No Longer One Lutheran Tribe

In the current issue of The Christian Century there are three items about Lutherans. One is about the economic difficulties incurred by congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) who have left that denomination to protest its decision in August 2009 to allow non-celibate gay clergy and to bless same-sex unions. Thus far there are relatively few of those (362 out of over 10,000 congregations), but their sentiments are shared by a much larger group. Aunt Elka (as some of its more devoted members call the ELCA) has been rather generous toward such dissidents. They are allowed to keep their buildings, as long as they are affiliated with some other Lutheran body, notably the newly formed conservative North American Lutheran Church, thus avoiding the nasty legal conflicts experienced by Episcopalians under similar circumstances. (Unlike the schismatic Anglican body, the NALC has not, or not yet, imported an African bishop to preside over it—most conservative Lutherans are not worried about an episcopate with apostolic succession. At least one worry less!) Nevertheless ongoing financial support to local congregations by the central church organization ceases, thus causing great hardship, especially in so-called mission churches—those whose members are too few or too poor to pay their pastors’ salaries and other local expenses out of their own pockets.