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SEPA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod)

Valuing the Small Church for What It Is

Small churches are the Church’s secret weapon.
They just don’t know it!

Here’s the paradox of church work.

The mission is to reach all the world, right?

Only a small percentage of the world can afford to support “church” the way it is understood in the West. Even we in the West are having a tough time of it! Do we really welcome the ill and indigent to be part of the economic burden of Church?

The Church has set itself up for perpetual failure. It blames the few people who are supporting it for that failure. Result: morale is in the pits. Visitors sense gloom!

The people who still support neighborhood congregations are very good people. Passionate. Self-sacrificing. Dedicated beyond measure!

The Church, blinded by economics, saps as much from them as possible before exercising hierarchical powers — constitutional or not — throwing its strongest supporters to the curb (literally in Redeemer’s case!).

Forced church closings, where hierarchy self-righteously grabs assets is bad enough. When this is done by design it is downright sinful.

Church regional bodies have been taught to ignore struggling churches and wait them out. It’s right in the book used to train regional managers of various denominations (co-authored by SEPA’s own Bishop Claire Burkat).

“You do not have the luxury of giving everyone who asks for help whatever time you have available. Some tough decisions need to be made as to where your Regional Body is going to invest time, energy, and resources. Thinking in terms of TRIAGE is a most responsible thing to do at the present time. Congregations that will die within the next ten years should receive the least amount of time and attention. They should receive time that assists them to die with celebration and dignity. Offer these congregations a ‘caretaker’ pastor who would give them quality palliative care until they decide to close their doors.  It is the kind of tough-minded leadership that will be needed at the helm if your organization is to become a Transformational Regional Body.”

There it is in black and white. Don’t waste time and resources on congregations that will close in ten years (if you do nothing).

A decade is long enough to fight two world wars!

And so the premise for mission changes. This part is not written down in congregational mission statements.

Churches want people who can support the way things are. Even better if they could support the way things were. Property and the staff come first. Programming and mission a distant last.

What would happen if the Church concentrated — really concentrated — on small church ministry? What if they found a way to help congregations be small, proud and strong — as opposed to dictating ministry solutions that work only in larger settings.

Small churches still have one big thing going for them. People still tend to prefer smaller churches!

It’s up to the smaller churches to insist on a change in attitude. This may not be as hard as it seems. Together, small churches outnumber large churches.

Find your voice! While you still have one!

17 Aug 2012

When the Church Ignores the Obvious

Another Chapter in a Tale of Two Churches

In 1979, Alfred Krass, A United Christian Church pastor from nearby Levittown, Pa., wrote a “white paper” on Evangelism in Mainline Denominations, published in Christian Century magazine.

Reading this study 33 years later reveals that many of the issues raised remain serious issues in mainline denominations. As is often the case in the Church, issues raised that are not on the popular agenda are often ignored.

Rev. Krass’s paper ends by identifying two questions for which he saw no denominations taking any steps to address. One involved the methods of communication used by the Church. The article did not foresee the internet and its tremendous potential for change (largely ignored by the Church).

The other problem he identified 33 years ago was the absence of families in Church and the ineffectiveness of motivating families as evangelists.

Redeemer’s Ambassador visits reveal that this is still a crying need in the Church. Rev. Krass identified the absence of 15- to 45-year-olds. Redeemer’s Ambassador visits reveal that the spread is now even broader. With very few exceptions, among the nearly 50 churches we have visited, children and youth are absent. When present, they can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Furthermore, the missing age group in church today is more realistically 1-50.

This was not true of Redeemer. Our age spectrum was fairly broad with no one age group dominating.

This problem unaddressed for the last three decades remains a problem. What are we doing about it?

The missing age group is the demographic where multiple generations actually live together under one roof — or in today’s world — under two roofs. The prevalence of the divided family is probably a big part of the problem. Religion can be an additional divisive agent.

How do we shape our message so that it reaches this majority population?

