Violent storms and tornado hits -- Discussion with Pastor Lewis

[ Show ]

Support VoyForums

[ Shrink ]

VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, 3, 4 ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 06:04:37 08/20/09 Thu
Author: pastor lewis
Subject: Violent storms and tornado hits

Violent storms and tornado hits
Minneapolis area, convention center
and church where Lutherans (ELCA)
approved statement validating
'chaste' same-sex relationships

Tornado, storms cause heavy damage in Midwest

According to the Associated Press: - Wednesday, August 19, 2009:

Click here for full article:

An excerpt: The National Weather Service received reports of a possible tornado near downtown Minneapolis, where winds tore off part of a 90-year-old metal church steeple. Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois were also hit, though the only confirmed tornado as of Wednesday night was in Hastings, about 30 miles southeast of Minneapolis, where a 100-yard-long swath of trees was flattened.

Jack Freitag said he was standing in the lobby of the Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis when he saw "a wall cloud from the south coming across the parking lot." Then a "very loud roar" came through as he saw signs being blown around in the wind.

The wind tore off part of the church's 90-year-old metal steeple around 2 p.m. while about 120 people were inside, said church spokesman Joe Bjordal.

"I was worried about the people then," said Freitag, who told everyone to seek shelter in the church's basement. No one was injured.

Outside the church, strong winds ripped apart large outdoor tents and scattered chairs and folding tables across the parking lot that were set up for the national Evangelical Lutheran Church in America convention. The church was scheduled to serve breakfast to guests attending the event at the Minneapolis Convention Center next door.

---

ELCA approves statement validating 'chaste' same-sex relationships

The vote on recognizing gay relationships came down to the thinnest of margins.

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Click here for article

One vote. That was the margin Wednesday by which the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America churchwide assembly approved a social statement that, among other things, acknowledges the validity of same-sex relationships that are "chaste, monogamous and lifelong."

The margin was so close that Bishop Mark Hanson, the ELCA leader who presided over the vote, hesitated before announcing the outcome. Rules required the social statement to pass by a two-thirds vote; the final result was 66.67 percent.

"I thought it was going to be close, but I doubted very much that it would come out at exactly two-thirds," said the Rev. Peter Strommen, chairman of the task force that drew up the social statement and pastor of Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church in Prior Lake.

Close as it was, the vote bodes well for a proposal to repeal a ban on gay and lesbian ministers from leading churches unless they promise to be celibate. That motion, which is to come up for a vote Friday afternoon, requires only a simple majority to pass.

Earlier in the afternoon, a storm battered the Minneapolis Convention Center where the ELCA was meeting. That storm turned out to be nothing compared with the whirlwind going on inside.

The day's agenda called for a vote on the social statement before the afternoon plenary session was adjourned at 5:45 p.m., but at 5:30, the debate on the statement itself hadn't even started. Convention-goers had spent the afternoon arguing about amendments.

It was suggested -- but never officially voted on -- that the discussion be suspended until today. At that point, some delegates who had dinner reservations started to drift out of the hall.

Then, in quick succession, a delegate called the issue for a vote. That resulted in two quick votes, the first to halt discussion and the second on the social statement itself. As it turned out, 29 of the 1,045 registered voters did not vote.

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]