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| 2013 began to promote ELCA female bishops. |
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| These recent ELCA bishops claimed the Holy Spirit was locked in their closet. |
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| God picked her up and kissed her. |
LOUISVILLE — As registration continues for the popular Stewardship Kaleidoscope Conference, to be held Sept. 22-24 in New Orleans, the planning team welcomes the Rev. Dr. Becca Ehrlich, DMin, to the speaker platform.
Ehrlich, an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and author of the 2021 book “Christian Minimalism: Simple Steps for Abundant Living,” will give the closing keynote address as well as lead the conference’s final service of worship on Wednesday, Sept. 24. She replaces the Rev. Dr. Katrina Foster, who withdrew from conference leadership following her May 3 election as bishop of the Metropolitan New York Synod of the ELCA.
“We are so excited that Pastor Becca is able to join us for Stewardship Kaleidoscope 2025,” said the Rev. Timothy J. Brown, the ELCA’s Director of Congregational Stewardship and a member of the conference’s all-volunteer planning team. “She is a great preacher who approaches stewardship from a minimalist perspective.”
Themed “Stewardship: The Art of Resiliency,” this year’s conference will be held live at the Sheraton Canal Street in New Orleans. To enable broader participation, a virtual attendee registration option will once again be available.
In addition to attending diverse plenary sessions and worship experiences, on-site conference participants will be able to choose from dozens of workshops, including one taught by Ehrlich. Virtual attendees will be able to attend livestreamed and recorded plenaries and worship, and will also have access to eight workshops, four of which will be available via be livestream.
In addition to Ehrlich, featured keynote speakers and preachers this year include...
Nota bene
The ELCA pastor, above, is replacing the original speaker below, who is now an ELCA bishop. Couldn't they find a Presbyterian speaker?
Rev. Dr. Katrina Foster, DMin
Her time at Fordham was not without its controversy, however. In 2007, after she disclosed that she had married a woman in a religious ceremony (gay marriage was not legal at the time) and that the two were raising a child together, Pastor Foster, along with other gay and lesbian clergy, faced the possibility of being defrocked by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The country’s largest Lutheran denomination, it then permitted openly gay pastors to serve but prohibited them from being in same-sex relationships. (Eventually, Pastor Foster was allowed to stay in the church; she and her partner are now legally married. The church itself has since closed.)
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| Female bishops in ELCA went viral, thanks to the scope, energy, enthusiasm, and gifts of Elizabeth Eaton, part-time ELCA bishop. |