He closes with a point that church camps are ideally situated to minister to families. Interesting! Redeemer was a big supporter of church camping, making sure that as many members as possible were able to attend family camp and other church camping programs. Perhaps Rev. Krass’s ideas were working for us!

East Falls is an interesting place to study this question. This traditionally working class neighborhood happens to be blessed. It is a nice place to live and raise families and many generations stayed in East Falls through the years of “white flight.” Property values are strong despite the average family income. Families that raised six kids in their millworkers’ rowhouses and hung onto their property are now property rich. The vultures are all too willing to swoop in.

The conditions in East Falls and the actions of leaders of its faith communities reveal the priorities of hierarchies.

East Falls has Redeemer, where SEPA Synod has evicted the families and locked the doors, claiming the property the congregation had owned and the building they had built on working class salaries. More recently, St. Bridget’s Roman Catholic Church, was forced by its hierarchy to close its school. Redeemer had a strong family ministry. St. Bridget’s School was the hub of parish activity.

In sharing their experiences, both congregations noted the same thing. The “hierarchy” wasn’t listening. (Note: Lutherans aren’t really hierarchical. Their leaders just act that way.)

Another thing the two congregations have in common: Their hierarchies see church property as of more value to them when they are occupied by people who can pay more to use them than church members who live in the neighborhood.

Interesting, indeed!

photo credit: John Carleton via photo pin cc
08 Aug 2012

We Still Call Ourselves Lutherans

There are only so many church properties SEPA can seize to pay hierarchical costs.As Redeemer Ambassadors visit churches of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, we are often asked where we are from. After three years, the question is still a kick in the gut.

SEPA/ELCA rejected us four years ago. It did more than reject us. It confiscated our property and pursued members in court — an ongoing travesty that countless good Lutherans handle by looking the other way. (The message of the Good Samaritan story has been lost in translation.)

ELCA founding documents, the foundation of Lutheran law, forbid the confiscation of congregational property. Courts have decided they can’t uphold church law. They have no jurisdiction.

Two dissenting state Appeal Court judges wrote an opinion that if the law were followed, the members of Redeemer were making arguments that should be heard.

This should raise eyebrows among Lutherans.  

East Falls Lutherans are left with a difficult choice. The hierarchical assumption (if not wish) is that members would seamlessly uproot their lives, traditions, and personal relationships and travel to other Lutheran churches on Sunday morning with their offerings. Suing church members makes this scenario unlikely. Which congregation wants the targets of SEPA litigation as members?

Other ELCA churches have failed to lift a finger. Many of them are no stronger than Redeemer—cowering as they await their turn at rejection. The less they do now, the more likely that day is coming.

There are lessons to be learned by the Church about how to treat church members. They are not unlike the lessons business and government are learning in the modern world. Power has shifted.

The Church, living in its own lawless bubble, may be the last to grasp this. People, in the post-feudal church at least, have long controlled the purse strings. Now they control communication as well.

The shift in power is a good thing. We should be rejoicing. People can make a difference! The whole Church can make a bigger difference — but only if the concept is understood and put to use.

When SEPA Synod visited East Falls with faux concern for the neighborhood back in March, Redeemer was there. Did Rev. Davenport realize that 10% of the audience that day had connections to Redeemer? She was oblivious. SEPA doesn’t realize that members don’t evaporate just because you lock doors. We still live here. We still participate in neighborhood government and patronize neighborhood businesses.

There are only so many church properties SEPA can seize to pay hierarchical bills before they will have to come up with a better survival tactic. Now is a good time to start looking!

What should the Church do with loyal members when they dare to challenge actions?

Just practice what is preached!

What would be happening today inside Redeemer if members had been treated as children of God and not as enemies that must be vanquished at any cost?

A better way is still possible. Sooner or later a Good Samaritan will pass by.

Meanwhile, Redeemer members visit the congregations who have rejected us and answer with pride, “We are from Redeemer Lutheran Church in East Falls.”

