Court OKs Firing Lesbian by Mo. Catholic Diocese

A Missouri judge has ruled in favor of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City–St. Joseph in a summary judgment order regarding the case of lesbian Colleen Simon suing for being fired in May 2014 from the St. Francis Xavier Parish food pantry for espousing her same-sex "marriage," which the Diocese said "contradicts Church laws, discipline, and teaching and the diocesan Policy on Ethics and Integrity in Ministry."

“[Because Ms. Simon's claims are] essentially religious questions, this Court shall instead rely on the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.”
-- Judge Kenneth R. Garrett III, Jackson County Circuit Court

For background, read about the 2012 Supreme Court precedent giving churches First Amendment rights in employment decisions.

However, last year Massachusetts Court Rules Catholic School Must Hire Homosexuals

Click headlines below to read previous articles:

Pennsylvania Catholic School's Secret Lesbian Fired

Fired Pregnant Lesbian Sues Montana Catholic School

Lesbians Sue Christian School for Biblical Beliefs

Also read how Catholic schools are being attacked across America by their own parishioners for firing homosexuals.

-- From "Church Settles With Gay Married Worker Who Was Fired" by Dan Margolies, KCUR-FM89.3 (NPR in Kansas City, MO) 2/18/16

Terms of the settlement with Colleen Simon, a former church food pantry worker, were not disclosed. But the settlement came two days after a Jackson County judge threw out her fraud claim against the church but declined to throw out two other claims alleging violations of Missouri’s service letter statute and Missouri’s minimum wage law.

Jack Smith, a spokesman for the diocese, said the church “just decided to settle” on those other counts.

E.E. Keenan and Sonal Bhatia, the husband-and-wife team who represented Simon, said the parties had resolved the case “to their mutual satisfaction.”

[Judge] Garrett said that inquiring into that claim “would impermissibly entangle the Court in matters and decisions purely canonical, since the Court must necessarily examine the religious views and practices of the Diocese in an attempt to perceive the reasonableness of Plaintiff’s reliance on the Diocese’s representations.”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Court affirms diocese’s freedom to operate according to Catholic teaching" by Alliance Defending Freedom staff 2/18/16

The court ruled that the First Amendment’s guarantee of the free exercise of religion means the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City–St. Joseph is free to make its employment decisions without court interference. Alliance Defending Freedom [ADF] attorneys representing the diocese filed a motion for summary judgment last year asking for this result.

“A church isn’t obligated to employ those who act contrary to the church’s teachings. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed this as recently as four years ago,” said ADF Senior Counsel Erik Stanley. “The district court was on very firm constitutional ground to reject this attempt to drag the government into a church’s theological decisions – the very line the First Amendment says the government cannot cross.”

“If churches are forced to employ people who do not follow the religious teachings of those churches, the church will no longer be able to minister consistently or freely in accordance with its faith,” added ADF Legal Counsel Jeremiah Galus.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Church pantry worker fired for being a lesbian sues Catholic diocese" by Mark Morris, The Kansas City Star 7/17/14

Colleen Simon alleges in her lawsuit that she had told two priests at St. Francis Xavier Church that she was married to another woman and they had informed her that her sexual orientation would not be a problem.

However, an April [2014] article in The Kansas City Star’s 816 news magazine mentioned her marriage to the Rev. Donna Simon of St. Mark Hope and Peace Lutheran Church. Within a month, Colleen Simon had been fired at [Bishop Robert J.] Finn’s direction, she alleges.

She said the church fraudulently encouraged her to take the food pantry position at St. Francis Xavier in July 2013, knowing the diocese had no intention of keeping its commitments to her.

Colleen Simon alleges in her lawsuit that she mentioned her sexual orientation to the priest at St. Francis Xavier during a job interview in May 2013. The priest purportedly “was nonplussed, and expressed no objection to Ms. Simon’s sexual orientation or her relationship with Donna,” the suit alleges.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Just Keep It Out of the Newspapers ..." by Kevin Koeninger, Courthouse News Service 7/22/14

The plaintiff and Donna Simon were married in Iowa, as same-sex marriages are illegal in Missouri.

During a face-to-face interview, Simon says, she told the first pastor that she and her wife were "well known in the community, and were known to be an open, out, married couple in the community."

In January 2014, after the pastor who had interviewed her moved away, Simon says she revealed her sexual orientation to the new pastor of St. Francis Xavier, who "looked surprised. He said 'Oh, okay. It's okay.'"

Simon says the pastor of St. Francis Xavier [later] emailed her, expressing concern about the information in the [Kansas City Star] article, and also called the reporter and "asked [her] if she was a Catholic, and when the reporter answered that she was not, the new pastor stated to her that she didn't know what she had done."

