I
read with interest the National Bishop's recent letter
to all ELCIC members. Throughout the letter, reference
is made to declining membership and resources in the ELCIC.
It is a fact that since the beginning of the ELCIC in 1986
benevolence has declined by approximately 50% and membership
has also declined by a significant percentage.
Not
all churches are declining in attendance and financial resources.
For example, the Alliance church in Calgary recently built
a $20,000,000+ facility to accommodate their rapidly growing
membership. Also in Calgary, Christ Lutheran church recently
closed its doors despite there being tens of thousands more
residents in Christ's drawing area than when it first opened
its doors in the 1960s. Why are some churches growing and
expanding while others, like the Anglican, United and Lutheran
churches are shrinking?
What
I find astounding is that the Bishop's letter outlines a proposed
path forward without first identifying the reasons or the
root cause of the serious decline in membership and resources.
The proposed five-pillar approach will most certainly fail
without first determining the reasons and root cause of the
problems within the ELCIC.
Any
entity, private, public, or not for profit, faced with the
same serious problems as the ELCIC, would first undertake
a comprehensive study to determine the reasons and the root
cause of the problems. Only then would a path forward be developed.
Such a study would obtain input from ALL of the constituents
within the entity. Smart entities would commission an independent
study group to report its findings to the Board (Council).
This approach would remove any bias that some Board member(s)
may have regarding a preferred path forward.
It
is my opinion that if a proper and independent study was undertaken
to determine the reasons for the current malaise in the ELCIC,
it would find that the root cause is a transitioning to a
radical theological makeover of the ELCIC which, in the extreme,
embraces the radical beliefs
of the likes of Marcus Borg. The same-sex blessing issue
is a symptom of this deeper problem of watering down the Scriptures
and the Lutheran Confessions. This issue continues to be promoted
within our church even though it was defeated twice by the
highest legislative authority of our church.
The
Bishop's letter questions whether or not we can continue on
our own: "If the answer is no, then the next question is....
who is the best partner or partners to work with in this area?".
The
ELCIC's full communion partner, the Anglican Church of Canada,
is actively promoting same-sex blessings - witness the motions
put forward and passed at its recent national conventions,
same-sex
blessings being allowed by the bishop of one diocese (New
Westminster) and three
other dioceses (Ottawa, Montreal and Niagara) having recently
given approval. In my opinion, a merger with the Anglican
Church of Canada would accelerate the decline in membership
and resources and lead to the financial and spiritual bankruptcy
of the new merged entity.
Bob
Schmidt
Calgary, Alberta
