The Kirk Offers Hint to the ELCA

Shrimp again. Every once in a while, someone suggests that the ELCA simply refuse to discuss sexuality matters for a period of time. You know, if we just agree to make no decisions about sex for a generation or two and concentrate on evangelizing the unchurched, our grandchildren will be able to discuss the matter (in a much larger, more firmly established ELCA).

Now the Church of Scotland is trying to do just that, well sort of, for 2 years. Read about it in The Scotsman, which also offers an old idea for those who find themselves in dissent from any ELCA Assembly action this summer. Tip of the claw to TitusOneNine.

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Kirk orders ban on gay minister debate

The Church of Scotland last night effectively gagged its members from public discussion of gay ministers and postponed a potentially divisive vote on the issue for two years in a desperate bid to avoid a schism.

A debate on a call to ban openly homosexual people from appointment to the ministry was torpedoed by an 11th-hour motion that dominated the General Assembly yesterday.

Instead of proceeding with the vote – which many traditionalists had warned could split the Kirk – members agreed to establish a commission to study the issue and report back in 2011.

Until then, no more openly gay ministers can be appointed and no members can speak in public on the issue of openly homosexual, non-celibate ministers.

Only the Church and Society, HIV/Aids Project and Mission Discipleship committees can speak out on the broader issue of human sexuality.

One hardliner said last night Kirk members were now "effectively prevented from speaking out in public on this".

The decision came as 121 Kirk ministers and Church members showed their disapproval of the decision to allow the openly gay Scott Rennie to be appointed to a ministry when they signed a notice of dissent.

Before yesterday's General Assembly proceedings were able to start, a point of order was brought by one commissionaire that he wished to dissent against Saturday's decision to allow Mr Rennie to take up his ministry at Queen's Cross Church, Aberdeen.

Moderator Bill Hewitt said a document had been set up for those who wished to dissent on the decision to have their names recorded in the minutes of the assembly.

Although it will have no bearing on the decision itself, it was an expression of the strength of opposition to the crucial vote on Saturday that backed Mr Rennie's appointment. The vote was carried 326 to 267 and it is thought that many of those who opposed it would have signed the petition of dissent...

Read it all here. Shrimp out.

LSTC Faculty Chimes In (Again)

Shrimp here. Most of the faculty at the ELCA's Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago is speaking up on proposed sexuality social statement and the recommendations on ministry policies. According to an ELCA News release,

an April 2 letter LSTC students, predominantly members of the senior class, "invited and implored" the seminary's faculty to respond to the documents, according to Dr. Klaus-Peter Adam, associate professor of Old Testament at LSTC.

In response, Adam and three other faculty members issued a statement May 22 offering support for the approval of the documents. In addition to the four drafters of the statement, 18 faculty members plus one professor emeritus signed the statement. The statement is not an official declaration of LSTC; it is a statement of the faculty.

The LSTC faculty members signing this statement had all previously signed the "Appropriate Next Steps for the ELCA" letter referred to below and here on Shellfish. That letter now has 150 signatures from ELCA "teaching theologians."

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LSTC Faculty responds to the ELCA Statement, "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust", and the "Report and Recommendation on Ministry Policies"

During the current church-wide discussion about the ELCA statement, "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust", and the "Report and Recommendation on Ministry Policies" we, the undersigned members of the faculty of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, remember Paul's advice to our Christian community:
"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." (Gal 3:28)
We also offer the following considerations as members of the ELCA prepare to vote on the "Report and Recommendation on Ministry Policies."

As a confessional church, the Lutheran community affirms the normative authority of Scripture and tradition. Lutherans also insist that Christ and the gospel are the hermeneutical key for interpreting both Scripture and tradition. The gospel, which always points us to Christ, is, therefore, the interpretative lens in light of which the biblical and theological heritage of the church must be understood, evaluated and affirmed. One of the realities that becomes apparent when we see Christ is that he consistently crossed religious and societal boundaries, reached out to the marginalized and modeled a radical ethic of love. We trust that Christ and his gospel now inspire God's people to live in ways that are more consistent with the good news and with the example of Christ. Hence, they are free to be divine instruments of grace in the world because of Christ's redemptive acts. They have been precisely that at particular moments throughout history when the Holy Spirit, by means of the gospel, has inspired faithful individuals and communities to see the Scriptures in a new light and to implement changes that have resulted in crucial theological, ecclesiastical and social reforms.

Luther's challenge of the medieval church's distinction between the spiritual and temporal estates and his affirmation of the universal priesthood of the baptized, the abolition of the slave trade and slavery, the flowering of ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue, opposition to racism and apartheid, and support for the ordination of women are striking examples of theological, ecclesiastical and social changes inspired by the transformative power of the gospel.

In our time, Christ and his message of grace empower the community of faith to understand specific scriptural passages differently than in the past, to change traditional ecclesiastical policies and practices, and to affirm sisters and brothers who share a common baptismal identity, who confess the same faith in Christ and whose call to ministry is an expression of the Holy Spirit's presence in their lives. In recent times, the church has repented of interpretations of scripture that justified slavery, silenced women, oppressed people of color, and maligned the Jewish people. The crucial question before the church is not whether the current recommendation on ministry policies challenges long-standing scriptural interpretations and ecclesiastical practices. It obviously does. Rather, the ultimate question is whether the recommendation on ministry policies proclaims Christ [Christum treiben] and his message of grace more faithfully than older interpretations and practices. We, the faculty of LSTC, are convinced that it does and, therefore, support the approval of the recommendation.

As academicians, the LSTC faculty is also in conversation with the research coming from biology, neuroscience, anthropology, sociology, psychology, literary studies, and other disciplines that engage in gender and sexuality studies. This recent scholarship is clear that there are varieties of sexual orientations and gender identities; that these orientations, identities and relationships derive from a complex of cultural, historical and physical realities. The research alerts us to the precariousness of assigning to "nature" what culture and community construct. Categories of binary differentiation such as "male" or "female", "heterosexual" or "homosexual" are historical and philosophical categories of great importance which nonetheless have minimal ontological status. As scholars, this faculty is and must be aware of this research which cautions us to be wary of the universality of binary sexual and gender classifications. Among many other things, that is why we must question many of the assumptions that are made in some of the circulated responses to the ELCA statements, "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust", and the "Report and Recommendation on Ministry Policies"—responses which depend on these problematic classifications of human experience and behavior.

As a Lutheran community, part of the body of Christ, we also share with you our experience of Christ's refreshing spirit in our seminary community. Here at LSTC, we have been blessed by lively and faithful conversations with lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender students and pastors in our midst about matters of sexuality, gender identity, and committed relationships to human partners and God. We see firsthand the hope, the pain, and the joy in these conversations. While we do not always agree with each other, we discover Christ's spirit in this fellowship. Deeply committed to our unity in Christ, we once were emboldened to ordain free and former slaves, whites together with peoples of color, women and men alike, to serve as pastors of the church. We must now broaden that circle to include a yet more full company of God's children who confess the gospel and the lordship of Christ Jesus.

