ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson and 11 ELCA officials are on a Feb 3-17 junket to Europe. Landing first in London, Hanson spent an hour with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, who then spoke “briefly” with the others. After their photo-op with the ABC, the ELCAers are hopping over to Istanbul, Rome, and Geneva. […]
PLU: “Blatantly Stupid”
As David Virtue reports: “Ann Holmes Redding, the deposed former Episcopal priest turned Muslim convert, has landed a teaching job at Pacific Lutheran University in Seattle, which goes to show that anything is possible in this world including the blatantly stupid.” Redding reports: “I am both Muslim and Christian, just like I’m both an American of African descent […]
Eaton’s Elephant
ELCA Bishop Elizabeth Eaton (NE Ohio) frets over the deficit in her synod. She asks: Are laity redirecting their giving out of “principled or punitive” reasons? And further: “What do we do? Compete with the mega-churches? Jettison the Lord’s Prayer and the Creed to be more accessible? Preach a ‘health and wealth’ gospel that promises […]
Aitken’s Not Achin’ Over the Harm
Bishop Tom Aitken (NE MN) is all for change on gay sex. He defends the ELCA’s August 2009 vote to approve partnered GLBT clergy. He says it’s like “when the early church believers met and voted to do something totally new and scary.” Aitken was referring to the decision to allow male Gentiles, or non-Jews, […]
What a Brave Bishop
“The threat of H1N1 did not prevent Bishop Thomas Aitken (NE MN Synod) from participating in worship at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Duluth. As a precautionary measure, those in attendance were directed to check their neighbor’s temperature at regular intervals throughout the service.”