the property under a court order to vacate.

Holy communion will be served and a thanksgiving service held for the blessings the congregation has received in recent years, said the Rev. Al Weidlich, who will lead the service.

The future of the property will be up to the board of directors, said Bishop Randy DeJaynes of the Lutheran Confessional Synod, the chief plaintiff in the lawsuit against the families. He declined further comment.

The Illinois Fourth District Appellate Court on Aug. 20 rejected the families' appeal of a Sept. 24, 2003, order issued by Circuit Judge A.G. Webber IV. The order awarded the church property to the Lutheran Confessional Synod. Christ Lutheran was the only church in that synod after breaking away from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in June 1994.

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After breaking away from the ELCA and adopting its own constitution and bylaws, the church did not prosper, and membership declined from several hundred to fewer than two dozen by 2001, according to circuit court records. Financial hardship followed, and that is when a further schism occurred.

The congregation divided with the families becoming defendants in a lawsuit seeking control of the property filed June 6, 2002, by church members Dorothy Tribbett, Heidi White, Rhonda Nichols and members of the DeJaynes family: Randy, Arlis, Christopher, Sara, Adam and Amy. Christopher DeJaynes is pastor of the church.

The lawsuit followed a congregational meeting on Sept. 16, 2001, to vote on a proposal to sell the church property. The families claimed the meeting was not properly called and walked out prior to the vote on selling the property, elected their own board of trustees and took possession of the church.

Those families reaffiliated the church with the ELCA.

Weidlich said the group is looking for another location to hold worship services. He said the defendants have until Tuesday to turn over the keys and vacate the church.

"The board tried to negotiate an offer on it, but nothing happened," Weidlich said. "We're hoping the ELCA can negotiate something. It's all happened so quickly in terms of how churches operate."

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/herald-review/name/randy-dejaynes-obituary?id=22940511

FUNERAL HOME

Brintlinger and Earl Funeral Homes - Decatur

2827 N. Oakland Ave.

Decatur, IL

RANDY DEJAYNES OBITUARY

Randy L. DeJaynes - Minus the LCS, etc.

Jan. 10, 1951 - Aug. 18, 2021

FORSYTH - Randy L. DeJaynes, 70, of Forsyth, Illinois, died Wednesday, August 18, 2021, at Decatur Memorial Hospital. Randy struggled for two weeks with a COVID-19 infection that resulted in pneumonia.

Born on January 10, 1951, in Macomb, Illinois, to Roy E. and Joan (Martin) DeJaynes, Randy grew up in the Plymouth, Augusta, and Bowen villages and graduated from Bowen High School in 1969. He met his wife, Arlis White, in 1973, and they were married January 18, 1975, in Quincy, Illinois. He later earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees (summa cum laude) from Western Illinois University in Macomb, where he taught at the university for several years. Later, he earned his M. Div. degree from Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, and he served as pastor of Christ Lutheran Church in Decatur for sixteen years.

Randy and Arlis were blessed with two sons, Adam John and Christopher Nicholas, who were the lights of his life. Both sons reside in Decatur. Randy is survived by his devoted wife of forty-six years, Arlis: his sons: Adam (Sarah Hayes) DeJaynes and Christopher (Sara Hammann) DeJaynes, all of Decatur; his beloved grandchildren: Noelle (DeJaynes) Malkamaki, Christian DeJaynes, Caley DeJaynes, Avery DeJaynes, Mary Margaret DeJaynes, and Ella Smith; one brother, Roger (Gretchen) DeJaynes of Blandinsville, Illinois; one sister, Rhonda DeJaynes of Santa Rosa, California; numerous in-laws, 22 nieces and nephews, and his beloved Corgis, Huey and Taffy.

Randy was a simple man who loved simple things like his many flower gardens, fruit trees, his dogs, and his baking. He owned Daily Bread Bakery for several years. More than anything, he loved his family and being around them.