We are still Lutherans—and proud of it!

07 Aug 2012

How Many People Heard Your Sermon This Morning?

In dozens of churches near Philadelphia and hundreds or even thousands of churches across the country, hard-working pastors stood before their congregations this morning and delivered sermons to fewer than 50 people.

A conscientious pastor probably worked for days on that sermon. He or she probably spent the same amount of time on his or her sermon as far fewer pastors who delivered sermons to larger congregations.

Preaching is a major investment for every congregation whether they have 50 members or 1000 members—probably half the annual church budget.

Yet churches resist using the tools the modern era provides to preach the gospel to every corner of the world.

2×2, the web site that grew from Redeemer Lutheran Church’s exclusion from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, began with little experience with the internet. We had only a static web site which we rarely updated — just like the vast majority of churches who are concentrating on paying a pastor.

2x2virtualchurch.com became our new site.

2×2 studied the medium and followed recommended practices. We had no money to invest in outside help, so we learned how to do this ourselves.

Perhaps we were the perfect candidates for this evangelism frontier. We discovered that a small church can swim with the big fish!

Here is a mid-year report from the congregation SEPA Synod claims doesn’t exist (because they say so).

  • Every DAY 106 followers read our messages with our posts delivered to their email addresses. Huge potential for growth here!
  • Every WEEK an additional 250 or more come to our web site for information.
  • Every MONTH more than 1000 new readers find our site.
  • We’ve had 7000 visits this YEAR (in addition to our daily readers) and are on track to double that by the end of the year.

(Editorial update-Jan 16, 2013): All of these numbers have doubled since this was published five months ago!)

2×2 started strong in the Middle Atlantic states and California. In recent months our readership in Southern states is spiking. We’ve had readers in every state and regular readers in a dozen countries. Six congregations write to us weekly and share their ministry challenges and successes.

Topics which draw readers to 2×2 are (in order of popularity)

  • Object Lessons for Adults
  • Social Media
  • Small Congregation Ministry
  • Broader Church Issues
  • Vacation Bible School

We’ve learned that it is impossible to predict the popularity of a post. We had a Whoville theme party last January and the post about that still attracts search engine traffic several times each week. A post about a visit to a small church in a Philadelphia suburb and its pastor’s “brown bag” sermons for adults began attracting new readers daily, which led us to develop object lesson sermons.

Several seminaries have sent students to 2×2 for discussion topics.

2×2 has established both a mission voice and reach that rivals or surpasses mid-sized churches. We’ve done it on a shoestring budget. Another year to 18 months will no doubt add to our reach.

We will continue our experiment in modern evangelism.

How many people heard the sermon your church paid for this morning?

photo credit: Photomatt28 via photo pin cc
05 Aug 2012

Social Statements As Ritual

In a previous post, we noted how the Church, when struggling, turns to adjusting a rite or ritual to create an illusion of accomplishment.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has a ritual that exists outside of worship. It is called the Social Statement.

Social Statements, Messages and Resolutions

Social Statements are treatises explaining the official position of the Church on topics of concern to both the Church and secular society. They are designed to facilitate discussion in hopes that congregations address issues on their own but in keeping with the teachings of the Church.

Lutherans value individual belief and diversity, so the Statements, for the considerable work put into them, carry no real weight.

The ELCA has been in existence since 1988. It has issued 11 Social Statements. Topics include: abortion, Church in Society, the death penalty, economic life, education, the environment, genetics, health and healthcare, peace, culture and sexuality.

For situations requiring more expediency, the ELCA Church Council adopts Social Messages. In the past 23 years, they have addressed 12 issues.

Carrying less weight is a third level of statement: Social Policy Resolutions. There are tons of these sitting on the ELCA website.

Drafting Social Statements in the Digital Age

The process of drafting Social Statements began before the full power of the internet was realized. Individuals are named to a commission that creates a draft document. Discussions are held at the regional level with the commission drafting the final document to be voted on by the Churchwide Assembly.

