{ ELCA } Lutheran Church widens its tent

MARLBOROUGH — After St. Ann’s Catholic Church was closed in 2004, Stacie LaBoissiere and her husband began looking for another spiritual home. But they ruled out joining another Catholic parish.

“My sister is a lesbian, married to a woman,” LaBoissiere explained. “I knew that I did not want to remain Catholic as a result of their views on homosexuality. I could not become a member of a church that would condemn my sister. If a church would not accept my sister, then they would not accept me.”

The couple joined Marlborough’s St. Stephen Lutheran Church, after its pastor Scott Howard reassured them that the church welcomed everyone.

Early this month, members of St. Stephen, located on Bolton Street in Marlborough, unanimously approved a move to become a “Reconciling in Christ” (RIC) congregation, which publicly extends an invitation to all, including gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) people. While the church had long welcomed a diverse group of congregants, this was the first time that the welcome mat became an official part of its identity.

“All people are welcome to be disciples of Jesus with us at St. Stephen,” said Howard in a statement announcing the move. “St. Stephen has merely made public what is already a reality in our community – the radical welcome we share with all people who are called into community and reconciliation with Jesus.”

In adopting the RIC designation, St. Stephen joins a growing number of Lutheran congregations to welcome the GLBT community, a trend that has become a divisive issue in the national Lutheran Church. The progressive Evangelical Lutheran Church in America now officially welcomes gay congregants and has installed gay pastors; in protest, conservative factions of that church have broken away from it.

Howard said his own church, which draws many of its members from Marlborough, Hudson and surrounding communities, is following its conscience.

“Naturally, there are many people throughout the country in the ELCA who are distressed with these decisions, and some congregations and individuals have left for other, more conservative traditions,” he said. “Lutherans are not troubled with disagreement, for we understand the importance of conscience when it comes to matters of faith.”

The pastor added that St. Stephen is already diverse. “While the Lutheran tradition is often stereotyped as a hotbed of Scandinavians and Germans, St Stephen currently enjoys a diverse group of disciples from various ethnic groups -- from Irish and Italian to Korean, Japanese and Indian,” said Howard.

The decision to become an RIC church was made because the church felt it needed a public declaration of its longtime philosophy. Howard said that while church members have always felt their congregation was diverse and tolerant, many people outside the church did not realize it. Through joining RIC, he said, the church hopes to reach out to people who have felt shut out by other congregations.

While Howard said the church has no openly gay members yet, it does have several members with gay relatives, who have been relieved to find a church that does not ask them to choose between their religious beliefs and their family member. “The RIC conversation began at St Stephen when those members shared the heartbreaking stories of their GLBT relatives and friends who never felt truly welcome at any Christian church,” he said.

But RIC’s welcome extends wider than that – to those who are single, divorced or separated; to the disabled and to those with different cognitive abilities.

“Although the intent of the Reconciling in Christ program was to recognize acceptance of gay, lesbian and transgender believers, we felt it unfair to single out one population in our acceptance,” said church member Krista LaPlante.

The next step is for the St. Stephen congregation council to send a letter to the RIC Grassroots Organizer to have the church officially included in the national roster of RIC congregations.

This isn't Lutheran bashing when I tell you that the closest thing you will find to a Lutheran church is the Catholic church. Where no bashing of others takes place. You know the masses are the same throughout the world, and the Eurcharist is something no one should do without.

What can make a difference in the churches are the ministries and the schools. It is worth looking into. I really love many Pentacostal Christians, but you just never what your going to get. I've gotten one too many outrageously non-Christian brothers, unqualified to act in God's name. That could just be my experience.

What ever you do please make sure your child is broght up in a stong Christian/Catholic school, or at least environment. It is more important than ever. The world will swallow them up, otherwise.

I think that was my original point.

Churches need novel ways of ministering to ‘organized sin’.

Abortion has become politicized into a social norm, and homosexuality is well on their way to it.

The Church, in response, can’t and shouldn’t cave to it. Sin is sin, so the question becomes what’s our plan as a church for reinforcing the fact that both abortion and homosexuality are both sinful, and ultimately, destructive to psyches and lives.

My belief is that making homosexual priests in ‘committed relationships’ suddenly OK by voice vote isn’t the way to go. It’s copping out.

I know an ELCA member who supports ordaining gays and gay weddings. She said, “Churches should change, to conform to society.” I said, “No, society should change, to obey the Bible.” She couldn’t tell why she disagreed with me, about that statement, of mine. We argued for about a half-hour, and neither of us changed the other person’s mind.