Services for Randy L. DeJaynes will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, August 23, 2021 at Sacred Heart Church, part of St. Katharine Drexel Parish, with a private family visitation preceding service. Burial will be at Calvary Catholic Cemetery in rural Illiopolis, immediately after service with a family luncheon at Grace United Methodist Church, in Decatur, Illinois after the burial. Memorials in Randy's honor may be given to Sacred Heart Church in Springfield or to his grandchildren's education fund c/o CEFCU.

The family is being served by Brintlinger and Earl Funeral Home in Decatur, Illinois.

No rainbow stole...yet.

 Here is a really expensive robe for Matt the Fatt, but no fish hat yet. Time to catch up with ELDONA: a fish hat and a really big stick.

The Right Reverend (his chosen title) Bishop James Heiser wears the full panoply of episcopalian finery, except he is only a circuit pastor in reality, not yet ready for those oh-so-cool Medieval titles, like His Beatitude, The Right Reverend STM. I enjoy seeing the Canadian lady bishops grasping their too thick sticks in their tiny feminine hands, equally awkward, given the tiny numbers of ELCiC members.

I have watched many church leaders and craven laity stand there and lie, sometimes on the phone, but also by mail.

I have often carried out searches on the Net, illuminating to me, boring to most. I searched one name and got eldona.org showing up - no content, just the website domain, which had to be formalized in some way. That is the domain they use today. Go ahead, try it.

Anything new going on? "No." Yet that same parson had decided on an organizational name and established a domain for the group. This same parson used to cling to the LCMS the way lint clings to black slacks. I thought it would take a SWAT team to get him out of the synod. He waited for his pension to vest - not exactly martyrdom!

I continue to be astonished at the way clergy leaders lie, as if God does not know anything and we are also easily fooled.

Look at the data. The braggarts of yesteryear are hiding the statistics today. The very nature of their pronouncements sound like they are holding back the anguish, depression, and terror - "How much worse will it get?"

The United Church of Christ, a goldmine of mergers, has incredible losses, which seem to be accelerating. 

***

First, I heard that Paul Rydecki was no longer in ELDONA, which was verified by Paul's own words on his website. 

Then I learned that others had left the stony vastness of ELDONA:

Pastor Sullivan - Ask the Pastor - is no longer affiliated with ELDONA and the Rogers Arkansas congregation has excommunicated those items from their website. I am not hip on social media defenestrations. Apparently, a video can be recommended as kosher one week and jettisoned another week. 

Pastor Carver - He was touted by ELDONA as a Missouri Synod pastor leaving the fetid swamps of that denomination. The little sect of Texas did not mention Heiser clinging to the Missouri Synod while waiting for his pension benefits to vest. Carver gave up his call, unlike Bishop Heiser, and is not in ELDONA. 

How Close Was the Hummingbird?

What is more delightful than a hummingbird sipping nectar, 18 inches away?

The drought was broken today, when a predicted light rain turned into hours of serious, cooling, enjoyable rain. 

I invited Sassy outside to observe the frantic activities of insects working the Joe Pye, Clethra, and Bee Balm.

I watered the new, scarlet Bee Balm - Fireball -almost every day during the drought, using the rain barrel in front down to the last drop.

 The smallest bird is the bravest. Synodical bullies should take note of that.

Today I was sitting on the bench with my leg crossed, my bare toe 18 inches from the red Bee Balm. A hummingbird came over to thank me for installing such an attractive, hummingbird-loving flower. It sipped every part of the flower and circled to make sure he had all the ports checked. Then he went to the next red Bee Balm, to sample the new one starting to flower.

As stunning as the hummingbird is, this photo delighted me even more.

A Response to a Post in 2018 about Eastern Orthodoxy

I read your posts from 2018 about my family and I leaving the LCMS for Orthodoxy. The debate between Lutherans on justification by faith and UOJ was not among the most important issues for me in the decision.  You published a comment by one of your readers that demonstrated my writing on "No Longer Sola" explained that well enough. 