It is now possible to have ongoing debates without scheduling geographic meetings with their limitations.

Discussion could take place regionally or on the denomination’s magazine site. This site is open to all by subscription only, which limits its effect as a forum and evangelical tool. The internet eliminates logistical restraints but the Church creates new ones!  

The documents, even in draft form are available on the web. It would be interesting to know the statistics of how many times these documents are downloaded, shared, tweeted, etc. This could only increase readership and effectiveness and should be easy to do. Comments should not only be allowed, they should be encouraged. Without interaction, they sit on the national church website gathering cyberdust.

The Current Effort

The ELCA is currently developing a statement on Criminal Justice for consideration in 2013. The Church’s view on this topic should be interesting as it has exempted itself from the laws its members are expected to follow. When challenged, it cries “Separation of Church and State” but does not hesitate to use the courts to force its will on congregations as evidenced in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod and its treatment of the members of Redeemer congregation. On this issue, where the church is a lead player, there has been no room for diversity. Members have been denied voice and vote by decree. Open discussion is discouraged.

The Church addresses issues with minimal impact. There is the illusion of caring and involvement.

Now what? Work done?

02 Aug 2012

Called to Common Mission, Indeed!

Lutherans have hitched their star to the Episcopal wagon. Now what?
Here is an interesting and lengthy discussion of the challenges facing the Episcopal Church.

The ELCA hitched its star to the Episcopal wagon a number of years ago and announced with great hoopla that we are now in full communion. (Called to Common Mission)

Lutherans were promised that the alliance was for flexibility, broadening the resource pool. Lutheran clergy and Episcopal priests could now vie for calls and employment in either denomination.

But it has resulted in more fundamental changes. It is changing the way we think and act, which isn’t necessarily bad. But it’s not necessarily good either. Martin Luther left a good legacy.

The ELCA and its predecessor bodies are historically a broad demographic with both low and high church values represented, often among ethnic or cultural lines. The American experience, which never answered to the Archbishop of Canterbury or any European figurehead, has traditionally no such loyalty to hierarchy.

The Lutheran tradition of congregational polity is a strength which small congregations should never be asked to sign away. Small churches must be free to adapt to their changing communities. This is harder to do under hierarchies. Hierarchies understand “big.”

  • Did the decision, advocated mostly by clergy, change our polity? No, but . . .
  • Are there statistics on how much this has benefited anyone?
  • How much resource sharing has been going on? (There doesn’t seem to be a lot of resources for either denomination to share!)

It is becoming increasingly clear that dissenting Lutherans were correct about many things.

Lutheran leadership has become more and more hierarchical. It began with a shift in language, then in behavior.

In the negotiations, Lutherans did a lot of agreeing to Episcopal terms.

Lay people don’t tend to care much about things like apostolic succession. We know that our bishops (which we used to call more appropriately “presidents”) are elected. Now every Lutheran clergy to be ordained must submit to Episcopal approval. Many of them have probably never set foot in an Episcopal church, but now their calling needs their blessing.

From reading this report, it is clear that we have sacrificed the wisdom of our experience to a troubled denomination.

The Episcopalians are so concerned that some want to scrap their leadership structure entirely, realizing they cannot support, nor do they need, a hierarchy. We have written about this before.

Meanwhile, Lutheran leadership is separating itself from its constituency more and more. They are planning to have full church assemblies every three years instead of two. If they operate like our local Synod Assembly, it won’t matter much—and that’s too bad. The regional assembly is fairly well orchestrated to get the approvals it wants with as little discussion as possible. But at least there was a chance of making a difference every two years. But then, maybe this is an admission that the hierarchy has less purpose.

Regardless, the action serves to alienate lay people — who still provide the support and funding for the mistakes made by the hierarchically minded.

