The ECC said that the church is "out of harmony" with some of its teachings. On Friday, it voted to involuntarily remove the church from membership.

MINNEAPOLIS — A founding member of the Evangelical Covenant Church in Minneapolis has been involuntarily removed from the denomination.

The ECC said First Covenant Church is "out of harmony" with its teachings on issues including the following:

The ECC’s standard of marriage by permitting same-sex marriage;

The ECC’s prohibition of clergy officiating and participating at same-sex weddings.

On Friday, it voted to "involuntarily remove" the church from membership, by a more than two-thirds majority.

"Ultimately our position all along is that we acknowledge your statement as the general ethos of the denomination, and we also ask for freedom to minister to those in our context in the way we feel is faithful," Pastor Dan Collison told KARE 11's Jana Shortal last week.

At that time, Collison told Shortal that no matter what happened with the vote, nothing would change on Sundays at his church.

They would continue to worship and remain inclusive. They would keep their name - as they own their buildings.

ECC president John Wenrich issued a statement Friday, saying: “I grieve the loss of First Covenant Church of Minneapolis from the roster of Covenant churches. At the same time, I respect the discernment of the Annual Meeting. I hope this historic church someday changes its mind and then returns to our family.”

A vote was passed Friday to also remove covenant credentials from Pastor Dan Collison.