Ecclesiology and Lutheran practices surrounding admission to the Eucharist were of much more importance for me. There is no Lutheran church body, there is no communion of Lutheran congregations that maintain a quia subscription to the Lutheran confessions. That subscription is essential for establishing the existence of the evangelical Lutheran church in any sense that isn't a useless abstraction.  From my point of view it's an objective fact that there is no Lutheran church, based on her own criteria for establishing the "what" and the "where" of the Church.

It is puzzling to me how little self-reflection some Lutherans seem to be willing to do about why Lutheran pastors and laity leave the various synods for Orthodoxy.  Rather than actually listening to what those who leave say about it, the choice to leave is usually dismissed as being caused by some defect in the man, which is easy and convenient, but unhelpful for a person who actually cares about the health and well-being of Lutheranism as a movement or church.  I think a significant reason that men continue to leave the various Lutheran synods for Orthodoxy is caused by Lutherans who are unwilling to seriously reflect on the problem and actually understand Orthodoxy on its own terms rather than understanding the Church filtered through Lutheranism's 500+ year fight with Rome. 

In Christ,

J.A.M.

 The original joke is - "The bishop also moves obliquely in chess." That means he or she never tells the truth or shades the meaning of everything so much that no one really knows. Ask Jim Heiser for tips on this, except he never tells the truth.

From Another Reader - with permission:

I read your latest post about the LCMS Pastor who became Eastern Orthodox. I am not sure it is solely because of UOJ. I went to his blog and read a couple of his posts. He is arguing that liturgy and practice do matter. This is going to continue happening. I say the same thing to my husband all the time. The Lutheran Church I grew up in was very strict in matters of liturgy and practice. Now I am being told that it is adiaphora. We can all worship how we are moved. For your church that may be with Keith Getty music, but it doesn’t matter. We are all one. To which I ask, “Are you really sure about that?”  What am I going to be told is adiaphora next? If we can just change practice depending how I feel, why not just change the whole thing?  I  believe the truth of Sola Scriptura, but worship and practice do matter. They are a mirror of our doctrine. They are a reflection of who we are. If we are not teaching that, we are failing. I am sure the Pastor who left has more reasons. I am sure the struggle for him was real. I find that the Lutheran Church does not want to address this. They are fine with the fact that they are fractured. How many more people are struggling inside?

***

GJ - The synods are happy to grab the tuition money, so they keep their eyes half-shut when a paying customer is in the seminary. Having someone leave afterwards is not so bad, because it opens up a slot. If anyone thinks the synod leaders care about the individual congregations...think again. I asked a prominent Concordia St. Louis professor about the "shortage" situation. He said, "I don't know and I don't care."

The adiaphora excuse only shows the apostates have not opened the Book of Concord for any reason. Or they simply despise the Confessions.

Formula of Concord - SD X:

10] We believe, teach, and confess also that at the time of confession [when a confession of the heavenly truth is required], when the enemies of God's Word desire to suppress the pure doctrine of the holy Gospel, the entire congregation of God, yea, every Christian, but especially the ministers of the Word, as the leaders of the congregation of God [as those whom God has appointed to rule His Church], are bound by God's Word to confess freely and openly the [godly] doctrine, and what belongs to the whole of [pure] religion, not only in words, but also in works and with deeds; and that then, in this case, even in such [things truly and of themselves] adiaphora, they must not yield to the adversaries, or permit these [adiaphora] to be forced upon them by their enemies, whether by violence or cunning, to the detriment of the true worship of God and the introduction and sanction of idolatry. 11] For it is written, Gal. 5:1: Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not again entangled in the yoke of bondage. Also Gal. 2:4f : And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage; to whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour, that the truth of the Gospel might continue with you. 12] [Now it is manifest that in that place Paul speaks concerning circumcision, which at that time had become an adiaphoron (1 Cor. 7:18f.), and which at other occasions was observed by Paul (however, with Christian and spiritual freedom, Acts 16:3). But when the false apostles urged circumcision for establishing their false doctrine, (that the works of the Law were necessary for righteousness and salvation,) and misused it for confirming their error in the minds of men, Paul says that he would not yield even for an hour, in order that the truth of the Gospel might continue unimpaired.]

