norm news 8-21

For those of you with some interest in these matters:
Lord of Life Lutheran Church, Ramsey, MN, is a congregation of some 3300
members who worship around 1400 each week-end. The congregation took a
first vote to leave the ELCA and it passed.
Before the second vote, effort was made to generate defeat of the motion to
leave the ELCA, with some inactive members contributing one penny in an
envelope so they could say they had given to the church within the past 2
years.
When the second vote failed to reach the 2/3 threshold, the senior pastor
and 80% of the church staff resigned then and there and are now worshiping
in a school nearby, with over 600 in attendance at the first service--and
growing.
So now the church building is sitting there with the bulk of the inactive
members responsible for paying the mortgage while the active members have
formed the new Northgate Lutheran Church with Steven Perkins as senior
pastor and his associate from Lord of Life with him at Northgate.
Obviously these people and church staff knew they could not remain in the
ELCA any longer regardless of the outcome of the voting. Pray for them and
their new ministry--which is a continuation of the old ministry without ELCA
baggage!
It may well be that the church will be on the market before too long--or,
better yet, Lord of Life will reconsider their last vote and move for
unity--distanced from the ELCA.
Phil