From the Associated Press:
Lutherans weigh making gay clergy a local decision
By Eric Gorski
The nation's largest Lutheran denomination will consider allowing individual congregations to choose whether to allow gays and lesbians in committed relationships to serve as clergy, an attempt to avoid the sort of infighting that has threatened to tear other churches apart.
A task force of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America recommended that course Thursday in a long-awaited report on ministry standards. The panel, however, said the church needs to clarify a number of questions before overhauling its gay clergy policy.
The report, issued at the same time as a broader church social statement on human sexuality, seeks balance on an issue dividing many Protestant churches. Both documents will be considered in August in Minneapolis at the biannual convention of the 4.7-million member denomination.
"At this point, there is no consensus in the church," said the Rev. Peter Strommen of Prior Lake, Minn., chairman of the 15-member task force on sexuality. "The question ends up being, 'How are we going to live together in that absence of consensus?'
"This ought not to be church-dividing, even if there are strong differences."
Church members on both sides of the issue, however, were dissatisfied with the proposal. Conservatives called it a rejection of Scripture and an advocate for gay clergy said some of the elements take "a step backward."
Gays and lesbians can now serve as clergy in the ELCA if they remain celibate, although some congregations have challenged the system and hired pastors in gay relationships. Heterosexual clergy and professional lay workers are to abstain from sex outside marriage.
The proposed change would cover those in "lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships."
The task force recommended a deliberate four-step process toward a new policy — starting with asking the church whether it is committed in principle "to finding ways to allow congregations and synods that choose to do so to recognize, support, and hold publicly accountable" those relationships.
The task force is not urging a liturgical rite for same-sex couples, said the Rev. Stanley Olson, executive director of vocation and education for the Chicago-based denomination.
The desire is to hold gay people accountable to their relationships much like heterosexual couples are bound by marriage, he said. The report doesn't propose ways to accomplish that.
Next, the church would consider whether it wants to find a way to allow gay clergy while agreeing to "respect the bound consciences of all." If the assembly can agree on those things, then it would weigh the recommendation essentially granting a local option on gay clergy in committed relationships.
The proposal is an effort to avoid the sort of splintering that the 77 million-member Anglican Communion has suffered since 2003, when the Episcopal Church — the Anglican body in the U.S. — consecrated the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. His election intensified a long-running debate over what Anglicans should believe about salvation, sexuality and other issues.
The ELCA report calls for "structured flexibility" giving congregations, regional church bodies called synods and candidacy committees freedom to "act according to their convictions."
"The task force believes the church will be better at respecting the consciences of people who disagree if we allow room for different practice," Olson said. "That goes hand in hand with our conviction that our Christian unity doesn't depend on agreement about ethical questions."...
Read it all here.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
A Missouri Synod Statement
Pastor Matthew Harrison is the Executive Director of for the LCMS World Relief and Human Care. The following statement not only expresses a Lutheran Church&mdash'Missouri Synod perspective on yesterday's news, it explains why he might comment on what might seem to be an internal ELCA matter. (Yup, it's not.)
Statement of Rev. Matthew Harrison on ELCA’s Task Force on Sexuality Study
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Yesterday the church commemorated the 463rd anniversary of the death of Martin Luther. His last written words, found on a note in his pocket, were "We are beggars: This is true." Hermann Sasse regarded these final words as a summation of Luther’s great legacy to Christianity. In all matters of faith and life, Christians are beggars who receive what the Lord gives, and as the Lord gives. Salvation is all by grace, all by Christ’s doing. All that we are to believe and practice in the church is very clearly given in the Bible, God’s own infallible Word.
Today the ELCA’s Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality released its "Report and Recommendation on Ministry Policies" (http://www.elca.org/faithfuljourney). The report recommends a path for the ELCA’s 2009 church-wide assembly to recognize and accept publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same gender relationships of clergy in those synods (ELCA regional divisions) and congregations, which desire to approve of such relationships.
The LCMS position on homosexuality is that of the Bible and the church catholic from the very beginning. Revisionist readings of the Bible that assert otherwise are deeply dependent upon views of the Bible that are at odds with its self-definition as God’s very Word.
We at LCMS World Relief and Human Care (LCMS Board for Human Care) have many tasks mandated by the Missouri Synod, which involve a great deal of interaction and partnership with ELCA offices, entities, affiliated agencies, and individuals. We have sought to carry out these mandated tasks with complete and uncompromising fidelity with charity, faithful to the LCMS’s clearly stated positions, including those on human sexuality. This task is becoming ever more complex, and the proposals of the ELCA task force promise to increase this complexity greatly. We will continue to the best of our ability to ensure that service organizations recognized by the LCMS "respect and do not act contrary to" (6.2.1 LCMS 2007 Handbook: Constitution, Bylaws, Articles of Incorporation, page 200) the biblical position of the LCMS on this issue.
To say that we are disappointed in the Task Force proposals would be a vast understatement. But we are not surprised. We are deeply concerned about many ELCA friends (on both sides of the issue) and especially about those who find themselves holding the orthodox position while their beloved church body slips into heterodoxy. But we do not write in order to self-righteously castigate the ELCA. Rather in deep humility and repentance, we think of our own many and deep sins: our own failure to hear the word of God; our failure to bear convincing witness on this issue; our own deep sins and our lack of love for one another, which have often rendered our witness of no effect; our lack of love and failure to reach out "with might and main" to those who struggle with the issue of homosexuality.
Today, Feb. 19, 2009, is a day of deep repentance. Join me in praying for the future of the Lutheran church, in America and throughout the world. Please join me too, in praying for the hundreds of Lutheran agencies, which faithfully struggle to serve those in need. We are beggars: This is true.
Rev. Matthew Harrison
Executive Director
LCMS World Relief and Human Care
(For a further discussion on this topic from a biblical and Lutheran Confessional viewpoint please see Armin Wenz’s The Contemporary Debate on Homosexual Clergy published by LCMS World Relief and Human Care.)
Statement of Rev. Matthew Harrison on ELCA’s Task Force on Sexuality Study
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Yesterday the church commemorated the 463rd anniversary of the death of Martin Luther. His last written words, found on a note in his pocket, were "We are beggars: This is true." Hermann Sasse regarded these final words as a summation of Luther’s great legacy to Christianity. In all matters of faith and life, Christians are beggars who receive what the Lord gives, and as the Lord gives. Salvation is all by grace, all by Christ’s doing. All that we are to believe and practice in the church is very clearly given in the Bible, God’s own infallible Word.
Today the ELCA’s Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality released its "Report and Recommendation on Ministry Policies" (http://www.elca.org/faithfuljourney). The report recommends a path for the ELCA’s 2009 church-wide assembly to recognize and accept publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same gender relationships of clergy in those synods (ELCA regional divisions) and congregations, which desire to approve of such relationships.
The LCMS position on homosexuality is that of the Bible and the church catholic from the very beginning. Revisionist readings of the Bible that assert otherwise are deeply dependent upon views of the Bible that are at odds with its self-definition as God’s very Word.
We at LCMS World Relief and Human Care (LCMS Board for Human Care) have many tasks mandated by the Missouri Synod, which involve a great deal of interaction and partnership with ELCA offices, entities, affiliated agencies, and individuals. We have sought to carry out these mandated tasks with complete and uncompromising fidelity with charity, faithful to the LCMS’s clearly stated positions, including those on human sexuality. This task is becoming ever more complex, and the proposals of the ELCA task force promise to increase this complexity greatly. We will continue to the best of our ability to ensure that service organizations recognized by the LCMS "respect and do not act contrary to" (6.2.1 LCMS 2007 Handbook: Constitution, Bylaws, Articles of Incorporation, page 200) the biblical position of the LCMS on this issue.
To say that we are disappointed in the Task Force proposals would be a vast understatement. But we are not surprised. We are deeply concerned about many ELCA friends (on both sides of the issue) and especially about those who find themselves holding the orthodox position while their beloved church body slips into heterodoxy. But we do not write in order to self-righteously castigate the ELCA. Rather in deep humility and repentance, we think of our own many and deep sins: our own failure to hear the word of God; our failure to bear convincing witness on this issue; our own deep sins and our lack of love for one another, which have often rendered our witness of no effect; our lack of love and failure to reach out "with might and main" to those who struggle with the issue of homosexuality.
Today, Feb. 19, 2009, is a day of deep repentance. Join me in praying for the future of the Lutheran church, in America and throughout the world. Please join me too, in praying for the hundreds of Lutheran agencies, which faithfully struggle to serve those in need. We are beggars: This is true.
Rev. Matthew Harrison
Executive Director
LCMS World Relief and Human Care
(For a further discussion on this topic from a biblical and Lutheran Confessional viewpoint please see Armin Wenz’s The Contemporary Debate on Homosexual Clergy published by LCMS World Relief and Human Care.)
WordAlone Responds to Proposals
And the WordAlone Network has this to say:
WordAlone Network responds to ELCA human sexuality proposals
February 19, 2009
For Immediate Release:
WordAlone Network New Brighton, MN 55112
Contact: President, Pr. Jaynan Clark Egland 509 540-0889
Vice president, Pr. Mark Chavez 717 898-0801
Email: wordalone@popp.net
Download this document in PDF format.
Calling the report and recommendations on human sexuality proposed by a task force of the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States too lengthy and confusing, leaders of the WordAlone Network, the faithful opposition, compared its recommendations to smoke and mirrors.
President of the grassroots network, Pastor Jaynan Clark Egland commented Thursday, “When voters in many states uphold traditional marriage better than church leaders and the mainline denominations as a whole, then you know something is really out of whack.”
The WordAlone Network will work to defeat all the recommendations of the task force, she said.
The task force report says the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America should consider date rape “an egregious violation of friendship,” should discourage “co-habitation arrangements outside of marriage” and should learn to live with its disagreements over homosexual behavior.
As for same-sex relationships and allowing persons in same-sex relationships to serve as ordained or lay ministers in the ELCA, the task force recommends that the delegates at this August’s churchwide assembly in Minneapolis vote on four resolutions in a certain order.
If the assembly defeats one of the resolutions, or questions, the task force says the voting would stop on any remaining question.
The first two ask the assembly to accept “in principle” same-sex, monogamous, lifelong relationships and to allow persons in such relationships to serve as ministers. The third question admits the church does not have consensus on the issues and asks the ELCA to respect members’ differing opinions on same-sex questions, which it says are based on individuals’ consciences.
The fourth question, in fact, asks the denomination to be flexible and allow persons in same-sex relationships to serve as ministers in some congregations, synods and ministries. This opens the door to local option.
“The first three questions are just smoke and mirrors for the last one. If we accept something ‘in principle,’ haven’t we accepted it indeed,” asked Pastor Mark Chavez, vice president of WordAlone.
Clark Egland asked, “Is consensus our new ‘way’ for finding ‘truth’? I thought Jesus was the Way and the Truth. That doesn’t change whether we agree or not.
“Local option is, ironically, the negation of their entire desire to reach consensus. With individual, congregational and synodical option, there is no standard at all, just the celebration of self over against the Christian understanding of community and true freedom.”
The ELCA task force’s report is available at www.elca.org/faithfuljourney.
February 19, 2009
For Immediate Release:
WordAlone Network New Brighton, MN 55112
Contact: President, Pr. Jaynan Clark Egland 509 540-0889
Vice president, Pr. Mark Chavez 717 898-0801
Email: wordalone@popp.net
Calling the report and recommendations on human sexuality proposed by a task force of the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States too lengthy and confusing, leaders of the WordAlone Network, the faithful opposition, compared its recommendations to smoke and mirrors.
President of the grassroots network, Pastor Jaynan Clark Egland commented Thursday, “When voters in many states uphold traditional marriage better than church leaders and the mainline denominations as a whole, then you know something is really out of whack.”
The WordAlone Network will work to defeat all the recommendations of the task force, she said.
The task force report says the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America should consider date rape “an egregious violation of friendship,” should discourage “co-habitation arrangements outside of marriage” and should learn to live with its disagreements over homosexual behavior.
As for same-sex relationships and allowing persons in same-sex relationships to serve as ordained or lay ministers in the ELCA, the task force recommends that the delegates at this August’s churchwide assembly in Minneapolis vote on four resolutions in a certain order.
If the assembly defeats one of the resolutions, or questions, the task force says the voting would stop on any remaining question.
The first two ask the assembly to accept “in principle” same-sex, monogamous, lifelong relationships and to allow persons in such relationships to serve as ministers. The third question admits the church does not have consensus on the issues and asks the ELCA to respect members’ differing opinions on same-sex questions, which it says are based on individuals’ consciences.
The fourth question, in fact, asks the denomination to be flexible and allow persons in same-sex relationships to serve as ministers in some congregations, synods and ministries. This opens the door to local option.
“The first three questions are just smoke and mirrors for the last one. If we accept something ‘in principle,’ haven’t we accepted it indeed,” asked Pastor Mark Chavez, vice president of WordAlone.
Clark Egland asked, “Is consensus our new ‘way’ for finding ‘truth’? I thought Jesus was the Way and the Truth. That doesn’t change whether we agree or not.
“Local option is, ironically, the negation of their entire desire to reach consensus. With individual, congregational and synodical option, there is no standard at all, just the celebration of self over against the Christian understanding of community and true freedom.”
The ELCA task force’s report is available at www.elca.org/faithfuljourney.
Partnered Gay Pastor Leaves Call
Shrimp here, with a bit of something different. Sort of.
Lionel Ketola, extraordinarily ordained the first ELM rostered pastor in Canada last May and last featured on Shellfish in November when the congregation that called and ordained him was suspended by the ELCIC's Eastern Synod, is no longer serving his call.
Currently appearing on the front web page for Holy Cross Lutheran Church of Haymarket, Ontario, is this notice:
Lionel Ketola, extraordinarily ordained the first ELM rostered pastor in Canada last May and last featured on Shellfish in November when the congregation that called and ordained him was suspended by the ELCIC's Eastern Synod, is no longer serving his call.
Currently appearing on the front web page for Holy Cross Lutheran Church of Haymarket, Ontario, is this notice:
Announcement - February 14, 2009Hat tip to Lutheran (True!) Confessions. Shrimp out.
It is with deep sadness that Holy Cross Lutheran Church announces the departure of Pastor Lionel Ketola from the position of Associate Pastor of our congregation and as our Ambassador of Reconciliation to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.
We are grateful to Pastor Lionel for this ministry which embodied the inclusive vision of so many and offered hope to all those who are working to make the ELCIC a church where all God’s children are free to respond to God’s call to ordained ministry. We give thanks to Pastor Lionel for his willingness to share his considerable talents in this important ministry.
