What do all of the abbreviations stand for?

[christianmomof3]

Hi, what are all the different groups - WELS, ECLA etc? Is there a list of what the letters stand for , what each group believes etc?
My dh grew up going to Lutheran churches as a child - he thought it might have been ALC - he can't remember - he thinks it was the non-evangelical branch - more sedate and ritualistic. Just wondering which group it was. He says that one time they moved and went to a Missouri synod branch and his parents were not comfortable there - they liked the more ritualistic ones.
Thank you, Dana

[Chemnitz]

Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Church (very conservative)
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (mostly liberal with pockets of conservativism)
American Lutheran Church (with the Lutheran Church in America, now part of ELCA) (ALC was the more conservative major member to join the merger)
Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (Conservative with pockets of bizarre)
Evangelical Lutheran Synod (very conservative)
Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (not sure, mostly conservative though, I think)
The Church of the Lutheran Confession (very conservative)
The Church of the Lutheran Brethren (evangelically conservative but more about experience)

The three largest bodies are:

ELCA : 6.2 million
LC-MS : 2.6 million
WELS : 0.5 million

[christianmomof3]

Thank you for the definitions.
We got a kick out of the one for the Missouri Synod. :D

[Protoevangel]

Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (Conservative with pockets of bizarre)
Hey bro,

Here in the Pacific Northwest, we have a big pocket of extremely liberal LCMS, virtually indistinguishable from the ELCA, in fact. I'm not quite sure what your mention of bizarre is referring to, however... Not that I''m denying it. I'm only recent to LCMS myself.

[ctay]

I belong to an LCMS church but got a kick out of the definition... LOL

[Chemnitz]

I'm glad the reference to "bizarre" was taken as it was intended.

I guess I meant more along the lines of church growth, contemporary worship, and all the weirdness that can accompany that.

I'm in the Michigan District and we're rife with it.

[LutherNut]

Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Church (very conservative)
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (mostly liberal with pockets of conservativism)
American Lutheran Church (with the Lutheran Church in America, now part of ELCA) (ALC was the more conservative major member to join the merger)
Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (Conservative with pockets of bizarre)
Evangelical Lutheran Synod (very conservative)
Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (not sure, mostly conservative though, I think)
The Church of the Lutheran Confession (very conservative)
The Church of the Lutheran Brethren (evangelically conservative but more about experience)

The three largest bodies are:

ELCA : 6.2 million
LC-MS : 2.6 million
WELS : 0.5 million

The ALC, LCA, and the AELC no longer exist. The AELC was formed from those congregations that left the LCMS following the Seminex walk-out in 1974 and were quite liberal in their theology. These three bodies merged in 1988 to form the ELCA.

The AALC (American Association of Lutheran Churches) was formed from a number of congregations that left the American Lutheran Church (ALC) prior to the merger that formed the ELCA. The AALC is mainly conservative and has been in talks with the LCMS concerning full altar/pulpit fellowship. Their seminary is now located at the LCMS seminary campus in Fort Wayne, IN.


There is something about Lutherans and abbreviations... :scratch:

[Protoevangel]

I'm glad the reference to "bizarre" was taken as it was intended.

I guess I meant more along the lines of church growth, contemporary worship, and all the weirdness that can accompany that.

I'm in the Michigan District and we're rife with it.
Oh yea, then bizarrity runs rampant is some areas -- like mine! That's why I have to drive 30 miles to find a decent LCMS congregation.

Last weekend, I was invited to a local LCMS picnic/"worship service". I should have known better. We were instructed to pray to the east, south, west and north, then to bend down and touch the earth. It was contemporary, open communion. All in all, it was just an unpleasant situation.

[Melethiel]

(Conservative with pockets of bizarre)

^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^

[IowaLutheran]

Hi, what are all the different groups - WELS, ECLA etc? Is there a list of what the letters stand for , what each group believes etc?


Lutherans are famous for our food, so our alphabet soup congolomeration of names and abbreviations is appropriate.

I think what I have learned from this board is that it is very hard to make sweeping generalizations across denominational lines due in part to geography and ethnic backgrounds. A midwest ELCA church of a pietist Norwegian or "sad Dane" background might be more conservative than a west coast LCMS church, for example.

[BigNorsk]

Oh yea, then bizarrity runs rampant is some areas -- like mine! That's why I have to drive 30 miles to find a decent LCMS congregation.

Last weekend, I was invited to a local LCMS picnic/"worship service". I should have known better. We were instructed to pray to the east, south, west and north, then to bend down and touch the earth. It was contemporary, open communion. All in all, it was just an unpleasant situation.

Did you use the traditional sacred tobacco, or was it the more recent bread and wine as introduced by Christians?

Marv

[ByzantineDixie]

Last weekend, I was invited to a local LCMS picnic/"worship service". I should have known better. We were instructed to pray to the east, south, west and north, then to bend down and touch the earth. It was contemporary, open communion. All in all, it was just an unpleasant situation.

Yikes!!!...and I thought it didn't get wackier than the FL-GA district where I once witnessed a service constructed around songs from O Brother Where Art Thou (the movie) and another around the Singing Nun--no lie! But then all we have down here are rednecks...y'all got those tree huggers up there. That may account for the situation you saw! ;)

[ByzantineDixie]

Did you use the traditional sacred tobacco, or was it the more recent bread and wine as introduced by Christians?

Marv

Marv...you sure have been funny lately...can't rep you for this. Rep Nazis, ya know. :mad:

[Protoevangel]

Did you use the traditional sacred tobacco, or was it the more recent bread and wine as introduced by Christians?

Marv
BwaHaHaHA! ^_^
Actually, it did seem very animistic.

[C.F.W. Walther]

Oh yea, then bizarrity runs rampant is some areas -- like mine! That's why I have to drive 30 miles to find a decent LCMS congregation.

Last weekend, I was invited to a local LCMS picnic/"worship service". I should have known better. We were instructed to pray to the east, south, west and north, then to bend down and touch the earth. It was contemporary, open communion. All in all, it was just an unpleasant situation.

That is truly sad and indiative of what is going on in the LCMS over and above what the ELCA is fostering. People think I have been crying wolf on this forum for the past year and they have basicaly ignored the warning signals and now they are reaping the rewards. God have mercy.

[LutherNut]

Did you use the traditional sacred tobacco...

Sounds like they were using the "traditional sacred tobacco" before the service...;)