Grace Lutheran Church again is attempting to break away from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, according to its senior pastor.
During a special meeting Sunday, the congregation voted 236-0, with "a handful of abstentions," to rescind the large Eau Claire congregation's ELCA affiliation, the Rev. Rolf Nestingen said via email.
"What they did was improper, completely improper," said Ryberg, whose clients are asking a judge to intervene in the dispute over church affiliation.
Nestingen doesn't see it that way. The most recent vote - the historical church's second attempt at disaffiliating with the ELCA in less than a year - was prompted by "recommendations" from the Synod Council of the ELCA's Northwest Synod of Wisconsin, he said.
The Synod Council in January sent a letter to church officials detailing its final decision in an adjudication process resulting from the dispute - that Grace Lutheran Church immediately recognize its sole affiliation is with the ELCA, terminate affiliation with the Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ or any church other than the ELCA, immediately restore full voting memberships to all members moved to associate member status since Jan. 1, 2011, and immediately recognize that anyone who meets the required criteria and who does not want to remain affiliated with the LCMC is a voting member.
"It occurred to us that there was a fifth option, to which the judge agreed, that we take another first vote to disaffiliate in order to clearly express the will of those members remaining at Grace," Nestingen said.
The congregation, prompted by a church member's petition to leave the ELCA because the denomination had been drifting theologically to join the more conservative Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ, held its first disaffiliation vote at a special meeting on April 3.
Those voting in support of leaving the denomination outnumbered those opposed, 288-225. However, the total was more than 50 votes short of the two-thirds supermajority needed. Had that threshold been reached, a second vote would have been held a minimum of 90 days later to confirm the split.
Shortly after the first disaffiliation vote, Grace Lutheran's church council voted to dual affiliate with the LCMC, an action not permitted by the ELCA, according to its officials. However, others debate that, noting there are other dual affiliated ELCA congregations.
"Certainly congregations have the right to disaffiliate, but they must follow proper constitutional process," said Bishop Duane Pederson of the ELCA Northwest Synod of Wisconsin.
During the denomination's 2011 Churchwide Assembly in August in Orlando, Fla., the constitution for congregations was amended regarding the disaffiliation process. Before a vote can be taken at a special meeting, congregations must provide written notice to the bishop at least 30 days before and consult with the church leader.
"I did not receive that notification in advance, so any (recent) action regarding disaffiliation (Grace Lutheran Church) may have taken from the ELCA's standpoint is invalid," Pederson said this week.
In the congregation's latest attempt to leave, Nestingen said the second required disaffiliation vote is scheduled for 7 p.m. May 30, the night before Polk County Judge Molly GaleWyrick is scheduled to act on a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs in the suit - identified as Grace Lutheran Church-ELCA - are suing Grace Lutheran Church-LCMC, along with the church council. The defendants are asking that the suit be dismissed, claiming in part there aren't two Grace Lutheran entities and some of the plaintiffs have no standing to sue.
"The true heart of the dispute involves ecclesiastical matters in which civil courts should not become entangled," wrote Jay Heit, an Eau Claire attorney representing the defendants, in a brief in support of dismissal. "The superficial issue ... that this court is simply being asked to decide - whether the correct process and procedure (were) followed leading up to the Synod Council's decision - can be answered from the record with a resounding 'no.' "
Earlier this year, GaleWyrick granted an injunction - sought by the pro-ELCA plaintiffs - and ordered the church's annual meeting, scheduled for Feb. 5, be postponed until further order of the court. She also ordered the defendants to limit spending to ordinary and necessary expenses.
"They're acting contrary to the court order, in the spirit of the court order," Ryberg said of the latest disaffiliation vote.
O'Brien can be reached at 715-830-5838 or christena.obrien@ecpc.com.
http://www.leadertelegram.com/news/front_page/article_33a324e8-895a-5555-8a1f-ec04b4159167.html
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