Gender-Neutral Hymnal a Concession to the Culture, Says ELCA Pastor

'Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the God of Creation!
My heart is longing to offer up sweet adoration!'
Proposed revision to 'Praise to the Lord, the Almighty'
(Hymn 543, Lutheran Book of Worship)

By Jim Brown
August 25, 2005

(AgapePress) - A conservative minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America says he and other ELCA pastors are disturbed by the denomination's approval of a new, more gender-neutral hymnal.

At its Churchwide Assembly in early August, the ELCA okayed a plan to update the 1978 Lutheran Book of Worship by eliminating the "Father" terminology and male pronouns used in reference to God. The hymnal overhaul will include other gender-neutralizing and diversity-affirming changes to traditional Lutheran worship lyrics and liturgies as well. For example, in the Lutheran Creed, God and Jesus will now be referred to as "Holy Eternal Majesty" and "Holy Incarnate Word" instead of "Father" and "Son."

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