I do not know where this reader worships, but the adiaphora argument was used constantly to excuse WELS chasing after the Evangelicals and Pentecostals. Visit any Assemblies of God congregation and you will find all the key ingredients of a Mark and Avoid Jeske church:

1. Praise band.
2. Stage - not a chancel. A table maybe, no real altar.
3. No pulpit.
4. Coaching sessions, no sermon. 
5. Hide the sacraments.
6. Screens here, there, everywhere.
7. Selling coffee - supposedly gourmet. Ha.
8. Parking valet. No, I am not kidding.
9. Digital giving, such as having an ATM in the narthex.
10. Clergy attire confused with going to a picnic.

Notice that the favorite motto of the Jeske circle - A Changeless Christ in a Changing World - is also employed by the apostate American Lutheran Publicity Bureau. It is the name of their history book about how they bravely abandoned Lutheran doctrine. So, is that a liberal thing? Yes, the motto is a liberal thing.

The other argument used by WELS is - "Perhaps we should not exercise our liberty, because that might harm those of you with a weak faith." A smirk would follow. There is no use citing the red section of Article X above, because that has as much meaning to them as Egyptian Book of the Dead in its original language.

Besides all that, Eastern Orthodoxy is long on ceremony, short on doctrinal clarity. The poor abused students of Concordia, Ft. Wayne graduate with two great loves - Eastern Orthodoxy and UOJ. UOJ paves the path to Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, Church Growthism, and ultimately atheism. I know two WELS pastors who espoused Church Growth and UOJ only to become atheists - loud and proud - as their confused thoughts led them away from the Word.

The WELS-LCMS-ELS leaders, yea even the CLC (sic) have facilitated this loss of doctrine for the last 40 years plus.

The only WELS excommunication of a pastor for doctrinal reasons was DP Buchholz, SP Schroeder, and their DP allies extending the Left Foot of Fellowship to someone who defended Justification by Faith, the Chief Article of Christianity. How dare he?

 And your little dog too!

Reverse the Use of Food Categories for Good Blood Test Results. Suggestions for Mr. Green

We have a simple way to look at our health - the blood panel. After drawing blood, the diagnostic machine produces the mysterious numbers and explains what they mean.

The bad cholesterol is too high? Start eating one handful of walnuts or almonds each day. The good cholesterol will remove the bad stuff for great results on the next test. Avoid the party nuts with sugar or salt added.

High blood sugar on the A1C? Replace desserts, candy, and sodas with fresh fruits. Diet drinks are just as bad as sugared drinks: avoid them.

Blood pressure too high? Losing weight is the easy way to start lowering the numbers. Reducing meats, fish, milk, eggs, and cheese will lower the movement of fats from the plate to the waist.

Food cravings? Leafy greens - like spinach - by themselves will stop the eat-a-loaf-of-bread, box-of-chocolates, half-a-whipped-cream-cake food cravings. For example, note what happened after your last magical diet was over. Yes, several family members and the cat were knocked down in your mad rush to the freezer for ice cream.

A lifetime of bad food habits? That takes time to reverse, because we get away with a lot until we reach 60 or so. Weighing each day is a good way to track results. The first 5-10 pounds are easy. The rest of the loss comes from reducing the cravings for sweets, fats, and salt. 

Poor Folks Food - 

God's Answer to Obesity

My first grocery store stops after fresh fruits (apples, oranges, blueberries) are the frozen vegetables aisle, then the beans. I buy chopped frozen kale and collards, both super rich in nutrients, very inexpensive.

The best beans to buy for nutrition are the chickpeas. When they are out, I get garbanzo beans (a joke, they are the same, but sold under both labels). They satisfy hunger and have a zillion good qualities - plus they are cheap.

Poor people get by on beans and greens, which means they get the best nutrition while the upper classes are going to the doctor to get medicine to turn around their bad blood test results.

In Short - 

Reverse the Eating Machine.

1. Eat small amounts of meat, milk, cheese, and fish.
2. Eat large amounts of leafy greens, fresh fruit, beans, and nuts.