The undersigned members of the LSTC faculty:
    Klaus-Peter Adam
    Terrence Baeder
    Kathleen D. Billman
    Kurt Hendel
    Esther Menn
    Raymond Pickett
    José D. Rodriguez
    Craig Satterlee
    Lea Schweitz
    Michael Shelley
    Benjamin Stewart
    Rosanne Swanson
    Linda E. Thomas
    Barbara Rossing
    David Rhoads
    Peter Vethanayagamony
    Christine Wenderoth
    Vítor Westhelle

We also refer to the 'Appropriate Next Steps for the ELCA' that can be found under http://prophetess.lstc.edu/~rklein/

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There you have it. Shrimp out.

Shreck: Don't Act Unilaterally

Shrimp here. From 1998-2008 Pastor Paul Schreck served in the ELCA's Office of the Secretary and also in the ELCA ecumenical affairs department, working closely with ELCA Secretary Lowell Almen and in the Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogues. He has been without a call since last August. In the just-out June 2009 issue of The Lutheran magazine, Pastor Schreck addresses recommendations on ministry policies being presented at the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in August.

Fragile relationships

Handle ecumenism with care

Recently I shredded an envelope only to discover the contents were still inside. The damage was irreparable. Precious things can be destroyed in a moment.

What of the church? Can this precious body of Christ be similarly broken? The church has experienced many divisions through the centuries. The bitter pain of this brokenness threatens to undermine its ability to proclaim the gospel. Yet to many, a divided church appears to be normal rather than contrary to God's will — and brings no pain.

Some steps in recent decades have restored a high degree of trust and affection between Christians of various traditions. ELCA pastors regularly preside at the eucharist in many of these traditions. ELCA members participate with Roman Catholics in joint Bible studies. Christians set aside divisions to care for the stranger in need through disaster response. But our steps toward church unity are tenuous and can be quickly undone.

The ELCA meets in assembly in August. One decision concerns whether gay and lesbian people in committed same-sex relationships may serve this church as pastors. Two opposing views have been widely discussed. Astonishingly absent from the discussion is the point that the ELCA doesn't make this decision in a vacuum. We live in interdependent relationships with Lutherans and Christians around the world. Assembly decisions affect those.

A change in ELCA discipline for pastors will scandalize some partner churches and likely lead to suspension of full-communion agreements. Relationships with the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches will cool considerably. Our Lutheran World Federation membership may be jeopardized because the fastest-growing Lutheran churches passionately oppose this change. Exact reactions are impossible to predict, but they will have concrete implications.

Whether this change is applied to the entire ELCA roster or decisions are made locally by synods, the overwhelming majority of the world's Christians will see any change in the discipline for pastors as our breaking communion with them. The criticism would be accurate: The decision will have been made unilaterally. Voting members need to be aware of these implications. There may be appropriate times to break communion with other Christians. But we must be fully aware we are doing it. Dividing the church comes at a price. We must never pretend it's not painful.

The Lutheran promises "another view on the sexuality documents" in its July issue. Shrimp out...

Open Letter to ELCA Churchwide Assembly Voters

Shrimp here, with a tip o' the claw to Pastor Zip, who managed to provide for us most of the original formatting. It's a to-the-point Open Letter to the ELCA Churchwide Assembly's Voting Members from a group of 59 ELCA leaders and theologians assembled recently by Lutheran CORE. We'll let Prof. Bob Benne introduce it himself (in a cover letter he sent to some associates last week), then you can read the Open Letter. It's a good one -- a very good one. -- with some pretty heavy names attached (and more being added). Read it. Shrimp out.

Dear friends,

Two weeks ago a group of theologians and church leaders convened by the Lutheran Coalition for Reform (CORE) met in Arizona to develop a letter to voting members of the ELCA Churchwide Assembly of 2009. It is a letter appealing to the voting members to reject the Social Statement on Sexuality and the accompanying four recommendations. I have attached that letter. That letter is in the process of being sent out. At the same time it is being released to many persons and agencies within and outside the church. Soon it will be posted in a number of places for more people to sign on. (Check the CORE website or the WordAlone website if you wish to sign on.) Around 50 theologians and church leaders have already signed it and we expect many more supporters to sign on. We think the letter is persuasive and that the key theologians of the ELCA have affirmed it. We hope it is persuasive to you.

Sincerely,
Bob Benne

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	An Open Letter to the Voting Members of the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly
	We are grateful that the church has called you to serve as a voting member for the 2009 Churchwide Assembly. Your role at the assembly will be a difficult one. We are writing this open letter as Lutheran theologians and church leaders concerned about the fidelity and future of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
The proposals are in fact no compromise   The teaching of the church will be changed	The proposals to be considered by the Churchwide Assembly this summer from the Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality are perceived by some as compromises that will permit the ELCA to live faithfully with internal diversity on controversial ethical questions. The proposals are in fact no compromise. They clearly imply that same-sex blessings and the ordination and rostering of homosexual persons in committed relationships are acceptable within the ELCA. The teaching of the church will be changed. We should not make such an important decision without clear biblical and theological support. The Task Force did not provide such support, nor has it been provided in statements from some of our colleagues in ELCA institutions.
Indifference to the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church	1. If the assembly adopts the proposed rules of procedure, a simple majority of one Churchwide Assembly will alter the moral teaching on sexuality we have shared with the vast majority of the church past and present. We are concerned that such a procedure shows an indifference to the common mind of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church throughout the ages and across cultures. At the least, a two-thirds majority should be required, if indeed the assembly should be voting on these matters at all.
The church is founded on the whole Word of God, both law and gospel	2. The proposals claim that the ELCA can live with profound differences on sexual questions because our unity is centered exclusively on the gospel and the sacraments. This claim separates law and gospel in a way contrary to both Scripture and the Confessions. The church is founded on the whole Word of God, both law and gospel. The Task Force texts seem to permit variation on all ethical questions, no matter how fundamental. How Christians behave sexually is not a matter of indifference to our life in Christ.
It would damage our ecumenical relationships	3. If the ELCA were to approve the public recognition of same-sex unions or the rostering of persons in such relationships, it would damage our ecumenical relationships with the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church, and Evangelical churches, all of which affirm the clear teaching of Scripture that homosexual activity departs from God’s design for marriage and sexuality. Furthermore, it would put the ELCA at odds with many of our sister Lutheran churches, especially in Asia and Africa. The United Methodist Church and the Presbyterian Church (USA) have also recently upheld scriptural teaching on this matter. These bodies have officially recognized that the biblical prohibitions against homosexual activity remain applicable today to consensual sexual relationships between persons of the same sex.
Our unity will be fractured	4. With regard to calling rostered leaders, the statement proposes “structured flexibility,” which we believe will lead inevitably to “local option.” If adopted, this proposal will mean that the relationship among bishops, candidacy committees, and congregations will become confused and conflicted. Practically speaking, there will be two lists of candidates for rostered leadership in the church. The result will be that not all pastors and congregations will be in full fellowship with each other, nor with many of the pastors and congregations of those denominations with whom we are in full communion. Further, laity seeking a congregation to join would need to ask about which option a congregation has chosen in calling its leaders. Our unity in the office of ministry will be fractured.
Conscience can err	5. The social statement calls for opponents in the current controversy to respect each other’s “bound conscience,” referring to Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms. Luther, however, was not merely claiming that he was sincere about the convictions he held; he asserted rather that his conscience was bound to the Word of God. Conscience can err. The Word of God, not conscience, is the final court of appeal in the church.
	We are deeply sensitive to the need of the church to provide pastoral care for all people. We are aware that there are some in the church who will disagree with this letter. Nevertheless, we feel we are called to support and advocate the biblical teaching on human sexuality. We pledge to you our prayers and we invite you to work with us for the renewal of our church under the Word of God.