We pray that God will continue to bless Pastor Lionel in whatever ministry he undertakes in the future.
We trust that the model of inclusiveness that this ministry of reconciliation bore witness to will continue to inspire hope in those who work for justice in both the church and the world.
We wish to thank all those who supported this vital ministry with their prayers, their presence, their gifts, their talents and their treasure. We give thanks to God for each and everyone of you! We also offer our thanks to our partners in this ministry, for without the support and guidance of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries and Lutherans Concerned North America our vision of inclusive ministry could not have become a reality.
Holy Cross will continue to heed God’s call to be ambassadors of reconciliation. We trust that God has great things in store for our congregation as we seek opportunities to work with our sisters and brothers in the ELCIC to make our church a place where it can truly be said, “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians.3.27-28)
Lutherans Concerned: "Agrees and Profoundly Disagrees"
From Lutherans Concerned/North America (and also at goodsoil.org):
Lutherans Concerned agrees and profoundly disagrees with ELCA sexuality statements
Lutherans Concerned / North America has both considerable agreement and substantial disagreement with the Proposed Social Statement on Human Sexuality and accompanying Rostering Recommendations, released publically by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) on February 19, 2009.
The Proposed Social Statement extols the place of family, right relationships, love, Christian values, sexuality, mutuality, commitment, the benefits to society and the church of committed relationships, and the diversity of successful families within church and society. The Proposed Social Statement clearly places same-gender committed relationships among those. With all of that Lutherans Concerned is in agreement.
Emily Eastwood, Executive Director, Lutherans Concerned, said, "This Social Statement is a vast improvement over its previous draft. We are also gratified that the Social Statement continues to acknowledge, 'with regret,' that the church's teachings have on occasion been used to harm people, deepening their suffering and tearing families apart. Mindful of the divisions within the church the document creates room for the recognition of same-gender relationships. It calls for comprehensive sex education in church and in schools.
"But that is not enough. Singularly, the Proposed Social Statement, having extolled the unique benefits to couples, church and society of committed relationships, fails to proffer a means of public recognition of same-gender relationships, no rite of blessing or marriage. Unacceptable, but correctable inconsistency."
As to the separate Rostering Recommendations, required in response to the 2007 Churchwide Assembly, Lutherans Concerned is gratified to see acknowledgement that the previous consensus on the definition of right relationships being solely male-female is gone and unlikely to recover as a new discernment takes hold. Also gratifying is that provision is being made for ministers in committed same-gender relationships to serve in ministry. But, unacceptable is the mechanism the recommendations seek to accomplish this.
The mechanism proffered states that congregations, candidacy committees, synods and bishops, bound by their conscience to oppose the ordination or service of LGBT ministers, may do so. Such allowance may create institutionalized discrimination at the synod level, resulting in pockets where the existing prohibitions may remain in full force.
Emily Eastwood continued, "Clearly, the Lutheran church has ample room for conscience-bound opposition, but that ought to lie at the congregational level. The recommendations call for the elimination of the prohibition against service in ministry by ministers in a same-gender relationship. At the same time, recognizing the conscience-bound division within the church over this very issue, the recommendations provide for a framework in which congregations, synods, candidacy committees and bishops may discriminate at will against ministers and candidates in a same-gender relationship. In the ELCA, congregations retain the right to call the minister of their choosing from approved rosters of the whole church. The recommendations could restrict a congregation's ability to call a well-suited minister in a same-gender relationship. Candidates in locations with unsupportive leadership could be denied candidacy. Congregations who don't wish to call ministers in a committed same-gender rel ationship could exercise their conscience no matter where they are, but congregations who do wish to call such ministers would not have the same freedom. Completely unacceptable, and dangerous. Whatever divisions there are in the church are widened not reduced by this recommendation."
The Proposed Social Statement and Rostering Recommendations released today are but a step in the process. The ELCA Church Council will deliberate and take action on them, revising them or not, at their March 27–30 meeting. Prior to that, the Conference of Bishops and Church in Society board will review and make such comments as they wish to the church council."
What comes out of the church council's meeting will then be the Recommended Proposed Social Statement and Rostering Recommendations that are submitted for deliberation and action to the 2009 Churchwide Assembly in Minneapolis, August 17–23. Synod assemblies held during April–June are very likely to produce comments and advice to the churchwide assembly concerning the documents as well.
Phil Soucy
Director Communications LC/NA
communications@lcna.org
Lutherans Concerned / North America has both considerable agreement and substantial disagreement with the Proposed Social Statement on Human Sexuality and accompanying Rostering Recommendations, released publically by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) on February 19, 2009.
The Proposed Social Statement extols the place of family, right relationships, love, Christian values, sexuality, mutuality, commitment, the benefits to society and the church of committed relationships, and the diversity of successful families within church and society. The Proposed Social Statement clearly places same-gender committed relationships among those. With all of that Lutherans Concerned is in agreement.
Emily Eastwood, Executive Director, Lutherans Concerned, said, "This Social Statement is a vast improvement over its previous draft. We are also gratified that the Social Statement continues to acknowledge, 'with regret,' that the church's teachings have on occasion been used to harm people, deepening their suffering and tearing families apart. Mindful of the divisions within the church the document creates room for the recognition of same-gender relationships. It calls for comprehensive sex education in church and in schools.
"But that is not enough. Singularly, the Proposed Social Statement, having extolled the unique benefits to couples, church and society of committed relationships, fails to proffer a means of public recognition of same-gender relationships, no rite of blessing or marriage. Unacceptable, but correctable inconsistency."
As to the separate Rostering Recommendations, required in response to the 2007 Churchwide Assembly, Lutherans Concerned is gratified to see acknowledgement that the previous consensus on the definition of right relationships being solely male-female is gone and unlikely to recover as a new discernment takes hold. Also gratifying is that provision is being made for ministers in committed same-gender relationships to serve in ministry. But, unacceptable is the mechanism the recommendations seek to accomplish this.
The mechanism proffered states that congregations, candidacy committees, synods and bishops, bound by their conscience to oppose the ordination or service of LGBT ministers, may do so. Such allowance may create institutionalized discrimination at the synod level, resulting in pockets where the existing prohibitions may remain in full force.
Emily Eastwood continued, "Clearly, the Lutheran church has ample room for conscience-bound opposition, but that ought to lie at the congregational level. The recommendations call for the elimination of the prohibition against service in ministry by ministers in a same-gender relationship. At the same time, recognizing the conscience-bound division within the church over this very issue, the recommendations provide for a framework in which congregations, synods, candidacy committees and bishops may discriminate at will against ministers and candidates in a same-gender relationship. In the ELCA, congregations retain the right to call the minister of their choosing from approved rosters of the whole church. The recommendations could restrict a congregation's ability to call a well-suited minister in a same-gender relationship. Candidates in locations with unsupportive leadership could be denied candidacy. Congregations who don't wish to call ministers in a committed same-gender rel ationship could exercise their conscience no matter where they are, but congregations who do wish to call such ministers would not have the same freedom. Completely unacceptable, and dangerous. Whatever divisions there are in the church are widened not reduced by this recommendation."
The Proposed Social Statement and Rostering Recommendations released today are but a step in the process. The ELCA Church Council will deliberate and take action on them, revising them or not, at their March 27–30 meeting. Prior to that, the Conference of Bishops and Church in Society board will review and make such comments as they wish to the church council."
What comes out of the church council's meeting will then be the Recommended Proposed Social Statement and Rostering Recommendations that are submitted for deliberation and action to the 2009 Churchwide Assembly in Minneapolis, August 17–23. Synod assemblies held during April–June are very likely to produce comments and advice to the churchwide assembly concerning the documents as well.
Phil Soucy
Director Communications LC/NA
communications@lcna.org
Lutheran CORE's Longer News release
Lutheran CORE has issued 2 versions of a press release, one short, one long. This is the long one.
Lutheran task force proposals affirming same-sex relationships reject Bible’s teaching and views of majority of members
Lutheran CORE leaders urge rejection of ELCA task force recommendations
Download this release in PDF format
February 19, 2009 — The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America released proposals Thursday, Feb. 19, that seek to change Christian teaching on homosexuality and would permit pastors to be in same-sex sexual relationships. The proposals from the Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality also go against the views of a significant majority of the members of the 4.7-million member denomination.
In response, leaders of Lutheran CORE (Coalition for Reform) announced Thursday that they will work to defeat the proposals that ask the ELCA to depart from biblical teaching on sexuality and to change its standards to allow pastors to be in same-sex sexual relationships.
Lutheran CORE is a coalition of pastors, lay people, congregations and reforming groups that seeks to preserve the authority of the Bible in the ELCA. Lutheran CORE seeks to be a voice for the solid, faithful core that is the majority of ELCA members, pastors, and congregations.
“These recommendations mark a significant departure from the church’s commitment to Scripture as the source and norm of its faith and life,” said the Rev. Paull Spring of State College, Pa., chair of the Lutheran CORE Steering Committee. “The proposals make reference to Lutheran themes and Lutheran theology but forget one of its cornerstones: ‘Sola Scriptura’ (Scripture alone).”
“The proposal for change in standards for clergy departs from the clear teaching of Scripture,” said Spring, the retired bishop of the Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod. “There are some good things in the social statement, but at significant points the statement needs to be revised and amended. We intend to work together with faithful Lutherans throughout the ELCA to amend the statement. We also intend to work for the defeat of the proposals for blessing and ordaining practicing gay and lesbian persons.”
“When any church finds itself accommodating its teachings to the ways of the culture, that church is in trouble,” said the Rev. Erma Wolf of Brandon, S.D., vice chair of the Lutheran CORE Steering Committee. “In these documents the ELCA would accommodate itself to the demands of our culture that the desires and needs of individuals trump everything else. The exceptions become the rule, until finally there are no rules. That movement is happening in a number of areas, including human sexual relations. But no church has the authority to overturn the Word of God that protects sexual relations by placing them properly in the structure of marriage, and establishes marriage as being between male and female.”
The proposal neglects to offer any biblical and normative teaching on several areas of sexuality including homosexuality because it says there is no consensus in the ELCA.
“Since when is consensus the norm for deciding what’s right and wrong?” asked Wolf. “The social statement says there shouldn’t be cohabitation, but then winks at it,” she added.
“The task force recommendations will disconnect the ELCA from God’s Word in the Bible, which clearly says that all sex outside of marriage is sin, and disconnect it from all who uphold the biblical norm — most ELCA members, and most of the Christian churches on earth,” said the Rev. Mark C. Chavez of Landisville, Pa., director of Lutheran CORE .
“The task force wants the ELCA to take the same tragic missteps as other Protestant denominations in North America that have said same-sex sexual relationships are OK for some,” Chavez added. “The membership losses in those denominations range from 30 to 50 percent. If the task force’s recommendations are approved, the ELCA’s membership losses, now more than 10 percent, will also climb.”
“I am disappointed that the proposed actions lead us down the same road which is creating turmoil and dissension in so many of our sister churches,” said the Rev. W. Stevens Shipman, pastor of United Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lock Haven, Pa. “Every study indicates that a large majority in our churches and in our society do not endorse and cannot accept the blessing of same-sex sexual relationships. Even in California, the people have spoken, but a determined minority keeps thwarting their will.”
“God loves all people, and I oppose every form of discrimination. But I cannot ask God’s blessing on behaviors which God does not bless, and I cannot accept a position that abandons the clear teaching of Holy Scripture,” said Shipman, secretary of the Lutheran CORE Steering Committee.
The proposals make much of the idea of conscience-bound positions making reference to Martin Luther’s famous statement before the Diet of Worms in 1521: “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason . . . I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not retract anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. I cannot do otherwise. Here I stand, may God help me.”
“In its emphasis on conscience, the task force forgot that Luther was not talking about his right to his own opinion. He was declaring his commitment and allegiance to the Word of God,” Spring said. “It is exactly the opposite of the task force’s idea of conscience as one’s personal beliefs. They are encouraging the strange notion of a bound conscience as nothing more than individualism.”
“What these documents miss in talking about the bound conscience is that the conscience of a Christian is bound by the Word of God. This is especially true when that Word is hard to hear, when God speaks against what we think is a really good idea. No matter how much we want to think otherwise, the Bible clearly says that sex outside of marriage is not a good idea,” said Wolf.
“What the task force is saying with its notion of the bound conscience is that there are no moral absolutes. They’re saying that what’s right or wrong is basically up to each individual to decide,” said Ryan Schwarz of Washington, D.C., a Lutheran CORE Steering Committee member. “If this is to be the teaching of the church, then how can I raise my daughters in the church and teach them what’s right and what’s wrong?”
The task force recommends “structured flexibility” be incorporated into the ELCA’s structure so that individual synods and congregations would “be free to act according to their convictions” in setting their own standards for clergy.
“The notion of respecting the bound consciences of ELCA members, congregations and synods is an impossible balancing act,” said the Rev. Scott Grorud, pastor of the 2,400-member Faith Lutheran Church in Hutchinson, Minn., and a member of the Lutheran CORE Steering Committee.
“These are proposals for organized chaos,” said the Rev. Paul Ulring, pastor of the 5,700-member Upper Arlington Lutheran Church in Columbus, Ohio., and a member of the Lutheran CORE Steering Commitee.
“In the end the task force proposals are synodical option by another name. As Lutheran CORE has already said, synodical option will gravely damage the ELCA,” said Spring.
Lutheran CORE leaders wrote an Open Letter in December on synodical option which notes that “Synodical option is not a real compromise at all. Its adoption would force synods and congregations to agree that there are multiple biblical teachings on these matters. Synodical option would represent a real change in the teaching of our church. Even those synods and congregations that might not agree with this change would be forced by synodical option implicitly to accept the notion that Scripture is not clear on this subject.”
“If the ELCA is to continue as one church, it must have one Office of Ministry, one roster of pastors, and one set of expectations for pastors and other rostered leaders throughout the ELCA. Without a common roster of pastors and common expectations for pastors and other rostered leaders, it would be very difficult for pastors to move from one synod to another. Such an approach would effectively divide the ELCA into 65 separate church bodies — each with its own standards for clergy and its own clergy roster. The interdependent relationship between the churchwide, synod, and congregational expressions of the ELCA requires one standard for clergy throughout the ELCA,” the Open Letter states.
