One of those breakaway churches was St. Luke Evangelical Church in Traer, Iowa. We feel the ELCA is attempting to be everything to everyone, which is nothing to anyone. Some Lutherans say they cannot sacrifice doctrine. For Martin Luther and other reformers, the peddling of indulgences to reduce punishment after death due to sin, was one of the ways the Catholic Church fostered the illusion that people could be saved by their own merits. By grace alone, in faith in Christ's work, and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while calling us to good works.
Catholics still believe in purgatory and indulgences.
That whole area of disagreement was ignored.'' Another sore point for Lutherans is the the ecumenical agreement, ''A Call to Common Mission,'' which requires the denomination to accept Episcopal Church rituals like the historic episcopate that many Lutherans believe conflict with its founding father's teachings on the nature of the church, ministry, sacraments, salvation and the role of laity. Lutherans recognize only two sacraments, baptism and the Lord's Supper, because Luther could find no clear evidence that Christ instituted any other sacrament. While Episcopalians follow a formal installation of clergy by bishops in a line of succession from the apostles of Jesus, Lutherans believe that its bishops are the equals of, not superior to, fellow clergy. Lutheran bishops are elected for six-year terms rather than for life as in the Episcopal Church.