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Kafka in Dixie
Abstract: Pr. Bradley Schmeling's trial in Atlanta has begun
Pr. Bradley Schmeling's trail in Atlanta has begun, and it's not just a closed trial, it's a secret trial. The five meeting rooms used by the hearing at the Sheraton Midtown are unmarked; They're at the end of a cul-de-sac corridor.
Inside the main hearing room there are no symbols, no ELCA banners, no Luther Roses, no crosses. We may be marked with the cross of Christ forever, but you'd have a hard time discovering that here.
Some particulars are now known:
The Hearing Officer (judge) is James Ellefson from the Southeastern Iowa Synod. Counsel for the ELCA includes Daniel Connolly and Erik Jorstad. The ELCA has two "Facilitators": Rev. Herbert Carlmark and David Hardy. You may find Mrs. Carlmark on duty as a door warden on the public side of the meeting room door.
Counsel for Pr. Schmeling includes the Rev. Jane Fahey, Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Rev. Robert Rimbo, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, New York. Sitting with Bradley are his partner the Rev. Darin Easler, Mrs. Judy Schmeling-Arnette, Bradley's mom, and Ms. Laura Crawley, President, St. John's Lutheran Church, Atlanta.