Rev. Richard Bansemer, Salem, VA, former Bishop, Virginia Synod


Dr. Robert D. Benne, Director of the Center for Religion and Society, Roanoke College, VA


Rev. John C. Beem, Miltona, MN, former Bishop, East-Central Synod of Wisconsin


Rev. Dr. Paul S. Berge, Professor Emeritus of New Testament, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN


Rev. Dr. Dennis D. Bielfeldt, Professor of Religion, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD


Rev. Dr. Carl E. Braaten,  Professor Emeritus, Systematic Theology, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago


Rev. Mark C. Chavez, Landisville, PA, Director of Lutheran CORE


Rev. Dr. James R. Crumley, Jr, Chapin, SC, Former Bishop, Lutheran Church in America


Rev. Jaynan Clark Egland, Nine Mile Falls, WA, President, WordAlone Network


Rev. Dr. C. Jack Eichhorst, President emeritus, Trinity Lutheran College, WA


Dr. Rebecca Frey, New Haven, CT, Lutheran Forum Editorial Staff


Rev. Gregory P. Fryer, Immanuel Lutheran Church, New York, MY


Gracia M. Grindal, Professor of Rhetoric, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN


Mr. David J. Hardy, Esq., Chicago, IL, Former General Counsel of the ELCA


Rev. Dr. Roy A. Harrisville, Jr., Professor Emeritus, New Testament, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN


Rev. Dr. Roy A. Harrisville, III, Menomonie, WI


Rev. Dr. Mary Havens, Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, Prof. of Church History, Columbia, SC


Rev. Carol S. Hendrix, former bishop, Lower Susquehanna Synod, PA


Dr. Hans J. Hillerbrand, Professor of Religion, Duke University, NC


Rev. Dr. Paul R. Hinlicky, Professor of Religion, Roanoke College, VA


Rev. Dr. Stephen J. Hultgren, Assistant Professor of Religion, Fordham University, Bronx, NY


Rev. Dr. Robert W. Jenson, Princeton, NJ


Ben Arlen Johnson, Th.D., Professor emeritus, Lutheran Bible Institute in California


Rev. Dr. Richard O. Johnson, Grass Valley, CA, Editor of Forum Letter


Rev. Corinne R. Johnson, Crystal Falls, MI


Rev. Ralph A. Kempski, Aiken, SC, Bishop Emeritus, Indiana-Kentucky Synod


Rev. Dr. Jack Dean Kingsbury, Professor Emeritus of Biblical Theology, Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, VA


Rev. Gerard H. Knoche, Bishop, Delaware-Maryland Synod


Rev. Dr. Marc Kolden, Professor Emeritus, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN


Rev. Dr. David W. Lotz, Washburn Professor Emeritus of Church History, Union Theological Seminary, New York, NY


Rev. Dr. Lamontte Luker, Professor of Hebrew Scriptures, Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, Columbia, SC


Rev. Dr. Paul V. Martinson, Professor Emeritus of Missions, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN


Rev. Dr. Mark C. Mattes, Professor of Religion, Grand View College, Des Moines, IA


Rev. George P. Mocko, Bishop Emeritus, Delaware-Maryland Synod


Rev. Dr. James A. Nestingen, Professor Emeritus of Church History, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN


Rev. Richard J. Niebanck III, Delhi, NY


Rev. Dr. Oliver K. Olson, Minneapolis, MN


Rev. Dr. Steven D. Paulson, Professor of Systematic Theology, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN


Rev. Dr. David W. Preus, Minneapolis, MN, Former Bishop, American Lutheran Church


Dr. Michael Root, Dean, Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, Columbia, SC


Rev. Dr. Paul E. Rorem, Professor of Church History, Princeton Theological Seminary, NJ 


Rev. Russell E. Saltzman, Ruskin Heights Lutheran Church, Kansas City, MO


Rev. Kenneth H. Sauer, Columbus, OH, Former Chair of Conference of Bishops


Rev. Dr. James A. Scherer, Professor Emeritus, Missions and Church History, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago


Rev. Dr. Amy Schifrin, Hershey, PA


Rev. Paul A. Schreck, Round Lake Beach, IL, former Executive Assistant to the Secretary, ELCA


Rev. Henry Schulte Jr, Boerne, TX, former Bishop, Southwestern Texas Synod


Rev. Frederick J. Schumacher, Manchester Township, NJ, Executive Director, American Lutheran Publicity Bureau


Rev. Dr. Hans Schwarz, Professor of Systematic Theology and Contemporary Theological Issues, University of Regensburg, Germany


Rev. Dr. Frank Senn, Immanuel Lutheran Church, Evanston, IL


Rev. Dr. Franklin Sherman, Schnecksville, PA


Rev. Dr. Trygve R. Skarsten, Pickerington, OH, President Emeritus of Trinity Lutheran College, Everett, WA


Rev. Paull E. Spring, State College, PA, Former Bishop, Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod


Rev. Dr. John R. Stumme, Chicago, IL, former Director of the Department for Studies in the Church in Society unit of the ELCA


Rev. Dr. Anders Tune, Campus Minister, Wittenberg University, Springfield, OH


Rev. Paul M. Werger, Iowa City, IA, Former Chair of Conference of Bishops


Rev. Sarah Hinlicky Wilson, Associate Research Professor, Institute for Ecumenical Research, Strasbourg, France


Dr. David S. Yeago, Professor of Systematic Theology, Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, Columbia, SC


Rev. Dr. J. Larry Yoder, Professor and Director, Center for Theology, Lenoir-Rhyne University, Hickory, NC

ELCA Theologians and Leaders Call for Defeat of Sexuality Proposals

A press release from Lutheran CORE:

Prominent Lutheran theologians and church leaders affirm biblical teaching on sexuality and call for defeat of ELCA sexuality proposals
May 19, 2009 — Prominent Lutheran theologians and church leaders have written an Open Letter to the Voting Members of the 2009 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) asking them to affirm biblical teaching on sexuality and to reject proposals to change church teaching and policy regarding marriage and same-sex sexual behavior. The open letter was released Tuesday, May 19.

