Free Republic

The story goes like this – Lutheran Social Services is working out of the love of Christ to bring Somali refugees to MN in order to help them escape extreme poverty. That may be true in some regards, but the money involved is difficult to ignore. For example, in an article last month, 89% of the money is coming from government grants used to pay high salaries. “That supposedly ‘Christian’ charitable organization is directly responsible for the high Somali numbers in St. Cloud, and they are jointly responsible for bringing over ten thousand Somalis from around the world to colonize...

If you are angry (about the tension in St. Cloud) and want one entity to blame, it is Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, the primary federal refugee resettlement agency working in St. Cloud! That supposedly 'Christian' charitable organization is directly responsible for the high Somali numbers in St. Cloud, and they are jointly responsible for bringing over ten thousand Somalis from around the world to colonize Minnesota towns in the last ten years alone--Catholic Charities and World Relief MN (now Arrive Ministries)*** helped also. Of course they have brought many more than 10,000 in over two decades and not just...

The Rev. Joseph G. Crippen is the senior pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church, a small Lutheran church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. (ELCA) According to his church bio, he is a “gifted presider, counselor, and preacher who’s passionate about proclaiming God’s love for all people and serving the church as it seeks to faithfully pursue its mission.” During a recent sermon on the gospel reading in Matthew 3, Crippen puts John the Baptist on blast, condemning him as a hate-filled, violence-encouraging, anti-Jesus bigot, and comparing his rhetoric criticizing the Pharisees and...

A liberal Lutheran pastor and activist in Wisconsin resigned after his bishop told him endorsing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., for president in a Sunday sermon would violate denominational guidelines. Former Pastor Jonathan Barker resigned from Grace Lutheran Church in Kenosha and shed his credentials as a minister in the progressive Mainline Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, according to a letter from Bishop Paul D. Erickson of the Greater Milwaukee Synod.Erickson said he learned last Wednesday that Barker, 41, was planning to preach a sermon endorsing Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the informal far-left faction in the U.S. House of Representatives known...

Pilgrim Lutheran Church in St Paul, MN, is a trainwreck of a congregation. Led by impastor Jen Rome, they are an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) congregation that exemplifies all the most heretical parts of the denomination. Notably, a recent article by RNS identified this as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s (who is Kamala Harris’ radical Vice President pick) denomination and parish. The church, which checks off all the usual pro-choice/ pro-LGBTQ boxes, uses the “Inclusive Bible” for all scripture readings and say they are committed to: * Antiracism work, de-centering whiteness, and making reparations for race violence * LGBTQIA+...

Prominent Hitler apologist and despiser of all things non-white, Corey J. Mahler, is about to be yet again condemned by his former denomination, with the Iowa District East of the LCMS voting on a resolution to condemn him and his podcast in the upcoming year. Mahler is a two-bit “theologian” with a few thousand Twitter followers who occasionally gets noticed after one of his particularly offensive tweets goes viral, as well as the co-host of the openly racist podcast Stone Choir. When he’s not posting memes crushing on his beloved Führer, Mahler is giving folks ample evidence of why he’s...

Libertarian Party of Tennessee Chair Josiah Baker wrote on Tuesday that he opposes the Libertarian Party presidential ticket of Chase Oliver and Mike Ter Maat, and is instead endorsing an alternate ticket of Clint Russell and Josie Glabach. In an opinion article shared via the Libertarian Party of Tennessee’s X account, Baker expressed his belief that the Libertarian ticket of Chase Oliver and Mike ter Maat does not align with the values and goals of the LPTN. He cited several primary reason for his opposition to the campaign, including his view that Oliver is a weak advocate for the Second...

Christian activists will show people this Saturday how to turn weapons of violence into instruments of peace using a hammer − and some faith − to forge guns into garden tools. The event, hosted by Delaware and Maryland churches belonging to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, is an effort to get people to think differently about guns and how to handle conflict without violence. The "Youtherans," young people who attend Lutheran churches in Delaware and Maryland, are also organizing this free event at St. Mark's Lutheran Church, north of Wilmington. "It's to say that there's a different way," said...

House of Prayer Lutheran Church is a woke congregation in Richfield, MN. Led by impastor Eric Luedtke, it is a gay-affirming church that is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), easily one of the most Christ-hating denominations in the world, whose theological malfeasance we’ve covered many times on this site, including this small sampling: ELCA Releases Hilariously Woke DEI Recommendations For their Denomination Gay ELCA Pastor Tells Pro-Choice Congregants ‘Your Church Stands With You. Your Rage is Holy’ ELCA Leader in a Polyamorous/’Ethically Non-Monogamous’ Relationship Queer ELCA Pastrix Ordained With Drag Queen Nuns While Jennifer Knapp Serenades...

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said on "FOX & Friends" Thursday that President Biden and VP Harris are embracing the "loon wing" of the Democratic Party that supports open borders. Kennedy said Republicans are "as serious as a heart attack" about demanding border security measures to go along with funding for Ukraine. JOHN KENNEDY: President Biden is in political trouble. His poll numbers are practically on the ocean floor. 70% of the American people think his first car was a chariot. At times, his vice president talks like she's from outer space. Part of the reason is that the president and...

