At the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, voting members adopted revised ministry policies and a human sexuality statement. Changed ministry policies will soon allow clergy in a lifelong, monogamous same-gender relationship, and the sexuality social statement recognizes the positive in both gay and straight relationships. Both actions were supported by Goodsoil and opposed by Lutheran Core. That is, Goodsoil was the pro-LGBT advocacy group present during the 2009 Convention while Lutheran Core was there as the opposition advocacy group. Goodsoil was the coalition of several LGBT groups, especially Lutherans Concerned / North America (LCNA), and Core is closely affiliated with the WordAlone Network.
Since the Convention, Lutheran Core has continued to agitate against the ELCA decisions, and their website / blog provides an outlet for their views. Today’s Core blog post reports that a well-heeled private foundation, Arcus, provided significant financial support to LCNA in the past few years.
This is hardly surprising since the website of Arcus states:
The Mission of the Arcus Foundation is to achieve social justice that is inclusive of sexual orientation, gender identity and race …
The following is my response to Core’s post:
And your point is?
Shocking, I say, shocking, that a rich person(s) with a pro-LGBT attitude helped pay the salaries of LCNA staff, Goodsoil Headquarters suite rental at the Mpls Convention Center, printing of literature, etc., etc.
Was the Lutheran Core hospitality room at the convention free? Who paid for the drinks and hors d’oeuvres and handouts and video presentations?
Your post contains a lot of quotes but no premise. Is one implied? Are you whining that Core did not receive equivalent financial support? Are you envious of the Goodsoil efforts? Is this a fundraising post? If so, perhaps you should include your “Donate” button.
Do you imply something sinister? Perhaps now would be a good time to repeat Nestingen’s [Core spokesperson] false claim, quoted on your website, that “the hallways and the back of the assembly fill up with gay advocates bussed in to influence the voters using, commonly enough, intimidation up to and including physical threats.” You know what they say about repeating a lie often enough.
Again, I ask, what’s your point?
If you noticed, your comments were removed from the CORE website.
@Justin
I hadn’t noticed, but I guess I’m a persona non grata. I do try to respect their point of view, in a bound conscience sort of way, but that doesn’t mean allowing a bully to kick sand in one’s face. As long as they choose to publish falsehoods and mean spirited innuendo, I will call them on it.