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The first organized effort to form a...

The first organized effort to form a splinter church and avoid a Lutheran denominational merger has been announced by a group of theologically conservative American Lutheran Church (ALC) clergy and laity from seven states, including California.

Spokesmen for the Assn. of American Lutheran Churches (AALC) said an assembly will be held Oct. 20 in St. Paul, Minn., as an ā€œinformation and inspirational meetingā€ for Lutherans unhappy with the three-way merger into the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, approved overwhelmingly by conventions of the denominations in August.

For the record:

12:00 a.m. Oct. 11, 1986 FOR THE RECORD
Los Angeles Times Saturday October 11, 1986 Home Edition Metro Part 2 Page 6 Column 6 Advance Desk 2 inches; 67 words Type of Material: Correction
Robert Shofner, a religious studies professor at California State University, Northridge, said that, contrary to a report here Oct. 4, he is not involved in a group exploring the formation of a conservative alternative church to the proposed merger of three Lutheran denominations. Shofner said he did not authorize the use of his name to a statement about the splinter group distributed by the Rev. Orville G. Hiepler of Camarillo. ā€œIt was a misunderstanding,ā€ Shofner said.

The ALCā€™s 4,900 congregations still must approve the plan by a two-thirds majority over the next several months, but most church leaders expect ratification. The ALC would be uniting, effective Jan. 1, 1988, with the Lutheran Church in America and Assn. of Evangelical Lutheran Churches.

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The Rev. Orville G. Hiepler, pastor of the 750-member First Lutheran Church of Camarillo, and the Rev. Robert Shofner, a religious studies faculty member at California State University, Northridge, issued a statement saying the new group would retain strong local control of church properties, espouse ā€œtraditional biblical valuesā€ and emphasize evangelistic and missionary activities.

ā€œThis new group will be a continuation of the conservative wing of the present American Lutheran Church,ā€ they said.

Previously, some charismatic, or neo-Pentecostal, churches in the ALC had expressed dissatisfaction over the merger.

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ALC Presiding Bishop David W. Preus has said that district bishops have told him that 30 to 35 churches might consider dropping out, and fewer would actually do it. ā€œI think it will be tragic if it happens,ā€ Presu said.

CONGREGATIONS

Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church will begin serving two meals daily to the hungry and homeless at ā€œThe Lordā€™s Kitchenā€ in South-Central Los Angeles, starting Sunday. Structures at 59th and Main streets were rebuilt at the cost of $225,000 from donations, many of them coming through appeals by Mt. Zion pastor Edward V. Hill in his appearances on Trinity Broadcasting Networkā€™s Channel 40. The feeding facility will serve breakfast and supper for 50 cents each, when people have the money. ā€œIf not, they can be a guest of the Lord,ā€ Hill said. The facility will also distribute boxes of staple foods to those whose need is determined through applications.

DATES

Pets accompanied by human friends will congregate in Beverly Hills 10 a.m. today on the front lawn of All Saintsā€™ Episcopal Church. Itā€™s the church schoolā€™s annual blessing of the animals on the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226), the Italian saint renowed for his love of animals.

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Evangelical theologian J.I. Packer, a widely respected exponent of conservative Protestantism, will give his version of ā€œThe State of the Churchā€ at 7 p.m. Friday night in the opening session of Reformation II, a conference at Biola Universityā€™s Chase Auditorium in La Mirada. The two-day conference also includes lawyer-theologian John Warwick Montgomery.

MEDIA

Lewis B. Smedes, a professor of theology and ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, has two books fresh on the market: ā€œChoices, Making Right Decisions in a Complex Worldā€ (Harper & Row) and a paperback reprint of ā€œHow Can It Be All Right When Everything Is All Wrong?ā€ (Pocket).

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