Friends Are Losing Weight from Greens and Fruits

 First birthday - the addiction began...

Those who comprehend Creation can easily understand that God gave us an enormous selection of good nutrition at a very low cost. The contrast is startling.

Leafy greens are so inexpensive that a box of fresh baby spinach at WM is good for 5-7 large helpings, lasting much longer (in eating and spending) than a quarter-pounder with cheese. Processed food is always far more expensive and much more invested in fat, salt, and white bread.

The protein argument in favor of meat, milk, and cheese is not strong because greens and vegetables are packed with protein, which the body re-arranges during digestion - when needed for complete protein. I was asking myself, Who though this up in advance?

I have not become a vegetarian, but I did switch the budget from fast-foods, bread, PBJ, desserts, etc to beans, greens, fruits, and nuts. 

In the nutrition and food-as-medicine categories, vegetation is far superior to meat, milk, and cheese.

That is another irony - we are asked to buy nutrition dried up in little expensive bottles (fiber? YUK!) instead of enjoying it fresh in beans, greens, fruits, and nuts.

Fiber pills, fiber powder, and fiber drinks can be replaced with fresh fruit, vegetables, and leafy greens. Fiber is really important in soluble and insoluble form, especially as we age. Natural fiber calms the craving we get from enjoying desserts too often. We knew at Melo Cream that donuts were great for 15 minutes, then needed for replenishment, sometimes in cookies, fudge, peanut brittle candy (mostly corn syrup), and danish. 

Fiber slows down the dessert, fries, and chips habit. We have an ongoing joke about how many eggs are used in a batch of bread donuts. Christina asked my father and he expressed surprise that anyone would wonder. Eggs definitely improve bread and bread donuts, but the per donut argument failed, much to her delight. I was arguing for the nutritional value of bread donuts and never heard the end of it, even after 55 years.

Nuts show up at parties and often grow stale, then they are tossed to the squirrels and birds. Almonds and walnuts are very good at taking out the bad cholesterol from our bodies. Even when I was eating ice cream twice a day, the walnut regimen (topping) gave me perfect cholesterol results. Daily use of walnuts and almonds? - yes.

Once I replaced desserts, fast food, and bread with vegetables and lots of fruit, my weight dropped - so did my blood pressure and A1C (blood sugar). Both went to just above normal.

Now I am adding more exercise because that is essential to increase the benefits of nutrition. 

Nutritional Benefits Of...

I do that Google search often, to see what is so special about chickpeas, various beans, fruits, nuts, greens, and seeds. To increase greens, I get fresh frozen and chopped kale, collards, mustard, and turnip greens. Chopped kale is almost free! So are the others. 

Nutritional benefits of kale

Nutritional benefits of chickpeas aka garbanzos

Nutrional benefits of apples

Nutritional benefits of green peppers - whoa! C!

Tomato paste

 This worked well until the warrantee on my pancreas expired.

Midnight Special - Kudu Don Patterson Is One of the Oldest To Speak at the Next Conference

Kudu Don Patterson friended Tim Glende on Facebook. Ski soon became a neighbor to Patterson.

 

 Patterson wore the outfit, so I added the movie poster. 

Patterson staff speaks to youth: "Never grow up!"

National WEL$ Conference on Leadership

Kudu Don (his email name) and his wife Mary will be speakers at this 2023 conference. He and Paul Calvin Kelm were asked to give papers to the Mordor seminary on how to improve it - and the school went downhill even faster. Doubtless his wife will not be able to make things much worse. Her ladies conferences are legendary in Texas.

 Patterson has promoted more non-Lutheran religious salesmen than any other in WELS, unless we count Kelm and Valleskey.

 Patterson is not Church and Changer, though he spoke there and went to the "final" conference. Mark Jeske just moved it up a notch and began including ELCA lady pastors.

 Hooray for Holy Word! Too bad Patterson rejects the efficacy of the Word in the Means of Grace.

