The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

The largest Lutheran Church in the USA, with some 60% of North American Lutherans in her congregations. The ELCA formed in 1988, the culmination of numerous 20th Century mergers. Yet her roots go back to the 1740s with the organization of the first Lutheran Ministerium established to serve German immigrants to colonial British North America. The ELCA relates to international Lutheran Churches through the Lutheran World Federation whose churches are in full communion with each other (signified by a red ball on my Lutheran links pages). See below for more ELCA links. Pastor Zip is an ELCA clergyman.

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

This is the second largest Lutheran church body in the USA, with a little over 30% of North American Lutherans being in LCMS congregations. The Synod was organized in 1847 by Pastors of German-speaking Lutheran congregations in 7 states. Internationally the LCMS relates to the International Lutheran Council, signified by a gold ball on my Lutheran links pages.

The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod

WELS is the smallest of the truly "national" Lutheran churches in the US having over 400,000 baptized members, a bit over 5% of North American Lutherans. This conservative, confessional Synod was first organized in 1850 by the Pastors of German-speaking congregations in Wisconsin. WELS relates internationally with the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference (signified by a green ball on my Lutheran links pages), whose churches are in full altar and pulpit fellowship.

Churches below marked with a red ball on this page are also part of the Lutheran World Federation, formed by exiles from Soviet communism. Those marked with a green ball part of the international Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference and in full altar and pulpit fellowship with other CELC churches. For other churches that are in formal fellowship with each other I've tried to note such in their entries.

I am also beginning to add Wikipedia links when they are available. Wikipedia can be a useful resource, but its entries can also be subject to the whims of the last person who read it. For those Lutheran churches included, Wikipedia pages are often written in concert with the church's current leadership — enabling them to provide insight to their own special characteristics. However they can also easily be altered by someone with an ax to grind — so reader beware.

Alliance of Renewal Churches

An alliance of "autonomous churches" in the US, Canada, and Iceland, of Lutheran heritage with roots in the charismatic Lutheran Renewal. Some congregations are independent, others remain associated with the ELCA, the Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ, or other church bodies. Wikipedia entry

The American Association of Lutheran Churches

The AALC was formed mainly by congregations of the American Lutheran Church (many with a Free Lutheran heritage) that rejected the 1988 merger that created the ELCA. Early on this body was influenced by the charismatic renewal, but it has since rejected the excesses of that movement. In 2006 the AALC entered into Altar and Pulpit Fellowship with the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and joined the International Lutheran Council in 2007. Wikipedia entry

Apostolic Lutheran Church of America

This small body is in the tradition of the pietistic Laestadian movement among the Finns in the 19th century. Wikipedia entry

Association of Confessional Lutheran Churches

This confessional Lutheran association formed in 2007 "to meet the needs of those congregation which have been removed recently from the ELS" due to their dissent of the ELS' "unscriptural removal of a pastor from his call and expulsion from the synod." In seeking "to identify and build true biblical fellowship," the ACLC shares an annual free conference with the Orthodox Lutheran Confessional Conference of Independent Churches. Wikipedia entry

The Association of Free Lutheran Congregations

The Free Lutheran heritage comes from Scandinavian (mainly Norwegian) Pietists who had left the national, state supported "folk churches" before immigrating to North America. Most congregations from this heritage merged into the American Lutheran Church (a predecessor of the ELCA) in 1963. These few opposed that merger and remained independent. Wikipedia entry

Augsburg Lutheran Churches

"A fellowship of churches united by a common confession of faith in Christ," this ALC was originally formed in as a non-geographic "district" of the LCMC. It is now a separate body.

Augustana Orthodox and Evangelical Lutheran Synod [no known web link]

A very tiny synod, created in 1997 by a congregation in St. Paul, Minnesota, dissatisfied with the liberal theology and politics of the ELCA, especially the politicized "social screens" then being used for the ELCA pension plan's investments.

The Church of the Lutheran Brethren of America

Organized by independent congregations in 1900, this small synod has established hundreds of congregations in Africa and Asia. By subscribing to 2 of the classical Lutheran Confessions (the Small Catechism and the Augsburg Confession) the CLBA offers a Lutheran slant to conservative, American evangelicalism. Wikipedia entry

Church of the Lutheran Confession

This small, conservative, Lutheran church was formed in 1960 by congregations that left the WELS, LCMS, and ELS. Wikipedia entry

Concordia Lutheran Conference

A very small association of Lutheran congregations formed by congregations that left the LCMS in 1956. In 2004, the Fellowship of Lutheran Congregations, a tiny group of congregations that had split off from the Lutheran Churches of the Reformation in 1979 over issues of excommunication, joined this body. Wikipedia entry

Conservative Lutheran Association

Formed in 1980, this very small association of churches grew out of Lutherans Alert National, an organization formed in 1965 to oppose the liberalism emerging in the American Lutheran Church. They had already in 1969 established the "conservative, evangelical Lutheran" Faith Seminary, whose faculty appears very strong on "conservative" and "evangelical," but pretty weak on "Lutheran."