The 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly (Aug. 17-23 in Minneapolis) will consider a proposed social statement which would change ELCA teaching on human sexuality and a proposal which would change church standards to allow ELCA pastors to be in same-sex sexual relationships. The open letter will be mailed to the 1,045 voting members of the 4.7-million-member denomination’s Churchwide Assembly.

“The proposals are in fact no compromise. They clearly imply that same-sex blessings and the ordination and rostering of homosexual persons in committed relationships are acceptable within the ELCA. The teaching of the church will be changed. We should not make such an important decision without clear biblical and theological support. The Task Force did not provide such support, nor has it been provided in statements from some of our colleagues in ELCA institutions,” the open letter states.

The letter offers five reasons why the proposals must be rejected:

1. “If the assembly adopts the proposed rules of procedure, a simple majority of one Churchwide Assembly will alter the moral teaching on sexuality we have shared with the vast majority of the church past and present. We are concerned that such a procedure shows an indifference to the common mind of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church throughout the ages and across cultures.”

2. “The church is founded on the whole Word of God, both law and gospel. The Task Force texts seem to permit variation on all ethical questions, no matter how fundamental. How Christians behave sexually is not a matter of indifference to our life in Christ.”

3. “If the ELCA were to approve the public recognition of same-sex unions or the rostering of persons in such relationships, it would damage our ecumenical relationships.”

4. “Our unity in the office of ministry will be fractured.”

5. “Conscience can err. The Word of God, not conscience, is the final court of appeal in the church.”

“We feel we are called to support and advocate the biblical teaching on human sexuality and urge you to defeat all the proposals from the Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality that the Church Council has forwarded to you. We pledge to you our prayers and we invite you to work with us for the renewal of our church under the Word of God,” the open letter concludes.

Lutheran CORE brought together some prominent theologians and church leaders April 29 in Phoenix to draft the letter. Other scholars and church leaders were then asked to add their names to the open letter. Nearly 60 scholars and church leaders have signed the letter. Other ELCA pastors and lay members may add their names to a list of people endorsing the letter online at www.lutherancore.org.

“We wanted a clear statement from Lutheran theologians and church leaders who uphold biblical teaching on sexuality as it has been believed and taught by the Christian Church for nearly 2,000 years,” said the Rev. Paull Spring of State College, Pa., chair of the Lutheran CORE Steering Committee.

“We are grateful for the scholars and church leaders who have been willing to stand with us and with the vast majority of Christians worldwide and throughout time,” said Spring, the retired bishop of the Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod.

The open letter is available online at www.lutherancore.org.

And we'll have it here on Shellfish in just a few moments.

How "Your Father's ELCA" Became "Your Children's ELCA

Shrimp again.

145 of the ELCA's "Teaching Theologians" have signed on to "Appropriate Next Steps for the ELCA," a statement written by Professors Ralph Klein and Barbara Rossing at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago supporting the Report and Recommendation on Ministry Policies.

We put "Teaching Theologians" inside the quotation marks because, while there are indeed some pretty significant ELCA theologians among the signers (such as Klein himself, Philip Hefner, Arland Hultgren, and Gordon Lathrop -- and there are others), the main qualification seems to be being on the payroll of an institution of higher learning. Of the Bishop emeriti listed, for instance, only one (Paul Egertson, who was forced to resign over his role in the irregular ordination of Anita Hill in 2001) has anything resembling academic credentials.

We don't think we're being too elitist in thinking "Dean of Religious and Spiritual Life," "Coordinator for Candidacy," "Assistant Professor of Contextual Education," "Director of Diversity and Inclusion," and (as near as we can tell from one college website) "Alumni Relations Staff" are not quite "Teaching Theologian" material -- particularly if someone is trying to distinguish them from any other parish pastor.

Now for...

Appropriate Next Steps for the ELCA

We the undersigned ELCA teaching theologians, and Christian theologians teaching at ELCA institutions, wish to affirm and support the four recommendations on Ministry Policies proposed by the Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality to the 2009 Churchwide Assembly in Minneapolis (Report and Recommendation on Ministry Policies available at: http://www.elca.org/What-We-Believe/Social-Issues/Social-Statements-in-Process/JTF-Human-Sexuality/Report-and-Recommendation.aspx).

We take this action on the basis of the rationale on lines 147-212 of the Task Force’s document, and we would specifically highlight the following points:

• We too affirm the authority of the Scriptures, but the seven biblical texts that are frequently cited on the issue of homosexuality are not directly pertinent to the 21^st century discussion because some of them condemn specifically homosexual rape, deal with questions of “clean and unclean” that are not normative in the Christian community, do not take into account issues like “sexual orientation,” and presuppose that all would agree with a particular interpretation of what “nature” teaches.

That is, we affirm Scriptures authority when we agree with it.

• The Task Force wisely proposes that both heterosexual and homosexual persons are expected to express sexual intimacy within publicly accountable, lifelong, and monogamous relationships. This has long been the expectation for heterosexual couples, and therefore is an appropriate expectation for homosexual couples as well.

Wisely?

• The first recommendation of the Task Force rightly proposes that acceptance of same-gender relationships among all people of this church is a prerequisite to considering people in same-gender relationships for rostered leadership positions.

Yet this will not mean that if there is any opposition to same-sex relationships in the ELCA, we should not ordain those in or hoping to be in one.

• While not all Lutheran church bodies are of one mind on these issues, Scandinavian and German Lutherans have already taken similar actions to those being proposed now in the ELCA.

Actually, it's only a couple of the Nordic Lutheran churches at the instigation of secular political forces. And if some of your older brothers jump off the top of the Empire State Building, of course the rest of you should, too.

• We who favor the changes being proposed pledge ourselves to honor and respect those sisters and brothers within the ELCA who for reasons of theology and conscience choose to oppose these changes.

Yet the ELCA should ordain as pastors those with whom many ELCA pastors will refuse to share ministry.

• We recognize that the unity of the church is based on one Lord, one faith, and one baptism, and that within this unity, faithful members may disagree on individual items of faith and life.

Wow, the ecumenical movement as just been brought to a successful conclusion. Kum Ba Yah, my Lord...

Specifically we make the following affirmations to the questions posed by the Task Force:

1. Should the ELCA commit itself to finding ways to allow congregations and synods that choose to do so to recognize, support, and hold publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships? Yes.


2. Should this church commit itself to finding a way for people in publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships to serve as rostered leaders of this church? Yes


3. Can this church as it finds a way to roster people in publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, and same-gender relationships commit to doing so in ways that bear one another’s burdens, love the neighbor, and respect the bound consciences of those with whom they disagree? Yes


4. Should the ELCA consider structured flexibility in decision-making to allow in appropriate situations, people in publicly accountable, monogamous, lifelong, same-gender relationships to be approved for the rosters of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America? Yes.

