Minneapolis pastor and church expelled over gay marriage

[Leroy N. Soetoro]

https://www.foxnews.com/us/minneapolis-pastor-and-church-expelled-over-
gay-marriage

Leaders of the Evangelical Covenant Church voted to defrock a Minneapolis
pastor and expel his church for permitting gay marriage.

The Rev. Dan Collison had his credentials removed by a 77 percent vote at
the Evangelical Covenant Church's annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, on
Friday night.

Leaders also voted to expel Collison's First Covenant Church, a founding
member of the 134-year-old denomination.

First Covenant Church is shown this past week in downtown Minneapolis.
Leaders of the Evangelical Covenant Church voted to expel First Covenant
and defrock its lead pastor, the Rev. Dan Collison, for permitting gay
marriage. First Covenant was a founding member of the 134-year-old
denomination. (AP Photo/Jeff Baenen)

Collison, who became a pastor at First Covenant in downtown Minneapolis in
2009, told the Star Tribune he was "not surprised" but "saddened" after he
was voted out.

"I feel grounded in the path we have chosen. I feel grateful for the
pastors and churches who stood up for us. I feel compassion to those
caught in the middle," Collison said.

The ECC says First Covenant is free to keep operating as a church and can
keep its church building. First Covenant says Collison will continue
serving as lead pastor.

A First Covenant staff member officiated at an off-site wedding of two
women from the church worship band in 2014. It also put out a "love all"
statement that said it welcomes members of the LGBTQ community to
participate in the church, including serving in leadership roles. It also
says it offers pastoral care, including weddings, "to all in our
congregation without regard for ability, race, sex, gender identity or
sexual orientation."

ECC leaders also voted Friday night to remove another pastor, Rev. Steve
Armfield, a retired Michigan minister who officiated his son's same-sex
wedding in Minneapolis. Armfield also was accused of violating the
denomination's same-sex marriage ban.

Leaders had recommended that Collison, Armfield and First Covenant be
forced out because they violated Evangelical Covenant Church policies on
human sexuality, specifically "celibacy in singleness and faithfulness in
heterosexual marriage."

"The ECC is mindful of the complexity, the sensitivity and the pain that
matters of human sexuality can bring," said Michelle Sanchez, an ECC
executive minister. "We talk about the desire for both freedom and
responsibility as a denomination. Those two things were coming into
tension in this case."

First Covenant Church was founded by Swedish immigrants in 1874. For
decades it was one of ECC's largest churches nationally, until membership
declines began in the 1970s. Today, the denomination has about 875
churches with 280,000 members nationally. It is headquartered in Chicago.

"I hope this historic church someday changes its mind and then returns to
our family," ECC President John Wenrich said in a statement.

Armfield, an ECC pastor for 47 years, also was suspended in 2017. He had
served an ECC church in Red Wing, Minnesota, in the 1970s before moving to
Michigan. He officiated his son Matthew Armfield's wedding in 2017.

"It is so unbelievably upsetting to see my father, Dan, and my fellow
members of First Covenant experience the hate, deceit and actions that go
against the teachings of love and inclusion that Jesus Christ preached,"
said Matthew Armfield, who attends First Covenant.
--
No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.

Donald J. Trump, 304 electoral votes to 227, defeated compulsive liar in
denial Hillary Rodham Clinton on December 19th, 2016. The clown car
parade of the democrat party ran out of gas and got run over by a Trump
truck.

Congratulations President Trump. Thank you for cleaning up the disaster
of the Obama presidency.

The Obama-led Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)
approved Uranium One in fall 2010. With a little luck, we'll see
compulsive liar Hillary Clinton in jail before she dies.

Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp.

Obama increased total debt from $10 trillion to $20 trillion in the eight
years he was in office, and sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood queer
liberal democrat donors.

[Robert]

On Wed, 3 Jul 2019 21:21:26 -0000 (UTC), "Leroy N. Soetoro"

Post by Leroy N. Soetoro
https://www.foxnews.com/us/minneapolis-pastor-and-church-expelled-over-
gay-marriage
Leaders of the Evangelical Covenant Church voted to defrock a Minneapolis
pastor and expel his church for permitting gay marriage.
The Rev. Dan Collison had his credentials removed by a 77 percent vote at
the Evangelical Covenant Church's annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, on
Friday night.
Leaders also voted to expel Collison's First Covenant Church, a founding
member of the 134-year-old denomination.
First Covenant Church is shown this past week in downtown Minneapolis.
Leaders of the Evangelical Covenant Church voted to expel First Covenant
and defrock its lead pastor, the Rev. Dan Collison, for permitting gay
marriage. First Covenant was a founding member of the 134-year-old
denomination. (AP Photo/Jeff Baenen)
Collison, who became a pastor at First Covenant in downtown Minneapolis in
2009, told the Star Tribune he was "not surprised" but "saddened" after he
was voted out.
"I feel grounded in the path we have chosen. I feel grateful for the
pastors and churches who stood up for us. I feel compassion to those
caught in the middle," Collison said.
The ECC says First Covenant is free to keep operating as a church and can
keep its church building. First Covenant says Collison will continue
serving as lead pastor.
A First Covenant staff member officiated at an off-site wedding of two
women from the church worship band in 2014. It also put out a "love all"
statement that said it welcomes members of the LGBTQ community to
participate in the church, including serving in leadership roles. It also
says it offers pastoral care, including weddings, "to all in our
congregation without regard for ability, race, sex, gender identity or
sexual orientation."
ECC leaders also voted Friday night to remove another pastor, Rev. Steve
Armfield, a retired Michigan minister who officiated his son's same-sex
wedding in Minneapolis. Armfield also was accused of violating the
denomination's same-sex marriage ban.
Leaders had recommended that Collison, Armfield and First Covenant be
forced out because they violated Evangelical Covenant Church policies on
human sexuality, specifically "celibacy in singleness and faithfulness in
heterosexual marriage."
"The ECC is mindful of the complexity, the sensitivity and the pain that
matters of human sexuality can bring," said Michelle Sanchez, an ECC
executive minister. "We talk about the desire for both freedom and
responsibility as a denomination. Those two things were coming into
tension in this case."
First Covenant Church was founded by Swedish immigrants in 1874. For
decades it was one of ECC's largest churches nationally, until membership
declines began in the 1970s. Today, the denomination has about 875
churches with 280,000 members nationally. It is headquartered in Chicago.
"I hope this historic church someday changes its mind and then returns to
our family," ECC President John Wenrich said in a statement.
Armfield, an ECC pastor for 47 years, also was suspended in 2017. He had
served an ECC church in Red Wing, Minnesota, in the 1970s before moving to
Michigan. He officiated his son Matthew Armfield's wedding in 2017.
"It is so unbelievably upsetting to see my father, Dan, and my fellow
members of First Covenant experience the hate, deceit and actions that go
against the teachings of love and inclusion that Jesus Christ preached,"
said Matthew Armfield, who attends First Covenant.

It's a good day that someone stood up for Godly ways, and truths. I am
glad they were thrown out. The pastor even stipulated that he knew why
and understood, yet he was standing there against the word of God.

His son, that he married, I assume is queer, is unknowledgeable in the
ways of the Lord, and for what purposes we were created.

Hatred? Deceit? and anti-God reactions? Those are fully a part of the
ex Pastor sons reactions. They are who he is.

No hatred was involved off a person against a person, but we are,
after all, supposed to hate evil.

Eventually, should the Lord tarry, there will be enough queer church
groups that some will just accept the evil there of just be because
"It's Tradition".