Responses to a 2004 study on homosexuality showed that a significant majority of ELCA members (57 percent) opposed change to accepted Christian teaching on homosexual behavior. Only 22 percent of ELCA members favored change in church teaching to allow for the blessing of same-sex unions or the ordination of individuals in committed same-sex unions.
The 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly (Aug. 17-23, 2009, in Minneapolis) will decide whether to adopt the proposed changes in church teaching and practice. Adoption of the proposed social statement requires a two-thirds majority. However, the ELCA Church Council is recommending that a simple majority be enough to change standards to allow pastors to be in same-sex relationships.
A proposal to allow bishops to grant individual exceptions to church policy to allow pastors to be in same-sex relationships was rejected by the 2005 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.
For more information on Lutheran CORE go to www.lutherancore.org. The official documents and other information about the ELCA are available at www.elca.org.
Lutheran CORE leaders urge rejection of ELCA task force recommendations
Download this release in PDF format
February 19, 2009 — The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America released proposals Thursday, Feb. 19, that seek to change Christian teaching on homosexuality and would permit pastors to be in same-sex sexual relationships. The proposals from the Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality also go against the views of a significant majority of the members of the 4.7-million member denomination.
In response, leaders of Lutheran CORE (Coalition for Reform) announced Thursday that they will work to defeat the proposals that ask the ELCA to depart from biblical teaching on sexuality and to change its standards to allow pastors to be in same-sex sexual relationships.
Lutheran CORE is a coalition of pastors, lay people, congregations and reforming groups that seeks to preserve the authority of the Bible in the ELCA. Lutheran CORE seeks to be a voice for the solid, faithful core that is the majority of ELCA members, pastors, and congregations.
“These recommendations mark a significant departure from the church’s commitment to Scripture as the source and norm of its faith and life,” said the Rev. Paull Spring of State College, Pa., chair of the Lutheran CORE Steering Committee. “The proposals make reference to Lutheran themes and Lutheran theology but forget one of its cornerstones: ‘Sola Scriptura’ (Scripture alone).”
“The proposal for change in standards for clergy departs from the clear teaching of Scripture,” said Spring, the retired bishop of the Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod. “There are some good things in the social statement, but at significant points the statement needs to be revised and amended. We intend to work together with faithful Lutherans throughout the ELCA to amend the statement. We also intend to work for the defeat of the proposals for blessing and ordaining practicing gay and lesbian persons.”
“When any church finds itself accommodating its teachings to the ways of the culture, that church is in trouble,” said the Rev. Erma Wolf of Brandon, S.D., vice chair of the Lutheran CORE Steering Committee. “In these documents the ELCA would accommodate itself to the demands of our culture that the desires and needs of individuals trump everything else. The exceptions become the rule, until finally there are no rules. That movement is happening in a number of areas, including human sexual relations. But no church has the authority to overturn the Word of God that protects sexual relations by placing them properly in the structure of marriage, and establishes marriage as being between male and female.”
The proposal neglects to offer any biblical and normative teaching on several areas of sexuality including homosexuality because it says there is no consensus in the ELCA.
“Since when is consensus the norm for deciding what’s right and wrong?” asked Wolf. “The social statement says there shouldn’t be cohabitation, but then winks at it,” she added.
“The task force recommendations will disconnect the ELCA from God’s Word in the Bible, which clearly says that all sex outside of marriage is sin, and disconnect it from all who uphold the biblical norm — most ELCA members, and most of the Christian churches on earth,” said the Rev. Mark C. Chavez of Landisville, Pa., director of Lutheran CORE .
“The task force wants the ELCA to take the same tragic missteps as other Protestant denominations in North America that have said same-sex sexual relationships are OK for some,” Chavez added. “The membership losses in those denominations range from 30 to 50 percent. If the task force’s recommendations are approved, the ELCA’s membership losses, now more than 10 percent, will also climb.”
“I am disappointed that the proposed actions lead us down the same road which is creating turmoil and dissension in so many of our sister churches,” said the Rev. W. Stevens Shipman, pastor of United Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lock Haven, Pa. “Every study indicates that a large majority in our churches and in our society do not endorse and cannot accept the blessing of same-sex sexual relationships. Even in California, the people have spoken, but a determined minority keeps thwarting their will.”
“God loves all people, and I oppose every form of discrimination. But I cannot ask God’s blessing on behaviors which God does not bless, and I cannot accept a position that abandons the clear teaching of Holy Scripture,” said Shipman, secretary of the Lutheran CORE Steering Committee.
The proposals make much of the idea of conscience-bound positions making reference to Martin Luther’s famous statement before the Diet of Worms in 1521: “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason . . . I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not retract anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. I cannot do otherwise. Here I stand, may God help me.”
“In its emphasis on conscience, the task force forgot that Luther was not talking about his right to his own opinion. He was declaring his commitment and allegiance to the Word of God,” Spring said. “It is exactly the opposite of the task force’s idea of conscience as one’s personal beliefs. They are encouraging the strange notion of a bound conscience as nothing more than individualism.”
“What these documents miss in talking about the bound conscience is that the conscience of a Christian is bound by the Word of God. This is especially true when that Word is hard to hear, when God speaks against what we think is a really good idea. No matter how much we want to think otherwise, the Bible clearly says that sex outside of marriage is not a good idea,” said Wolf.
“What the task force is saying with its notion of the bound conscience is that there are no moral absolutes. They’re saying that what’s right or wrong is basically up to each individual to decide,” said Ryan Schwarz of Washington, D.C., a Lutheran CORE Steering Committee member. “If this is to be the teaching of the church, then how can I raise my daughters in the church and teach them what’s right and what’s wrong?”
The task force recommends “structured flexibility” be incorporated into the ELCA’s structure so that individual synods and congregations would “be free to act according to their convictions” in setting their own standards for clergy.
“The notion of respecting the bound consciences of ELCA members, congregations and synods is an impossible balancing act,” said the Rev. Scott Grorud, pastor of the 2,400-member Faith Lutheran Church in Hutchinson, Minn., and a member of the Lutheran CORE Steering Committee.
“These are proposals for organized chaos,” said the Rev. Paul Ulring, pastor of the 5,700-member Upper Arlington Lutheran Church in Columbus, Ohio., and a member of the Lutheran CORE Steering Commitee.
“In the end the task force proposals are synodical option by another name. As Lutheran CORE has already said, synodical option will gravely damage the ELCA,” said Spring.
Lutheran CORE leaders wrote an Open Letter in December on synodical option which notes that “Synodical option is not a real compromise at all. Its adoption would force synods and congregations to agree that there are multiple biblical teachings on these matters. Synodical option would represent a real change in the teaching of our church. Even those synods and congregations that might not agree with this change would be forced by synodical option implicitly to accept the notion that Scripture is not clear on this subject.”
“If the ELCA is to continue as one church, it must have one Office of Ministry, one roster of pastors, and one set of expectations for pastors and other rostered leaders throughout the ELCA. Without a common roster of pastors and common expectations for pastors and other rostered leaders, it would be very difficult for pastors to move from one synod to another. Such an approach would effectively divide the ELCA into 65 separate church bodies — each with its own standards for clergy and its own clergy roster. The interdependent relationship between the churchwide, synod, and congregational expressions of the ELCA requires one standard for clergy throughout the ELCA,” the Open Letter states.
Responses to a 2004 study on homosexuality showed that a significant majority of ELCA members (57 percent) opposed change to accepted Christian teaching on homosexual behavior. Only 22 percent of ELCA members favored change in church teaching to allow for the blessing of same-sex unions or the ordination of individuals in committed same-sex unions.
The 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly (Aug. 17-23, 2009, in Minneapolis) will decide whether to adopt the proposed changes in church teaching and practice. Adoption of the proposed social statement requires a two-thirds majority. However, the ELCA Church Council is recommending that a simple majority be enough to change standards to allow pastors to be in same-sex relationships.
A proposal to allow bishops to grant individual exceptions to church policy to allow pastors to be in same-sex relationships was rejected by the 2005 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.
For more information on Lutheran CORE go to www.lutherancore.org. The official documents and other information about the ELCA are available at www.elca.org.
Lutheran CORE's Short News release
Lutheran CORE has issued 2 versions of a press release, one short, one long. First the short one.
For Immediate Release
Contact: Mark Chavez 717-898-0801 info@lutherancore.org
Paull Spring 814-235-9769 pastorspring@pennswoods.net
Download this release in PDF format
Lutheran task force proposals affirming same-sex relationships reject Bible’s teaching and views of majority of members
Lutheran CORE leaders urge rejection of ELCA task force recommendations
February 19, 2009 — The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America released proposals Thursday, Feb. 19, that seek to change Christian teaching on homosexuality and would permit pastors to be in same-sex sexual relationships. The proposals from the Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality also go against the views of a significant majority of the members of the 4.7-million member denomination.
In response, leaders of Lutheran CORE (Coalition for Reform) announced Thursday that they will work to defeat the proposals that ask the ELCA to depart from biblical teaching on sexuality and to change its standards to allow pastors to be in same-sex sexual relationships.
Lutheran CORE is a coalition of pastors, lay people, congregations and reforming groups that seeks to preserve the authority of the Bible in the ELCA.
“These recommendations mark a significant departure from the church’s commitment to Scripture as the source and norm of its faith and life,” said the Rev. Paull Spring of State College, Pa., chair of the Lutheran CORE Steering Committee. “The proposals make reference to Lutheran themes and Lutheran theology but forget one of its cornerstones: ‘Sola Scriptura’ (Scripture alone).”
“The proposal for change in standards for clergy departs from the clear teaching of Scripture,” said Spring, the retired bishop of the Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod.
“The task force recommendations will disconnect the ELCA from God’s Word in the Bible, which clearly says that all sex outside of marriage is sin, and disconnect it from all who uphold the biblical norm — most ELCA members, and most of the Christian churches on earth,” said the Rev. Mark C. Chavez of Landisville, Pa., director of Lutheran CORE.
“When any church finds itself accommodating its teachings to the ways of the culture, that church is in trouble,” said the Rev. Erma Wolf of Brandon, S.D., vice chair of the Lutheran CORE Steering Committee. “No church has the authority to overturn the Word of God.”
Responses to a 2004 study on homosexuality showed that a significant majority of ELCA members (57 percent) opposed change to accepted Christian teaching on homosexual behavior. Only 22 percent of ELCA members favored change in church teaching to allow for the blessing of same-sex unions or the ordination of practicing homosexuals.
For more information on Lutheran CORE go to www.lutherancore.org. A longer news release is available at the website.
For Immediate Release
Contact: Mark Chavez 717-898-0801 info@lutherancore.org
Paull Spring 814-235-9769 pastorspring@pennswoods.net
Lutheran task force proposals affirming same-sex relationships reject Bible’s teaching and views of majority of members
Lutheran CORE leaders urge rejection of ELCA task force recommendations
February 19, 2009 — The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America released proposals Thursday, Feb. 19, that seek to change Christian teaching on homosexuality and would permit pastors to be in same-sex sexual relationships. The proposals from the Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality also go against the views of a significant majority of the members of the 4.7-million member denomination.
In response, leaders of Lutheran CORE (Coalition for Reform) announced Thursday that they will work to defeat the proposals that ask the ELCA to depart from biblical teaching on sexuality and to change its standards to allow pastors to be in same-sex sexual relationships.
Lutheran CORE is a coalition of pastors, lay people, congregations and reforming groups that seeks to preserve the authority of the Bible in the ELCA.
“These recommendations mark a significant departure from the church’s commitment to Scripture as the source and norm of its faith and life,” said the Rev. Paull Spring of State College, Pa., chair of the Lutheran CORE Steering Committee. “The proposals make reference to Lutheran themes and Lutheran theology but forget one of its cornerstones: ‘Sola Scriptura’ (Scripture alone).”
“The proposal for change in standards for clergy departs from the clear teaching of Scripture,” said Spring, the retired bishop of the Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod.
“The task force recommendations will disconnect the ELCA from God’s Word in the Bible, which clearly says that all sex outside of marriage is sin, and disconnect it from all who uphold the biblical norm — most ELCA members, and most of the Christian churches on earth,” said the Rev. Mark C. Chavez of Landisville, Pa., director of Lutheran CORE.
“When any church finds itself accommodating its teachings to the ways of the culture, that church is in trouble,” said the Rev. Erma Wolf of Brandon, S.D., vice chair of the Lutheran CORE Steering Committee. “No church has the authority to overturn the Word of God.”
Responses to a 2004 study on homosexuality showed that a significant majority of ELCA members (57 percent) opposed change to accepted Christian teaching on homosexual behavior. Only 22 percent of ELCA members favored change in church teaching to allow for the blessing of same-sex unions or the ordination of practicing homosexuals.
For more information on Lutheran CORE go to www.lutherancore.org. A longer news release is available at the website.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead
From the Forum of Fargo-Moorhead:
ELCA proposal could pave way for clergy to lead active homosexual lifestyles
A report released at noon today by a task force for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America contains a proposal that, if adopted by the church-wide Assembly in August, would clear the way for individuals in "publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships" to serve as clergy.
A report released at noon today by a task force for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America contains a proposal that, if adopted by the church-wide Assembly in August, would clear the way for individuals in "publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships" to serve as clergy.
However, the resolution also allows for individual synods, congregations, committes and others to follow their own conscsiences when it comes to approving or disapproving practicing homosexuals for office or roster.
The report will go to the ELCA Church Council, which meets at the end of March and has the authority to alter the resolutions. Assuming the council goes forward with the resolutions, local synod assemblies could also propose changes to the resolutions, affirm them or propose competing resolutions.
The church currently prohibits the rostering of individuals who engage in same-gender sexual activity. Policy does permit individuals who identify themselves as homosexual but are not involved in same-gender sexual activity to serve in the clergy.
Read more about this in Friday's Forum.
ELCA proposal could pave way for clergy to lead active homosexual lifestyles
A report released at noon today by a task force for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America contains a proposal that, if adopted by the church-wide Assembly in August, would clear the way for individuals in "publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships" to serve as clergy.
A report released at noon today by a task force for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America contains a proposal that, if adopted by the church-wide Assembly in August, would clear the way for individuals in "publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships" to serve as clergy.
However, the resolution also allows for individual synods, congregations, committes and others to follow their own conscsiences when it comes to approving or disapproving practicing homosexuals for office or roster.
The report will go to the ELCA Church Council, which meets at the end of March and has the authority to alter the resolutions. Assuming the council goes forward with the resolutions, local synod assemblies could also propose changes to the resolutions, affirm them or propose competing resolutions.
