Lakeville church speeds exit from ELCA

The second-largest Lutheran congregation in Minnesota has decided that it is not going to wait any longer to withdraw from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) over the denomination's August vote to permit gay preachers.

Star Tribune

Last update: November 11, 2009 - 9:48 AM

In his November newsletter to the members of Hosanna Lutheran Church in Lakeville, the Rev. Bill Bohline said that the church is going to scrap its original plan to wait six to eight months before taking action. Hosanna was one of the first Twin Cities churches to speak out against the August vote.

"What has become clear to me is that we have been preparing to leave the ELCA for some time," Bohline wrote. The church board will meet next week to map out its exit strategy, with the goal of severing its ties to the ELCA on or before Dec. 15, he added.

With an average Sunday attendance of about 4,500, Hosanna is second in size among ELCA churches only to Mt. Olivet Lutheran Church in Minneapolis.

JEFF STRICKLER