Church of Hope removed from ELCA. High-price home sales. Lt. Governor Gregg is the first.

10/2/2024

Earlier this summer, the Evangelical Lutheran Churches Association (ELCA) and the Southeastern Iowa Synod voted to remove the West Des Moines-based Lutheran mega-church, Church of Hope, from its roster of congregations. The Southeastern Iowa Synod is one of 65 synods that make up the ELCA.

Bishop Rev. Amy Current said she recommended Hope’s removal from the roster because seven pastors currently serving on Hope’s staff are not on the roster of the ELCA or any of its “full communion partners,” and this conflicts with the ELCA constitution. The synod statement said the constitutions of Hope and the ELCA no longer align.

This came as a surprise to some, as Hope had been part of the ELCA and had used pastors not on its roster for more than 20 years. The split, while amicable and mutual, according to statements from both sides, caused rumors to swell. 

CITYVIEW reached out to Hope and the Southeastern Iowa Synod to clarify differences in the statements. Hope Pastor Mike Housholder responded, while the Southeastern Iowa Synod redirected us to its online statement. 

Housholder said that, for more than two decades, two previous bishops allowed Hope, for missional reasons, to have non-ELCA pastors. If this had not been an issue for more than 20 years, what changed?

“It is a long-standing difference of opinion in their (ELCA’s) mission from a structural and organizational point of view,” Housholder said. “The two bishops who were in her (Current’s) chair for over 20 years allowed Hope to call these pastors who were fully qualified and educated but weren’t on the ELCA roster. Bishop Current, for the sake of institutional integrity, said she could not approve their calls but also did not want to fire them, so we realized our only good and faithful option was to part ways amicably.”

Housholder said Hope always knew this parting of ways was a possibility, and they were OK with this. He said it will not have an effect on the church’s operations going forward. 

“It won’t have any impact because we will continue to remain in contact with all of our ELCA partners. We will still be a Lutheran church, and we will continue to do what we do,” Housholder said.

The official date of removal was Sept. 15. Housholder said Hope will be joining the Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC) due to the split. He says LCMC is made up of other congregations that were once part of the ELCA that also had a similar difference of opinion.

Housholder said a clergy shortage played into the reason why Hope was unable to find pastors who fit into the ELCA’s requirements. Some say this is more of an issue with smaller congregations and not one for a church like Hope with its size and resources. Housholder disagrees, saying this is an issue that affects congregations big and small.

“We weren’t calling on pastors at Hope to do something that was radical or knowingly outside the boundaries of the way that the ELCA wants its ways to be, but we needed pastors. That’s why the previous bishops had allowed us to do this. I think every Lutheran church should be picky with who a pastor is. We were told by our bishops that it is difficult to fulfill all the available needs that congregations, big or small, would have,” Housholder said. “Our approach was to raise up our pastors within our congregations, because there is a pastor shortage. It’s not like we had other options or denied other pastors. We have raised up 25 other pastors who serve in the ELCA and who serve across the country.” …

CITYVIEW recently took a look at the five highest sale prices of homes in the Des Moines area. All sold for more than $2 million since the start of 2024.

In August, Anubha Lal sold her west side home at 28 Foster Drive in Des Moines to Aage Lauridsen for $3,850,000. The 7,000-square-foot home consists of three stories and has five bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a pool and a pool house. The house was originally built in 1918 and was renovated in 2022. The oldest sale record shows it sold for $440,000 in 1987.

Foster Drive was a popular destination for home sales this year. In April, the home at 733 Foster Drive sold for $2,617,000 from the Dorothy F. Thurston Revocable Trust to the Craig T. Faber Living Trust. The home, built in 2005, is more than 5,000 square feet and features five bedrooms and five bathrooms.

The home at 14140 Maple Drive in Urbandale is the next highest home sale. It sold for $2,600,000 by the Jeremy Gosch Trust to the Jeremy R. Hellickson Living Trust in August. Built in 2022, this 3,367-square-foot home has four bedrooms and six bathrooms. Despite being purchased recently, the house is listed for sale again, as of Sept. 6.

The house at 3848 River Oaks Drive in Des Moines was purchased for $2,500,000 in May by Scribble DE LLC from Kristine McVicker. The house features four bedrooms and five bathrooms and was built in 2021. The home that was on the property before sold for $320,000 in 2019.

And rounding out the top five, the house at 4100 E. Broadway Ave. on the northeast side of Des Moines was sold by the Patricia Pilmaier Irrevocable Trust to Daniel Decarlo in August for $2,250,000. The 35-acre plot has a two-story home on it and has two beds and three baths. …

Iowa’s now former Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg announced his resignation on Sept. 3, to the surprise of many. Soon after, the Iowa Bankers Association named Gregg as its president and CEO. Gregg is replaced by acting Lt. Gov. Amy Sinclair until Gov. Kim Reynolds names a successor “later this fall.” 

If you were wondering who the last Lieutenant Governor to resign on the job was, well, it never happened. Lieutenant Governors either ran for another office or, in some cases, became the Governor upon a resignation, as Gov. Reynolds did.

In related news, Iowans will have the chance to vote on a change to the state’s constitution regarding the state’s gubernatorial line of succession, something that frustrated Gov. Reynolds when she became acting governor in 2017. If the vote passes, it will repeal and replace a section of the constitution that happens in the event of a resignation, death or removal of an Iowa governor. The change would allow the new governor to appoint a new lieutenant governor to fill the empty position. If this passes, it will not affect Gov. Reynold’s ability to fill the position. n