Culture

Conservative Lutherans ponder leaving main church

by smkovalinsky | September 27, 2009 at 06:45 am

200 views | 24 Recommendations | 3 comments

Citing heresy and postmodern scriptural interpretation, conservative members of the Lutheran Church's largest denomination have voted to consider splitting from the main church due to its acceptance of gay clergy.

The vote took place on Saturday, September 26, in a suburb of Indianapolis, and decided that the next year will be given over to debating the decision to split finally from the main church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.

Therapists and pastors have been in agreement that being gay is no block to spiritual growth. This may be a generational debate as well, with older and more conservative members of the church unable to acclimate to the new understandings of human sexuality and spirit.

Formerly, gays were allowed in the Lutheran Church as clergy on the condition that they remained celibate. Recently, it was stated that gay clergy in committed relationships would be allowed to practice in the Lutheran denominations, and this is what has sparked off new debate. The ELCA - Evangelical Lutheran Church of America - last year formed a task force to study the ramifications of practicing gays as active members of the clergy.

About 1,200 people meeting in suburban Indianapolis approved a constitution for the conservative umbrella group Lutheran CORE and a resolution directing its steering committee to report back in a year on whether to stay within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, form their own denomination or join another.
Some members urged the assembly to more quickly sever ties with the 4.7-million member ELCA after the vote last month to allow gays and lesbians in committed relationships to serve as clergy, dropping a requirement that gay clergy remain celibate.

"Some congregations already have voted to leave ELCA," CORE's chairman, the Rev. Paull Spring of State College, Pa., said at a news conference afterward. "Others have not voted or do not intend to leave ELCA."

Spring and other CORE leaders said their decision a year from now could lead to a reconfiguration of Lutheranism in the United States and Canada.

CORE's meeting this year drew much more interest than the one in 2008, when about 300 people attended. For this year's meeting. CORE had to move to a Roman Catholic church that could hold about 1,000 people, and the group cut off registrations at 1,200.

Participants said they believe the ELCA has reinterpreted Scripture to portray homosexuality more favorably.

"It's totally against what's in the Bible," said Jo Pruett, who said attendance at her ELCA congregation in Rockdale, Texas, has fallen off in recent years because of "waffling" by the denomination. "We're interpreting the Bible to suit society today."

The 71-year-old Spring, a pastor for 44 years, received a standing ovation Friday night when he said the ELCA "has fallen into heresy." On Saturday, he said the ovation was bittersweet.

"That's a very sad thing, to be a church that you belong to your entire life, that now really has fallen in heresy. This has been a great personal struggle," Spring said.

1 See all footage | View Slideshow

Share: email story | add to any | | facebook | stumbleupon

recommend Add a comment

albertacowpoke

at 06:53 on September 27th, 2009

Thanks for this important story. It is indeed a generational debate.

Hugh Askew

at 18:34 on October 3rd, 2009

Generational? The apostle Paul dealt with the issue 1900+ years ago. It was never an issue until many of the mainstream churches decided that to be "progressive", they had to agree with whatever was cause was fashionable in the secular world.

Interesting that the churches that failed to cave to the secular, have seen dynamic growth, whilst the mainline churches are fading away.