Papers and Other Information

Papers and Other Information

Over the years the ULMA has issued some position papers, write-ups for specific questions, and now audio files of our recent Forum. As part of making such items easier to find, we are putting such items on one page.

Please note that not all of these papers have links back to this page. Some are PDF files which will require you to use your Previous or Back buttons in your web browser.

Official Documents & Positions

Constitution of the United Lutheran Mission Association

Constitutional Guidelines for Congregations of the United Lutheran Mission Association

The Issue of Fellowship

Various Papers

An Island for Misfit Lutherans

By Rev. James R. Shaw

Presented at the August 23, 2008 General Meeting of the ULMA in Decatur, Illinois.

An Open Letter to Members and Clergy of the ELCA

By Rev. James R. Shaw

Observations on Selecting Mission Sites From the Book of Acts

By Rev. Jack Cascione

+ + + Life Without A Synod + + +

ULMA's first Forum was held at Pilgrim Lutheran Church in Decatur, Illinois on Saturday, October 17, 2009. The presentations were recorded and are made available here in MP3 format. Where there are occasional technical difficulties, we have noted them. The audio recording was such that while clear, the audio level is low. You may need to turn up your speakers a bit to hear it.

We have also included PDF copies of papers presented if available.

The Moderator for the Forum was Rev. William Abbott of Pilgrim Lutheran Church.

Agenda for the Forum

Our Reasons for Leaving the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, the Steps We Took and How We Prepared Our Members.

Alan Ruwe, Pilgrim Lutheran Church, Decatur, Illinois (Length 26:26) * Slides

The Slides will open in a new browser window so you can scroll through them while listening to the talk.

Pastor Brock Abbott, Pilgrim Lutheran Church (Length 24:21) Paper

Frank Butkovich, Redeemer Lutheran Church, St. Clair Shores, Michigan. Followed by Q & A (Length 21:40)

* The start of Alan's presentation has been deleted to remove sections regarding technical difficulties early in his talk.

Why We Left and the Way We Did It.

Dan LaJoie and Ron Mazone, Christ the Rock Lutheran Church, Carlsbad, California. (Length 22:13) Slides

The Slides will open in a new browser window so you can scroll through them while listening to the talk.

Please note there were some technical difficulties with the video/audio feed from California early in Dan's presentation. The audio improved by the time of Ron's presentation. There are several sections of "tech talk" regarding the remote connection. We apologize for the inconvenience.

From Missouri To Virginia – A Former Missouri Synod Pastor Walks the Talk.

Pastor James Shaw, Missionary at Large (Length 48:38) Paper

Agnus Dei Lutheran Church, Fredericksburg, Virginia.

From Wisconsin To California – A Former ELS Pastor Walks the Talk.

Pastor William Mack, Missionary at Large (Length 24:17) Paper

Christ the Rock Lutheran Church, Carlsbad, California.

The United Lutheran Mission Association (ULMA) – Its Purpose, Its Goals and How It Functions.

Alan Ruwe (Length 17:17)

Frank Butkovich (Length 9:43)

Kurt Bickes – Legal concerns for congregations wishing to leave a Synod and for those wishing to start a congregation. (Length 37:16)

Concluding Remarks, Prayer, and Blessing.

Rev. William Abbott – Pilgrim Lutheran Church (Length 9:37)