The church currently prohibits the rostering of individuals who engage in same-gender sexual activity. Policy does permit individuals who identify themselves as homosexual but are not involved in same-gender sexual activity to serve in the clergy.
Read more about this in Friday's Forum.
Chicago Tribune: Lutheran task force recommends recognition of gay unions
From the Chicago Tribune:
Lutheran task force recommends recognition of gay unions
by Manya Brachear and Margaret Ramirez | Tribune staff reporters
A task force of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America recommended Thursday that its leaders officially recognize same-sex unions and allow gays in committed relationships to serve as clergy.
At the same time, the task force also asked members of the church to respect congregations and synods that disagree because they believe such actions would violate Scripture.
If approved, the measures would change current church policy that allows ordination of gay clergy, but requires them to be celibate. In the report, the task force proposed a four-step process that outlines a possible path for change, starting with recognition of same-sex relationships.
"The task force agreed that this church cannot responsibly consider any changes to its policies unless this church is able and willing in some way to recognize lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships," the report said.
The recommendation will be voted on at the Churchwide Assembly in Minneapolis in August. Reaction to the recommendation was expected to range from elation to disapproval.
The task force stopped short of recommending a liturgical rite for gay unions or using the word marriage to describe them. But, the report said "most of the task force members believe that ways can be found within local congregations to surround the commitments of such couples with prayer."
Rev. Peter Strommen, the Minnesota pastor who served as chair of the 15-member task force, said a context for public promises would help the church better define those relationships.
"Given we have no clarity or structure, we feel it's important for there to be an equivalent of public accountability," Strommen said.
In addition to the recommendations on ministry policies, the special church task force released a proposed social statement on human sexuality for the ECLA. Drawing from Martin Luther's spoken words that spawned the 16th Century Protestant Reformation, the task force called on its members to respect each other's views about same-gender relationships as grounded in conscience.
The statement entitled "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust," recognized marriage as a covenant between a man and a woman, but also acknowledged same sex couples.
"It is only within the last decades that this church has begun to understand in new ways the need of same-gender oriented individuals to seek relationships of lifelong companionship and commitment," the statement said.
That view laid the foundation for recommendations on possibly recognizing gay unions....
Read it all here.
Lutheran task force recommends recognition of gay unions
by Manya Brachear and Margaret Ramirez | Tribune staff reporters
A task force of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America recommended Thursday that its leaders officially recognize same-sex unions and allow gays in committed relationships to serve as clergy.
At the same time, the task force also asked members of the church to respect congregations and synods that disagree because they believe such actions would violate Scripture.
If approved, the measures would change current church policy that allows ordination of gay clergy, but requires them to be celibate. In the report, the task force proposed a four-step process that outlines a possible path for change, starting with recognition of same-sex relationships.
"The task force agreed that this church cannot responsibly consider any changes to its policies unless this church is able and willing in some way to recognize lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships," the report said.
The recommendation will be voted on at the Churchwide Assembly in Minneapolis in August. Reaction to the recommendation was expected to range from elation to disapproval.
The task force stopped short of recommending a liturgical rite for gay unions or using the word marriage to describe them. But, the report said "most of the task force members believe that ways can be found within local congregations to surround the commitments of such couples with prayer."
Rev. Peter Strommen, the Minnesota pastor who served as chair of the 15-member task force, said a context for public promises would help the church better define those relationships.
"Given we have no clarity or structure, we feel it's important for there to be an equivalent of public accountability," Strommen said.
In addition to the recommendations on ministry policies, the special church task force released a proposed social statement on human sexuality for the ECLA. Drawing from Martin Luther's spoken words that spawned the 16th Century Protestant Reformation, the task force called on its members to respect each other's views about same-gender relationships as grounded in conscience.
The statement entitled "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust," recognized marriage as a covenant between a man and a woman, but also acknowledged same sex couples.
"It is only within the last decades that this church has begun to understand in new ways the need of same-gender oriented individuals to seek relationships of lifelong companionship and commitment," the statement said.
That view laid the foundation for recommendations on possibly recognizing gay unions....
Read it all here.
Star Tribune: ELCA offers compromise on gay clergy issue
From the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune:
ELCA offers compromise on gay clergy issue
By Jeff Strickler, Star Tribune
February 19, 2009
The long-awaited position on ordaining gay clergy in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America isn't a clear yes or no.
An ELCA task force today admitted it could not reach a consensus on the issue that has polarized its members for years. But with the matter expected to dominate this summer's national convention in Minneapolis, its position paper offers this suggested solution:
The ELCA will allow the ordination of gay pastors but will leave it up to individual congregations and synods whether to ordain or hire gay pastors. The term used to describe this compromise s "structured flexibility."
While acknowledging that such an intentionally vague policy likely won't play well with "the bumper sticker crowd," the bishop of the St. Paul Area Synod, the Rev. Peter Rogness, said it's in keeping with the ELCA's practice of trying to match ministers to congregations. He compared it to a rural congregation feeling that it would relate better to a minister with a rural background, for instance.
"The Lutheran Church has never imposed anything on anyone," he said. "We never have, and we never will."
No one is predicting yet how the proposal will fare at the convention, where one-third of the voters are clergy and rest are lay people. The feedback the bishops get from their congregations likely will give some sort of indication of how the vote will go, although even that will vary by location, with metropolitan-area synods generally expected to endorse the change with rural synods being more reluctant. (There are six synods in Minnesota, one for each of the Twin Cities and four outstate.)
The position paper on gay ordination was accompanied by the release of a final version of a social statement on marriage that also will be submitted to the convention and contains a potential landmine of its own.
The statement affirms the ELCA's longtime definition of marriage as "a covenant between a man and a woman" but goes on to acknowledge the validity of "lifelong, monogamous same-gender relationships." No one is using the term "gay marriage," noting that marriage is a legal designation determined by the state, but the implication is clear.
"We feel it is very important that we ask homosexual ministers to be publicly accountable for their relationships the same way we ask heterosexual ministers to be publicly accountable," said the Rev. Peter Strommen, the chairman of the task force and pastor at Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church in Prior Lake....
Read it all here.
ELCA offers compromise on gay clergy issue
By Jeff Strickler, Star Tribune
February 19, 2009
The long-awaited position on ordaining gay clergy in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America isn't a clear yes or no.
An ELCA task force today admitted it could not reach a consensus on the issue that has polarized its members for years. But with the matter expected to dominate this summer's national convention in Minneapolis, its position paper offers this suggested solution:
The ELCA will allow the ordination of gay pastors but will leave it up to individual congregations and synods whether to ordain or hire gay pastors. The term used to describe this compromise s "structured flexibility."
While acknowledging that such an intentionally vague policy likely won't play well with "the bumper sticker crowd," the bishop of the St. Paul Area Synod, the Rev. Peter Rogness, said it's in keeping with the ELCA's practice of trying to match ministers to congregations. He compared it to a rural congregation feeling that it would relate better to a minister with a rural background, for instance.
"The Lutheran Church has never imposed anything on anyone," he said. "We never have, and we never will."
No one is predicting yet how the proposal will fare at the convention, where one-third of the voters are clergy and rest are lay people. The feedback the bishops get from their congregations likely will give some sort of indication of how the vote will go, although even that will vary by location, with metropolitan-area synods generally expected to endorse the change with rural synods being more reluctant. (There are six synods in Minnesota, one for each of the Twin Cities and four outstate.)
The position paper on gay ordination was accompanied by the release of a final version of a social statement on marriage that also will be submitted to the convention and contains a potential landmine of its own.
The statement affirms the ELCA's longtime definition of marriage as "a covenant between a man and a woman" but goes on to acknowledge the validity of "lifelong, monogamous same-gender relationships." No one is using the term "gay marriage," noting that marriage is a legal designation determined by the state, but the implication is clear.
"We feel it is very important that we ask homosexual ministers to be publicly accountable for their relationships the same way we ask heterosexual ministers to be publicly accountable," said the Rev. Peter Strommen, the chairman of the task force and pastor at Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church in Prior Lake....
Read it all here.
ELCA News Release on Proposed Social Statement
ELCA Task Force Releases 'Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust'
09-046-MRC
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The 15-member Task Force for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Studies on Sexuality released Feb. 19 "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust" -- a proposed social statement on human sexuality.
The 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly -- the chief legislative body of the church -- is expected to consider the social statement for adoption as an official statement Aug. 17-23 in Minneapolis.
The proposed statement addresses a spectrum of concerns relevant to human sexuality from a Lutheran perspective. It responds to the question: "How do we understand human sexuality within the context of Jesus' invitation to love God and love our neighbor?" If adopted by the assembly, the social statement will assist the ELCA in its moral deliberation, govern its institutional policies and guide the church's public advocacy work.
While the document does not offer once-and-for-all answers to contemporary questions about sexuality, it "seeks to tap the deep roots of Scripture and the Lutheran theological tradition" for Lutherans to discern what is "responsible and faithful action," according to the proposed statement.
The document contains sections on key Lutheran principles, trust and human sexuality, social structures that enhance trust, sexuality and trust in relationships, sexuality and social responsibility, and a series of resolutions to incorporate the statement into the mission and ministry of the ELCA.
"Sexuality has to do with relationships, and God has made us relational beings," said the Rev. Rebecca S. Larson, executive director, ELCA Church in Society.
"The underlying question of this social statement, therefore, is what makes right relationship. Our model is God's unfailingly, trustworthy relationship with people and creation. No human relationship can thrive without trust. The social statement therefore considers all human relationships and social structures in light of what fosters trust, commitment and protection for those who are vulnerable," she said.
The call for trust is woven into the proposed statement's discourse about riage, same-gender relationships, family and children, commitment in relationships, adult cohabitation, society, public ministry and more.
On the topic of marriage the document states that the historic Christian tradition and the Lutheran Confessions recognize marriage as a covenant between a woman and a man. In recent decades the church has begun to understand "in new ways" the need of same-gender couples who seek relationships of "lifelong companionship and commitment as well as public accountability and legal support for those commitments," said the statement.
The proposed statement acknowledges that "consensus does not exist" among ELCA members on how to "honor" committed same-sex relationships. The statement reflects differing conclusions on the basis of biblical and theological interpretation. Some members believe homosexuality is a sin in their understanding of biblical teaching and natural law, and some members believe homosexuality "reflects a broken world in which some relationships do not pattern themselves after the creation God intended."
Some Lutherans believe same-gender relationships are to be "honored and held to high standards and public accountability" but do not equate these relationships with marriage, and some believe that same-gender relationships are to be held to the same "rigorous standards, sexual ethics and status as heterosexual marriage," said the statement.
Despite the varying viewpoints, the church encourages all people to live out their faith with "profound respect for the conscience-bound belief of the neighbor," said the proposed statement.
The document calls on congregations to be safe places for children and youth, and it calls for education on human sexuality for children and youth.
"Degrees of physical intimacy should be carefully matched to degrees of growing affection and commitment," stated the document. For this reason, the document calls the church to oppose "non-monogamous, promiscuous or casual sexual relationships."
The statement addresses the topic of the value of friendship, adult cohabitation, and Lutheran opposition of sexual exploitation within and outside the church. It also asks that justice for women in church and society continue to be an important dimension of Lutheran response.
"When approved, Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust will be the 10th social statement of the ELCA," said Larson. "All social statements are developed through at least a five-year process in a broadly participatory way."
"Human sexuality infuses all of life from the time we are born until the time we die. It is also social. Economics, business and advertising, social roles, medicine and science are all relevant to human sexuality and the ways we act in relationship to others. How to use this gift in a way that honors God and serves the neighbor is a critical issue, particularly in this culture," Larson said.
A draft of the social statement was given to ELCA members in March 2008 for study, review and feedback.
Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust "reflects what the task force heard from this church in response to the draft social statement," said Larson.
"The theological section has been both focused and expanded. The role of God in creation and the role of law in our lives has been made more prominent. There is more material on how Lutherans approach social ethics from a perspective of faith. The order of the sections has been changed to deal with the intersection between the individual and social aspects of human sexuality," she said. "Also, it is 1 thousand words shorter."
Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust completes a directive from the 2001 ELCA Churchwide Assembly to develop a social statement on human sexuality.
The task force also released a "Report and Recommendation on Ministry Policies" to the 2009 Churchwide Assembly regarding the professional leadership of the church on Feb. 19. This document completes a directive from the 2007 assembly to address and make recommendations on changes to policies that preclude Lutherans in committed, same-gender relationships from the ELCA's professional rosters.
The proposed social statement and the report and recommendation on ministry policies are two separate documents. They are open to review by the ELCA Church Council -- the church's board of directors -- and will be considered by the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.
- - -
"Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust" is available at http://www.elca.org/faithfuljourney on the ELCA Web site.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog
09-046-MRC
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The 15-member Task Force for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Studies on Sexuality released Feb. 19 "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust" -- a proposed social statement on human sexuality.
The 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly -- the chief legislative body of the church -- is expected to consider the social statement for adoption as an official statement Aug. 17-23 in Minneapolis.
The proposed statement addresses a spectrum of concerns relevant to human sexuality from a Lutheran perspective. It responds to the question: "How do we understand human sexuality within the context of Jesus' invitation to love God and love our neighbor?" If adopted by the assembly, the social statement will assist the ELCA in its moral deliberation, govern its institutional policies and guide the church's public advocacy work.
While the document does not offer once-and-for-all answers to contemporary questions about sexuality, it "seeks to tap the deep roots of Scripture and the Lutheran theological tradition" for Lutherans to discern what is "responsible and faithful action," according to the proposed statement.
The document contains sections on key Lutheran principles, trust and human sexuality, social structures that enhance trust, sexuality and trust in relationships, sexuality and social responsibility, and a series of resolutions to incorporate the statement into the mission and ministry of the ELCA.
"Sexuality has to do with relationships, and God has made us relational beings," said the Rev. Rebecca S. Larson, executive director, ELCA Church in Society.
"The underlying question of this social statement, therefore, is what makes right relationship. Our model is God's unfailingly, trustworthy relationship with people and creation. No human relationship can thrive without trust. The social statement therefore considers all human relationships and social structures in light of what fosters trust, commitment and protection for those who are vulnerable," she said.
The call for trust is woven into the proposed statement's discourse about riage, same-gender relationships, family and children, commitment in relationships, adult cohabitation, society, public ministry and more.
On the topic of marriage the document states that the historic Christian tradition and the Lutheran Confessions recognize marriage as a covenant between a woman and a man. In recent decades the church has begun to understand "in new ways" the need of same-gender couples who seek relationships of "lifelong companionship and commitment as well as public accountability and legal support for those commitments," said the statement.
