The law is a ass

Mr. Bumble of Oliver Twist is one of Charles Dickens many quirky characters. Bumble is a meek little soul, dominated by an overbearing wife. But, when the magistrate informs him that he is legally responsible for her actions, that “the law supposes that your wife acts under your direction,” the brow-beaten Bumble replies, If the […]

Oh, the humanity! UPDATED

In a near sob, radio reporter Herb Morrison spoke these memorable words as the Hindenburg Zeppelin burst into flames and crashed, killing 36 helpless passengers in May of 1937. Somehow, the words seem appropriate today as we witness one teen suicide after another associated with anti-gay bullying. On an even greater scale, the suicides are […]

Dusting off your feet

The metaphor of shaking the dust off one’s feet and moving on appears in the synoptic gospels and also in one passage of Acts when Paul and his entourage are not well received in the synagogue of a Phrygian city. If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you […]

A historic day—and insignificant: UPDATED WITH VIDEO

The title of this post comes from St Paul area ELCA Synod Bishop Peter Rogness. At the Saturday press conference prior to the Rite of Reception held in St Paul, Minnesota for three lesbian pastors (Ruth Frost, Phyllis Zillhart, and Anita Hill), Bishop Rogness alluded to the obvious historic significance of the formal ELCA welcome […]

Is your congregation part of the problem or part of the solution?

Last week, former ELCA presiding bishop Herb Chilstrom asked questions of church leaders opposed to the gay friendly policies of the ELCA. Although the former bishop has taken much abuse for his comments, no critics have offered a response to the question that lingers. What will you say to your sons and daughters, sisters and […]

The unfriendlies found me!

I’ve taken a little abuse from time to time in the conservative blogosphere over posts on this blog, but the volume got amped up this weekend over my Wisdom from Herb Chilstrom article. The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau is a pan-Lutheran organization with members from both the ELCA and the Missouri Synod (LCMS). It sponsors […]

Lutherans Concerned Convention

The bienniel convention of Lutherans Concerned North America (LCNA)opened yesterday at Augsburg College in Minneapolis. LCNA is the principal LGBT advocacy group for Lutherans and several hundred gathered for the first time since the historic policy changes at the 2009 ELCA churchwide assembly. Not surprisingly, the mood was electric and celebratory. The stirring opening worship was […]

2010: the status of ELCA Lutheran—Roman Catholic ecumenical dialogue

As part of a two week, “2010 Ecumenical Journey”, ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson and his delegation recently met with Cardinal Walter Kasper at the Vatican. Cardinal Kasper is the President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity–the Vatican’s point man for ecumenical relations with other church bodies. Prior to this Vatican meeting on […]

ELCA Bishop Hanson hosts town hall meeting

Late Sunday afternoon, Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson hosted an online town hall meeting. The ELCA news service reported that 3,148 computers logged in to follow the proceedings, which were held in the old bookstore of the ELCA offices in Chicago. Participants who were present and who asked questions reported that their questions were not pre-screened. […]

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