A conservative fraction to the nation’s largest Evangelical Lutheran denomination are planning to sever ties after Church officials voted in August to allow gay and lesbian bishops to serve.
Leaders of the Lutheron CORE said they may have a new church and constitution by August, effectively seperating the group from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.
“Many of us have spent years now struggling to call the ELCA to remain faithful to the Orthodox Christianity of the last 2,000 years,” Ryan Schwarz, one of the leaders drafting the new church, said. “While this is of course a wrenching decision, there is also a sense of hope in refocusing on our true mission, which is evangelizing the Lutheran faith.”
At their annual meeting in Minneapolis, ELCA officials voted that gay and lesbian pastors and bishops can serve openly as long as they proved they were in committed, lifelong relationships.
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– Simon Husted