"The new pastor stated that now that Ms. Simon's marital status was public, he had no choice but to ask her to submit a letter of resignation," the complaint states.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Lesbian Files Suit Against Missouri Catholic Diocese, Says She Was Fired for Marrying a Woman" by Michael Gryboski, Christian Post Reporter 7/22/14

In late June [2014], the diocesan Human Resources Director Bob Roper informed Simon of her dismissal from her position at St. Francis Xavier.

Provided to CP by Diocese Director of Communications Jack Smith, the letter explained that she was being terminated for being involved in a gay marriage.

"The reason … was based upon an irreconcilable conflict between the laws, discipline, and teaching of the Catholic Church and your relationship — formalized by an act of marriage in Iowa — to a person of the same-sex," wrote Roper to Simon.

A representative of Simon provided The Christian Post with a copy of the lawsuit, filed in Circuit Court of Jackson County, Missouri, at the Independence Courthouse.

. . . [Simon's demands] according to the suit, include "all economic loss, including unpaid wages and fringe benefit; nominal and/or statutory damages for violation of the Missouri Service Letter Law; the costs of this action; and any other and further legal and/or equitable relief that this court deems just and proper."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

And read Gay Agenda will be Complete when Christians are Muzzled, Say Homosexualists and read Senator Ted Cruz Says the Gay Agenda Ends Christian Liberty

Liberal 'Churches' Conforming to Decadent Culture

As same-sex "marriage" is legalized in very limited areas of America, leaders of "churches" that have abandoned scriptural authority pursue a variety of avenues to incorporate sexual deviancy.

For background, read Episcopalians Go Gay, Some Go Catholic and also read Presbyterians Vote Yea on Gay 'Clergy' as well as Methodists Ignore Own Rules re: Lesbian Pastor

-- From "Churches debate whether to marry gays" by Rachel Zoll, Associated Press Religion Writer 7/16/11

The decision is especially complex in the mainline Protestant denominations that have yet to fully resolve their disagreements over the Bible and homosexuality. Many have taken steps toward acceptance of gay ordination and same-gender couples without changing the official definition of marriage in church constitutions and canons. With the exception of the United Church of Christ, which approved gay marriage six years ago, none of the larger mainline churches has a national liturgy for same-sex weddings or even blessing ceremonies.

Just last Sunday, the Presbyterian Church formally lifted barriers to ordination for gays and lesbians who are not celibate, although individual congregations had been hiring gay pastors and conducting same-sex blessing ceremonies for years. . . .

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America formally abolished a celibacy requirement for gay and lesbian clergy more than a year ago, but still defines marriage as between one man and one woman.

The Episcopal Church blazed a trail, and enraged fellow Anglicans worldwide, in 2003 by consecrating the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. . . . Episcopalians are drafting prayers for blessing same-gender couples that advocates hope will be accepted next year by the General Convention.

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.

Also read Liberal 'Churches' Continue to Wither

UPDATE 7/28/15: Gay Agenda Destroys Everything it Contacts

Pagans, Liberal 'christians' Celebrate Earth on Good Friday

With today's convergence of the Christian recognition of Good Friday, and the modern pagan celebration of Earth Day, the divergence of reverence could not be more distinct: Those who worship the Creator, and those who worship the creation.

For background, read Evangelicals Warn of Cult of Environmentalism and also read Environmentalist 'christians' Say Man Controls Nature, Not God

-- From "Good Friday and Earth Day: Freedom and Slavery" by Anthony J. Sadar and Susan T. Cammarata, American Thinker 4/22/11

The two occasions could not be more dissimilar.

The message and acts of Jesus focused on people. And, in addition to love and grace, freedom was one of his main evangels. This freedom was from all ungodly yokes, which includes the sacrosanct norms and standards of today's progressive environmentalism.

While familiarity with the structure and strictures of world religions is quite common, familiarity with environmentalism as religion is not as common. Progressive environmentalism from its modern inception in 1962 with Rachel Carson's Silent Spring quickly emerged as a kind of faith that rivals the traditional religions of the world. It has all the trappings of a religion including a god (Mother Earth or Gaia); holy writs (Silent Spring, The Population Bomb); mantras ("Love your Mother," "Save the Planet"); doctrines (capitalism and industrialization are evil; socialism and eating low on the food chain are righteous); dead saints (John Muir, Rachel Carson); and, of course, holidays. Besides Earth Day, there is the U.N. sponsored World Environment Day on June 5 and World Ozone Day on September 5, among others.

No sensible, caring person denies that good stewardship is required for the wise use of natural resources and arable lands. However, what has arisen with progressive environmentalism is a careless denial of the sensible.

To read the entire opinion column above, CLICK HERE.

