ELCA
The Lutheran Church
The Lutheran Church is a result of the Protestant Reformation initiated by Martin Luther, a German monk. Luther felt the practices of the church were in need of reform and he hoped to be able to reform the Roman Catholic Church. He translated the Bible in to German so that all Christians could read it and decide for themselves what it said. His call to celebrate the mass in the language of the people and receive the Eucharist in both bread and wine caused him to be excommunicated. There he began ordaining pastors to serve in a church outside the Roman Catholic Church which was eventually called Lutheran. By the late 1500s, the Reformation spread from Germany to the Scandinavian countries. As immigrants came to North America, they brought their Lutheran faith and beliefs with them. Lutherans and Catholics have been engaged in ecumenical dialogue for over forty years and have reached an agreement stated in The Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification that shows agreement on the main point that caused separation during the reformation. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is in full communion with The Episcopal Church U.S.A., The Presbyterian Church U.S.A., the United Church of Christ, The Moravian Church, and The Reformed Church in America.
St. Paul-Reformation is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The ELCA was officially formed in 1988 as a result of merging three Lutheran Denominations: The Lutheran Church in America, the American Lutheran Church and the American Evangelical Lutheran Church. Today there are nearly 5 million baptized members in the ELCA and over 65 synods in nine geographic regions. St. Paul-Reformation is a member of the St. Paul Area Synod. St. Paul-Reformation is a Reconciling In Christ (RIC) congregation. We have been given a gift from God—the gift of diversity. It is often the nature of society to separate people into groups by age, sex, race, physical or mental abilities, economic status or sexual orientation. The RIC program specifically supports the inclusion of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities.
Links:
www.elca.org
www.lcna.org/riclist.shtm