Soon, if Lutherans want to rise to a call to change anything, they will have to wait three years. This may save money but it is unwise. Change is happening at a faster pace. More forums are needed, not fewer.

But the deed is done. We are in full communion with a denomination that doesn’t know where it is headed to the point that some talk about starting over. Have we been set up for a bait and switch?

If you think this shift in governance isn’t part of SEPA’s attitude toward small congregations, think again. In East Falls, Bishop Claire Burkat was assisting our Episcopal neighbors—we suspect for hire—while trying to destroy her own denomination’s church a few blocks away, hoping for assets to make up their huge deficit. The Episcopal Church in East Falls was of no stronger number than Redeemer with a far less desirable location for mission purposes. Bishop Burkat gave the Episcopalians of East Falls more consideration than the Lutherans.

Called to Common Mission, indeed.


photo credit: Whitewolf Photography (retouched) via photo pin cc
14 Jul 2012

Exploring Justice in the Lutheran Church

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On Sunday, September 9, from 3-5 pm, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod (SEPA) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will hold a discussion of the national body’s proposed social statement on criminal justice.

The Church’s concerns for justice might be more credible coming from people who do not hold themselves out as being immune from laws which apply to everyone else.

When faced with honest disagreements concerning Lutheran polity and interpretation of its constitutions, the ELCA and at least one regional body (SEPA Synod) has used the justice system to bully its members.

Instead of working with congregations as the constitutions define, SEPA made up its own rules, replacing their founding Articles of Incorporation with conflicting bylaws, putting congregations that actually read both documents at disadvantage.

This is counter to normal law. Articles of Incorporation outrank bylaws. The ELCA Articles of Incorporation even state that the regional bodies may not amend their constitutions in violation of the statutes of the founding charter. But that hasn’t stopped SEPA (and a few other synods, too).

SEPA proceeded to violate the statutes, betting that no one would stand in their way. When Redeemer, a member church, objected, their FIRST action was to file a law suit against them. Forget the constitutional grievance process.

Once they had the court’s attention, they argued that the case, which they filed, should not be heard because of separation of church and state.

The national church has watched in silence. They are busy regarding their leaders and disregarding their members.

This issue went to the Pennsylvania Appellate Court which dodged the issue, agreeing to no jurisdiction with an important dissenting opinion. The dissenting judges ruled that if the law is applied, the congregation’s arguments have merit and should be heard. If high-ranking judges disagree, there is room for honest disagreement within the church.

SEPA Synod views itself as above the law.

It would appear that SEPA Synod’s view of the justice system is that it exists as a tool to be used against dissenting members—an alternative to actually working out problems within their polity. It is  a way to bypass the inconvenience of its own constitutions.

The draft statement includes a paragraph advocating responses of love and advocacy for those embroiled in the justice system. Redeemer has seen no such tolerance within the ELCA, SEPA Synod or even within its congregations. Summary of Draft Version of the Justice Statement

We suggest the ELCA and SEPA Synod stay out of this discussion until they can enter it with cleaner hands.

13 Jul 2012

God is doing something new AGAIN in East Falls

Redeemer, East Falls is too small to serve its “missional” purpose (“missional” is not a word but church people seem to understand it).

That was the premise used by Bishop Claire Burkat and her coterie. It was never true. It sounded good to the people they needed to convince in order to have their way—which had nothing to do with mission but was all about money and property and synod’s habitual deficit spending.

SEPA’s actions did tons of damage to our people, our congregation and to our neighborhood, but Redeemer’s mission continues to grow. That’s what happens when you work a plan with selfless resilience and flexibility!

One of our projects was to develop our ministry online (since we had no building). We started slowly, doing research and following best practices. The site grew slowly at first, but after about six months, it was apparent there was a foundation for steady growth and an inexhaustible potential.

The site has grown steadily over all. There are day-to-day peaks and valleys, but the weekly and monthly trends reveal steady growth that is picking up.

