From Michigan-
A new kid is moving into the Lutheran neighborhood of U.S. mainline Protestantism.
Dissident members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America are upset with the denomination's decision last summer to let gays and lesbians who are in "publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships" serve as pastors.
The dissidents are pulling out.
The group announced last week it plans to launch the North American Lutheran Church in August. It bills itself as the conservative alternative to the 4.8-millon member ELCA. Founders say they're tired of the decades-long fight about the role of gays and lesbians in the church.
They're also upset at what they believe is the ELCA's departure from scriptural teaching.
They join anywhere from several dozen to 800 Anglican congregations (depending on whose numbers you believe) that have left the Episcopal Church in the United States. The reasons are similar and come after the ordination of Bishop V. Gene Robinson, who is gay.
More here-
http://www.thetimesherald.com/article/20100227/OPINION/2270311/-1/NEWSFRONT2/Ketchum-Church-division-similar-to-those-of-our-country
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