The proposed statement acknowledges that "consensus does not exist" among ELCA members on how to "honor" committed same-sex relationships. The statement reflects differing conclusions on the basis of biblical and theological interpretation. Some members believe homosexuality is a sin in their understanding of biblical teaching and natural law, and some members believe homosexuality "reflects a broken world in which some relationships do not pattern themselves after the creation God intended."
Some Lutherans believe same-gender relationships are to be "honored and held to high standards and public accountability" but do not equate these relationships with marriage, and some believe that same-gender relationships are to be held to the same "rigorous standards, sexual ethics and status as heterosexual marriage," said the statement.
Despite the varying viewpoints, the church encourages all people to live out their faith with "profound respect for the conscience-bound belief of the neighbor," said the proposed statement.
The document calls on congregations to be safe places for children and youth, and it calls for education on human sexuality for children and youth.
"Degrees of physical intimacy should be carefully matched to degrees of growing affection and commitment," stated the document. For this reason, the document calls the church to oppose "non-monogamous, promiscuous or casual sexual relationships."
The statement addresses the topic of the value of friendship, adult cohabitation, and Lutheran opposition of sexual exploitation within and outside the church. It also asks that justice for women in church and society continue to be an important dimension of Lutheran response.
"When approved, Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust will be the 10th social statement of the ELCA," said Larson. "All social statements are developed through at least a five-year process in a broadly participatory way."
"Human sexuality infuses all of life from the time we are born until the time we die. It is also social. Economics, business and advertising, social roles, medicine and science are all relevant to human sexuality and the ways we act in relationship to others. How to use this gift in a way that honors God and serves the neighbor is a critical issue, particularly in this culture," Larson said.
A draft of the social statement was given to ELCA members in March 2008 for study, review and feedback.
Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust "reflects what the task force heard from this church in response to the draft social statement," said Larson.
"The theological section has been both focused and expanded. The role of God in creation and the role of law in our lives has been made more prominent. There is more material on how Lutherans approach social ethics from a perspective of faith. The order of the sections has been changed to deal with the intersection between the individual and social aspects of human sexuality," she said. "Also, it is 1 thousand words shorter."
Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust completes a directive from the 2001 ELCA Churchwide Assembly to develop a social statement on human sexuality.
The task force also released a "Report and Recommendation on Ministry Policies" to the 2009 Churchwide Assembly regarding the professional leadership of the church on Feb. 19. This document completes a directive from the 2007 assembly to address and make recommendations on changes to policies that preclude Lutherans in committed, same-gender relationships from the ELCA's professional rosters.
The proposed social statement and the report and recommendation on ministry policies are two separate documents. They are open to review by the ELCA Church Council -- the church's board of directors -- and will be considered by the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.
- - -
"Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust" is available at http://www.elca.org/faithfuljourney on the ELCA Web site.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog
It's Here!!!
It's here.
On Feb. 19, 2009, the Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality released the proposed social statement on human sexuality, Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust, and the Report and Recommendation on Ministry Policies. The work of the task force is now complete.
Both documents will be reviewed by the Church Council at its meeting in Chicago, March 27-30, 2009. At this time the Church Council may amend the proposed social statement, the ministry policy recommendation or both.
The Church Council is expected to transmit its recommendations to the 2009 Churchwide Assembly, August 17-23, 2009, in Minneapolis. The assembly will consider both the recommended proposed social statement with impending resolutions and the ministry policy recommendation.
Please visit the frequently asked questions pages for the proposed social statement and for the Report and Recommendation on Ministry Policies.
On this Web site you will find resources and up-to-date information about the process for the development of the social statement as well as historical documents related to the issue of sexuality.
Thank you for joining us in this journey of discernment.
And They're Off...
Shrimp here, with a message hot off the presses from Lutherans Concerned/North America, the gay advocacy group for all Lutherans. Shrimp out (no, not that way), LC/NA (with original typos) in:
February 18, 2009
Prerss contact: Phil Soucy
703-980-2038
Leaders of Lutherans Concerned to comment on Lutheran "Proposed Social Statement on Human Sexuality
Leaders of Lutherans Concerned, an outreach organization committed to the full inclusion of LGBT people in church and society, will be available for comment on the just released Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) "Proposed Social Statement on Human Sexuality" from 1:30–2:00 pm EST on Thursday. The availability will be on a conference call line.
The proposed social statement and recommendations regarding the rostering of pastors in committed same-gender relationships are being released publically by the ELCA at 1:00 pm EST on Thursday, February 19, 2009. The ELCA Church Council will revise / amend the document, or not, at its meeting in Chicago, March 27–30.
Following the action of the Church Council, the then "Recommended Social Statement on Human Sexuality" and its rostering recommendations will be submitted for deliberation and action to the ELCA Churchwide Assembly, August 17–23, 2009, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Issues of church blessings of same-gender relationships and ordination of gay clergy in such committed relationships will again come before the August assembly.
Who: Leaders from Lutherans Concerned / North America
What: Available for comment on the ELCA "Proposed Social Statement on Human Sexuality" and rostering recommendation for LGBT clergy
When: 1:30–2:00 pm EST, February 19th
Where: Phone 218-339-4600 Access code 346654#
Those unable to participate in the comment availability can reach spokespersons later at 651-665-0861.
Phil Soucy
Director Communications LC/NA
communications@lcna.org
February 18, 2009
Prerss contact: Phil Soucy
703-980-2038
Leaders of Lutherans Concerned to comment on Lutheran "Proposed Social Statement on Human Sexuality
Leaders of Lutherans Concerned, an outreach organization committed to the full inclusion of LGBT people in church and society, will be available for comment on the just released Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) "Proposed Social Statement on Human Sexuality" from 1:30–2:00 pm EST on Thursday. The availability will be on a conference call line.
The proposed social statement and recommendations regarding the rostering of pastors in committed same-gender relationships are being released publically by the ELCA at 1:00 pm EST on Thursday, February 19, 2009. The ELCA Church Council will revise / amend the document, or not, at its meeting in Chicago, March 27–30.
Following the action of the Church Council, the then "Recommended Social Statement on Human Sexuality" and its rostering recommendations will be submitted for deliberation and action to the ELCA Churchwide Assembly, August 17–23, 2009, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Issues of church blessings of same-gender relationships and ordination of gay clergy in such committed relationships will again come before the August assembly.
Who: Leaders from Lutherans Concerned / North America
What: Available for comment on the ELCA "Proposed Social Statement on Human Sexuality" and rostering recommendation for LGBT clergy
When: 1:30–2:00 pm EST, February 19th
Where: Phone 218-339-4600 Access code 346654#
Those unable to participate in the comment availability can reach spokespersons later at 651-665-0861.
Phil Soucy
Director Communications LC/NA
communications@lcna.org
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Another Lutheran Denomination?
Shrimp here, again, wondering what to make of the following announcement currently on the front page of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries web site?
Shrimp out.
Chaplain EndorsedSo now ELM is "certifying" ministers for more than extraordinary ELCA congregations.
February 14, 2009, Valentine's Day, Rev. Dale Poland received ecclesiastical endorsement from Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries (ELM) in his pursuit of becoming a Board Certified Chaplain with the Association for Professional Chaplains (APC). He becomes the first ELM Rostered clergy to receive ecclesiastical endorsement from ELM. Rev. Dale Poland serves as a chaplain with HospiceCare of Boulder and Broom field Counties in Colorado. He also serves as a chaplain to the ELM Roster. The Bay Area Regional Panel chaired by Mary Stein Webber working together with Rod Seeger, Coordinator of Ecclesiastical Endorsement, met with Dale on Saturday afternoon. This ecclesiastical endorsement meeting became a first for ELM. Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries has recently been officially recognized as a credentialing and endorsing body by the Association for Professional Chaplains, The Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, and the American Association for Pastoral Counselors.
Shrimp out.
Where's My Pastor?
Probably somewhere reading her embargoed copy of the Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality proposed Social Statement and recommendation on ministry policies. It's been out for some 3 1/2 hours now.
And if you're looking for leaks, sorry, Shrimp isn't that sort of source. Click here at Noon, Central Time, tomorrow.
And if you're looking for leaks, sorry, Shrimp isn't that sort of source. Click here at Noon, Central Time, tomorrow.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Countdown Begins
Shrimp here. In less than 22 hours, Noon Central Time tomorrow, ELCA rostered leaders will be able to download a copy of the proposed Social Statement on Sexuality and the report on what to do about practicing homosexuals who want to be (or are) on the ELCA's ministry rosters. The rest of us get to wait another 24 hours, as described below. Shrimp out...
February 13, 2009
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ:
Grace and peace to you as we prepare to remember the transfiguration of our Lord.
This update brings information about the next steps in the work of the Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality.
As you know the 2001 ELCA Churchwide Assembly requested that this church develop a social statement on human sexuality. The 2009 Churchwide Assembly will discuss and make a determination about the social statement.
As mandated by the 2007 Churchwide Assembly, the task force also has prepared a report and recommendation to "address and make recommendations to the 2009 Churchwide Assembly on changes to any policies that preclude practicing homosexual persons from the rosters of this church" (CA07.06.27).
The proposed social statement and the report, as well as supplementary material, will be made available to the general public on February 19 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time at www.elca.org/faithfuljourney on the ELCA Web site.
These documents will be reviewed by the ELCA Church Council, March 27-30 2009. The council may choose to amend the proposed social statement and will recommend action on it. The task force's report on ministry policies and the council's recommendations for action will be forwarded to the 2009 Churchwide Assembly, which will be held August 17-23, 2009, in Minneapolis.
Please keep in mind these points about the proposed social statement and the report and recommendation on ministry policies and possible responses to them:
1. Both documents were created by a task force made up of people with diverse backgrounds and opinions. The task force received and considered responses from ELCA members to the Draft Social Statement on Human Sexuality.
2. Many synods will respond to these documents by adopting memorials at their synod assemblies for consideration by the 2009 Churchwide Assembly.
The task force thanks you for your accompaniment in this journey together and your leadership role in receiving and studying both the proposed social statement and the report and recommendation on ministry policies. We will continue to pray for your ministry and ask for your prayers as the ELCA now considers the work of the task force.
Kind regards,
The Rev. Rebecca S. Larson
Executive Director
ELCA Church in Society
The Rev. Stanley N. Olson
Executive Director
ELCA Vocation and Education
P.S. For a detailed timeline on the social statement process, please go to www.elca.org/faithfuljourney/timeline on the Journey Together Faithfully Web site.
February 13, 2009
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ:
Grace and peace to you as we prepare to remember the transfiguration of our Lord.
This update brings information about the next steps in the work of the Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality.
As you know the 2001 ELCA Churchwide Assembly requested that this church develop a social statement on human sexuality. The 2009 Churchwide Assembly will discuss and make a determination about the social statement.
As mandated by the 2007 Churchwide Assembly, the task force also has prepared a report and recommendation to "address and make recommendations to the 2009 Churchwide Assembly on changes to any policies that preclude practicing homosexual persons from the rosters of this church" (CA07.06.27).
The proposed social statement and the report, as well as supplementary material, will be made available to the general public on February 19 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time at www.elca.org/faithfuljourney on the ELCA Web site.
These documents will be reviewed by the ELCA Church Council, March 27-30 2009. The council may choose to amend the proposed social statement and will recommend action on it. The task force's report on ministry policies and the council's recommendations for action will be forwarded to the 2009 Churchwide Assembly, which will be held August 17-23, 2009, in Minneapolis.
Please keep in mind these points about the proposed social statement and the report and recommendation on ministry policies and possible responses to them:
1. Both documents were created by a task force made up of people with diverse backgrounds and opinions. The task force received and considered responses from ELCA members to the Draft Social Statement on Human Sexuality.
2. Many synods will respond to these documents by adopting memorials at their synod assemblies for consideration by the 2009 Churchwide Assembly.
The task force thanks you for your accompaniment in this journey together and your leadership role in receiving and studying both the proposed social statement and the report and recommendation on ministry policies. We will continue to pray for your ministry and ask for your prayers as the ELCA now considers the work of the task force.
Kind regards,
The Rev. Rebecca S. Larson
Executive Director
ELCA Church in Society
The Rev. Stanley N. Olson
Executive Director
ELCA Vocation and Education
P.S. For a detailed timeline on the social statement process, please go to www.elca.org/faithfuljourney/timeline on the Journey Together Faithfully Web site.
Friday, February 13, 2009
New "Must Read" Article
In The Atlantic, and the lead is buried in the third paragraph:
“But the long-term goal seems clear: to enable the church [Rowan Williams] leads to become fully open to gays and lesbians without breaking apart.”
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200903/archbishop-canterbury
“But the long-term goal seems clear: to enable the church [Rowan Williams] leads to become fully open to gays and lesbians without breaking apart.”
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200903/archbishop-canterbury
Singleness, Not Celibacy
Shrimp here. Jane Strohl is Professor of Reformation History and Theology at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, the youngest of the ELCA's seminaries. The Journal of Lutheran Ethics is an online publication of the Department for Studies for the ELCA's Church in Society unit "dedicated to promoting awareness of, study of, and conversation about Christian ethics in the Lutheran tradition."
In JLE's current (February 2009: Human Rights and Family) issue, Dr. Strohl concludes her article, "On Marriage and Family" with this:
Shrimp out.
In JLE's current (February 2009: Human Rights and Family) issue, Dr. Strohl concludes her article, "On Marriage and Family" with this:
[6] Ecclesiastically enforced celibacy is not a fate facing many in our society. However, as my students have pointed out, the ELCA does make it a matter of conscience for candidates for rostered ministries. According to Visions and Expectations [sic] sexual intercourse is only permissible within a marriage between one man and one woman. This accords with Luther’s conviction that only marriage can mitigate sin’s effects on sexual desire, which inevitably degenerates into boundless lust outside of the limits God has created for it. The consequence is to regard being single as a transient state, the holding pen for those who are yet to be married. If that is the direction one’s life takes, "saving it for marriage" might be important. Luther did not envision a vocation of single life as a legitimate alternative to marriage. The reasons were economic and social as well as theological. Our society allows for a wider variety of relationships: persons with the gift of celibacy; partners in marriage; partners who choose not to marry but share "bed and board," as Luther put it; partners of the same sex; persons who over a lifetime enter into relationship with multiple partners; persons who aren’t much interested in partnership at all. Luther identifies values that are, from a Christian perspective, critical for defining relationships marked by wisdom and grace. It is important to remember that the most intimate act of an intimate relationship is forgiveness. It is important to cherish fidelity, to receive one’s partner not just as a lover but as a neighbor to be served as Christ has served us all. When you can’t be with the one you love, you simply don’t love the one you’re with. You can’t give yourself away again, because you have already given yourself to another. Luther knew without doubt where sexual intercourse fit into all this. For our society, however, the limited location of the marriage bed is no longer a given, although many folks in our church would like to make it so once again.Somehow we think Dr. Strohl's answer is, "No." What do you think? Read it all here.