From "Christians reflect on Good Friday/Earth Day concurrence" by ENInews, postd at The Christian Century 4/21/11

[Liberal "christian" Earth Day] Proponents say that planting trees and meditating on ways humanity has wounded the earth can parallel devotions that mark Jesus' sacrifice, but opponents say that a political message, even a pagan one, is being pushed onto sacred territory.

"This year's Earth Day falls on Good Friday. This is a right and appropriate occasion to remember the cross, which was made out of trees, leads us from bondage to liberation, death to life," said the National Council of Churches in India, which groups 30 Orthodox and Protestant churches.

Earth Day has been observed on 22 April since 1970 and is considered one of the seminal events in the modern environmental movement; Good Friday is on a different date each year since it moves according to the observance of Easter.

In the U.S., the Episcopal Church, based in New York, has compiled resources for incorporating earth-care themes into services and celebrations, according to Episcopal News Service.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Episcopal Church: This Good Friday, let’s celebrate Earth Day" by Chris Moody, The Daily Caller 4/7/11

Two of the world’s holiest religious holidays are set to fall on April 22 this year — Good Friday for Christians and Earth Day for environmentalists — and some religious leaders are preparing their flocks to celebrate both.

The Episcopal Church’s office of Economic and Environmental Affairs released a statement urging followers to stay mindful of global warming, recycling and reducing carbon dioxide emissions while celebrating the ancient Christian holiday in 2011.

The church set up a website for the celebration of Earth Day, complete with links to resources on how to best get involved on the extra special day.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Abilene faithful, others discuss Good Friday, Earth Day convergence" by Brian Bethel, Abilene Reporter-News (Texas) 4/21/11

"This year Earth Day falls within Holy Week, specifically on Good Friday, a profound coincidence," said Mike Schut, the economic and environmental affairs officer of the Episcopal Church, in a statement.

To "fully honor Earth Day," he said, Christians must reclaim the theology that "knows Earth is very good."

"On Good Friday, the day we mark the crucifixion of Christ, God in the flesh, might we suggest that when Earth is degraded, when species go extinct, that another part of God's body experiences yet another sort of crucifixion — that another way of seeing and experiencing God is diminished?" Schut said.

"Good Friday is indeed Earth Day, for we of faith realize anew ... the cost of God loving this world," said Cliff Stewart, pastor of First Central Presbyterian Church.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Good Friday: Google Celebrates Earth, Ignores Jesus" by Erin R. Brown, Culture and Media Institute 4/22/11

For nearly 2,000 years, Christians and Catholics around the world have celebrated the day Jesus Christ died upon the cross at Calvary for the sins of the world - but by looking at Google, you wouldn't know that today is that day. Google's homepage, famous for its ever changing logo to reflect important holidays, accomplishments and achievements, is not displaying any acknowledgement of the Christian holiday known as 'Good Friday.'

The company has instead decided to portray its logo hidden in a lush animated garden to commemorate 'Earth Day.' Earth Day, while internationally recognized as a day for the eco-friendly and environmentally conscious, was concocted 41 years ago, born out of the anti-war hippy movement and spawned in part by Rachel Carson's book, 'Silent Spring.'

The Culture and Media Institute found that 65 percent of stories that discussed 'Easter' among network evening news shows in 2010 were negative, and 91 percent of those stories connected the holiday with the pedophilia scandal that surrounded the Catholic Church. Not surprisingly, every Earth Day story that ABC, CBS, and NBC nightly news shows broadcasted were glowingly positive about saving Mother Earth.

To read the entire opinion column above, CLICK HERE.

From "Google Doodle celebrates Earth Day" by Relaxnews 4/22/11

Google has frequently added images to its homepage to mark significant events; recent Google Doodles were created to mark the 50th anniversary of the first man in space on April 12 and Charlie Chaplin's birthday on April 16.

Now in its 41st year, Earth Day is an international environmental campaign aimed at raising awareness of climate change. Celebrities, businesses and individuals around the world are supporting the campaign through a series of events.

The organizers behind Earth Day are also encouraging individuals to publically pledge to do an environmentally friendly action, such as recycle more, as part of Earth Day's Billion Acts of Green campaign. The organizers hope they can collect a billion public pledges before the global Earth Summit in Rio in 2012.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read Environmentalism Greatest Threat to Civilization

Liberal 'Churches' Continue to Wither

While mainline Protestant churches in the U.S. continue to experience decades-long decline, the memberships of Pentecostal traditions are on the rise, according to new figures compiled by the National Council of Churches.

"To paraphrase a biblical passage, to those who have, more is being given, and those who have little have less."

-- From "Evangelical Churches Still Growing, Mainline Protestantism In Decline" by Richard Yeakley, Religion News Service (Huffington Post) 2/15/11

The Roman Catholic Church (No. 1) and the Southern Baptist Convention (No. 2) are still significantly larger than all other North American denominations, but Catholics posted minimal growth of less than 1 percent, and Southern Baptist membership fell for a third straight year [by less than half a percent], according to the 2011 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches.