 Wherever there is a tacky celebrity, Ski and Glende are there. They employ the same failed gimmicks. Patterson just gets more direct funding from Holy Mother WELS.

 Patterson and others have publicly howled over my attempts at Photoshop, humor, and Luther's 
Biblical doctrine. Kudu Don stole my graphic, above, and put it in his own FB folder! He and other WELS leaders like to whisper via their precious "WELS grapevine." They think theirs is a clever way to slander anonymously, slam down the shun button, and protect their felons.

 Henry Town said...

You wrote, Matthias: "Nobody actually has any idea what GIA is. The experts' best guess is that it's some sort of mish-mash of various Church Growth entities."

Some "experts" I have spoken with tell me that the entities of GIA are becoming more and more accepted and powerful within the WELS. Consider that Pastor Don Patterson is very visible on the GIA website and now he is in his first term as the District President of the South Central District.

I've even been told that one entity of GIA, Crosstrain Coaching, had a prominent role in returning Pastor Ski to ministry in a WELS congregation.

The GIA website may show some neglect, but the people associated with it are not neglecting any opportunity to grow in influence within the WELS. If for no other reason, their free reign at this conference ought not be ignored by others in the synod.

August 7, 2014 at 12:37 PM

 Matthias Flach said...

Yes, Henry Town, I can confirm that Crosstrain Coaching "helped" Ski with his "personal issues". He was then rushed to CRM status to accept a call into Patterson's district.

Quite a coincidence, no?

 Melanchthon said...

So if I understand correctly... Patterson's "business" took Ski on as a paying "client"... and then Patterson almost immediately put Ski on a call list in his district?! Gosh, that stinks to high heaven.

***

GJ - That's nothin' folks. Wisconsin Child and Family Services treated Joel Hochmuth for his addiction to child porn (young boys). Joel still worked at WELS headquarters, where his stash was found by the FBI. Mark Schroeder immediately spoke up for Joel and pronounced him absolved of all sin. Joel got an incredibly expensive lawyer, a very light sentence, and began offending again.

Note that Patterson is famous for gathering a bunch of WELS workers and taking them to the Exponential pan-demon conference in Orlando, Florida. One thing you will never find there - a Lutheran speaker. No, the Lutherans sit in the audience, salivating about how they can employ those same lures, sugar-coating the Gospel while beating the snot out of their flocks.

Patterson is not--and I repeat--not a Church and Change leader, unless that is another GA lie. He has spoken there and he went to the last conference in the Milwaukee area. But he denies being a Changer and I believe that he denies it.

Patterson did hire Cornerstone for fleecing the sheep. Ron Roth, paleo-Shrinker, was head of that business before they buried him. Cornerstone never divulges their conflict of interest. They have their synod rain-makers always recommending that Cornerstone be used, and it is a dual LCMS-WELS "ministry," like Mark and Avoid Jeske's.

Patterson's conference or district had an entire meeting on the joys of UOJ. The papers were sloppy, moronic, and utterly devoid of exegesis.

Remember this, when WELS leaders tell you to write a letter or sit down and speak with them, they are cobras inviting the mouse for a meeting.

ELCA To Honor Professor Pastor Bishop Seminary President Guy Erwin

ELCA Churchwide Assembly honors Indigenous people

8/1/2022 1:05:00 PM

CHICAGO — The 2022 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will honor and celebrate Indigenous people through presentations and worship during this weeklong event, to be held Aug. 8-12 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio.

ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton will open the assembly on Tuesday, Aug. 9, with a land acknowledgment noting that the gathering is taking place on the original and ancestral homelands of the Shawnee, Miami and Kaskaskia peoples.

On Wednesday, Aug. 10, the assembly will honor Indigenous people through various observances and presentations:

• The American Indian and Alaska Native Lutheran Association has invited assembly participants to wear red to recognize and publicize the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
   
• The assembly will recognize the Rev. Marlene Whiterabbit Helgemo, who died July 22. Helgemo was the first Native American woman ordained in the Lutheran church.
   