Eielsen Synod

Formally called the Evangelical Lutheran Church in American until the current ELCA was being formed in 1987—but nearly always referred to as the "Eielsen Synod"—this synod of very independent Norwegian-American Pietists has declined to one congregation, whose story as of 1999 is linked here. According to its Wikipedia entry, the synod formally dissolved in 1997.

Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad

Actually based in Canada and part of the Estonia Evangelical Lutheran Church, this is the church (formerly called the "EELC in exile") that escaped from the World War 2 Soviet occupation of Estonia, immigrating mainly to the US and Canada. Wikipedia entry

Evangelical Lutheran Conference & Ministerium

"A synodical federation, fellowship, and association of centrist Evangelical Lutheran congregations and pastors" formally organized in 1999 after having found (since departing the ELCA in 1991) being independent, being part of the AALC, and being part of the founding of the LMS-USA all unsatisfactory. They also have an old alternate site still on the web. Wikipedia entry

Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America

ELDoNA, organized in June 2006 by independent, conservative, confessionalist Lutheran pastors who had earlier departed the LCMS, "is committed to the restoration and advancement of consistently Evangelical Lutheran doctrine and practice in harmony with the Sacred Scriptures and the Book of Concord (1580)." Wikipedia entry

Evangelical Lutheran Synod

The ELS began when some Norwegian Synod congregations rejected a 1917 merger. Internationally it relates to the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference. Wikipedia entry

Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Texas

Following the actions of the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, traditionalist ELCA pastors and congregations are seeking to re-establish this historic synod formed in 1851 — most of which became a district of the old Iowa Synod in 1895 and disappeared with its 1930 merger into the old American Lutheran Church. This free synod intends to "provide a structure within which Lutheran congregations from the ELCA and any other church bodies will work in unity to discern their future paths."

Fellowship of Evangelical Lutheran Churches

The Fellowship of Confessing Lutheran Churches was organized Reformation Day 2003 by a cyber group of ELCA pastors, laity, and 2 congregations opposed to Called to Common Mission (the full-communion agreement with the Episcopal Church), but who were not quite satisfied with the LCMC (below). Within a few years the FCLC quietly disappeared, but after the ELCA's 2009 Churchwide Assembly it has been re-established under a modified name.

Illinois Lutheran Conference

Organized in 1979, the ILC's roots are in independent Lutheran congregations that left the WELS in 1970 because they held that the King James Version to be the only acceptable English-language Bible. This fellowship of 7 "Conservative, Orthodox, Confessional, Lutheran" congregations in 5 states still accepts only the KJV.

Independent Lutheran Diocese

A very small body that began in 2005 as the Pietist "Old Lutheran Church in America," the Independent Lutheran Diocese was formed in 2008 by independent, conservative Lutheran congregations and pastors dissastisfied with liberal theology and politics, committed to a "Return to an Authentic Christian Worship Experience," "True Spirituality," "Genuine Christianity," and experiencing "the Joy of Jesus Christ in our daily life." It maintains a Seminary and publishing program.

Laestadian Lutheran Church

The LLC was formed in 1973 as a result of the most recent split in the Laestadian movement in North America. Wikipedia entry

Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Organized in 1975 by exiles of (then Soviet-occupied) Latvia, its web site is nearly entirely in Latvian. See also this link to the site of the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church of Washington DC, one of LELCA's 70 congregations. Wikipedia entry

Lithuanian Evangelical Lutheran Church in Diaspora

In 2008 this small Lutheran Church formed in 1946 by exiles from (then Soviet-occupied) Lithuania merged into its mother church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania.

Lutheran Churches of Calvary Grace

A group of two dozen or so mission congregations located mainly in Alaska and the Canadian northwest, with missions also in Arizona, Mexico, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. Begun near Amman, Jordan, in 1978, the LCCG has also worked in the Middle East, Siberia, and Costa Rica. It seems to relate in some ways with the AIELC.

Lutheran Churches of the Reformation

A small federation of "autonomous, orthodox Lutheran local congregations" formed in 1964 by pastors and congregations dissatisfied with the "doctrinal disintegration" of the LCMS. Wikipedia entry

Lutheran Conference of Confessional Fellowship

Formed in 1983 by congregations who left the Church of the Lutheran Confession because the CLC would not formally excommunicate members of the Lutheran fraternal organizations (insurance companies), Lutheran Brotherhood and Aid Association for Lutherans.