Mainline Protestant churches that have seen a fall in membership since the 1970s continued their decline. . .

The membership declines in mainline churches led to a 1 percent decrease in total U.S. church membership, to 145.8 million.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Gains, losses continue" by Peter Smith, Louisville Courier-Journal 2/14/11

Historic Protestant denominations continued their long-term decline in the most recent annual survey of religious membership, while Catholics, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses and some Pentecostals reported continued growth.

Several of the council’s most active denominations, as it turns out, are declining. They include the nation’s largest Presbyterian, Episcopal, Lutheran and Methodist denominations, the United Church of Christ and the American Baptist Churches (USA). While some critics have long cited liberal influences for these churches’ decline, some conservative denominations also saw declines, including the Southern Baptist Convention and the Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod). All have a largely white, Anglo constituency — a demographic that is aging and shrinking in proportion to minority populations in the United States.

For a list of the stats, and to read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Liberal churches losing ground in the US" by William Donohue, President of Catholic League 2/16/11

Beginning with the work of Dean Kelly in the 1970s, it has been empirically obvious that those religions which have experienced the greatest proportionate decline in membership are generally the most progressive or liberal in their teachings; conversely, conservative-oriented religions have fared comparatively well. The latest data from the Yearbook proves this to be true again.

With the exception of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, and to some extent the American Baptist Churches, all the other churches with declining membership hold liberal views on abortion and gay rights.

Moreover, the smallest decline among the Baptist churches was registered by the most conservative among them, the Southern Baptist Convention (down .42). By sharp contrast, all the religions that experienced a growth in membership are pro-life and pro-marriage (normatively understood).

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read, 'Gay Churches' Decline as Mainlines Embrace Homosexuality

Sky Falling on Dying Apostate 'Churches'

Is God sending a message to a mainline Protestant church when the ceiling collapses during Sunday services, injuring more than a dozen pew occupants?

-- From "Congregations struggle in aging, decaying churches" by Tom Breen, Associated Press 7/14/10

Caring for old church facilities is an increasingly acute problem, particularly for mainline Protestant denominations. As membership declines and budgets shrink, the beautiful edifices of American Christianity can feel like weights dragging down churches that are forced to spend money on maintenance and repairs instead of ministry, charity and other Gospel-derived imperatives.

. . . decline in fortune is mirrored among Protestant denominations like the [ELCA] Lutherans, [PCUSA] Presbyterians and [ECUSA] Episcopalians, [United Methodists, and United Church of Christ,] which have seen membership drop in recent decades while the average age of remaining worshippers gets older.

"A lot of these churches have shrunk from 500 members to 100 members, or from 800 members to 200 members," said Robert Jaeger, executive director of the Partnership for Sacred Places. "They look at the trend lines and they see the decline in membership and wonder, 'Gosh, in 10 or 15 years are we going to be gone?'"

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.

Sexually Deviant Pastors OK in Presbyterian Church

The PCUSA convention voted to accept clergy actively involved in homosexual activity, but the votes were split about defining marriage as "two people."

UPDATE 5/10/11: Presbyterians Vote Yea on Gay 'Clergy'

-- From "Presbyterians continue to be divided over gays" by Patrick Condon, Associated Press 7/9/10

Delegates to the Presbyterian church's convention in Minneapolis voted Thursday for a more liberal policy on gay clergy but decided not to redefine marriage in their church constitution to include same-sex couples. Approval of both measures could have made the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) one of the most gay-friendly major Christian churches in the U.S.

Even the more liberal stance on gay clergy faces more debate before it can become church policy. A majority of the church's 173 U.S. presbyteries must approve it. Two years ago — after years of efforts by supporters — a similar measure was sent out to presbyteries but died when 94 of them voted against it.

Both of Thursday's votes were close. Fifty-one percent of delegates voted to shelve the proposal to redefine marriage as being between "two people" instead of between "a man and a woman," just hours after 53 percent of them voted to allow non-celibate gays in committed relationships to serve as clergy.

On Friday, delegates voted down a motion to reconsider the marriage vote. It needed a two-thirds majority to come back to the floor and got just 40 percent. Gay rights supporters must wait two years until the next general assembly for another shot.

Several major Christian denominations have voted in recent years to allow non-celibate gays to serve as clergy if they are in committed relationships. Among them are the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the U.S. Episcopal Church and the United Church of Christ.

Fewer major U.S. denominations have taken the step of fully endorsing gay marriage. Only two, the United Church of Christ and the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, have explicitly allowed it.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Presbyterian leaders OK gay, lesbian clergy, shelve same-sex marriage proposal" by Jean Hopfensperger and Mary Lynn Smith, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) 7/9/10

The late-night decision to table the proposal [to redefine marriage] and subject it to two more years of study caught many delegates at the denomination's gathering at the Minneapolis Convention Center by surprise, and there was a stunned silence as delegates absorbed the action.

