Signs of fracture are appearing in Canada's Lutheran Church, specifically when it comes to homosexuality. The Evangelical Lutheran Church has voted to perform same-gender "marriages" and permit practicing homosexuals to become pastors.
Nolan Astley pastors Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Kitchener, Ontario, and serves as vice president of the Lutheran Church-Canada, which is the Biblical based branch of the denomination.
"Our concern is what's happening not just in the Evangelical Lutheran Church here in Canada but elsewhere as well is that social concerns and society's norms are becoming the norms for the church, and that's a matter of grave concern," says the pastor.
Astley says that by just reading comments from people within the ELC online, he senses that many members and pastors of the more liberal denomination are grieving over the vote....