In the last two weeks a few remarkable things have begun to happen on www.2x2virtualchurch.com.

We now have 100 people who read out posts by email each day. We have an additional 50 unique  visitors every day. Our weekly unique readership (not counting those who follow us on Facebook, Twitter or email) hovered between 180 and 275 for the last six weeks. Adding our subscribers or followers to that number puts us at around 1000 readers each week.

Our global reach is picking up. There are a few countries that check in daily—France, Canada, Great Britain, Netherlands, Australia, Kenya, Pakistan, the Philippines and most recently, India. Twice this week our foreign readership outpaced United States readers, at least until the very end of the day when there is often a surge in North American readership.

People are slowly beginning to participate in the discussion, often by email rather than on the site.

Yesterday, we had a request to find a way to have the site translated into Urdu, so Pakistani Christians might have access to our posts.

We invited churches to follow the site. That invitation has led to interesting friendships with four other congregations—two in Kenya, one in Pakistan and one near to us in Philadelphia.

Redeemer was never more able to fulfill its “missional” purpose. We believe our mission and ministry activities measure well with every other congregation in SEPA (large and small) — who now have the benefit of our resources.

photo credit: jurvetson (retouched) via photo pin cc
12 Jul 2012

Where the Bill of Rights Fails

Freedom to Be Oppressed by Your Religion

America was founded on the principle of Freedom of Religion. Early settlers came to escape state oppression of the emerging sects in Europe. Over the centuries, many faiths have sought refuge on American soil.

The First Amendment in the Bill of Rights prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion.

The legal system lives in fear of stepping on the exercise of religion. In recent court decisions they have gone so far as to determine that religious groups do not have to follow their own rules. That opens a new door. The leaders of religion can themselves become lawless oppressors.

That is the result of a recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision that determined the case brought by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the ELCA against a member church (Redeemer, East Falls, Philadelphia) could not be heard. Yes, they brought a case against a member church and then argued that the case they brought should not be heard.

The court gave SEPA Synod a victory by default —not based on evidence. They determined that it was up to the denomination to police its own rules. Fat chance.

A strong dissenting opinion concluded that if the law is applied, Redeemer’s arguments deserve a hearing. How are members of faith communities to assume that the laws they agreed to upon joining the community mean nothing?

That creates a very real problem for all the faithful. If constitutions agreed upon by religious groups when they go to the legal trouble of incorporating mean nothing, then faith communities are faced with potential lawlessness. The laity are sitting ducks for potential abuse. Clergy will run.

Faith communities can expect to be victimized by hierarchy. It is happening with greater frequency. The conflicts are usually about the value of real estate — not doctrine. Within the ELCA there are several cases of “hostile” takeovers—raids in the middle of the night or by stealth and deceit. One bishop, anticipating trouble, went so far as to call ahead to the sheriff and police department and warn them to expect a call from church members, but that they were allowed to change the church locks.

It is not the Church’s finest hour. As proven by Redeemer’s experience, Church leadership will not hesitate to use their protected status to tyrannize their members — those with the least power, the laity. You won’t read much about this on the pages of The Lutheran.

“I have the power,” Bishop Burkat was heard to say as she prepared to raid Redeemer. If so, it is a power allowed by courts side-stepping the issues. It is not a power given by the ELCA constitutions/articles of incorporation or by God.

It’s legal because the law exempts the church. Perhaps there is hope.

The law has finally stepped in on the Roman Catholic Church and its handling of crimes within its ranks—but not before a great deal of damage was done to both victims and the Church.

On this Independence Day, it is worth noting that the Bill of Rights does not protect the members of faith communities from the abuses of their own leaders. This can be stopped by the members of the faith community, but experience is proving that the religious don’t care unless they are directly affected. They are free to use other provisions of the Bill of Rights such as Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Assembly. Odds, in the current atmosphere, are against it.

What a waste of the First Amendment.

