Sunday has come and gone and in one Divine Service I have switched one Lutheran denomination with problems for another Lutheran denomination with problems. I’ll get to the rationale behind that in the next post.
For now, I would like to ask for prayer for the ELCA, that it would return to the faith of its forefathers centuries ago and make wise decisions when voting during the current General Assembly. I would ask that people remember all those ELCA Lutherans, and all Lutherans in a broader sense, that have no confessional churches nearby.
There are difficult decisions for them to make on down the road, whether to stay, or to travel long distances in search of faithful Lutheran churches. Due to age, health,finances, and logistics it may not be feasible for them to travel to a traditional Lutheran church and so they are caught between a rock and a hard place. Some may not even know that there are confessional Lutheran church bodies to turn towards. Indeed, here in the East, sometimes a person can run across so many ELCA churches in an area that they can forget there are other Lutheran denominations in existence.
And I would again ask for prayers and encouragement for those pastors and laymen still in the ELCA that are contending for the Word and will continue to bear witness through whatever comes their way. May God give them the strength and wisdom through His Word to persevere in the midst of such adversity.
As bad as things might be in the LCMS, even the ELCA, I cannot imagine what it must be like as a pastor in the ECUSA trying to shepherd a congregation. Some seem determined to keep on proclaiming the repentance and the forgiveness of sins till they are kicked out for doing so. Visit Stand Firm if you want to find people so discouraged in the leadership and direction of their denomination that if they didn’t crack a few jokes and keep things lighthearted on the site, they honestly might cry. Really, those Episcopalians/Anglicans there are quite a witty and funny group.
May God strengthen us all so that we might bear faithful witness…
[...] August 2009 by Timotheos Here’s one (along with part 2). Here’s a congregation. I’ve also seen at least a couple on the Lutheran Forum [...]