Saturday, December 23, 2006

Lutheran Church has European Members

There's a news flash.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the world's largest Lutheran body, has "associations" for various ethic communities among its membership -- "African-Americans, American Indians/Alaska Natives, Hispanics, Asians/Pacific Islanders and Arab/Middle Eastern Heritage." And now, at long last, they have approved an association for the other 97 (or so) percent: European Americans.

Oh, we can hear the jokes already. But fair's fair; Father A. is a a proud Euro-American himself, and has long felt a little left out of the limelight. I mean, apart from all the presiding bishops, nearly all the bishops, and the vast majority of pastors and laypeople, the ELCA hardly has anybody like me in it. So I'm happy to have a special-interest group in which to pursue my owhn identity's identity politics.

But there is a serious problem. Because with only one new association, we Finns are going to be tossed in with those insufferably snotty Swedes. Not to mention the Germans with their crypto-Calvinism (and occasional tendency to invade Poland).

Frankly, the whole thing sounds like another plot to keep us down. Hey, Pharaoh -- let my people go!

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