Shrimp out.

Your Children's ELCA?

Shrimp here. As of this moment, 203 ELCA Seminarians are chiming in for the Churchwide Assembly with the following:

AN OPEN LETTER FROM LUTHERAN SEMINARIANS TO THE BISHOPS OF THE ELCA

Grace to you and peace,

We come to you as Lutheran seminarians pursuing a variety of callings and ministries, studying in both Lutheran and non-Lutheran seminaries. Recognizing our diversity in background, sexuality, and experience, we celebrate this opportunity to respond with one voice to the Recommendations on Ministry Policies from the Task Force for the ELCA Studies on Sexuality.

We applaud the ELCA's commitment to the dialogue on sexuality and its affirmation of sexuality as a gift and trust from God. After careful consideration of the issue at hand and its influence on the life of the church, we stand in solidarity affirming the recommendation for structured flexibility within the rostering requirements of the ELCA. Acknowledging the potential limitations of structured flexibility, we nonetheless seek here to establish our steadfast support for the rostering of "members who are in publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gendered relationships."

The life of the church depends upon the full recognition and inclusion of ministerial gifts engendered by the Spirit. St. Paul tells us "to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good" and it is God, not us, who chooses what gifts and services we bring for the benefit of the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:7). Yet in preparation for ministry, we both see and experience the harm of the current policy and its denial of the gifts present in the whole body of Christ. Because of the current policy, gay and lesbian persons ignore calls to ministry, candidates feel compelled to lie about their sexuality, mentors are forced out of the church, and candidates leave the ELCA for more inclusive denominations. The tragedy of these events is weakening the integrity of the church.

While we acknowledge and respect the bound consciences of those who disagree, we have faith and hope that resting in God we can respond with love to the contemporary challenges facing the church and society. We therefore stand firm in our belief that it is in the best interest of the ELCA's ministry to affirm the recommendations of the Task Force at the 2009 Churchwide Assembly.

Joining with you as people invested in the life, health, and ministry of the ELCA, we appeal to your commitment to the gospel and the mission of the church. Please represent our voice faithfully in your involvement in the deliberation process leading to the churchwide vote.

Shrimp again. The letter's writers are all matriculating at Union Seminary in New York City, though most of the signers attend one of each of the ELCA's own 8 seminaries. Somewhat unexpectedly, Shrimp recognized a handful of names and/or home congregations among the 203. Let's just say that they didn't learn their attitude from their pastors back home. And, yes, you'll find openly gay seminarians among the signers. What we're trying to imagine is a group of seminarians openly sending an opposing letter.

Question to candidates for the Ministry during the week of Good Shepherd Sunday: whose voice are bishops supposed to represent?

Welcome to your children's ELCA? Shrimp out.

Your Father's ELCA?

Shrimp again. About 20 years ago, the storied American automobile brand Oldsmobile introduced a new slogan: "This is not your father's Oldsmobile."

Then there's the announced worship at this summer's ELCA Churchwide Assembly:

Assembly Worship Schedule

Mon. 8/17, 4:00 P.M.
Holy Communion
    Presiding Minister & Preacher:
        Mark Hanson
            Joel 2:28-32
            Psalm 104:24-31, 35b
            Romans 8:18-27
            John 20:19-23

Tue. 8/18, 11:30 A.M.
Holy Communion
    Presiding Minister:
        Natacha Kemp
    Preacher:
        Megan Torgerson
            Micah 6:1-8
            Psalm 15
            Luke 4:16-21

Wed. 8/19, 11:30 A.M.
Holy Communion
    Presiding Minister:
        Hansel Lo
    Preacher:
        Rafael Malpica Padilla
            1 Cor. 12:27--13:13
            Luke 9:1-6

Thu. 8/20, 11:30 A.M.
Holy Communion
    Presiding Minister:
        Callista Isabelle
    Preacher:
        Gregory Palmer
            Philippians 2:1-13
            John 13:1-17

Fri. 8/21, 11:30 A.M.
Holy Communion
    Presiding Minister:
        Rani Abdulmasih
    Preacher:
        Christine Timm
            Leviticus 19:1-4, 9-18
            Psalm 119:33-40
            John 15:9-17

Sat. 8/22, 11:30 A.M.
Service of the Word
  (at Central Lutheran Church)
    Presiding Minister:
        Sylvia De La Garza
    Preacher:
        Linda Norman
            Acts 2:42-47
            Luke 20:45--21:4

Sun. 8/23, 8:30 A.M.
Holy Communion
    Presiding Minister:
        Mark Hanson
    Preacher:
        Allan Bjornberg
            Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18
            Psalm 34:15-22
            Ephesians 6:10-20
            John 6:56-69

None of these persons are identified any further, but we took a couple of minutes and were able to learn that they are all ELCA pastors — except for one. If you think for a moment, we bet you can identify the one who's not an ELCA pastor just by going through the list.

We think there is another clear message, too, in the announced worship leadership for the ELCA Churchwide Assembly: "This is not your father's ELCA." You know: male pastors with German and Scandinavian names. With the possible exception of the 2 ELCA Bishops, voting members need not fear Sven, Ole, and Lena showing up in sermon illustrations. Yet given that the then-forming ELCA's goal of having 10% of its membership being people of color or of primary language other than English in 10 years has utterly failed, just going through the names makes us wonder: Just whose ELCA is this supposed to be?

20 years ago the storied automobile marque Oldsmobile announced, "This is not your father's Oldsmobile." (Go ahead, read the linked article from 5 years ago.) 5 years ago, Oldsmobile became not.

Come away with me Lucille...

Shrimp out.

Bishop Hanson: 50 Days of Prayer and Study for the Assembly

Shrimp here, with an e-mail sent Thursday to all ELCA pastors from the Presiding Bishop.

April 27, 2009

Dear Colleagues in Ministry,

Grace to you and peace in the name of our crucified and risen Christ. Alleluia!

Recently I spent a day in Bible study and prayer with the pastors who will preach in worship each day at the Churchwide Assembly in August. The richness of the conversation reminded me how much I have missed the weekly text groups that have been so formative in my ministry. There is great strength, encouragement, and wisdom when we gather as colleagues to be engaged by God's Word and to pray for this church, the world, our respective places of ministry, and our personal lives.

Beginning Monday, June 29, and for the 50 days leading up to the Churchwide Assembly, I invite the people of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to become such a "text group" of focused prayer and scriptural study. As we journey toward the assembly, I encourage you as congregations, groups, and individuals to study and pray for -- and along with -- the assembly by using prayers, Scripture, and song drawn from the daily worship. Resources to guide individuals and groups in this time of prayer and reflection on the Word may be found at http://www.elca.org/50days

This call to study and prayer comes not simply from my own experience or from your requests, but from the church's most fundamental and enduring practices of faith. The ELCA has placed these practices at the center of its life. The 2003 Churchwide Assembly overwhelmingly adopted an evangelism strategy that called this church to pray for renewal grounded in the Word. The strategy describes the renewal we pray for as an evangelical church "so that every member, congregation, synod, churchwide unit, and institution might bear witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ."