Lutheran Confessional Synod

This very tiny synod whose web presence has (again) disappeared (see the latest site on the Internet Archive) was organized in 1995 by an Illinois congregation dissatisfied with the ELCA's liberalism. In February 2007 the LCS was reported to be down to one congregation. Unlike most of the other small Lutheran bodies, the LCS strongly encourages the use and practices of the historic liturgy. According to the LCS Wikipedia entry, a significant portion of it clergy had become Antiochian Orthodox catechumens in early 2009.

Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ

A "post-denominational association" initially established in 2001 by ELCA pastors and congregations intent on rejecting the ministry of Bishops in historic succession as outlined in the ELCA-Episcopal agreement, Called to Common Mission. LCMC has grown into the fourth largest Lutheran body in the US and includes congregations in 7 other countries around the world. LCMC is being viewed as a possible "escape hatch" for ELCA pastors and congregations who oppose actions at the ELCA's 2009 Churchwide Assembly. Unusual for Lutherans, it provides for the ordination of pastors by lay persons. Wikipedia entry

Lutheran Evangelical Protestant Church

Earlier called the Evangelical Protestant Church, this conservative body claims roots in Lutheran and Reformed "Union" churches originally organized by German immigrants to the Ohio Valley in the late 1700s that seem to have flourished as an organized body circa 1885-1925. Re-organized in 1999 as the General Conference of Evangelical Protestant Churches, it did so again in 2002 as the LEPC after it had begun requiring newly ordained pastors to subscribe to the Lutheran Confessions. It is in communion with the LOC and the AIELC and shares their lineage in the Apostolic Succession of its Bishops and incorporated women into it. Contrary to most Lutherans it has an emphasis the "Rapture" and Christ's imminent return. Wikipedia entry

Lutheran Ministerium and Synod-USA

Another very small body of Lutheran pastors and congregations dissatisfied after the 1988 merger that created the ELCA. The founders first tried the AALC, but left in the mid-90s when the older body had a charismatic emphasis. Wikipedia entry

Orthodox Lutheran Alliance

Founded in 2006 this is a "newly formed Lutheran Christian confessional and heritage association [of] Orthodox Lutheran clergy and laity -- individuals and congregations -- who are standing firmly upon God's Word and the Orthodox Evangelical Lutheran Confessions of Faith." Its list of approved and disapproved matters is both lengthy and wide-ranging of particular theological, political, and societal matters.

Orthodox Lutheran Confessional Conference of Independent Congregations

This group of 5 congregations declared fellowship amongst themselves following their 2006 departure from the Lutheran Churches of the Reformation over its acceptance of permitting women to vote in congregational meetings. In seeking "to identify and build true biblical fellowship," the OLCCIC shares an annual free conference with the Association of Confessional Lutheran Churches. Wikipedia entry

The Protes'tant Conference

A "loose organization" with 6 congregations, the Conference arose in 1927 when the Wisconsin Synod rejected what was being called "the Wauwatosa Theology," which challenged the "dead orthodoxy" demanded of the Synod, and suspended 40 "Protes'tant" (called that because of their protest against conditions within the Synod) pastors. Wikipedia entry

Reformation Lutheran Conference

Another small association of congregations formed in 2000 of congregations that broke from the Lutheran Conference of Confessional Fellowship.

United Lutheran Mission Association

A very small mission association of independent congregations formed in 2005 by two congregations that had earlier departed from the Missouri Synod. Consciously "Old Missouri," the ULMA places greatest authority (beyond, of course, the Scriptures, Creeds, and Confessions) in the congregation's voters assembly. Curiously, ULMA's statement on Church fellowship does not presume that its congregations are in full Altar and Pulpit Fellowship. Wikipedia entry.

Association of Independent Evangelical Lutheran Churches

Highlighting the Nicene Creed's confession of "One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church," this small association accepts the Lutheran Confessions and follows a "formal liturgy form." Congregations are in New York and the Caribbean. It is in communion with the LEPC and the LOC.

Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church

Formerly the Evangelical Community Church-Lutheran, a "small denomination within Lutheranism's Evangelical Catholic tradition," and incorporating the former Athanasian Catholic Church of The Augsburg Confession, the ALCC practices a Lutheranism that is as close as possible in theology and practice to being Roman Catholic. In the US, the ALCC has non-geographic ethnic Vietnamese and Sudanese dioceses. It also has a presence in Canada, Sudan, and Kenya and is a "Lutheran" constituent in the Augustana Catholic Communion (below). Wikipedia entry

The Augustana Catholic Communion [No web site]

The Augustana Evangelical Catholic Communion formed at the end of 2004, their bishops having all been ordained into "valid Apostolic Succession," and including Lutheran, Anglican, and (non-Roman) Catholic churches. It has the ultimate goal of being in union with the Bishop of Rome in the same manner as the Eastern Catholic (sometimes called "Uniate") Churches. It has been renamed in 2010.

