When Lutherans met in Minneapolis last summer to decide whether to allow churches to hire gay and lesbian pastors in committed relationships, former Gov. Al Quie urged church members to stay with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in…
A Minnesota pastor says his church is incorrectly listed on the website of a conservative splinter group that’s breaking away from the Evangelical Church of America (ELCA) over the church’s recent votes on homosexuality, but that group is refusing to rectify the error.
More than a dozen Lutheran congregations in Minnesota have vowed to leave the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) after a vote in Minneapolis this summer to allow gay and lesbian pastors in committed relationships to serve as…
The Rev. Nate Bjorge quit his position with the First Lutheran Church in Little Falls last week after the church voted to remain a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The ELCA, the nation’s…
Minneapolis pastor John Piper seems to have sprouted the idea that God sent a tornado to the Minneapolis Convention Center last Wednesday to express his displeasure that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America was considering relaxing its teachings on LGBT issues. But his statement has blossomed among theologians and members of the religious right chiming in with their own answers to the question: Did God send the Minneapolis tornado because Lutherans were voting on gay issues?
After hours of debate at the Minneapolis Convention Center, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) voted Friday evening to lift its ban on openly gay and lesbian clergy in committed relationships. Advocates on both sides made passionate pleas, with proponents saying the future of the church depends on a more progressive stance on homosexuality and opponents saying the decision could split the church.
It was only a matter of time before the religious right would chime in to announce that a tornado that hit parts of Minneapolis on Wednesday was a warning from God that the Lutherans should not relax doctrine related to…
Two close calls marked the third day of the General Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) on Wednesday. The nearly 2,000 people assembled at the Minneapolis Convention Center took cover as a tornado nipped the building and damaged the steeple of a Lutheran church across the street. A short time later, the 1,014 voting members passed a social statement relaxing church doctrine on homosexuality with a dramatic vote that was exactly a two-thirds majority.
Thousands of Lutherans will gather in Minneapolis on August 17 to take an historic vote on LGBT issues within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). With only weeks before the vote, delegates to the assembly are being wooed by supporters and opponents of a more welcoming church for LGBT Lutherans. If the measures pass, the ELCA would become the largest religious denomination in the United States to ordain gay pastors.
Leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will gather in Minneapolis this August for a vote on whether to become more welcoming to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Lutherans. Their decision could pave the way for gay and lesbian pastors, bring same-sex commitment ceremonies to local congregations and impact policy in a state with a large number of Lutheran elected officials.
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