Lutheran Church

5 Stories

Golden Retrievers Sent to Ease Pain in Newtown

Lutheran charity sends 10 comfort dogs to Connecticut

(Newser) - With the first funerals underway in Newtown, Conn., a special source of comfort has come to visit: golden retrievers. A team of about 10 comfort dogs traveled 800 miles from the Lutheran Church Charities in Illinois to help console anyone who is grieving, the AP reports. Handlers are encouraging people...

Bachmanns Leave Church as Anti-Catholic Fracas Flares

Lutheran synod equated pope with antichrist, said homosexuality is a sin

(Newser) - One thing is for certain: You won't catch Michele and Marcus Bachmann darkening the door of the Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church, which they attended for more than a decade. The would-be first couple officially left their longtime church in June, reports the LA Times, after taking heat in recent...

Lutheran Branch Allows 'Monogamous' Gays as Clergy

Branch is US' largest, with 4.8M members

(Newser) - The largest US Lutheran denomination will allow gays in “life-long, monogamous” relationships to serve in clergy and other leadership positions, the Washington Post reports. Delegates at the convention of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America approved the measure 559-451; the denomination, which has 4.8 million US members, previously...

Lutheran Panel Backs Gay Unions, 'Married' Gay Clerics

Task force seeks compromise on issue of non-celibate gay clergy

(Newser) - A task force from the nation's largest Lutheran denomination has recommended the church give its blessing to same-sex unions, reports the Los Angeles Times. The panel also recommended that the Evangelic Lutheran Church in America allow gays—currently only permitted to serve as clergy if they are celibate—to serve...

Pope to Cut Luther a Break
Pope to Cut Luther a Break

Pope to Cut Luther a Break

Vatican changing view after 500 years

(Newser) - Five centuries after he ignited the Reformation by challenging papal authority, Martin Luther is expected to get a break from—of all people—Pope Benedict XVI. The pope is German and ostensibly that's the only thing he has in common with Luther. Nevertheless, the pope plans a warmer and fuzzier...

5 Stories