• The assembly will hear the first in-person pronouncement of "A Declaration of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to American Indian and Alaska Native People" and receive an update on the work of the Repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery Task Force. The declaration is a direct result of the social policy resolution adopted by the 2016 Churchwide Assembly. Following the presentation, Fawn Sharp, president of the National Congress of American Indians, will address the assembly. 

• The words and music for the service of Holy Communion are derived from a variety of Native American sources and designed with the help of Indigenous people who are leaders in the ELCA. The Rev. Joann Conroy, president of the ELCA American Indian and Alaska Native Lutheran Association, will preach, and the Rev. Guy Erwin, president of United Lutheran Seminary and a member of the Osage Nation, will serve as presiding minister. Other worship participants include Eaton and several native leaders from the ELCA. The worship service will begin with a prayer song offered by Imnizaska Family Drum. Other elements during worship will include a prayer to the four directions, which will incorporate a gathering of waters from the four directions within the territory of the ELCA, and a time of repentance as called for in the Repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery.
   
• The worship offering will support the Pine Ridge Reservation initiative. ELCA Indigenous Ministries and Tribal Relations and ELCA World Hunger are partnering with the Oglala Sioux Tribe and local organizations to support the tribe as it addresses homelessness, housing, education, cultural preservation, livelihood opportunities, Two Spirit support and more on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
  

Throughout the week, assembly participants are encouraged to visit the American Indian/Alaska Native Community Learning Space, located in the convention hall in rooms B140-145.

The ELCA Churchwide Assembly is the highest legislative body of the denomination. This gathering will be composed of more than 900 voting members serving on behalf of the 3.3 million members of the ELCA. Meeting under the theme "Embody the Word," the assembly will participate in plenary discussions to make decisions about the work of this church. Attendees will also spend time in worship and Bible study.

Live video of the assembly will be accessible at www.elca.org/CWA-2022.

To register as press or to access other news and media information, contact Candice Hill Buchbinder at Candice.Buchbinder@elca.org.

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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 nearly 3.3 million members (started with 5.3 million in 1987) in more than 8,900 worshiping communities (started with 10,000 in 1987) across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," (Thrivent's Money) 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.

For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager

Hymn - In the Cross of Christ I Glory

"In the Cross of Christ I Glory"
by John Bowring, 1792-1872

Tune - Rathburn - linked here

1. In the Cross of Christ I glory,
Towering o'er the wrecks of time.
All the light of sacred story
Gathers round its head sublime.

2. When the woes of life o'ertake me,
Hopes deceive, and fears annoy,
Never shall the Cross forsake me;
Lo, it glows with peace and joy.

3. When the sun of bliss is beaming
Light and love upon my way,
From the Cross the radiance streaming
Adds more luster to the day.

4. Bane and blessing, pain and pleasure,
By the Cross are sanctified;
Peace is there that knows no measure,
Joys that through all time abide.

Hymn #354
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Galatians 6:14
Author: John Bowring, 1825
Composer: Ithamar Conkey, 1849
Tune: "Rathbun"

Hymn - Grace! Tis a Charming Sound

"Grace! 'Tis a Charming Sound"
by Philip Doddridge, 1702-1751, stanzas 1, 2, 4 & 6
by Augustus M. Toplady, 1740-1778, stanzas 3 & 5

Tune -  Energy - linked here

1. Grace! 'Tis a charming sound,
Harmonious to the ear;
Heaven with the echo shall resound,
And all the earth shall hear.

2. Grace first contrived the way
To save rebellious man,
And all the steps that grace display
Which drew the wondrous plan.

3. Grace first inscribed my name
In God's eternal book;
'Twas grace that gave me to the Lamb,
Who all my sorrows took.

4. Grace led my wandering feet
To tread the heavenly road;
And new supplies each hour I meet
While pressing on to God.

5. Grace taught my soul to pray
And made mine eyes o'erflow;
'Twas grace that kept me to this day
And will not let me go.

6. Grace all the work shall crown
Through everlasting days;
It lays in heaven the topmost stone
And well deserves the praise.

