Local paper does good job on church controversy

Feature articles in today's Sioux Falls Argus Leader focus on South Dakota Lutheran (ELCA) congregations in turmoil and division over the denomination's decision to ordain clergy in homosexual relationships.

Reporter Peter Harriman does a commendable job in articulating the different points of view and listening for the sincere issues and struggles. My favorite line is his description of the Lake Andes congregation that is voting on whether to sever ties to ELCA:

"In the process, they've found that their own spiritual tradtion runs deeper than their ties to the ELCA." This is a great improvement over the usual MSM usage of "anti-gay," "ultra conservative" or other epithets to discount the traditional Christian witness.

There is a companion interview, also by Harriman, with Bishop David Zellmer of the ELCA's South Dakota Synod.

You can read them here.