On June 6 and September 12, 2010 Holy Trinity voted (by the required 2/3 majority each time) to leave the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and affiliate with the North American Lutheran Church. Holy Trinity had been a member of the ELCA and its predecessor Lutheran bodies since we were organized in 1930. There were four primary reasons why we could no longer remain in the ELCA. Those reasons are summarized in the “Whereas” statements of the Resolution you will find printed below:
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church of Abington, Pennsylvania (“this congregation”) accepts the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the inspired Word of God and the authoritative source and norm of its proclamation, faith, and life; and
WHEREAS, this congregation accepts the Unaltered Augsburg Confession as a true witness to the Gospel and accepts the other confessional writings in the Book of Concord as further valid interpretations of the faith of the Church; and
WHEREAS, this congregation wishes to uphold the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments and the Lutheran Confessions as its Confession of Faith; and
WHEREAS, Evangelical Lutheran Worship, the new hymnal of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (“ELCA”) has freely emended – not retranslated — many of the psalms particularly to remove masculine language for God; and
WHEREAS, that same new hymnal has omitted the Gloria Patri from the Nunc Dimittis in Holy Communion settings 1 and 2, has no Gloria at the end of the Venite and Benedictus in Matins, has no Gloria at the end of the Magnificat in Vespers or at the end of the Nunc Dimittis in Compline, thereby indicating that the new hymnal is intentionally omitting Trinitarian doxologies in order to remove masculine language for God, thereby avoiding usage of the Name of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; and
WHEREAS, a significant resource for ELCA worship (Sundays and Seasons) includes a petition that addresses God as “Mother” in the Prayers of Intercession for December 27, 2009; and
WHEREAS, the ELCA, at its 2009 Churchwide Assembly voted to “commit itself to finding ways to allow congregations that choose to do so to recognize, support and hold publically accountable life-long, monogamous, same gender relationships” although the Word of God has made it clear from the beginning, that, whether one understands oneself to be heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual or transgendered, chastity is the call for those who are single and fidelity is the call for those who are married – and those who are eligible for marriage are a male and a female, as God explicitly designed and ordained and as Jesus Himself reiterated; and
WHEREAS, this congregation’s primary objections to the policies and practices of the ELCA have to do with the authority of Scripture and the holiness of the Name of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; therefore be it
RESOLVED, that this congregation, hereby initiates the process of withdrawal from membership in the ELCA pursuant to Section C6.05 of the constitution of this congregation and indicates its intention to join the North American Lutheran Church (NALC) once that church body is formally constituted; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the secretary of this congregation is directed to mail a copy of this resolution to the synod bishop and all voting members of this congregation within ten days of its adoption; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the Council of this congregation is hereby authorized to take all actions necessary to carry out the purposes of the foregoing resolution.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the President of the Congregational Council of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church has executed this Resolution and the Secretary of the Congregational Council has attested hereto this 6th day of June, 2010.
By:
President Congregational Council
Print Name _Tom Schied______
Attest: ______________________________
Secretary, Congregational Council
Print Name __Linda Borkowski_____
Attest: _______________________