We're part of the ELCA for countless reasons, and here we'll list a few. Primarily its faithful insistence upon the power of God's Word for us in Christ, in Christ's Sacraments, and in the Holy Scripture. These aren't abstract things for us, and they don't necessarily pinhole us into particular political or social views. They're better than that. They are real and active promises that we confess that we need to bless us and guide us. From here, we find joy in the freedom the denomination provides us in calling thoroughly trained, faithful and gifted ministers and other leaders from all backgrounds to help us express our faith in Christ's work through Word and Deed. We find strength in its willingness to tackle complicated issues from a position of faith and earnest struggle and respect for people from all ends of the spectrum. We find an openness to the sense that while we can separate and disagree in many things, we hold onto the fact that Jesus Christ binds us even closer. Along with all of these is a historical reason. Since our first Lutheran congregation members gathered together here in Spinnerstown back in the 18th century, we have been a people convinced drawn together thorough faithfulness of the Lutheran Confessions, which we would say today find their clearest expression in America through the Evangelical Lutheran Church. That sense of history, and continuity in community through all of the challenges of our history (the congregation dates back to 1734, the property to 1763) is part of our community. It's part of what makes St. John's St. John's.
Really there are countless reasons. But the best way to find them out is to come and see for yourself.