St. Paul Religion & Politics Examiner
Duane C. Pederson was pastor of First Lutheran Church in Eau Claire for over a decade before becoming the Bishop of the Northwest Synod of Wisconsin in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. When disgruntled members of Grace Eau Claire decided to start their own mission congregation, or Synodically Authorized Worshipping Community, First Lutheran just down the street was a natural place to hold their first services.
Grace Lutheran Church took a vote to disaffiliate from the ELCA, which narrowly failed, but also voted to affiliate with Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ in a measure to maintain congregational harmony and unity among a majority of members who have found the anti-Biblical theological drift of the ELCA a violation of their own bound conscience.
After the vote, Pederson wrote in an email to a large number of undisclosed recipients, “This past week, I initiated contact with a number of folks who have provided leadership to those who oppose disaffiliation, and others who have not given leadership but who have been dismayed and troubled by what has transpired at Grace. Near ly all indicate that it is time to depart Grace for the sake of their Pederson and his Synod worked in 2011 to establish “Amazing Grace Lutheran Church,” LLC. In his invitation to their first worship service, the Bishop wrote, own faith and personal being.
“Many may wish to worship at a new Synodically Authorized Worshiping Community (SAWC) whose first worship service will be held Sunday after Easter, May 1, 4 pm, at First Lutheran in Eau Claire, and each Sunday thereafter. Initially, my staff and I will lead the services. In the near future, the time will likely change to a Sunday morning time. Those who assemble will determine, with my support, what their life together will become – perhaps it will be a group who assembles for worship for a few months while the future is determined before disbursing to other congregations; perhaps it will become a community with some longevity if there is enough interest and participation; perhaps the community could become a satellite of an existing congregation; perhaps the community could become the beginning of a new congregation. With the start of this SAWC, there are no preconceived notions as to what it will become, if anything.Many saw the Bishop’s creation of a new mission church as the ELCA’s new model for dealing with congregations leaving the ELCA, mirrored after the many successful missions founded by Christians leaving the denomination.
It is my hope that many people will assemble on May 1 to begin envisioning a new future. It is time to “shake the dust off our feet” and move on”.
Over time, Amazing Grace Lutheran Church, LLC hasn’t amounted to much of anything, and neither Bishop Pederson nor the former disgruntled members of Grace Lutheran have “moved on.” Pastor Miller, who served First Lutheran, concerned about the burden of resources and his own congregation becoming embroiled in the dysfunction of denominational politics, agreed to allow Bishop Pederson’s “Synodically Authorized Worshiping Community” to meet at his congregation through the end of January. Sources maintain that when Pastor Miller indicated his intention to hold fast to the February 1st deadline, he was removed as pastor of the congregation this past January. Amazing Grace Lutheran
Church, LLC now continues to meet in the First Lutheran Church building.
What ensued, in full cooperation with the Bishop’s office, the Synod Council, and the Synod Council consultation committee, is a full-court-press legal battle in the courts of Wisconsin. Amazing Grace Lutheran Church, LLC and its members have filed lawsuits against Grace Eau Claire to take control of the property and assets.
Local observers not affiliated with either church are acutely aware of the conflict. “That little group is tearing up two congregations right now, even First Lutheran is in total disarray,” said one man about "Amazing Grace." On the domestic front, Bishop Pederson announced in a letter to all his congregations that he and his Wife Sylvia are moving on and have begun the legal process of divorce. “That letter came from this office on official synod letterhead,” confirmed a synod spokesman.
Writing of the divorce, Pederson says,
“Arriving at this point has been many years in the making. While we do not intend to discuss the details and reasons for ending our marriage, we are now taking a step that is very public. It is enough for you to know that we are not involved with other people, we have sought and are seeking appropriate support, and the demands of the office of bishop are not a contributing factor. We are appreciative of Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson’s counsel and care.”Though divorce among Lutheran clergy is not unheard of- 38% of Lutheran pastors’ marriages end in divorce mostly as a result of burnout in ministry- many clergy are asked to leave their positions and not accept another call for a period of time following their divorce. Bishop Pederson has indicated he intends to continue as Bishop of the Northwest Synod, breaking with a long-standing tradition of repentance and time away from the ministry while the pastor sorts out his life. In fact, in the ELCA, pastors are strongly advised, often even forced, to take a leave of absence when they decide to divorce- a position affirmed in the denomination's statement on human sexuality: "Gift and Trust".
Psychologist Donald Siposnek PhD., an expert in child custody disputes, says that the process of divorce leaves individuals feeling powerless, causing them to exercise power in other areas of their lives in dysfunctional ways. For pastors and Bishops, who are called to shepherd God’s flock as the Heavenly Father would Shepherd his flock, divorce usually has the effect of severely impairing a pastor’s ability, at least in the short term, to minister in healthy ways as he struggles to regain a sense of power and control in his own life.
Essentially, Grace Lutheran Church is seen by some as the child in a bitter custody dispute subjected to the spiritual and emotional trauma of becoming a vehicle by which their Bishop regains a sense of control and equilibrium of power over his own life. Some have suggested that Bishop Pederson’s change in position from letting Grace Eau Claire leave the ELCA peacefully and orderly to a position of enabling and encouraging- or at the very least refusing to publicly denounce and discourage- a protracted legal battle coincides with the culmination of the announcement of his divorce.
Many point to the fact that there are over 20 congregations across the United States “dually affiliated” in which their Bishops are not playing a role to encourage and enable bitter and pro-tracted legal disputes. Those congregations are all in synods where their bishops have a publicly healthy family life. “Pastors might exercise control in unhealthy ways over congregations to make up for the loss of control they have experienced in their own lives as they go through divorce.”
Christian Psychologists who counsel pastors and bishops through divorce warn clergy of the ways in which divorce can impact churches and synods, recognizing that as imperfect people even clergy fall into the trap of playing out their own conflicted personal lives upon the lives of those they have been entrusted to minister to and support.
Christian Divorce Services advises clergy,“If Satan can’t rip people away from Christ through your divorce, he will use it to rip apart your church.” Sometimes the only way to restore peace, harmony, and spiritual health is for the pastor or bishop to step down out of a sense of divine grace and love for the ministry and his flock. This takes great humility and a greater sense of commitment to your vows of ordination than to constitutional or canon law.
It is unlikely that Bishop Pederson will leave his post anytime soon as a member of a constitutionally driven rather than Biblically driven denomination, though his resignation as Bishop may be the most prudent and faithful choice he can make. As he remains bishop, psychologists would offer that the Eau Claire congregations under his care could continue to be in bitter conflict, despair, and disarray perhaps for years to come as the Bishop overcomes his own personal sense of loss, powerlessness, conflict, and despair. Individual members and even entire churches would be faced with one of two choices: stay on for the bumpy ride, or find someplace else- even some other denomination- to go to. The reality, though, is that many Christians walk away and never return to any Church.
Eau Claire, a small town where virtually everybody knows everybody else, will experience the effects of this bitter Church fight, vis-a-vis the Bishop’s divorce, for years to come.
http://www.examiner.com/religion-politics-in-st-paul/elca-bishop-duane-pederson-wages-battle-with-grace-eau-claire-announces-divorce?fwcc=1&fwcl=1&fwl&_ft_=qid.5706539352437829289%3Amf_story_key.10150550363891312%3Afilter.h_chr%3Ainterface.m_faceweb_ipad%3Ac.m
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