Minneapolis, Minn., Nov 20, 2009 / 01:54 am
Following the decision of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) to allow sexually active homosexual clergy, an objecting Lutheran group has begun to form a new church body for those Lutherans who want to “remain faithful to the Orthodox Christianity of the last 2,000 years.”
Lutheran CORE leaders on Wednesday said their working group would immediately begin drafting a constitution and taking other steps to form the new denomination. They hope to launch the denomination by next August.
Rev. Paull Spring, a retired Pennsylvania ELCA bishop and chairman of Lutheran CORE said many people in ELCA are “very unhappy” with the direction of the denomination.
At the ELCA annual convention in Minneapolis in August, delegates voted to allow sexually active homosexual pastors to serve if they are in “committed” relationships. The policy will take effect in April, the Associated Press reports.