In meetings and contacts with other Lutherans we are sometimes asked
how a church can leave a synod. Back in 2004, both Redeemer Lutheran
Church of St. Clair Shores, MI and Pilgrim Lutheran Church of
Decatur, IL left the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Each
congregation left for different reasons.

On September 8th, Rev. William Abbott of Pilgrim, Decatur was one of
the speakers at the Texas Confessional Lutheran Free Conference
XVIII. The theme for the conference
was, "Decisions...Decisions...Decisions...". The topic of Rev.
Abbott's paper was, "Why Leave the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod?"
Rev. Abbott was invited to speak from his own congregation's
experience.

There were about 140 people in attendance, most of them laity. The
paper was well received and there were several questions afterwards.
Rev. Abbott's paper may be found on Pilgrim's website,
http://www.pilgrimlutherandecatur.org under "News and Events."

In 2005 Pilgrim, Decatur joined with Redeemer, St. Clair Shores in
forming the United Lutheran Mission Association (ULMA). The ULMA's
purpose is to establish Lutheran mission congregations. We offer
support to start new and existing missions with the goal of
proclaiming the Gospel.

Congregations who wish to leave a synodical body may feel free to
contact Pilgrim and Redeemer Lutheran Churches and their pastors to
learn what happened and how they proceeded. Such advice and guidance
is outside of the ULMA. Involvement with the ULMA does not require
changes to a congregation's synodical affiliation.

Since missions are our goal, we are always looking for opportunities
to start new missions as well as looking for others to join us in our
humble venture. If you know of a spot where a mission could be
established, please contact us. If you wish to join us, we want to
hear from you.

With God's blessings the ULMA has two mission congregations in place,
is in the process of calling a Missionary at Large, and has
identified other potential mission locations.

Check out our website, www.unitedlutheranmission.org, for contact
information.

To God be the glory!

[Corrected copy: The original message had a slight error in Pilgrim's
website address.]