As Garrison Keillor frequently notes, “It’s been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon.”
Can’t report on the latest gossip from LCMC because the 91 members of the “Friends of LCMC” Google group apparently grew tired of my comments about their comments since they have now made their little group private, preventing outsiders like me from checking in from time to time to see what’s going on. Don’t think they’d accept me for membership.
Nothing out of the Lutheran Core camp since their March 17th release of their March newsletter. I already commented about the overall negative tone of that missive that was their list of things they dislike about the ELCA.
From the ELCA comes fairly routine news; the most recent press releases pertain to a) ecumenical advocacy days, b) HIV religious summit, c) Jerusalem Lutheran hospital, d) other middle east matters, and e) flooding of the Red River along the Minnesota – North Dakota border.
I don’t think I’ll be so bold as to suggest a return to normalcy and away from contentiousness within the ELCA, but that’s been the case this week.
I have a lot of problems with how the LCMC and CORE are trolling for congregations. They have no problems hopping on to progressive forums like this one or Facebook’s Lovin’ the Lutheran Church to remind us that we are all apostates are doing it all wrong. And I hate how it was bandied about here that an LCMC minister joked that he was going to “wreck another congregation.”
Because to people like me? They’ve destroyed our congregation. Mine has ceased to be in its current form and will never be the same regardless of our upcoming vote. I’ve been called an “ELCAer” like it is some derrogatory term like Nxxxxr or Fxxxxt.
They have no problem coming to progressive forums to try to change our minds or admonish us, but now they want a closed forum because they can’t handle the criticism?
*rolls eyes*
Sorry if I’m ranting, Obie. This has been a very frustrating process for me. I feel like my congregation has been railroaded down this path of leaving the ELCA. Our final vote is being spun in bulletins as “a meeting for the sole purpose of severing ties with the ELCA.” The ELCA’s presence has been slowly erased. We have no ELCA communication from our bulletins each week or our newsletter. For a while, the ELCA logo and links had vanished from the congregations’s website. And for those of us wishing to communicate with with the rest of the congregation, our information on bulletin boards rarely lasts 24 hours, we are denied a current mailing list with declarations of “we have been instructed not to give this to you.” We’re declared the bad guys for causing “division” among the congregants.
Wait a second, we aren’t leaving the church; the church is abandoning US.
And before anyone wants to scream 8th Commandment Violation, just stop before you start. I don’t want to hear it. (See previous rant about this flimsy excuse when one refuses to engage in meaningful dialog.)
At this point, the LCMC can have the builiding, the debt, the name and the negative cloud that now sits over my congregation. I am committed to remaining part of an ELCA presence in my town. My congregation and its ministry is more than a fancy sanctuary. We can meet in a gymnasium or theater for that matter.
So am I a little frustrated? Yes, you can say that. But thanks, Obie, for having this forum. It has been an oasis in a very bleak desert.
And in a less ranty, response, funny how you should bring up Garrison Keillor…
My husband (who is agnostic on his better days and is not involved in the Lutheran Church) and I were talking about the growing pains of my congregation the other day, and he immediately went into his best Keillor impersonation and said, “…why can’t we just get along. There’s nothing a little hot dish and lutefisk can’t cure. We should be nice to each other and respect the differences…”
Actually Garrison’s Tales from Lake Wobegon in September were quite timely. The fictitious town had a resident that was a member of 2009 CWA and had voted in favor of the social statement on sexuality. It was very conforting and insightful how this fictitious member of the assembly made his decision. If I can figure out which podcast features it, I’ll post link this weekend.
“…be good to each other,” my husband said. Pretty insightful words from a guy looking in from the outside of this process.
@Kelly
Kelly , you sound like I did about a month ago. God be with you. I still have my days but yesterday the old church needed help with the bulletin and labels for the newsletter. Since the ladies who are doing it yet were coffee pals for me when I was doing library, I went over and helped since one was sick. It was fun. I caught up on what is “really” happening over there from the janitor and found out what the other two bulletin ladies are doing– they are visiting other churches. The pastor was out of town so I didn’t get into trouble that way. Now that our vote is over, other members are kinder. A couple say “everyone has to do what they think is best.” It is over and done and the CLCW is a little shocked that a couple of their best volunteers aren’t going to help with the Salad Luncheon. But life goes on and so do I. Give yourself some time to heal. It will come.
This doesn’t surprise me as the Lutheran Core website has been only posting comments that are pro-CORE. I posted a comment two or three weeks ago on their article about the Florida not being “allowed” to leave. My comment read something to the effect of- “I find it ironic that CORE is complaining about a constitutional glitch, since it has seemed that CORE has been promoting constitutional glitches. The Florida synod was just following what their constitution allowed whether we agree it is right or wrong.” Surprisingly, that comment never made it onto the website. This has been about the third time one of my comments didn’t make it. So, no surprises.
I tried it too and didn’t get through.
All quiet on the Lutheran front? You think it might just also be due to the fact that Holy Week is upon us? Seven services between tomorrow and Easter Sunday. Much to contemplate re Christ’s passion, not to mention Confirmation on Palm/Passion Sunday, reception of new members by baptism and affirmation of faith at the Easter Vigil a week from tonight, etc. etc. Add it all up and the present trials come into clearer perspective, regardless of where one stands on the issues du jour. It’s been a Lent like no other. Pray now for a Holy Week and an Easter like no other, full of grace and truth spoken in love.
Oh, oh, the April issue of The Lutheran just arrived. You can guess what the cover story is about. Kudos to the staff for at least attempting to cover an issue in which no one will be entirely happy with the magazine’s response. Whether The Lutheran is purely a “house organ” as the official magazine of the ELCA, or whether it has the journalistic freedom/independence to fully cover these matters, remains to be seen. Give ’em credit for trying.
Back to Holy Week … talk to you all on the other side of these Holy Days.
I believe The Lutheran has done a good job over the past several years covering the events of our church. It is my opinion from having visited with several of the staff from the Lutheran that they are independent. However I don’t think anyone would be surprised that the staff of The Lutheran would favor the actions of the CWA. I agree, people on both sides will claim they did not cover the topic as they had wished. However that is the world we live in today. The “Good News” for all o f us is this, Easter is just a week away!