18th SOBOR
OF THE UKRAINIAN LUTHERAN CHURCH
Ocotber 21
and 22, 2009. The 18th, annual Sobor (Convention) of the
Ukrainian Lutheran Church took place in Kremenets. Key
points of the Sobor included a wonderful essay of Pastor
Serhiy Kudryk "I Believe in the Communion of Saints".
Pastor Kudryk who serves Ukrainian Lutheran Church in Cerhnihiv
has researched what it means to confess those words from
the Apostle's Creed today. After many years of studies and
negotiations the Sobor has incorporated into the ULC two
Lutheran congregations from Belarus (Minsk and Zhodino)
on their request. Pastor Badrusev is ministering those congregations.
He has also translated the Book of Concord into Belarusian.
At the Sobor Liturgy, a Saint Sophia Seminary graduate,
Dmytro Didkivskiy, has been ordained to the Holy Ministry
in Malyn, Zhytomyr Oblast. Special words of thanks were
given by the Sobor to Pastor Neil Schroeder from WELS for
his active part in building the ULC and charitable work
among our nation. Three pastors were congratulated on 10th
anniversary of ordination and pastoral ministry: Rev. Taras
Kokovskiy (Head of the Galician Eparchy); Rev. Yuriy Fizer
(Pastor of the Nativity Lutheran Church in Kiev) and Rev.
Andriy Honcharuk (Pastor of the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
in Kam'yanets-Podiliskiy).
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 21, 2009
Contact: Joel Hochmuth
Director of Communications
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod
joel.hochmuth@wels.net
WELS president expresses
regret at ELCA decision on gay clergy
Milwaukee,
Wis.-Rev. Mark Schroeder, president of the Wisconsin Evangelical
Lutheran Synod (WELS), is expressing regret at the vote
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) convention
regarding homosexual clergy. Friday, delegates approved
a resolution committing the church to find a way for "people
in such publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gender
relationships" to serve as professional leaders of
the church.
"To view same-sex relationships as acceptable to God
is to place cultural viewpoint and human opinions above
the clear Word of God," says Schroeder. "The Wisconsin
Evangelical Lutheran Synod, along with The Lutheran Church-Missouri
Synod, the Evangelical Lutheran Synod, and other smaller
Lutheran synods, maintains and upholds the clear teaching
of the Bible that homosexuality is not in keeping with God's
design and is sinful in God's eyes."
At the same time, Schroeder says WELS congregations stand
ready to support those struggling with same-sex attractions.
"As with any sin, it is the church's responsibility
to show love and compassion to sinners, not by condoning
or justifying the sin, but by calling the sinner to repent
and by assuring the sinner that there is full forgiveness
in Jesus Christ," Schroeder says.
WELS, with about 390,000 members and nearly 1,300 congregations
nationwide, is the third largest Lutheran church body in
the United States. In Wisconsin alone, there are more than
201,000 members and 417 congregations. "It's unfortunate
that many headlines have referred to the recent decisions
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America as something
'Lutherans' have decided," Schroeder says. "In
fact, the ELCA is only one of many Lutheran denominations.
We are saddened that a group with the name Lutheran would
take another decisive step away from the clear teaching
of the Bible, which was the foundation of the Lutheran Reformation."
Schroeder says that WELS is firmly committed to upholding
God's design for marriage as outlined in Scripture-a design
intended for one man and one woman. "We believe, and
the Bible teaches, that God designed this relationship to
be a blessing for men and women and for society. Any departure
from what God himself has designed does two things: it denies
the clear teachings of Scriptures and it undermines God's
desire that the man/woman relationship in marriage be a
blessing."