Had the marriage measure passed, it, too would have had to be approved by the presbyteries.

Hours before the surprise shelving of the marriage measure, the assembly approved changing the denomination's ordination policy to make noncelibate gays and lesbians eligible to become clergy. The vote was 373-323.

It was the fourth time the assembly had approved such a change. The previous times, it was rejected by district leaders. Church leaders believe it has a better chance of meeting district approval this time.

Presbyterian ministers currently are permitted to perform ceremonial blessings of same-sex couples, but nothing more.

A group called Presbyterians for Renewal . . . opposed changes. Its website states: "Blurring or obscuring the clear teaching of God's Word in order to keep in step with secular laws and changing personal morals only confuses our witness and causes innumerable problems for the future."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Homosexualist Infiltrates Christian Therapy Group

A journalist writing for a homosexualist magazine secretly joined, under an assumed name, the Christian discussion group for the express purpose of disseminating confidential comments by a pastor who preached that homosexual behavior is sinful.

-- From "Minn. Pastor Likely to Keep Job Despite Gay Report" by Patrick Condon, The Associated Press 6/23/10

A Lutheran pastor ardently critical of allowing gays into the clergy is on leave from his Minneapolis church after a gay magazine reported his attendance at a support group for men struggling with same-sex attraction.

Church officials, however, said Wednesday that the Rev. Tom Brock likely will return to the pulpit at Hope Lutheran Church because he acted in accordance with his faith by attending the group.

A fixture on local cable access shows, Brock regularly broadcasts conservative views on homosexuality and criticizes the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for liberalizing its gay clergy policy. Lavender Magazine published a story last week about Brock's quiet attendance of the Faith in Action meetings, written by a reporter who falsely posed as a member of the group.

The Lavender article never explicitly said Brock confessed to homosexual activity. It quotes him at one point talking about a recent mission trip to Eastern Europe, of which he says, "I fell into temptation. I was weak."

Hope Lutheran's executive pastor, the Rev. Tom Parrish, said when confronted with the article, Brock "simply said he indeed has been attending this Christian group, both going there and being honest about temptations he has, and is being held accountable so he never would do anything with that temptation."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Outing case: Cries of 'hypocrite' for pastor, magazine" by Jeff Strickler, Star Tribune 6/23/10

When the magazine hit the newsstands, the story went viral on gay and lesbian Internet sites, with people expressing everything from glee to outrage that a man who has railed against homosexuality in his sermons and weekly radio and cable TV shows had been caught practicing what he preaches against.

But by midweek, the mood had started to shift. For starters, critics pointed out that the magazine did not have a direct quote from Brock saying that he had engaged in homosexual acts. The article implied that was the case by quoting him as saying that while on a preaching mission to Slovakia he "fell into temptation," but did not explain what that meant.

In addition, people started raising questions about whether the ends justified the means. Confidentiality is the bedrock of therapy, and even some gay and lesbian activists expressed concerns that the magazine's breach of privacy might keep people from getting therapy for fear of having their personal issues made public.

Jane Kirtley, the Silha Professor of Media Ethics and Law at the University of Minnesota, said the magazine crossed the line.

"I'm a believer that the use of undercover reporting should be reserved only for the most important stories that you can't get any other way," she said.

One of the dangers of undercover reporting is the loss of credibility, she said. "Whenever you go undercover, you raise the question with the public: If you were prepared to misrepresent yourself to get the story, how can we be sure that the story is accurate?"

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

ELCA Lutherans Pardon Homosexual 'Pastors'

An Atlanta couple of homosexual men, defrocked in years past, have been reinstated as clergy now that the denomination has voted to include sexual deviants as shepherds of the flock.

UPDATE 7/25/10: New York Times praises ELCA as largest denomination to elevate sexual deviants

UPDATE 7/24/10: Seven ELCA sexually deviant 'pastors' in the San Francisco Bay area pardoned

-- From "Largest Lutheran group reinstating 2 gay ministers" by Kate Brumback, Associated Press Writer 5/4/10

The Rev. Bradley Schmeling and his partner, the Rev. Darin Easler, have been approved for reinstatement, the Chicago-based Evangelical Lutheran Church in America said in a news release. Their reinstatement comes about eight months after the denomination voted to allow gays and lesbians in committed relationships to serve as clergy, and about three weeks after the ELCA's church council officially revised the church's policy on gay ministers.

Schmeling, who serves as pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church in Atlanta, was removed from the church's clergy roster in 2007 for being in a same-sex relationship with Easler. A disciplinary committee ruled that Schmeling was violating an ELCA policy regarding the sexual conduct of pastors.