I had a very difficult time leaving the congregation that has been my spiritual home for the past two decades. Those people are still in my heart, but I have found a new home within the LCMS.

It’s a great, big symptom isn’t it? I hadn’t thought of the term before, but that’s exactly what we are talking about:

Organized Sin

Political organizations take formerly reprehensible sins, make the perpetrators into the victims, and then ruin the lives of anyone or any group that would oppose the effort. A parallel effort then goes into monetizing the opportunities that arise from it.

Rather than churches seeing this for what it is and dealing with it on their own terms, they are caving to what is convention. WSJ had an article about the sorry state of Psychiatry since the 1960’s, and the DSM-III played a big role in that. I believe it came out in 1978, when homosexuality was reclassified.

Well the basic accusation that Luther made was that certain clergy were giving out absolutions of sin, for money, or accepting penances of monetary value. That does not happen.

Luther was the first to leave the church, so there is a long history of so called "reformers".

Lutherans allowing homosexuals to be ministers, is sort of what Luther was complaining about in the Catholic church.

Money from homosexual lobbyists has created a nefarious influence in many churches. I guess you could say Luther's brutal attack on the church made us more impervious to these deceptions that attack all Christians. Glory to be to God for His mercy on His church. May the Blessed Mother pray for us always. Come Holy Spirit and Fill the Hearts of Your Faithfull.

That didn't really answer anything since there is no time reference to your answer.

The Pope put a price on Luther's head, probably a decent reason to not return quickly.

certain clergy were giving out absolutions of sin, for money, or accepting penances of monetary value.

Certain clergy, that's one way of looking at it. The Pope perhaps had noooo idea this was happening?

Lutherans allowing homosexuals to be ministers, is sort of what Luther was complaining about in the Catholic church.

If the elcas and the liberal Lutherans were the example of the Lutheran Confessions, I might agree with you. Fortunately, they aren't.

I guess you could say Luther's brutal attack on the church

The only thing Luther brutally attacked was the CC's sin.

Oh, I'm sorry you don't like my answer. Clearly we are all fallable. Only God is perfect.

It terms of a time references, I think it is clear that over 500 years after Luther, we are still divided.

In 2010 AD, the Lutheran Church, that Luther founded, has HOMOSEXUAL MINISTERS. The Catholic church, that Jesus founded, will NOT pretend Homosexuality is approved by God, especially in the Last Days.

I thought as much, the complaint that Luther didn't return after the CC had reformed was just so much smoke. If Trent was the reform, Luther was already dead.

Clearly we are all fallable

Unless you are the Pope under certain circumstances. I guess indulgence sales wasn't one of those times.

In 2010 AD, the Lutheran Church, that Luther founded, has HOMOSEXUAL MINISTERS.

The elca, doesn't adhere to the Lutheran Confessions, a byproduct of Luther and the Reformation. That is pretty clear since they, like the Catholic Church, adhered to man's perspective instead of the Word of God for their doctrine.

The Catholic church, that Jesus founded, will NOT pretend Homosexuality is approved by God, especially in the Last Days.

True, they just pass the pedophile priest around between dioceses.

Okay my friend. Luther attacked sin. I can't pretend to know Luther's heart, nor the Pope's heart. Luther had a problem with cc's sin, and now his church has no problem with homosexuality?

The homosexual agenda has attacked the Catholic church, probably even more so than the Lutherans. After all, Catholics are still the largest denomination of Christians in the world. They have infiltrated the church, the priesthood, yet the Doctrine remains the same, sin is not acceptable. Glory be to God. Hades will not prevail against His church. Have mercy on us dear God.

now his church has no problem with homosexuality?

Just because they say they are Lutherans, doesn't mean they follow Lutheran doctrine as laid out in the Lutheran Confessions which hasn't changed.

Do you consider Pelosi/Biden/the USCCB spokespeople for the Catholic Church? Especially this particular sin as well as abortion? I thought not. Yet they remain, where is your church discipline? Or has that changed?

Pelosi and Biden aren't ministers of the church. The are government officials who pretend to be Catholic.

USCCB is expected to uphold church doctrine, most to a great job. While their are a few liberal Bishops, they are not the final word in terms of Catholic policy. A few liberal Bishops cross the line, but nothing to the extent of promoting homosexuality as something acceptable by God, or even remotely close.

KPelosi and Biden aren't ministers of the church.

Just scandalously Catholic pretenders.

Elca isn't Lutheran either, they are a Christ-less sect pretending to be Lutheran, scandalously as well.

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