Four years later, the 2007 Churchwide Assembly strongly endorsed the Book of Faith Initiative that called this church to become more fluent in the first language of faith, the language of Scripture. This invitation to 50 Days of Prayer and Scripture study builds upon these commitments as we prepare for the 2009 Churchwide Assembly.

I invite you to join me in prayer that Churchwide Assembly voting members, through their proclamation, conversations, and decisions, will give account of the source of the hope within us. I Peter 1:3 points to God, the source of our hope: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead ..."

Even when we are not of one mind about all the matters to be decided by the assembly, we have a marvelous opportunity as a church body to witness to the common source of our hope. In fact, an appropriate prayer may be that God use the diversity of our opinions to witness to one Lord, one faith, and one Baptism.

I continue to spend time with the Book of Acts, pondering the power of the Holy Spirit calling a diverse people and then sending them into the world to bear witness to the mercy of God in Christ Jesus. Although tensions came with increasing diversity, our proclamation of Christ 2000 years later is testimony to the continued power and presence of the Holy Spirit calling us to faith and sending us in mission for the life of the world.

Pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to renew us in faith and mission. Pray that every ELCA congregation will grow in evangelical mission. Pray that we will grow in evangelical witness and service in the world. Pray for strength as we work to alleviate poverty and strive for justice and peace throughout the world.

I look with confident hope toward the 2009 Churchwide Assembly. The source of my confidence is twofold: God’s faithfulness to God's promises and the Holy Spirit's power. This church has an opportunity to give public witness that we are a church united in evangelical mission for the sake of the world. I invite your prayers for the sake of that mission and the work of the Churchwide Assembly.

In God's grace,

Mark S. Hanson
Presiding Bishop

Changing the Conversation?

Cap'n Bill here: Read the following article at USA Today, and follow the comments. From the end of the opinion piece:

" As a 26-year-old, I feel a lot like others within my generation. I have deep sympathy for my friends who are gay. They often suffer as societal pariahs at the hands of misinformed Christians who believe that gays have chosen their sexual orientation. Though I unashamedly believe that God desires a better path for their lives, I also understand that my obligation to love them is not dependent upon their capitulation to a particular belief system.

"When I hear younger evangelicals address homosexuality, they speak with compassion, sympathy and love that have been uncommon among the Falwells and Robertsons. But this change in tone isn't surprising because rising generations are twice as likely to be in close community with someone who is gay. It is a lot easier to fight a faceless "agenda" than it is to war against a friend.

"Now is the time for those who bear the name of Jesus Christ to stop merely talking about love and start showing love to our gay and lesbian neighbors. It must be concrete and tangible. It must move beyond cheap rhetoric. We cannot pick and choose which neighbors we will love. We must love them all."

Jonathan Merritt is a faith and culture writer who serves as national spokesperson for the Southern Baptist Environment and Climate Initiative. He is writing a book on a Christian approach to environmental problems.

My one comment for now is I suppose I will never get used to how people think they had an original thought. Young Jonathan (age 26, about the age of our denomination which has had this controversy its whole span of years) seems to think that all people who have been against "de-sinning sin" on sexuality issues these last few decades have not been saying "love the sinner". We have, though there are even better ways of saying it than that!


http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/04/an-evangelicals-plea-love-the-sinner.html#more

A Missional Church

Shrimp here.

House for All Sinners and Saints' is a group of folks figuring out how to be a liturgical, Christo-centric, social justice oriented, queer inclusive, incarnational, contemplative, irreverent, ancient - future church with a progressive but deeply rooted theological imagination.

That's from the front page of one of those "emerging churches," brought to Shrimp's attention by our, uh, colleagues at Lutheran (True!) Confessions, who write,

but it was none other than ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson who told us about Pr. Nadia Bolz-Weber and House for All Sinners & Saints (HFASS) in Denver, and we're glad he did.

You'd never know it from the House's website, but Pastor Nadia is indeed an ELCA pastor (recently ordained) called as a Mission Developer. She is also the Sarcastic Lutheran blogger.

We're beginning to think we understand how it was that the book by Charles Porterfield Krauth -- he is a significant part of the ELCA's 19th Century pre-history -- entitled The Conservative Reformation and Its Theology is being published not by Augsburg Fortress, the corporate descendant of the original publisher, but by Concordia Publishing House.

Theological imagination, eh? We can just feel the Presiding Bishop's excitement.

Shrimp out.

Holy Matrimony, Holy Trinity

From the website for Institute on Religion & Democracy
www.TheIRD.org

Dear Friend,

Last week was a tough one for proponents of traditional marriage. Iowa and Vermont were added to the list of states legalizing same-sex marriages. Vermont—where those who favored same-sex marriage were estimated to have outspent the opponents by twenty to one—is the first state to legalize these relationships by a vote of the legislature rather than the actions of a court.

These decisions from a Christian point of view misunderstand not only marriage, but what it means to be human.

To begin: to be human is to be a body.

J. Budziszewski writing in the December 2008 First Things said:

These days carnality is underrated. Our obsession with sex doesn’t show that we take embodiment seriously; it shows that we don’t. Like Gnostics, we regard our bodies as separate from our true selves. We use them merely to get pleasure, attention, and other things for the self—and nothing taken seriously is merely used. But the Gnostics were wrong. As [Pope] John Paul [II] emphasizes, body is not separate from self; it is the emblem and vesture of self. You don’t have a body; you are a body. I cannot possibly express my soul except through my body. Adam was created out of both dust and spirit (Genesis 2:7). That, God said, was good. Human embodiment is neither a handicap nor a curse. We are not spirits rattling around in bodies needing release. Instead each of us is a unity of body and spirit. This is the nature a loving Creator gave us and, thus, it is His gift to us.

If our own creation does not convince us of the goodness of our bodies, we also have the fact of the Incarnation. God the Son, in His first coming, was born the human child of Mary from whom He received His human nature including his body. If human bodies are simply containers that impede personal and spiritual growth, why would God the Son have wanted one of His own? It is an indication that our bodies are a greater good than we imagine that God the Son shares human embodiment with us.

Abstracting soul from body leads inevitably to abstracting faith from deed, belief from obedience, feelings from doings, evangelism from discipleship, and gender from physiology. A Christian understanding of what it means to be human takes the physical as seriously as the spiritual, the spiritual as seriously as the physical. Gender matters.

Next, we need to consider Genesis 1:27: “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Apparently you and I as individuals—male or female—do not adequately constitute the image of God. The image of God is realized through a matched pair—male and female. Why would that be? It has to do with the nature of God in whose image we are created.