Even though Schmeling had been removed from the ELCA clergy roster, he remained pastor at St. John's, putting the church in violation of ELCA guidelines, said the Rev. H. Julian Gordy, bishop of the ELCA Southeastern Synod.

Easler left United Redeemer Lutheran Church in Zumbrota, Minn., in 2003 to serve as a chaplain. He and Schmeling met at a church conference in Minnesota in 2004, and he moved to Atlanta to be with Schmeling the following year.

Easler was removed from the clergy roster in 2006 after having been without a parish for three years, the church said in a statement. He transferred to the United Church of Christ, which is a full communion partner of the ELCA, and worked in hospice care as a bereavement coordinator.

He recently applied to the candidacy committee of the ELCA's Southeastern Minnesota Synod in Rochester and was approved April 30. He plans to continue his hospice work under the auspices of the ELCA.

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.

Related story: Schism Looms for ELCA Lutherans

D.C. Homosexualist 'Pastor' Dares Methodist Church to Defrock Her

A new [Washington] D.C. law means the Rev. Mary Kay Totty can now marry same-sex couples. But in the United Methodist Church, the denomination that ordained Totty two decades ago, the act could get her defrocked.

-- From "Local Methodist Church to Hold Same-sex Weddings" producer: Erin Gibson, WJLA ABC TV-7 3/11/10

A local methodist church has decided to go against the teachings of its own denomination by officiating same-sex weddings.

Dumbarton United Methodist Church is the oldest Methodist church in D.C., but has decided to add something new: same-sex weddings.

"We celebrate that and we will treat all couples equally who seek to be married in our church," said Rev. Mary Kay Totty.

Totty [age: 46] says she knows she's breaking that church law.

"We will celebrate love and loyalty wherever it's found. And love and loyalty are the same, whether it's shared between a man and a woman or two men and two women," the reverend said.

The conference that oversees Dumbarton says that if Rev. Totty actually performs a same-sex wedding at the church she will be called to answer charges against a panel of other pastors and they will decide her fate, which could include nothing or stripping her of her duties as a minister.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Clergy torn over church, civil loyalties over same-sex Marriage" by Daniel Burke, posted at Washington Post 3/27/10

"The institutional church has for so many years oppressed and excluded and harmed our [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] sisters and brothers," Totty said. "We have to say: 'Enough already. These are people's lives and loves that we continue to exclude from the fullness of life in the church.'"

Nineteen other current and former United Methodist clergy in the District have signed a statement supporting Totty and Dumbarton UMC, the small, liberal congregation that she has pastored since July. Many others campaigned to legalize same-sex marriage in the city. But only Totty has been willing to put her job on the line.

As gay rights spread through civil society, an increasing number of clergy are . . . caught by conflicting loyalties, forced to choose between church law and civil law in pastoring to their gay and lesbian congregants.

In the Presbyterian Church (USA), for example, the Rev. Jane Spahr was brought up on church charges this month for marrying a lesbian couple in California in 2008, when it was briefly legal in the state. Church courts in the 2.3 million-member PCUSA have ruled against pastors who presumed to marry same-sex couples, though "blessing" such unions is allowed.

In the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the nation's largest Lutheran denomination, the conflict is not between church and civil laws, but within the church itself. One policy, reaffirmed in 2005, says there is "no basis" in Scripture or tradition for establishing rites for blessing gay couples. Last summer, though, the ELCA voted to commit to "finding ways to allow congregations" to recognize same-sex partnerships.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Schism Looms for ELCA Lutherans

A Bible-believing Christian movement within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has a plan to create a new denomination for ELCA congregations and individual ELCA Christians who respect the Authority of Scripture.

-- From "Lutheran group considers leaving ELCA over gay vote" by Annysa Johnson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 11/19/09

"We don't feel we have a choice," said Paull Spring, a retired Pennsylvania bishop now chairman of Minnesota-based Lutheran CORE. "The vote on sexuality opened the eyes of many to how far the ELCA has moved from biblical teaching."

Local pastors who have aligned themselves with Lutheran CORE said it's too early to decide whether their congregations would sever their ties with the ELCA, the largest Lutheran church body in Wisconsin and the nation.

Lutheran CORE called the Indianapolis meeting after the ELCA voted at its national assembly to allow congregations to call gay and lesbian pastors in, or expecting to enter into, committed relationships.

CORE members voted to begin discussing with congregations whether to move toward schism or work from within the church. It will vote on the breakaway proposal at its convocation Aug. 26-27 in Columbus, Ohio. Lutheran CORE would remain a free-standing synod serving congregations inside and outside the ELCA under a separate recommendation also being drafted, the organization said.

Wisconsin CORE members will meet Nov. 28 in Lebanon.