[7] The Draft Statement [the Draft Social Statement on Human Sexuality] includes the following as a sidebar in the subsection "The necessity of mercy always," p. 38: "This church upholds all members who are single. It encourages them in trustful and trustworthy lives. It respects those who choose singleness as a way of life." One assumes the church also respects those to whom singleness just happens, because of any number of factors beyond their control and certainly not of their choosing. Singleness is not the same as celibacy, no matter how much we want to make them so, not for the members of our congregations, not for the people we hope to reach with the Gospel, not for our clergy. If marriage isn’t where you find your vocation, does that mean you have forfeited your right to explore to its depths the sexual nature God has given you? Is it necessary that all decent roads of intimacy lead to marriage?
Shrimp out.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
ELCA Opens (?) Feminist Dialogue
Shrimp here, looking at this article (read it below) posted yesterday at The Christan Post. The article seems to be based on this ELCA News Release from last week.
And if the Justice for Women "report" to the 2007 Churchwide Assembly wasn't a "conversation between the church and academia on feminist theologies," that's only because it was a overly-long diatribe that should have appalled anyone that wasn't put to sleep by its tired rhetoric.
Then again, Shrimp thinks it might be good to finally discuss feminist theology a decade or two after being imposed on the ELCA's public voice. Shrimp out.
Lutherans Open Dialogue Between Church and Seminary on Feminist TheologiesShrimp isn't quite sure what the big deal is. Far from being hidden away in "the academy," ELCA seminarians (who have become ELCA pastors and bishops) have been taught this sort of this for decades. And one reads and hears feminist theology in Augsburg Fortress' congregational, not just academic, materials -- everything from Sunday School and Confirmation curricula to the liturgical texts and re-written psalms used weekly in congregations that have adopted Evangelical Lutheran Worship.
By Elena Garcia
Christian Post Reporter
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has opened conversations between the church and academia on feminist theologies, hoping to develop insight on how the Church can live out its commitment to combat sexism in the church and society and to advocate justice for women.
Although Lutheran feminist theologians have been writing and working in Lutheran and non-Lutheran institutions for a long time, the church and academia have rarely come together to discuss their work, says Dr. Mary Streufert, director of the Justice for Women program, part of the denomination's Church in Society arm.
Until now, the discussion on feminist theologies has been mainly confined to some ELCA universities and seminaries, said Streufert.
"Open dialogue between church and academy on feminist theologies is pretty radical," she noted, according to ELCA News Service.
But last month, the ELCA did something it has never done.
From Jan. 23-25, the denomination hosted its first-ever forum on exploring Lutheran theology from the perspectives of Asian, black, Latina and white women.
"Women from different cultural and ethnic contexts breathe new insight into Lutheran theology today," said Streufert.
Held in Chicago, Ill., "Transformative Lutheran Theologies Conference: Feminist, Womanist and Mujerista Perspectives," brought together about 160 women and men pastors, college and seminary students, professors and lay people, among others.
ELCA Presiding Bishop the Rev. Mark S. Hanson called on attendees to think strategically how the church can "confront the scandalous realities" of sexism, racism and other systems of oppression, and live out its commitment to becoming an anti-racist, anti-sexist church, reported the denomination's news service.
Invited speakers presented a series of papers on four theological topics: ethics, theological anthropology, Christology and theology of the Trinity.
"We've acknowledged that, from a feminist, womanist or mujerista perspective, there are serious questions to wrestle with in the theological tradition, whether Lutheran or, more broadly, Christian," Streufert said.
Those questions include: "What might women theologians contribute constructively about that for the sake of the church?" and "What is life-giving from these perspectives that can help transform the world for the sake of the gospel?"
The conference received a positive response from participants.
"This is the kind of event that I have been dying to do in Canada," said Catherine Pate, program editor of Evangelical Lutheran Women in Winnipeg, Manitoba, according to ELCA News Service. "To be a church on the side of justice, then the church must name and unmask the truth about its own culpability in oppression."
Hanson said the conference occurs "at a crossroad" in the church.
"We can retreat in fear and isolation to the church we once were, or we can move boldly to the church God wants us to become," he said, according to the denomination's news service.
According to the Justice for Women program, justice for women occurs when the ways in which women and girls are objectified are rejected and the image of God of women and girls is affirmed through both theology and policy, in church and in society.
In a meeting last November, the Church Council of the ELCA recommended that the 2009 Churchwide Assembly call for development of a social statement on the topic of "justice for women in church and society" for presentation to the 2015 Churchwide Assembly.
The 11th ELCA Churchwide Assembly will take place Aug. 17-23, 2009, in Minneapolis.
And if the Justice for Women "report" to the 2007 Churchwide Assembly wasn't a "conversation between the church and academia on feminist theologies," that's only because it was a overly-long diatribe that should have appalled anyone that wasn't put to sleep by its tired rhetoric.
Then again, Shrimp thinks it might be good to finally discuss feminist theology a decade or two after being imposed on the ELCA's public voice. Shrimp out.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Obama Delivers on Support for the LGBT Community
From whitehouse.gov
Support for the LGBT Community
"While we have come a long way since the Stonewall riots in 1969, we still have a lot of work to do. Too often, the issue of LGBT rights is exploited by those seeking to divide us. But at its core, this issue is about who we are as Americans. It's about whether this nation is going to live up to its founding promise of equality by treating all its citizens with dignity and respect."
-- Barack Obama, June 1, 2007
Expand Hate Crimes Statutes: In 2004, crimes against LGBT Americans constituted the third-highest category of hate crime reported and made up more than 15 percent of such crimes. President Obama cosponsored legislation that would expand federal jurisdiction to include violent hate crimes perpetrated because of race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or physical disability. As a state senator, President Obama passed tough legislation that made hate crimes and conspiracy to commit them against the law.
Fight Workplace Discrimination: President Obama supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and believes that our anti-discrimination employment laws should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity. While an increasing number of employers have extended benefits to their employees' domestic partners, discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace occurs with no federal legal remedy. The President also sponsored legislation in the Illinois State Senate that would ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
Support Full Civil Unions and Federal Rights for LGBT Couples: President Obama supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples. Obama also believes we need to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and enact legislation that would ensure that the 1,100+ federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognized unions. These rights and benefits include the right to assist a loved one in times of emergency, the right to equal health insurance and other employment benefits, and property rights.
Oppose a Constitutional Ban on Same-Sex Marriage: President Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2006 which would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman and prevented judicial extension of marriage-like rights to same-sex or other unmarried couples.
Repeal Don't Ask-Don't Tell: President Obama agrees with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili and other military experts that we need to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The key test for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve. Discrimination should be prohibited. The U.S. government has spent millions of dollars replacing troops kicked out of the military because of their sexual orientation. Additionally, more than 300 language experts have been fired under this policy, including more than 50 who are fluent in Arabic. The President will work with military leaders to repeal the current policy and ensure it helps accomplish our national defense goals.
Expand Adoption Rights: President Obama believes that we must ensure adoption rights for all couples and individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation. He thinks that a child will benefit from a healthy and loving home, whether the parents are gay or not.
Promote AIDS Prevention: In the first year of his presidency, President Obama will develop and begin to implement a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy that includes all federal agencies. The strategy will be designed to reduce HIV infections, increase access to care and reduce HIV-related health disparities. The President will support common sense approaches including age-appropriate sex education that includes information about contraception, combating infection within our prison population through education and contraception, and distributing contraceptives through our public health system. The President also supports lifting the federal ban on needle exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users. President Obama has also been willing to confront the stigma -- too often tied to homophobia -- that continues to surround HIV/AIDS.
Empower Women to Prevent HIV/AIDS: In the United States, the percentage of women diagnosed with AIDS has quadrupled over the last 20 years. Today, women account for more than one quarter of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses. President Obama introduced the Microbicide Development Act, which will accelerate the development of products that empower women in the battle against AIDS. Microbicides are a class of products currently under development that women apply topically to prevent transmission of HIV and other infections.
Support for the LGBT Community
"While we have come a long way since the Stonewall riots in 1969, we still have a lot of work to do. Too often, the issue of LGBT rights is exploited by those seeking to divide us. But at its core, this issue is about who we are as Americans. It's about whether this nation is going to live up to its founding promise of equality by treating all its citizens with dignity and respect."
-- Barack Obama, June 1, 2007
Expand Hate Crimes Statutes: In 2004, crimes against LGBT Americans constituted the third-highest category of hate crime reported and made up more than 15 percent of such crimes. President Obama cosponsored legislation that would expand federal jurisdiction to include violent hate crimes perpetrated because of race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or physical disability. As a state senator, President Obama passed tough legislation that made hate crimes and conspiracy to commit them against the law.
Fight Workplace Discrimination: President Obama supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and believes that our anti-discrimination employment laws should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity. While an increasing number of employers have extended benefits to their employees' domestic partners, discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace occurs with no federal legal remedy. The President also sponsored legislation in the Illinois State Senate that would ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
Support Full Civil Unions and Federal Rights for LGBT Couples: President Obama supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples. Obama also believes we need to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and enact legislation that would ensure that the 1,100+ federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognized unions. These rights and benefits include the right to assist a loved one in times of emergency, the right to equal health insurance and other employment benefits, and property rights.
Oppose a Constitutional Ban on Same-Sex Marriage: President Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2006 which would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman and prevented judicial extension of marriage-like rights to same-sex or other unmarried couples.
Repeal Don't Ask-Don't Tell: President Obama agrees with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili and other military experts that we need to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The key test for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve. Discrimination should be prohibited. The U.S. government has spent millions of dollars replacing troops kicked out of the military because of their sexual orientation. Additionally, more than 300 language experts have been fired under this policy, including more than 50 who are fluent in Arabic. The President will work with military leaders to repeal the current policy and ensure it helps accomplish our national defense goals.
Expand Adoption Rights: President Obama believes that we must ensure adoption rights for all couples and individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation. He thinks that a child will benefit from a healthy and loving home, whether the parents are gay or not.
Promote AIDS Prevention: In the first year of his presidency, President Obama will develop and begin to implement a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy that includes all federal agencies. The strategy will be designed to reduce HIV infections, increase access to care and reduce HIV-related health disparities. The President will support common sense approaches including age-appropriate sex education that includes information about contraception, combating infection within our prison population through education and contraception, and distributing contraceptives through our public health system. The President also supports lifting the federal ban on needle exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users. President Obama has also been willing to confront the stigma -- too often tied to homophobia -- that continues to surround HIV/AIDS.
Empower Women to Prevent HIV/AIDS: In the United States, the percentage of women diagnosed with AIDS has quadrupled over the last 20 years. Today, women account for more than one quarter of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses. President Obama introduced the Microbicide Development Act, which will accelerate the development of products that empower women in the battle against AIDS. Microbicides are a class of products currently under development that women apply topically to prevent transmission of HIV and other infections.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
"ELCA has a service or liturgy of blessing of same-sex couples"
Shrimp here.
Maine State Senator Dennis Damon has introduced a bill in the state Legislature entitled “An Act to End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm Religious Freedom.” Writes Senator Damon, “This bill will allow couples, regardless of their sexual orientation, to marry and to enjoy the same legal rights and responsibilities of marriage as do married couples now. The bill respects and thus retains the religious freedoms now held and does not require religions opposed to same-sex marriages to sanction those marriages.”
The Herald Gazette of Camden and Rockland, Maine, published on Saturday an article, "Midcoast clergy respond to Damon's same-sex marriage bill" and among those interviewed was a local ELCA pastor.
But if not, where can we see this service? How long is "a long-term commitment?" And is the ELCA aptly described as a sect?
Shrimp out.
Maine State Senator Dennis Damon has introduced a bill in the state Legislature entitled “An Act to End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm Religious Freedom.” Writes Senator Damon, “This bill will allow couples, regardless of their sexual orientation, to marry and to enjoy the same legal rights and responsibilities of marriage as do married couples now. The bill respects and thus retains the religious freedoms now held and does not require religions opposed to same-sex marriages to sanction those marriages.”
The Herald Gazette of Camden and Rockland, Maine, published on Saturday an article, "Midcoast clergy respond to Damon's same-sex marriage bill" and among those interviewed was a local ELCA pastor.
Nativity Lutheran Church in Rockland is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. "The policy of the ELCA at this time is that we recognize marriage as between a man and a woman," Pastor Jerry LiaBraaten said Thursday.Even in the light of New England Synod Bishop Margaret Payne's communications here and here from 3 years ago, we're surprised to learn that the ELCA has a same-sex blessing rite since officials keep insisting otherwise. We're hoping the reporter didn't quite understand Pastor LiaBraaten.
LiaBraaten said the ELCA has a service or liturgy of blessing of same-sex couples. "We cannot solemnize a relationship but we can offer a blessing," he said. While there have been no such blessing ceremonies in Maine, he said he is open to performing one.
"I would visit with the couple to determine their hopes and dreams and to see if this was a long-term commitment, just as I would with any couple," he said. "Then I would visit with the church council and agree on an approach."
One of the questions that would need to be discussed is whether to make the ceremony a private or public event.
"I would support it and agree with the public nature," he said, adding that such occasions are good for the community. He said his sect only considers baptism and Communion as sacraments, that marriage is called a rite in the Lutheran Church, and that he prefers all such events to be done with the witness of the community.
Personally, LiaBraaten said, he has no objection to giving same-sex couples the rights, privileges and responsibilities of those in traditional marriages. "They ought to be the same whether gay, lesbian or straight," he said.
But if not, where can we see this service? How long is "a long-term commitment?" And is the ELCA aptly described as a sect?
Shrimp out.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
That's Some Reformation! (redux)
Shrimp here, with an update of sorts to our That's Some Reformation! entry on the extraordinary call to Jay Wilson, who had "transitioned female-to-male in appearance while living" and matriculating at Luther Seminary. Referring to a particular old Forum Letter article, we had written,
So, we invite you to read Learning Deficiencies at Luther from the November 2004 Forum Letter (here's a taste):
Where Oregon Synod Bishop David Brauer-Rieke preached,
Shrimp out.