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s (ELCA) top bishop has formally apologized on behalf of the denomination to a delegation from a Spanish-speaking “Latine” congregation whose pastor was abruptly fired last year by a transgender bishop. “This is an opportunity to remind ourselves of all of the anti-racist commitments and apologies we have made as a church and to offer a public recommitment to become an anti-racist church,” Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton told voting members at the denomination’s Churchwide Assembly in Columbus, Ohio. The August 8-12 Assembly included a series of apologies for systemic racism as well as for mistreatment...

America's first openly transgender bishop resigned last week amid allegations of racism after firing the Puerto Rican pastor of a predominantly Latino congregation during an important Hispanic holiday. Rev. Megan Rohrer, 42, who uses the pronouns 'they,' said that the 'constant misinformation, bullying and harassment' led to their resignation from the Sierra Pacific Synod, overseeing 200 congregations in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern California and northern Nevada. Rohrer was elected in May 2021 to serve a six-year term. The bishop faced allegations of racism after they called the police on a church member and her child, which church investigators...

(RNS) — The presiding bishop of the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States has asked its first transgender bishop to resign amid criticism over their removal of the pastor of a Hispanic congregation on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe in December. RELATED: As the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe approaches, the Virgin Mary inspires community In a written statement published Friday (May 27), Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, announced she had requested Bishop Megan Rohrer’s resignation from the denomination’s Sierra Pacific Synod. Eaton’s request comes after the Sierra Pacific Synod...

A newly-ordained pastor from Chicago is dressing up in drag in order to lead church services with children. Aaron Musser, who was ordained this summer, can be seen addressing children from a pulpit in his church dressed in a blonde wig, white dress, and makeup before spreading the word of the Lord to children at his parish at St. Luke's Lutheran Church of Logan Square. The event took place last Sunday, and saw Musser read a religious book about Joy to a group of children. 'I have an awesome story to share with you today,' Musser could be heard telling...

In 251 A.D., a young woman resisted the sexual advances of Quintian, a Roman proconsul. Her resistance cost her a sentence in a local brothel and, eventually, her life. Before she died, she was subjected to tortures that included having her breasts torn off by pinchers. To the end, she refused to give in to the sexual predator who sought to force her to repudiate her Christian faith. St. Agatha's endurance despite the tortures inflicted on her, including being deprived of one of the chief markers of her femininity, earned her a spot among the numerous Catholic saints who refused...

CHICAGO — The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), joined leaders from the National Council of Churches (NCC) in an open letter to Vice President Mike Pence, members of Congress and the Cabinet, calling for the removal of President Donald Trump from office. The letter states: "Our faith instructs us to take seriously positions of leadership, not to lead others astray and to be careful about what we say and do. "For the good of the nation, so that we might end the current horror and prepare the way for binding up...

Nadia Bolz-Weber is ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), a fast declining liberal Mainline Protestant denomination. Heavily tattooed and often obscene, she’s different from typical Mainline clerics. Formerly pastor of a small Denver church she founded, she’s a fairly popular writer and speaker. Wikipedia calls her a “public theologian.” Ostensibly her vulgarity makes her more authentic. Perhaps she was being authentic when she recently tweeted to her 93,000 followers a pic of her middle finger aimed at a metro Denver bakery, declaring: “My 12-step program is next door to Masterpiece Cake Shop (of anti-gay fame) so as...

Norway's Lutheran Church voted on Monday in favor of new ceremonial language that will allow its pastors to conduct same-sex marriages, bringing it into line with several other mainstream Protestant denominations abroad. Last April the annual conference of the Church - to which nearly three quarters of Norwegians said in 2015 they belonged - backed the principle of same-sex marriages, but did not agree on a wording.. Monday's decision involved modifying the marriage text to make it gender-neutral, removing the words "bride" and "groom". The new liturgy will come into effect on Wednesday. In 2015 the French Protestant Church allowed...

Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson and his running mate Bill Weld have a master plan in place “to change history” and win the 2016 election. The pair maintain that quirky political circumstances, voting variables and polling inaccuracies could play in their favor. . . . This situation presents “a clear and realistic strategy” for the third party should the election end up being sent to the House of Representatives, as per established protocols, say the Libertarian gents.

Former Gov. Jesse Ventura says he’s backing Sen. Bernie Sanders in his bid for president. In a blog post on his independent media site, Ventura praised Sanders for challenging Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Party nomination. “I think what Bernie Sanders is doing is extremely healthy,” Ventura wrote. “I love the idea of somebody throwing a fly in the ointment.” This isn’t the first time Ventura backed a presidential candidate looking to shake up the system. In 2008 and 2012, Ventura backed Republican Ron Paul for president. In 2004, Ventura backed Democrat John Kerry against Republican President George W. Bush....