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.

Liberal 'Christians' Want Taxpayer-funded Abortion

Over 1,100 'church' leaders call on Senate to ensure underprivileged and minority women's children may be freely murdered with tax dollars via ObamaCare

For background, read New Episcopal Divinity President Says Abortion is a Blessing

-- From "Over 1,000 Clerics Want Abortion Access in Health Care Bill" by Jennifer Riley, Christian Post Reporter 10/2/09

The Religious Institute released an open letter that maintains that abortion is a “morally justifiable decision” that should be left to women to decide. The letter is a response to amendments in the Senate that would cut abortion coverage in private insurance plans that receive federal funding.

“Already, federal policy unfairly prevents low-income women and federal employees from receiving subsidized reproductive health services, but the new proposals would mean that even more women and families would lose access to these vital services,” said the Rev. Debra W. Haffner, executive director of the Religious Institute.

Haffner added, “Placing restrictions on private insurance plans that make abortion accessible to women represents a serious moral injustice.”

The letter itself contends that the sanctity of human life is “best upheld” when it is made carefully, not when women are “coerced to carry a pregnancy to term.”

Religious denominations that have endorsed the letter include: American Baptist Churches, Church of the Brethren, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), United Church of Christ, and The United Methodist Church, among others.

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.

ELCA Church Blesses Sexually Deviant Clergy

The liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America voted Friday to lift restrictions that prohibited sexually active homosexuals from serving as pastors.

In contrast, the smaller, (yet truly evangelical) Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod denomination continues to uphold God's Word with regard to sinful sexual behavior.

-- From "Lutherans lift barrier for gay clergy" by Duke Helfand, Los Angeles Times 8/22/09

The nation's largest Lutheran denomination Friday reversed a long-standing ban on the appointment of non-celibate gays to the clergy, becoming the second major Christian group in a month to liberalize policies governing who may minister the faith.

Leaders of the 4.6-million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, meeting in Minneapolis, gave local congregations the authority to choose ministers or lay leaders who may be in "lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships."

The decision follows a similar action last month by officers of the Episcopal Church, who lifted a de facto ban on the consecration of partnered gay bishops.

Theologians and church analysts said both votes could influence other Protestant denominations -- including Presbyterians [PCUSA] and United Methodists -- that are struggling to reconcile conflicts over homosexuality and the Bible.

One scholar characterized the move by the two groups as a "watershed moment in American Christianity" that could further divide churches already laboring to stem the flight of traditionalists.

Conservatives in the [ELCA] Lutheran church condemned the decisions by the Churchwide Assembly in Minneapolis, saying the actions on gay and lesbian clergy run counter to Biblical teachings about marriage.

One prominent group, Lutheran CORE, called for Lutheran congregations to direct funds away from the national church and instead give to "faithful" ministries within and outside the denomination. The organization is hosting a meeting next month in Indianapolis to plan what it called a "united common future" with traditional Lutherans.

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.

Liberal 'Christians' Predictably Support Democrat Health Care Reform

. . . the religious left is rallying behind the health care package being debated in Congress and decrying the tactics used by the plan’s rightwing opponents.

UPDATE: ELCA Lutherans' own health insurance plan for clergy and church employees covers abortion -- even for sex-selection.

UPDATE 8/19/09: Obama orchestrates his faithful following

-- From "‘Religious Left’ tackles health care reform" by Andy Birkey, Minnesota Independent 8/18/09

A new coalition is promising “40 Days of Health Reform” — and it’ll hit Minneapolis in the next few weeks.

The campaign was launched to show the spiritual need for health reform, not to support any one specific set of policies. And it’s seen some immediate success as President Obama will join coalition members on a conference call later this week.

“This isn’t a political issue, it is a deeply theological issue, a biblical issue, and a moral issue,” said Jim Wallis, president of Sojourners magazine in a conference call last week. “So we are not going to at any time during the debate weigh in on the particulars of policy questions…[We’ll] leave the plumbing to the politicians.”

Wallis didn’t mince words in a recent editorial in his publication. “The ’storm troopers’ of political demagoguery, such as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Glenn Beck, have mobilized their followers to disrupt town meetings and defeat comprehensive reform by yelling louder than anybody else,” he wrote. “The campaign tactics include lies, intimidation, character assassination, verbal abuse, and even mob behavior against members of Congress trying to conduct town hall meetings on the issues.”

[The 40 Days coalition includes the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, as well as] some of America’s largest [liberal 'Christian'] denominations: The Episcopal Church, the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., United Methodist Church, the Unitarian Universalist Association, African Methodist Episcopal Church, the National Council of Churches in Christ, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the United Church of Christ.

Some [liberal] Catholic groups are also on board: NETWORK, a National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, Catholics United, and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good.

