United Lutheran Mission Association Added to Our List of Confessional Groups – Meeting January 10 in Indianapolis

 In our on-going efforts to bring confessional groups together we are pleased to announce that the ULMA (United Lutheran Mission Association) will be submitting regular updates about their work to our site.

This is a very active group that is working hard to start new confessional Lutheran congregations. They began with two congregations that left the LCMS because of doctrinal reasons. Since leaving just a few years ago, they have already started two mission congregations.

One of the doctrinal areas that confessional Lutherans find themselves  differing on is the role of the pastor and the role of the voters assembly. One of the ULMA’s basic principles is to support active and strong voters assemblies. Not all readers of this website will agree with every tenet of every other confessional group and this is one issue on which  we have groups on opposite ends of the spectrum. In the end, there is much more that unites confessional groups and it is our hope at BJS that we can focus on those things while working through our differences.

ULMA is a group of confessional Lutherans that have taken a strong stand against the doctrinal compromises in the LCMS and we are pleased to have them reporting here on our site. Here is their latest news release. (This and future postings will be cataloged on our “Regular Columns” page under the heading “Church News and Confessional Groups.” Their website has more information and can be found here.)

The next regular meeting of the United Lutheran Mission Association will be on Saturday, January 10, 2009 from 7:30am – 1:00pm EST. We will be meeting in the large conference room at:

Drury Inn – Indianapolis
9320 N. Michigan Road
Indianapolis, IN 46268
(317) 876-9777

The cross streets for the hotel are I-465 and US-421. Most of the ULMA Commission members and mission representatives will be staying there. Those who wish to stay at the Drury Inn can call 1-800-DRURYINN. As of this writing, there are plenty of rooms available. Since there are two Drury Inns in Indianapolis, be sure to specify the one at 9320 Michigan when making your reservation. (You can realize a nice discount when booking if you ask for the Vacation Rate.)

We will be hearing from both of our mission congregations, Sola Scriptura in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin and Agnus Dei in Fredericksburg, Virginia. We anticipate visitors from congregations who are interested in supporting ULMA as well as those who wish to establish new mission congregations. Though we are facing economic challenges, the Lord is still presenting us with interested laymen and pastors around the country who want to plant and maintain Lutheran churches.

As in the past we are including an informal Question and Answer (Q&A) session at 11:30am where ULMA members will talk about the organization, outreach, mission plans, and anything else of interest to those in attendance.

Past visitors have commented on the benefit of attending our meetings in person. It provides the best opportunity for exchanging ideas, fellowship, and getting to know the ULMA members and pastors. However, we understand how distance and lack of resources can limit travel to our meeting sites. There are other options available. Anyone interested in participating as an observer at our next meeting and/or Q&A session should contact one of the ULMA Member Congregations by Thursday, January 8, so that we may plan accordingly. Our member congregations are:

Pilgrim Lutheran Church
(217) 877-2444

Redeemer Lutheran Church
(586) 294-0640

We look forward to seeing you in Indy!

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