Hymn #374
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Ephesians 2:5
Author: Philip Doddridge, 1755; stanzas 1, 2, 4, 6
Author: Augustus M. Toplady, 1776; stanzas 3, 5
Composer: William H. Monk, 1861
Tune: "Energy"

Hymn - God of My Life, To Thee I Call

"God of My Life, to Thee I Call"
by William Cowper, 1731-1800; Stanza 1-5
by unknown author; Stanza 6

Tune - "Wenn wir in hoechsten Noeten" linked here

1. God of my life, to Thee I call;
Afflicted, at Thy feet I fall;
When the great water-floods prevail,
Leave not my trembling heart to fall.

2. Friend of the friendless and the faint,
Where should I lodge my deep complaint?
Where but with Thee, whose open door
Invites the helpless and the poor?

3. Did ever mourner plead with Thee
And Thou refuse that mourner's plea?
Does not the word still fixed remain
That none shall seek Thy face in vain?

4. Fair is the lot that's cast for me;
I have an Advocate with Thee.
They whom the world caresses most
Have no such privilege to boast.

5. Poor though I be, despised, forgot,
Yet God, my God, forgets me not;
And he is safe and must succeed
For whom the Lord vouchsafes to plead.

6. Then hear, 0 Lord, my humble cry
And bend on me Thy pitying eye.
To Thee their prayer Thy people make:
Hear us for our Redeemer's sake.

Hymn #534
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Psalm 46
Author: William Cowper, 1779; st. 1-5
Author: unknown author; St. 6
Tune: "Wenn wir in hoechsten Noeten"
1st Published in: Genevan Psalter, 1547

 William Cowper

• God Moves in a Mysterious Way
• There Is a Fountain
• O For a Closer Walk with God

Hymn - Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken

"Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken"
by John Newton, 1725-1807

Tune -             - linked here

1. Glorious things of thee are spoken,
Zion, city of our God;
He whose word cannot be broken
Formed thee for His own abode.
On the Rock of Ages founded,
What can shake thy sure repose?
With salvation's walls surrounded
Thou may'st smile at all thy foes.

2. See, the streams of living waters
Springing from eternal love
Well supply thy sons and daughters
And all fear of want remove.
Who can faint while such a river
Ever flows their thirst t'assuage--
Grace, which, like the Lord, the Giver,
Never fails from age to age?

3. Round each habitation hovering,
See the cloud and fire appear,
For a glory and a covering,
Showing that the Lord is near.
Thus they march, the pillar leading,
Light by night and shade by day,
Daily on the manna feeding
Which He gives them when they pray.

4. Savior, since of Zion's city
I through grace a member am,
Let the world deride or pity,
I will glory in Thy name.
Fading is the worldling's pleasure,
All his boasted pomp and show;
Solid joys and lasting treasure
None but Zion's children know.

The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn #469
Text: Isaiah 33:20, 21; Psalm 87
Author: John Newton, 1779, ab., alt.
Composer: Joseph Barnby, 1883
Tune: "Galilean"

Purdue University President Retires - He Kept Tuition Low. One of the Few

 Salute - Purdue University president retires.

Someone wisecracked that most universities are investment companies with a college attached. The endowments - permanent piggy-banks - keep expanding while the school and tuition grows.

Augustana College in Rock Island now has tuition, board, books, and et-ceteras at $62,000 a year. They also bragged about endowment gifts, not giving the total, which is listed at $166 million.

Yale's endowment is $42 billion.

We met a Notre Dame mother who said her daughter was accepted because the family did not request any tuition help.

Notre Dame annual cost is now at $76,000.

Yale is $80,000 so ND is a bargain!

Grand Canyon University has kept tuition down, in part by becoming non-profit and no longer paying $300 million a year in taxes. They are way below Augustana, Yale, and Notre Dame.

 Sterling is the main library at Yale University. We went to see Roland Bainton there, where he had an office. He helped me with my dissertation and offered to do some xeroxing for me!

 The interior of Sterling boasted one of the largest card catalogs ever. Computers replaced them.