For Catholics and many other people of faith, the issue of abortion is an important one, but the coalition is refusing to let it be a stumbling block.

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.

ELCA Lutherans Consider Blessing Gay Agenda

A task force of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America recommended Thursday that its leaders make changes to allow gay and lesbians in committed relationships to serve as clergy.

-- From "Lutheran task force recommends changing gay-clergy policy" by Manya Brachear and Margaret Ramirez, Chicago Tribune reporters 2/19/09

If approved, the measures would change current church policy that allows ordination of gay clergy, but requires them to be celibate. In the report, the task force proposed a four-step process that outlines a possible path for change, starting with recognition of same-sex relationships.

"It is only within the last decades that this church has begun to understand in new ways the need of same-gender oriented individuals to seek relationships of lifelong companionship and commitment," the statement said.

The 4.7 million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which is based in Chicago, is the nation's largest Lutheran denomination. The Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod are separate denominations that accept a literal interpretation of the Bible and do not ordain gays.

The recommendation will be voted on at the Churchwide Assembly in Minneapolis in August.

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.

Attention frogs: The water surrounding you in the pot is near boiling; have you noticed?

The Religious Left 'Taste' the Millennium in Obama

After stewing with anger across 8 years in the wilderness, liberal prelates are shouting Hosanna in expectation of spiritual enlightenment during the Obama reign.

-- From "The Religious Left Celebrates" Commentary by Mark D. Tooley, posted at FrontPageMagazine.com 11/12/08

"We at the National Council of Churches urge all Americans to come together to uphold you with our hands, our hearts and our prayers," the NCC's chief, Michael Kinnamon wrote his congratulatory letter to Obama. The NCC, previously the voice of America's premier religious denominations, once truly walked in the corridors of power. It has never fully accepted its transition from mainline to sideline in America's religious demographic. As recently as 1995, the NCC was invited to the White House to "pray" for President Clinton as he was resisting the new Republican Congress. No doubt, the NCC is praying that its White House visitation rights will soon be restored.

. . . Rev. Kinnamon could not suppress his excitement. "The leaders of this Council pledge to you our unstinting support in the difficult days to come," he promised Obama. "All of us are dependent on God's loving mercy, and we will regularly pray for you and others elected to high leadership. May your wisdom and discernment serve you well, and may your health never wane."

Maybe even more excitable than the NCC was the United Methodist Council of Bishops, who were meeting in Georgia during the election, and could barely contain their joy.

United Methodism's chief lobbyist on Capitol Hill, Jim Winkler, who once called for President Bush's impeachment before retracting the call amid controversy, was also looking forward to ending his exile from White House events. "Barack Obama is a person of deep faith," he enthused. "I fully expect The United Methodist Church, for the first time in many years, will be welcomed in the White House." [Note: President Bush is the first Methodist president since William McKinley]

Another likely White House religious visitor during the Obama years is Sojourners chief Jim Wallis, who has been feverishly attempting to create an Evangelical Left that would undermine evangelicals' traditional conservative voting habits. This new Evangelical Left, largely a repackaging of the old Religious Left for a new audience that cannot remember the 1960's, wants to persuade evangelicals that Global Warming and opposing U.S. military actions is more important than upholding traditional marriage or opposing abortion.

Wallis claimed that his campaign was successful. "Polls leading up to the election showed a significant break from the previous generation on issues like gay marriage and abortion, which while still a top concern, it is not the only one," he rejoiced. . . Wallis, an old 1960's student radical who now wants to be seen as a soothing centrist, claimed, "These religious voters refuse to be distracted by the culture wars of the previous generation."

To read the entire commentary, CLICK HERE.

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ELCA Says 'Committed' Relationships OK for Gay Clergy

Can you still call yourself a church if you endorse outright disobedience to God?

From "Lutherans Say 'Committed' Relationships OK for Gay Clergy" by Jennnifer Mesko, posted 8/13/07 at Citizenlink.org

The 4.8 million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) continues to loosen its standards on homosexuality and clergy celibacy.

During its weeklong assembly that ended Saturday, members voted to encourage church leaders to "refrain from or demonstrate restraint" in disciplining gay clergy who are in committed relationships.

The thousand church members, meeting at Chicago's Navy Pier, voted down a measure that would have ended the church's celibacy requirement for gay clergy.

"To refrain from discipline in the home is bad parenting, but we're about to do so in Christ's Church," said Jaynan Clark Egland, president of WordAlone Network.

WordAlone is a Lutheran grassroots network concerned that the ELCA is losing its Christ-centered focus.

This isn't the first sign that the ELCA no longer has faith in the God of the Bible. Live birth abortions are performed at ELCA Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn. Apparently the ELCA believes that Jesus just isn't enough for mothers of Down Syndrome and Spinal Bifida babies either...

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