The Evangelical Catholic Church

The oldest of the "evangelical catholic" Lutheran church bodies, its founders included pastors of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod who were exploring Eastern Orthodoxy. Had the Catholic Church accepted the Lutheran reforms of the 16th Century, Holy Mother Church may have become something like this. Wikipedia entry

International Lutheran Fellowship

Formed in the 1967 as a "fellowship" of independent, conservative Lutheran congregations and pastors, the ILF transformed in 2004 into a North American Lutheran denomination whose 30 clergy (at that time) had now been ordained within the historic apostolic tradition. It also has a presence in Latin America, Africa, India, and Singapore. Wikipedia entry

The Lutheran Orthodox Church aka "The Catholic Church-Lutheran Rite"

This "Evangelical Catholic" church organized in 2004 when several Bishops of the Lutheran Evangelical Protestant Church were consecrated into Apostolic Succession. Part of the formation of the Augustana Evangelical Catholic Communion (above), it quickly resigned and began to ordain women as priests and bishops. Contrary to most Lutherans it has an emphasis on the "Rapture" and Christ's imminent return. The LOC has since reconciled its communion fellowship with the LEPC and it is also in communion with the AIELC. It also has congregations in India, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines. Wikipedia entry

The Nazarene Christian Disciples (Missionary Society) [broken link]

Formerly called the Evangelical English Lutheran Missionary Society, this body seeks to be a place for those who have fallen away from the mainline Lutheran Synods. The Society's clergy are ordained within Apostolic Succession and "use as our guide for following Christ Holy Scripture, the Book of Concord and The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis."

What We in the ELCA Believe

Learn about our beliefs. Or check this older site for some core Lutheran beliefs. For Pastor Zip's detailed links on Lutheran teaching, click here.

2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly

The ELCA's latest Churchwide Assembly, which meets every 2 years, was in August 2009 in Minneapolis. This is the sixth Assembly fully covered on the World Wide Web and the fifth consecutive one Pastor Zip attended as a volunteer or congregational observer. Clink the next links for the 2007 CWA in Chicago, the 2005 CWA in Orlando, the 2003 CWA in Milwaukee, the 2001 CWA in Indianapolis, and the 1999 CWA in Denver. Find here the Minutes to all of the ELCA Churchwide Assemblies beginning in 1989.

Welcome to the ELCA

Learn more about the ELCA, starting with some Quick Facts. Lutherans came to North America in different waves of immigration from many European lands, so our history in the USA can seem quite complicated to the uninitiated. The Lutheran Roots in America page tells, among many other things, of the many mergers of Lutheran Church bodies that have (thus far) culminated with the ELCA's formation in 1988.

The Lutheran Magazine

The official ELCA magazine, with the largest circulation of all "Protestant" church magazines. It does a good job of covering the state of the ELCA.

Augsburg Fortress Publishers

The publishing ministry of the ELCA. A site to find books, study materials, devotionals, or Christian curricula for personal, small group, or congregational use.

Central/Southern Illinois Synod

The Synod in which Pastor Zip serves, the C/SIS is the 154 ELCA congregations in the lower three-quarters of the State of Illinois, currently shepherded by her third Bishop, +Warren D. Freiheit. Our Companion Synods are the Tolagnaro/Ambovombe and Ft. Dauphin Synods of the Malagasy Lutheran Church, one of the fastest growing churches in the world. Our Partner Synod in the ELCA is the Upstate New York Synod .

Lutheran Social Services of Illinois

The social service agency for the three ELCA synods in Illinois, LSSI is one of the largest such church-related agencies in the nation.

Lutheran Outdoor Ministries Center

LOMC is a camp and adult retreat center. Located in Oregon, Illinois, it serves primarily the ELCA congregations in Illinois and Missouri.

Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary

The youngest of the 8 seminaries in the ELCA, Pastor Zip attended PLTS from 1988-1992. Located in Berkeley, California, PLTS is part of the Graduate Theological Union, a consortium of 9 seminaries with several other theological centers and affiliates.

 

Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church of Peoria

Organized in 1894, Pastor Zip has served as her thirteenth Pastor since his ordination in September 1992. Zion also has a free ForMinistry.com site.

Peoria area Lutheran Congregations

Our nearby ELCA sister congregations, along with other local Peoria Christian congregations with whom Zion relates.

Find the ELCA congregation nearest you!