Brian,
As a former member of the congregation in question and as one who was baptized and confirmed in this church, it saddens me to witness what has occured. Let me provide some historical perspective.
East Union was a member of the LCA before the merger.....and quite frankly, there was little discussion or angst about the merger....we did not go "kicking and screaming". The former minister retired and after being without a minister for over a year and after being rejected on a first ballot, the current minister was called.
Very shortly, thereafter, there were sermons speaking against the ELCA - a particular sermon dealt with an advertising campaign by the ELCA. In 2005, the partner church was convinced to join the LCMC and voted in favor of leaving the ELCA and joining the LCMC by a unaminous vote. The vote at East Union was haphazard at best (I'm trying to be kind). Ballots were passed out and voting was begun before the discussion was finished. It is not certain that all votes counted were cast by members and the exact vote total has never been announced to the congregation - just an announcement that the vote to join the LCMC had passed. When a question was asked at the congregational meeting on the ELCA's viewpoint, it was quickly dismissed (while voting was taking place) in that they had heard from the LCMC and that was all that was necessary. The congregation was assured several times by the minister that dual rostering of congregations was allowed by the ELCA.....although the congregation had nothing from the ELCA (the ELCA was not asked).
If the question about dual rostering of congregations had been allowed to be researched (rather than the railroading of the vote), it would have been found that Secretary Almen had addressed this issue in a memo dated January 4, 2002 to the synodical bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. His interpretation (and since that is his job....it is the only intepretation that matters at this point) is that ELCA congregations may not affiliate simultaneously with the ELCA and any of the 21 U.S. Lutheran Church Bodies (the LCMC is listed as one of the 21).
When the new bishop took office, she sent a letter to the minister stating that the congregation could not be dual rostered AND that an ordained minister of the ELCA could not be dual rostered. Her letter indicated a need for a meeting to occur between herself and the minister to discuss his roster status and she gave him a month in which to make an appointment to discuss. He refused stating that he was "too busy". The bishop removed the minister from the roster after the deadline had passed and so now the church is still an ELCA congregation without an ELCA minister. There will be a vote take to determine whether this church leaves the ELCA.
I can't tell you how much damage this has done to the church that provided me my faith foundation. There are several people that feel very strongly about remaining with the ELCA and it has turned into a battle of family members against each other. The pain that many members of this church are going though is enormous....there are people who have been members of this church for over 60 years that feel they must leave if this congregation votes to leave the ELCA. I pray for this congregation every day....I pray that the people who became so disenfranchised by the leadership of this congregation will find comfort. One may think that a small congregation with few members (approximately 40-50 members each Sunday) really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of God's kingdom.....to me, it's what matters the most. Thanks for allowing me to provide a different perspective on this issue.