04 Jul 2012

A Tale of Two Churches in SEPA Synod, ELCA

East Lansdowne — East Falls

Today there was a celebration in East Lansdowne, a Philadelphia suburb.

Over the past seven years, the aging Lutheran congregation, Immanuel, found new life by hosting a community of African immigrants led by a pastor, who himself had immigrated from Liberia.

They named their community Faith.

Today they officially merged with the remnants of Immanuel to become Faith Immanuel. Congratulations to the new congregation, its lay leaders, and Pastor Moses Suah-Dennis.

Tuesday’s Inquirer carries the story and quotes the previous bishop of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod (SEPA), the Rev. Roy Almquist, who is ready—even in retirement—to take credit for the new congregation.

In a telling quote he reveals SEPA policy.

“Under normal circumstances, you would close a church that size,” Almquist said. “But they were determined not to close. They wanted to find a way for their church to minister in a changing neighborhood.”

He does not say who the “you” is who would close the small church. Constitutionally, it is the congregation itself that must vote to close.

In 2005, as Bishop Almquist was nearing the end of his second term, he recommended the arrangement which lead to the congregation’s merger.

At the same time, there were other opportunities beating relentlessly on his door that he just plain ignored. His inaction has been costly to his synod and to the neighborhood of East Falls.

East Lansdowne’s story is similar to that of Redeemer, less than ten miles away. The only difference is that Redeemer did not have to come crawling to SEPA, begging for help. In fact, Redeemer had more money than SEPA at the time Bishop Almquist was trying to help little Immanuel. In 2005 —and much of Bishop Almquist’s two terms — SEPA was in severe financial crisis.

Redeemer was every bit as passionate about “staying open” and had nearly four times as many members as Immanuel. Why help East Lansdowne and refuse basic services to Redeemer?

Redeemer had received a large bequest in the late 1980s and SEPA had eyes for it, actually withdrawing $90,000 from our bank account in 1998. Redeemer protested.

This conflict was unnecessary and fateful. Redeemer was left with a reputation of being “trouble.” Few Lutherans take the time to analyze the source of the trouble or to ask themselves what they might do if the Synod visited their bank without their knowledge.

SEPA returned the money (after two years of needless conflict with Redeemer) but refused to serve the congregation from that point on. Their strategy was to wait for Redeemer to die a natural death. Bishop Almquist’s message was clear: Do things my way or else. Redeemer was shunned.

Bishop Almquist refused to help the congregation find a pastor to call. Redeemer was left to fend for itself.

The rest of the story is not at all unlike Immanuel’s. Immigrants from East Africa began to join the little neighborhood church—first one family, then extended family, then friends. Redeemer found two pastors, both from Africa, willing to serve the congregation.

Having received 49 new members with many more interested, Redeemer approached the new bishop, Claire Burkat, and asked to call one of the pastors.

Bishop Burkat’s head was buried in Bishop Almquist’s play book. She took no time to consider that things might have changed since Bishop Almquist deserted his duty in East Falls.

She reviewed our reports with prejudice fueled by a six-figure deficit budget. She decided that only our white members should be counted. She assigned trustees who reported falsely that the congregation had just 13 members. (In court they are trying to hold us to a quorum for more than 70.)

Bishop Burkat pontificated, “White Redeemer must be allowed to die. Black Redeemer, we can put them anywhere.” Destroying Redeemer was the priority — not mission.  She set things in motion to force the church to close. It has now been locked for nearly three years.

Why not reward success?

The answer: SEPA was passing massive deficit budgets fairly routinely, relying on closing churches, seizing assets and selling property to make up shortfalls. Redeemer was known to have money and a valuable property.

We celebrate the successful union of Faith and Immanuel and wish them the best.

However, a wise church would also review its failures. The concurrent neglect and harmful policies practiced in East Falls are routinely swept under the rug as if the mess was all the fault of the people. This is wrong and innately dishonest.

01 Jul 2012