Naturally, our copy of that particular issue is (we think) currently "filed" in one of several chests labeled "stuff to be filed" and Forum Letter wasn't online then, so we can't fill you in with (or direct you to) all the gory details.Well, Forum Letter wasn't online then, but ALPB Forum Online was online and already included a Selected RePrints section. And we just discovered (okay, rediscovered) that the articles we were looking for in our earlier post were right there all along.
So, we invite you to read Learning Deficiencies at Luther from the November 2004 Forum Letter (here's a taste):
Take, for example, a current internship assignment from Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN. This year Luther has placed an intern with Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer in Sacramento, CA. Let us say up front that we do not mean to suggest that this case is at all comparable to Thomas’ case in terms of physical danger to children, nor do we believe that the intern involved in any way poses such danger. Still, as you will see, there are other reasons to question the seminary’s placement. Indeed, the issues surrounding this situation are so numerous it is hard to know where to begin.and Luther Internship Redux from December 2004, which begins:
Let’s start with the candidate herself (and we are withholding her name purely out of sympathy for her as an individual, and because her personal situation is not really the primary issue here). She, it seems, is a transgendered person. She had been a “she” entering Luther, but now on internship she is a “he.” We won’t begin to speculate what the nature of this change may entail, but the category of transgender in current usage refers to a continuum of persons dealing with gender ambiguity. (If you really want to know more, check out). Let us simply note that this student is confronted by some heavy duty personal issues, issues that maybe are just a bit beyond the usual fare for seminarians.
Perhaps the best way to give you a sense of this is to quote a few words from the student herself. Writing a signed article last year in Luther’s student publication Concord, she related, “When I came out as queer, I realized slowly that I didn’t have to try to be woman enough anymore. I could be masculine and there was a place for that. But I still called myself woman. . . . But one of the insistences [sic] of queer women is that they are fully woman, and there is less and less space for masculine women. As I started to let myself dress the way I wanted to and express myself in more masculine ways, I realized that woman enough to be a woman . . . didn’t fit me. . . . Having discovered this I realized that my identity is congruent with my genderqueer body and style, I’ve been joyfully experimenting to see what works the best for me.” “Genderqueer,” as we understand it, is the new politically correct term for “transgender.” Some days we just wish everyone would settle on one lexicon.
So yes, you bet, there are some personal issues for this seminarian. Or to put it as Luther’s contextual education director Randy Nelson did in a recent conversation with Forum Letter, this student is in a process of “discernment,” both about whether she/he is being called to the office of the holy ministry, and whether it is as a “he” or as a “she” that she/he is or isn’t being called. Discernment? Well. We hardly know what to say, but before saying anything at all let us again express our honest sympathy for the student, who obviously, as we said, has some real issues to resolve, and is apparently struggling with them honestly and openly.
A number of correspondents have observed that our article about Luther Seminary and one of its internship assignments made little mention of the role the synodical candidacy committee may have played in approving the student in question (“Learning Deficiencies at Luther,” FL:33:10 ).That last sentence returns us to this from the first article:
Naturally, there is a reason for this. The seminary official most responsible for the internship declined to tell us which candidacy committee was involved, and when we did find out — from another seminary official — it was too late to incorporate it into the story. Should you wonder, the committee is the Intersynodical Candidacy Committee serving, among other places, the Greater Milwaukee Synod, apparently this intern’s home synod. But knowing that, as we found out, changes little.
Among our correspondents were those who would excuse the seminary and scapegoat the candidacy committee. It was suggested to us that once the committee has endorsed a seminarian for internship, the only possible reason a seminary might deny it would be the lack of an available site.
Not quite. We will concede the candidacy committee itself bears a good deal of the responsibility, but it is not the chief culprit in this business. Even should the committee approve an internship, as it evidently did in the instance we reported, the seminary itself is not obligated to place a seminarian on internship. As we pointed out in the piece, a great deal of effort was made to find an internship site for the student, even to the extent of ignoring or overlooking several key points in the ELCA’s policy on internships. Only an active ignorance of the policy permitted the seminary to accept as supervisor a pastor who is out-of-compliance with ELCA policies.
It seems to us Dr. Nelson went above and beyond the call of duty here, and proactively sought out a congregation which might welcome such an intern. He hit the jackpot in Our Redeemer, a so-called Reconciling in Christ congregation whose pastor, Robyn Hartwig, is a lesbian who has publicly admitted to being out of compliance with Vision and Expectations, the ELCA’s statement of standards for ordained ministers. You can read about her disagreement with the church at some length at www.newsreview.com/issues/sacto/2003-12-18/news.asp?.Not unexpectedly, that Sacramento News & Review article isn't at that link. But Robyn Hartwig showed up on Lutheran (True!) Confessions last week with a report of her call and installation as associate pastor at St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Beaverton, Oregon.
Where Oregon Synod Bishop David Brauer-Rieke preached,
I said, “Robyn, what’s wrong?” She looked at me and said, “Huh? Oh no, nothing, I’m OK.” And I said, “You still feel called to parish ministry, don’t you?” The embers kicked in a little bit and she said, “Oh yes, absolutely,” and then they died away again. And I said, “So what’s wrong?” And Robyn looked up at me for a moment and then looked back at the ground and she said, “It’s hard to be rejected for who you are rather than embraced for what you have to offer.” “I’m not sure I’m ready to risk that again.” Risk that again being bread and butter reality for people who are gay or lesbian as Robyn is. Or just women who are looking for professional roles in the world. Or perhaps people who are marginalized because of race or social class or whatever. It’s hard to be rejected for who you are rather than embraced for what you have to offer.Read it all here, or listen to the Bishop exercising "restraint."
Shrimp out.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Me timbers shiverin'!
Arggh, mateys! Cap'n Bill here. Ye wish to know why I prefer to be avast in the wide Sargasso Sea that sit portside? Besides it be me job to try and save derelct ships? Because it is safer out in the sea with typhoons that sitting having tea with the Bishop or Governor.
Talk about dangerous bishops, here is one who is even a danger to his own self:
"Bishop Robinson said he had been reading inaugural prayers through history and was “horrified” at how “specifically and aggressively Christian they were.”
“I am very clear,” he said, “that this will not be a Christian prayer, and I won’t be quoting Scripture or anything like that."
Well, let me be clear, Bp Robinson, I think ye be just the man to be able to do that.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/13/us/13prayer.html?ref=politics
Talk about dangerous bishops, here is one who is even a danger to his own self:
"Bishop Robinson said he had been reading inaugural prayers through history and was “horrified” at how “specifically and aggressively Christian they were.”
“I am very clear,” he said, “that this will not be a Christian prayer, and I won’t be quoting Scripture or anything like that."
Well, let me be clear, Bp Robinson, I think ye be just the man to be able to do that.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/13/us/13prayer.html?ref=politics
Friday, January 09, 2009
Radical Welcome in the ELCA
Cap'n Bill here: Har-r-r-r Mateys! What say ye to the new emphasis in the ELCA, "Radical Welcome"? Haven't heard of it yet? You will. Check this out. This book by an activist Episcopal priest has its own blog on the ELCA web site: Radical Welcome Blog . And it be hosted by the priestess herself! Today's sample?
Friday, January 9, 2009
A thought for January: Radical welcome -- a risk worth taking!
From the outset of Radical Welcome, I tried to make clear that this ministry is risky, but that the risk is worth it.If we seek to truly welcome the gifts, power and presence of The Other, and even to note who The Other is, then there will be changes, and you might not initially like them. Changes in how we have imagined church, changes in how we do church, changes in who holds power in church, on and on. But they're worth it. Because we make these changes hoping that the one who has come to our churches and experienced a closed door -- closed to their presence, but also closed to their cultural experience or to their generational perspective -- will finally experience openness. Think of it as the "wideness of God's mercy."That's why I shared my own story of feeling welcomed at the Episcopal Cathedral in New York City and some Episcopal and Lutheran churches, and my experience of frankly feeling less than welcomed in other churches. Because I hope we can all get in touch with the joy of experiencing and sharing God's welcome and the pain of seeing lack of welcome ... and that once we know those emotions, we will feel compelled to go through the changes necessary to make sure no one feels anything less than welcomed in our congregations and ministries.I wonder: When have you felt welcomed in a congregation or ministry -- like your gifts and your voice, your contribution and your culture, your perspective and your power were all welcome at the table? Has that ever happened in a space where it really surprised you (THEY actually want to hear from ME? How wonderful!)?What did it feel like? What got stirred inside you? What happened as a result?I wonder again: And when have you felt unwelcome -- that there wasn't room for your voice, for your hopes, for your culture, for your perspective? Think about church, but also about the many spheres in which you move or have moved: school, family, work, etc. What did it feel like to be held at the margins, or told to leave some part of yourself (your class, your culture, your race, your gender, your sexuality) on the fringe? What did it cost you? What got shut down in you?May God bless us with the grace to heal wounds and welcome where we least expect it ... whatever the cost.
Rev. Stephanie Spellers
Well , we certainly wouldn't want to be leaving our sexuality out, would we?
Here she is hosting a web board with the Women of the ELCA (WELCA).
WELCA be rolling out a every-member book study. I can't tell you how bad this is. This book is as "intentional" as can be. It means to brainwash every last member in the ELCA to go beyond tolerance, beyond inclusion, beyonf incorporation of the gay agenda: Radical Welcome means to incarnate gayness into the fiber of the ELCA being.
What does it say about the book on the ELCA web site? Nothing about what makes this so radical, not a word about gay liberation theology. But what will the book clubs in the church basement be reading about? How about "conversion of the congregation." "Transformation." Or we could call it what it is, brainwashing.
Hey, don't take my word for it. Read an outside source, Faithfully Liberal blog.
Radical Welcome — A Review
By Pastor Bob Cornwall
Stephanie Spellers, Radical Welcome: Embracing God, The Other, and the Spirit of Transformation. New York: Church Publishing, 2006. xi + 180 pages.
Every church wants to be known as the “friendly church” or the “welcoming church,” even if they are neither friendly nor welcoming. Many a time a person has entered the doors of a congregation to find the welcome mat withdrawn or at least absent. Even churches that seek to live out their slogan of friendliness and welcome can fall short of expectations. Stephanie Spellers, an African-American woman Episcopal priest offers churches that seek to be truly welcoming an important resource and a strong challenge. It is a challenge to become more than an inviting and inclusive community faith to become one that is “radically welcoming.”
Radical Welcome is, according to our author, a spiritual practice. It’s not merely a means to an end; it is a fundamental aspect of being Christian and church. Radical Welcome “combines the universal Christian ministry of welcome and hospitality with a clear awareness of power and patters of inclusion and exclusion” (p. 11). In the course of writing this small book Spellers emphasizes the issue of power, or more specifically the willingness to cede power in the process of creating a space where “the Other” might find a home. It is an attempt to create a space for mutuality, and for this to happen, it must be done intentionally.
Radical Welcome involves conversion – on the part of the church itself. It is rooted in a theology that assumes that God is seeking our transformation and seeking to be in relationship with us. Our call to welcome “the Other” is rooted in God’s identity as the God of Welcome. God we learn is one who reaches out to all and not just to us. God is the one who seeks out the Prodigal – this is not a passive God, but one who actively loves.
This isn’t a along book, but it covers a lot of ground. It deals with matters of theology and practice. It illuminates our points of resistance – that is our fear of change and fear of “the Other.” It shines light on our discomfort with letting go of power. Radical Welcome moves beyond inviting, which seeks to bring others in through assimilation. “The Other” is invited in, but the expectation is that they will change, not us. They will, in the end become us. It also moves beyond inclusion, which Spellers defines as “incorporation.” A place is offered to the other to dwell safely, but the institution doesn’t change. Radical Welcome, on the other hand, is best defined by the term “incarnation.” It is a process where we enter into mutually transforming relationships. This is the goal of Radical Welcome.
To accomplish this goal, a church must be clear in its mission and vision, it must understand it’s identity, and discern not only what it is, but who is missing. Ministries must be designed so that they aren’t paternalistic. While leadership issues center on power, questions of worship will focus on finding ways to exhibit the diversity present.
Becoming a church such as the one described by Stephanie Spellers will require much of a church. She recognizes that such a community won’t emerge over night. In fact, it will likely come in stages, moving from inviting to inclusive and finally to radically welcoming others. There are important obstacles that range from tradition to power structures. The most important obstacle, however, is fear. Our fears are natural, even instinctive. In a world of constant change, many look to the church as a point of stability, and so change is not welcomed.
There is another fear that Spellers names and its one we tend to skirt, and that is the “fear of ‘the Other’.” The answer that many of us propose is relational. If we get to know each other we discover that we’re more alike than different. Spellers challenges that assumption. It is true that underneath we may be all the same, but in many ways we are all very different. Our cultures, languages, expectations, are very different, and these differences have to be accounted for. To accomplish we must create what she calls a “holding environment” – places that allow us to build trust and contain the stresses of change.
The book begins with theory, moves to identifying the issues, and then offers guidelines for accomplishing the goal of creating churches that are radically welcoming. The book is rooted in a project launched by Spellers in conjunction with the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, which she serves as Minister of Welcome at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston. The objects of her study are Episcopal congregations around the United States that have sought to become “radically welcoming.” Their stories and their struggles are chronicled here, and they give depth to her words of wisdom.
In the closing pages of the book, the reader will find a lengthy list of online resources – resources the author has created for the purpose of taking the journey. These resources include questionnaires, workshop outlines, bible studies, lists of practices, and assessment tools. Following that is a significant bibliography. Everything, it seems, that’s needed, is provided. It only requires of us a commitment to follow God’s leading and become the body of Christ.
To read the book is to hear a call of God on the church to become more than it is. If you’re like me, you will discover that while you’re on the way, you’re a long ways from the finish line. But this resource will spur you on and it will help you discern the path. If you are white and part of a predominantly white church – as I am – then you will be challenged by the call to give up power, to share power, all of which requires us to take risks that can be painful. But, the end result will be worth taking the journey.
If you are seeking to become a truly welcoming congregation then this book is essential reading. It was recommended to me while I was attending the Disciples of Christ General Assembly. I had visited the booth of the “Gay and Lesbian Affirming Disciples” (GLAD) and when I asked what I needed to read, this was the book that was suggested. It’s not just about issues of homosexuality, though inclusion of gays and lesbians is part of the conversation, but it is bigger than that. It is a process of broadening and diversifying the church so that all voices are authentically welcomed and all who participate in the community are transformed by the encounter. Essential reading, that’s the conclusion.