The number one Christian distinctive, the thing that sets Christianity apart from every other religion is our doctrine of God. God is Trinity. There is one and only one being who is God. And that one God exists eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. A squirrel is one being, but no persons. You are one being and you are also one person. God is not like you (nor is he like the squirrel). God is one being, three persons—a mystery, but not utterly incomprehensible.

To put it another way, the one true God is a communion of persons. The Father eternally begets the Son and the Holy Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son, the issue of their love for each other. While husbands do not beget wives nor do wives beget husbands, they are nonetheless matched sets. Husband and wife united in marriage form a communion of persons. They are called to love each other by selfless self-giving of soul and body—the whole person. When they do that there is the potential that nine months later a child will be born—a third person. Human love, like the love of the Trinity is fruitful. The communion of persons expands and the image of God is made more complete. It would be wrong to say that the Trinity is like a family because it is the other way around: a family is like the Trinity. In fact, the family is a picture, an icon of the Trinity, inviting us to view a more robust image of God than we can see in any one individual on his or her own. When we see the family, we look through it to the Triune God in whose image we—male and female—are made.

Marriage between one man and one woman and the family that results are not simply nice options for autonomous individuals. Such marriage is integral to what it means to be human and its protection is vital for human flourishing and for the proper ordering of our common life.

Sincerely,
Jim Tonkowich
IRD Scholar

P.S.: If you would like to subscribe to this newsletter, please register on the IRD website. The IRD Weekly is an automatic subscription to all IRD Users.

Holy Saturday for the ELCA according to the AP

Shrimp here. On Holy Saturday as Christians all across the land were transforming their churches from the stark barrenness of Good Friday to the joyous extravaganzas of Easter Sunday, the Associated Press wire decided that the following was the pre-Easter story of your Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

The news story appears across the land in headlines like

• At one Lutheran church, gay, partnered and preaching


• At 1 Lutheran church, gay, partnered and preaching (imaginative, aren't the headline writers)


• Lutheran pastor flouts gay partner ban


• Gay pastor installed at one Lutheran church


• Lutheran congregation welcomes gay pastor, and


• As Lutherans mull gay partnered pastors, some congregations already a ways down that road

Here's the story, the early part of which Shellfish reported here in December:

---

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Brad Froslee was installed as pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church at a special Sunday service attended by dozens of his fellow pastors, as well as Froslee's proud parents and grandmother, all devoted lifelong Lutherans.

But the Minneapolis Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America officially lists Calvary's ministry as vacant. That's because, sitting with Froslee's family at his installation ceremony in February, was his male partner of 5 1/2 years — living proof that Froslee has flouted the ELCA's prohibition on non-celibate gay pastors.

"What I heard from the members of the church's call committee was that from the first meeting, they knew I was the one meant to be their pastor," said Froslee, 35. "I've always felt called to this process, and that in a sense God has a guiding hand in this. So I always had a sense it would work out."

But to make it work, Froslee and the church and synod leaders are operating on what church council member Brian Aust called "the margins of the ELCA." It's an arrangement that could be formalized this August, when leaders of the ELCA — the nation's largest Lutheran denomination with 4.7 million members — meet for their biannual convention in Minneapolis.

An ELCA task force has recommended a policy that would let congregations decide whether to allow gays and lesbians in committed relationships to serve as their clergy. The resolution has been criticized from both directions, with liberals saying it doesn't go far enough and conservatives saying it conflicts with Scripture.

"This isn't about sex," said the Rev. Mark Chavez of Landisville, Pa., the director of Lutheran CORE, a coalition of conservative groups in the ELCA. "It's finally about the authority of God's word."

But the approach envisioned by the task force is already in practice at Calvary Lutheran, a modest 70-year-old brown brick church in a racially diverse neighborhood four miles south of downtown Minneapolis. The 120-member congregation is a mix of young families and single people, middle-aged couples and older established members, and is mostly white despite the surrounding neighborhood....

In college at St. Olaf in Northfield, a theology professor told Froslee his work had uncommon insight and asked why he wasn't considering the ministry.

"I hemmed and hawed for quite a while, and then finally I said I don't think there's a place for me in the church because I'm gay," Froslee said. "And he looked at me and said, 'Brad, that's a cop-out.' And that I think really became kind of a turning point for me in terms of my journey."

Froslee came out to his family while in college, and sharpened his scriptural understanding at Harvard Divinity School. He says he never concealed his sexuality while going through the ordination process, and also made it known his desire to someday find a lifelong partner.

Before joining Calvary, Froslee served as pastor at a Presbyterian church in Minnetonka through a pact between the two denominations. He's also been an activist on issues of homosexuality and Christianity, co-founding a summer camp for gay, Christian youth. And even after meeting his partner, he stayed on the ELCA's roster of pastors eligible to serve in Lutheran congregations — which got his name in front of the Calvary committee looking for the new pastor.

Aust, an attorney who chaired that committee, said Calvary wasn't looking for trouble. "Our simple motivation was find the best person, gay or straight. It wasn't about labels," he said.

The Minneapolis Synod of the ELCA signed off on the arrangement, but lists Calvary's ministry as vacant. "We viewed it as a decision for the congregation to make," said Minneapolis Synod Bishop Craig Johnson.

Froslee and church council members said there are few real ramifications to the vacant designation, save that Froslee can't vote at synod assemblies. But from a symbolic standpoint, they said, it's not ideal.

"It's sort of don't ask, don't tell," said Moberg, the church council president. "It's not necessarily the way we'd like it to be."

Not every gay pastor has been as fortunate as Froslee. In Atlanta in 2007, the Rev. Bradley Schmeling was kicked off the ELCA roster entirely after acknowledging he had a partner — a decision that helped precipitate the ELCA's attempt to find a middle ground. Just a few miles away from Calvary at Salem Lutheran Church, the Rev. Jen Nagel, also partnered, has been kept off the ELCA roster — putting her congregation even further on the ELCA margin than Calvary.

Rev. Peter Strommen, a pastor from Prior Lake, Minn., who led the task force that proposed the policy change, said it's an attempt to officially recognize the lack of consensus across the ELCA.

With rapid social change on gay rights even in recent weeks, including the sudden legalization of gay marriage in Vermont and Iowa, he said the Lutheran church must find a way to proceed amid strongly divergent viewpoints.

"We've tried to stress here that this is not a core issue of our faith," Strommen said. "It's important. But it doesn't get to the level of the risen Christ and salvation."

---

Read it all here. Note that Pastor Froslee remains officially "on leave from call," a status that usually goes for a maximum of 3 years in the ELCA, though that can be extended for educational purposes. Apparently figuring out ways to work around Vision and Expectations counts for advanced theological education in the Minneapolis Area Synod.

Shrimp out.

President Obama and family host 'green' Easter fest - and make it gay

BY Michael Mcauliff DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON - You might call this green eggs and Bam, after President Obama hatched a whole new style of White House Easter celebration on Monday. Among the innovations: The White House rolled out new "green," environmentally friendly souvenir eggs and invited gay parents. . .

