This letter Appeared in the Fredericksburg Freelance Star on Saturday August 29, 2009
Open Letter to members of the ELCA,
At last week’s Churchwide Assembly in Minneapolis, ELCA delegates voted to accept gay and lesbian clergy. Many will now make decisions of conscience since the ELCA has turned in a new direction. The members of Agnus Dei have likewise seen changes in the Lutheran church bodies in America. So we all left a doctrinally disunified church body to form an independent Lutheran church centered on Scripture alone. We are now free to focus on ministry to souls with doctrinal peace and unity, which has replaced doctrinal fights, political meetings, and biblically conflicting resolutions. There are over 30 American Lutheran church groups in the U.S. in addition to many independent Lutheran churches. For Lutherans desiring to leave behind church bodies that are moving away from Scripture, independent Lutheran churches like ours can be a new church home. Your fellow Christians at Agnus Dei Lutheran Church now pray for God’s guidance as you chart your future course. Come visit on Sunday morning. Traditional worship is at 9:00am at Germanna Community College 10000 Germanna Point Dr. in Lee’s Hill.
Rev. James R Shaw
Pastor, Agnus Dei Lutheran Church