My conclusion is these folks won't be happy until the last light is turned out.
Friday, January 9, 2009
A thought for January: Radical welcome -- a risk worth taking!
From the outset of Radical Welcome, I tried to make clear that this ministry is risky, but that the risk is worth it.If we seek to truly welcome the gifts, power and presence of The Other, and even to note who The Other is, then there will be changes, and you might not initially like them. Changes in how we have imagined church, changes in how we do church, changes in who holds power in church, on and on. But they're worth it. Because we make these changes hoping that the one who has come to our churches and experienced a closed door -- closed to their presence, but also closed to their cultural experience or to their generational perspective -- will finally experience openness. Think of it as the "wideness of God's mercy."That's why I shared my own story of feeling welcomed at the Episcopal Cathedral in New York City and some Episcopal and Lutheran churches, and my experience of frankly feeling less than welcomed in other churches. Because I hope we can all get in touch with the joy of experiencing and sharing God's welcome and the pain of seeing lack of welcome ... and that once we know those emotions, we will feel compelled to go through the changes necessary to make sure no one feels anything less than welcomed in our congregations and ministries.I wonder: When have you felt welcomed in a congregation or ministry -- like your gifts and your voice, your contribution and your culture, your perspective and your power were all welcome at the table? Has that ever happened in a space where it really surprised you (THEY actually want to hear from ME? How wonderful!)?What did it feel like? What got stirred inside you? What happened as a result?I wonder again: And when have you felt unwelcome -- that there wasn't room for your voice, for your hopes, for your culture, for your perspective? Think about church, but also about the many spheres in which you move or have moved: school, family, work, etc. What did it feel like to be held at the margins, or told to leave some part of yourself (your class, your culture, your race, your gender, your sexuality) on the fringe? What did it cost you? What got shut down in you?May God bless us with the grace to heal wounds and welcome where we least expect it ... whatever the cost.
Rev. Stephanie Spellers
Well , we certainly wouldn't want to be leaving our sexuality out, would we?
Here she is hosting a web board with the Women of the ELCA (WELCA).
WELCA be rolling out a every-member book study. I can't tell you how bad this is. This book is as "intentional" as can be. It means to brainwash every last member in the ELCA to go beyond tolerance, beyond inclusion, beyonf incorporation of the gay agenda: Radical Welcome means to incarnate gayness into the fiber of the ELCA being.
What does it say about the book on the ELCA web site? Nothing about what makes this so radical, not a word about gay liberation theology. But what will the book clubs in the church basement be reading about? How about "conversion of the congregation." "Transformation." Or we could call it what it is, brainwashing.
Hey, don't take my word for it. Read an outside source, Faithfully Liberal blog.
Radical Welcome — A Review
By Pastor Bob Cornwall
Stephanie Spellers, Radical Welcome: Embracing God, The Other, and the Spirit of Transformation. New York: Church Publishing, 2006. xi + 180 pages.
Every church wants to be known as the “friendly church” or the “welcoming church,” even if they are neither friendly nor welcoming. Many a time a person has entered the doors of a congregation to find the welcome mat withdrawn or at least absent. Even churches that seek to live out their slogan of friendliness and welcome can fall short of expectations. Stephanie Spellers, an African-American woman Episcopal priest offers churches that seek to be truly welcoming an important resource and a strong challenge. It is a challenge to become more than an inviting and inclusive community faith to become one that is “radically welcoming.”
Radical Welcome is, according to our author, a spiritual practice. It’s not merely a means to an end; it is a fundamental aspect of being Christian and church. Radical Welcome “combines the universal Christian ministry of welcome and hospitality with a clear awareness of power and patters of inclusion and exclusion” (p. 11). In the course of writing this small book Spellers emphasizes the issue of power, or more specifically the willingness to cede power in the process of creating a space where “the Other” might find a home. It is an attempt to create a space for mutuality, and for this to happen, it must be done intentionally.
Radical Welcome involves conversion – on the part of the church itself. It is rooted in a theology that assumes that God is seeking our transformation and seeking to be in relationship with us. Our call to welcome “the Other” is rooted in God’s identity as the God of Welcome. God we learn is one who reaches out to all and not just to us. God is the one who seeks out the Prodigal – this is not a passive God, but one who actively loves.
This isn’t a along book, but it covers a lot of ground. It deals with matters of theology and practice. It illuminates our points of resistance – that is our fear of change and fear of “the Other.” It shines light on our discomfort with letting go of power. Radical Welcome moves beyond inviting, which seeks to bring others in through assimilation. “The Other” is invited in, but the expectation is that they will change, not us. They will, in the end become us. It also moves beyond inclusion, which Spellers defines as “incorporation.” A place is offered to the other to dwell safely, but the institution doesn’t change. Radical Welcome, on the other hand, is best defined by the term “incarnation.” It is a process where we enter into mutually transforming relationships. This is the goal of Radical Welcome.
To accomplish this goal, a church must be clear in its mission and vision, it must understand it’s identity, and discern not only what it is, but who is missing. Ministries must be designed so that they aren’t paternalistic. While leadership issues center on power, questions of worship will focus on finding ways to exhibit the diversity present.
Becoming a church such as the one described by Stephanie Spellers will require much of a church. She recognizes that such a community won’t emerge over night. In fact, it will likely come in stages, moving from inviting to inclusive and finally to radically welcoming others. There are important obstacles that range from tradition to power structures. The most important obstacle, however, is fear. Our fears are natural, even instinctive. In a world of constant change, many look to the church as a point of stability, and so change is not welcomed.
There is another fear that Spellers names and its one we tend to skirt, and that is the “fear of ‘the Other’.” The answer that many of us propose is relational. If we get to know each other we discover that we’re more alike than different. Spellers challenges that assumption. It is true that underneath we may be all the same, but in many ways we are all very different. Our cultures, languages, expectations, are very different, and these differences have to be accounted for. To accomplish we must create what she calls a “holding environment” – places that allow us to build trust and contain the stresses of change.
The book begins with theory, moves to identifying the issues, and then offers guidelines for accomplishing the goal of creating churches that are radically welcoming. The book is rooted in a project launched by Spellers in conjunction with the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, which she serves as Minister of Welcome at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston. The objects of her study are Episcopal congregations around the United States that have sought to become “radically welcoming.” Their stories and their struggles are chronicled here, and they give depth to her words of wisdom.
In the closing pages of the book, the reader will find a lengthy list of online resources – resources the author has created for the purpose of taking the journey. These resources include questionnaires, workshop outlines, bible studies, lists of practices, and assessment tools. Following that is a significant bibliography. Everything, it seems, that’s needed, is provided. It only requires of us a commitment to follow God’s leading and become the body of Christ.
To read the book is to hear a call of God on the church to become more than it is. If you’re like me, you will discover that while you’re on the way, you’re a long ways from the finish line. But this resource will spur you on and it will help you discern the path. If you are white and part of a predominantly white church – as I am – then you will be challenged by the call to give up power, to share power, all of which requires us to take risks that can be painful. But, the end result will be worth taking the journey.
If you are seeking to become a truly welcoming congregation then this book is essential reading. It was recommended to me while I was attending the Disciples of Christ General Assembly. I had visited the booth of the “Gay and Lesbian Affirming Disciples” (GLAD) and when I asked what I needed to read, this was the book that was suggested. It’s not just about issues of homosexuality, though inclusion of gays and lesbians is part of the conversation, but it is bigger than that. It is a process of broadening and diversifying the church so that all voices are authentically welcomed and all who participate in the community are transformed by the encounter. Essential reading, that’s the conclusion.
My conclusion is these folks won't be happy until the last light is turned out.
The Mind-numbing Effect of Liberal Bias
Cap'n Bill here: Aye Mateys! Me timbers shiver when me read the news--especially the New York Times, what they call "Opinion." That Frank Rich, whew! Scary what being so liberal can do to a person, man o man, even turn on their new leader who had the most liberal voting record of any senator. Why? Not gay friendly enough. No sirree, what right thinking, magnanimous and humble politician would allow a Pro Prop 8 person on the presidential platform:
Unlike Bush, Obama has been the vocal advocate of gay civil rights he claims to be. It is over the top to assert, as a gay writer at Time did, that the president-elect is “a very tolerant, very rational-sounding sort of bigot.” Much more to the point is the astute criticism leveled by the gay Democratic congressman Barney Frank, who, in dissenting from the Warren choice, said of Obama, “I think he overestimates his ability to get people to put aside fundamental differences.” That’s a polite way of describing the Obama cockiness. It will take more than the force of the new president’s personality and eloquence to turn our nation into the United States of America he and we all want it to be.
Obama may not only overestimate his ability to bridge some of our fundamental differences but also underestimate how persistent some of those differences are. The exhilaration of his decisive election victory and the deserved applause that has greeted his mostly glitch-free transition can’t entirely mask the tensions underneath. Before there is profound social change, there is always high anxiety.
The success of Proposition 8 in California was a serious shock to gay Americans and to all the rest of us who believe that all marriages should be equal under the law. The roles played by African-Americans (who voted 70 percent in favor of Proposition 8) and by white Mormons (who were accused of bankrolling the anti-same-sex-marriage campaign) only added to the morning-after recriminations. And that was in blue California. In Arkansas, voters went so far as to approve a measure forbidding gay couples to adopt.
There is comparable anger and fear on the right. David Brody, a political correspondent with the Christian Broadcasting Network, was flooded with e-mails from religious conservatives chastising Warren for accepting the invitation to the inaugural. They vilified Obama as “pro-death” and worse because of his support for abortion rights.
Stoking this rage, no doubt, is the dawning realization that the old religious right is crumbling — in part because Warren’s new generation of leaders departs from the Falwell-Robertson brand of zealots who have had a stranglehold on the G.O.P. It’s a sign of the old establishment’s panic that the Rev. Richard Cizik, known for his leadership in addressing global warming, was pushed out of his executive post at the National Association of Evangelicals this month. Cizik’s sin was to tell Terry Gross of NPR that he was starting to shift in favor of civil unions for gay couples.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/28/opinion/28rich.html?_r=1&ref=opinion
Agendas. Cizik has earned a spot on the victims Halle of Fame for sacrificing his love of pushing global-warming for the adoption of the gay union agenda (Rich is wrong, Cizik resigned, he wasn't pushed out).
Oh well, it's all old news. But it was new to me, what me being out here on the high seas and only got this message in a bottle.
Best wishes for the New Year, mates! Har-r-r-r-r!
Unlike Bush, Obama has been the vocal advocate of gay civil rights he claims to be. It is over the top to assert, as a gay writer at Time did, that the president-elect is “a very tolerant, very rational-sounding sort of bigot.” Much more to the point is the astute criticism leveled by the gay Democratic congressman Barney Frank, who, in dissenting from the Warren choice, said of Obama, “I think he overestimates his ability to get people to put aside fundamental differences.” That’s a polite way of describing the Obama cockiness. It will take more than the force of the new president’s personality and eloquence to turn our nation into the United States of America he and we all want it to be.
Obama may not only overestimate his ability to bridge some of our fundamental differences but also underestimate how persistent some of those differences are. The exhilaration of his decisive election victory and the deserved applause that has greeted his mostly glitch-free transition can’t entirely mask the tensions underneath. Before there is profound social change, there is always high anxiety.
The success of Proposition 8 in California was a serious shock to gay Americans and to all the rest of us who believe that all marriages should be equal under the law. The roles played by African-Americans (who voted 70 percent in favor of Proposition 8) and by white Mormons (who were accused of bankrolling the anti-same-sex-marriage campaign) only added to the morning-after recriminations. And that was in blue California. In Arkansas, voters went so far as to approve a measure forbidding gay couples to adopt.
There is comparable anger and fear on the right. David Brody, a political correspondent with the Christian Broadcasting Network, was flooded with e-mails from religious conservatives chastising Warren for accepting the invitation to the inaugural. They vilified Obama as “pro-death” and worse because of his support for abortion rights.
Stoking this rage, no doubt, is the dawning realization that the old religious right is crumbling — in part because Warren’s new generation of leaders departs from the Falwell-Robertson brand of zealots who have had a stranglehold on the G.O.P. It’s a sign of the old establishment’s panic that the Rev. Richard Cizik, known for his leadership in addressing global warming, was pushed out of his executive post at the National Association of Evangelicals this month. Cizik’s sin was to tell Terry Gross of NPR that he was starting to shift in favor of civil unions for gay couples.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/28/opinion/28rich.html?_r=1&ref=opinion
Agendas. Cizik has earned a spot on the victims Halle of Fame for sacrificing his love of pushing global-warming for the adoption of the gay union agenda (Rich is wrong, Cizik resigned, he wasn't pushed out).
Oh well, it's all old news. But it was new to me, what me being out here on the high seas and only got this message in a bottle.
Best wishes for the New Year, mates! Har-r-r-r-r!
Thursday, January 01, 2009
From the City of Brotherly Love...
Shrimp here, welcoming you to the Year of Our Lord, twenty-oh-nine, and in the Year of Our ELCA, twenty-one.
New year; old news. Three weeks ago the word began to go out that another ELCA congregation has called as a pastor a candidate of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries. This particular candidate, Steve Keiser, has been serving the Lutheran Church of the Holy Communion as "pastoral associate" for some nine years. On December 8, that congregation voted to call him as pastor. According to Lutheran (True!) Confessions, the extra-ordinary ordination has be set for January 25.
That would make Mr. Keiser, who seems to be a regular teacher at the Faith and Life Institute of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (which describes him as an "LTSP alum and Biblical Scholar"), the object of the eighteenth "ordination extra ordinem" since the practice was inaugurated in 1990.
Happy New Year! Shrimp out.
New year; old news. Three weeks ago the word began to go out that another ELCA congregation has called as a pastor a candidate of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries. This particular candidate, Steve Keiser, has been serving the Lutheran Church of the Holy Communion as "pastoral associate" for some nine years. On December 8, that congregation voted to call him as pastor. According to Lutheran (True!) Confessions, the extra-ordinary ordination has be set for January 25.
That would make Mr. Keiser, who seems to be a regular teacher at the Faith and Life Institute of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (which describes him as an "LTSP alum and Biblical Scholar"), the object of the eighteenth "ordination extra ordinem" since the practice was inaugurated in 1990.
Happy New Year! Shrimp out.
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