"The administration really reached out, and there are gay and lesbian people here from all over the country. It's a really positive first step, and hopefully there are even better things to come," she said.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/04/14/2009-04-14_1st_family_on_a_roll_host_green_easter_fest__and_make_it_gay_too.html

What could possibly be better than that?

"The injustice of Iowa's ruling on gay marriage"

Its central focus on emotions erodes moral principles and law.
By Matthew J. Franck
The Christian Science Monitor

Princeton, N.J. - When the Iowa Supreme Court proclaimed last Friday that gays have a right to marry, it insisted that its groundbreaking decision rested squarely on the state constitution's equal protection clause.

In reality, the court's bland overturning of foundational moral principles and many centuries of civilization shows what happens when judicial arrogance becomes second nature: It transforms into smug self-deception.

By allowing feelings and desire to replace moral reasoning – or at least a fair-minded reading of the constitution – as the basis for judgment of lawful public morality, the Iowa court, like American judicial power more broadly, has burst free of all constraints and is now in the grip of a banal routinization of tyranny.

"Tyranny" is a strong word, but consider:

•In the 69-page ruling, the actual words of the Iowa constitution receive no real analysis.
•The court rejected any argument for the natural family as the best setting for child-rearing as a mere "stereotype" – and this in a dismissive footnote, no less.
•The judges essentially said only they, not democratic majorities, could decide "the standards of each generation," which the US Supreme Court (wrongly) said in 2003 are the touchstone for understanding what the Constitution says about equality.

Regardless of where you stand on gay marriage, at least Vermont decided the issue this week the right way: democratically. But even in that case, the state's choice came only after a decade of civil unions that had been forced on Vermonters by their supreme court.

The Iowa court put the burden of justification on the state: It had to show good reasons for excluding gays from marrying. That maneuver masked the court's weak argument for same-sex marriage, which boils down to this: Because some persons are "sexually and romantically attracted to members of their own sex," and because some of those persons have entered into "committed and loving relationships" with each other, they are entitled to "the personal and public affirmation that accompanies marriage."

From this vantage point, the feelings individuals have for one another are the authoritative wellspring of moral principle. Emotion and desire are certainly important, but without more, they are a treacherous foundation for law and public policy.

Marriage and family are a moral institution – the teacher of right conduct between the sexes, the school of morality for the young, the founding scene of our moral obligations, the refuge from a wider world where respect for those obligations is a much chancier proposition.

These may sound like lofty ideals often unrealized, but that is both the point and beside the point. Society has a profound interest in encouraging the successful formation of marriages and families that point by their nature toward the achievement of these ideals.

It is essential that public policy on marriage turn from love, and from lovers' felt need for "affirmation," to consider what reasons can be given for this or that way of arranging the family that makes a claim on our attention.

Are all "relationships" created equal? Are all of them equally conducive to human flourishing and the betterment of successive generations? How many men and/or women does it take to fulfill marriage's vital functions? Are children best prepared for healthy, responsible adult lives with both a mother and a father?
The laws of marriage and family, of divorce and custody, are efforts to address such questions rationally, if necessarily imperfectly, with a priority placed on optimizing the moral health of each party. In the nature of things, someone's preferred notion of a "relationship" that needs "affirming" would seem to be peripheral at best.

To the Iowa court, it was apparently central. When desire becomes the foundation for a right, beware. Nothing in what passes for reasoning in Justice Michael Cady's opinion can stand against the next claimant – perhaps the polygamist – who presents himself as needing government affirmation of his consensual relationships. This is not a slippery slope; it is a levee breaking in a spring flood.

To address the practical grievances – such as lack of hospital visitation – that gay couples who can't marry face, some courts and legislatures have adopted types of civil unions. But such grievances can be easily accommodated through normal contract law. Civil unions, on the other hand, amount to special provisions for a special class of people. And because they deprive same-sex couples of the term "marriage," civil unions themselves become a cause for complaint and eventually a stepping stone to outright gay marriage

Turning to its strong suspicion that "religious opposition" was behind the state's ban on same-sex marriage, the Iowa court rightly held that the state government is forbidden to choose between rival religious beliefs. But the court went further, affirming that "[s]tate government can have no religious views, either directly or indirectly, expressed through its legislation."

This suggests the court is incapable of entertaining the most elementary distinction between matters of theology, faith, and worship, on the one hand, and matters of moral reasoning springing from religious conviction on the other. What the opinion calls "religious opposition to same-sex marriage" would more accurately be described as "moral opposition to same-sex marriage springing from religious sources." It would not go too far to say that religion is the wellspring of moral thought and action in our civilization. America's own Declaration of Independence – source of what President Lincoln called "our ancient faith" – calls upon the Creator as the giver of all our fundamental rights.
Because of the diversity of religious commitments in our society – and because coercion in matters of faith and practice violates our constitutional and dominant religious morality – we must express our moral opinions to one another in a shared language of reason and argument.

This does not and cannot mean that the connection of our moral arguments to our religious sentiments is severed when we meet in the public square. But when all the arguments have been heard, the moral view that prevails at the ballot box and in the legislative halls is entitled to have its way in public policy, barring any explicit constitutional obstacles to its enactment.

The "separation of church and state" is not one of those obstacles. If it were, no law with any moral purpose that happened to coincide with the view of any religious community could ever be upheld.

The Iowa justices evidently believe that if a moral argument finds support in any religious commitment, then the promulgation of that argument in law is a violation of the principle of religious disestablishment. This is logically fallacious, historically illiterate, and politically brutish.

Recall that juxtaposed with this unremitting hostility to religiously supported morality is an embrace of the morality of feelings. Yet in the Iowa court's view, religion is itself reduced to mere "sentiment," and so the justices wind up incoherently privileging one kind of feeling over another. Those who desire to marry win out over those who desire to "exclude" them from marrying, and that's that.

Lost from view is the true ground of our common public morality: reasoned judgment about the natures of things and the good of human persons, families, and communities. About such matters, religion can be instructive (to say the least), while a desire to "affirm" our "relationships" cannot be. And so, in both its reductive approach to religion and its empty invocations of feelings, the Iowa Supreme Court has done an injustice to religion, to the possibility of lawful public morality, and – yes – to our relationships themselves.

Matthew J. Franck is professor and chairman of political science at Radford University and a visiting fellow in the James Madison program at Princeton University. This essay was adapted from a longer version that was originally published by The Witherspoon Institute's "Public Discourse."

Shellfish Alert: Bishop says Religion hampers gay civil rights

Cap'n Bill here with a diminutive "AAAAAAAAAARRGH!!!" because it is all so hohumm don't you know to hear that the man who does not want to be known as "The Gay Bishop" (but somehow speaks of little else as he storms across the Western World ---wouldn't you like to hear him once being interviewed in the Mideast or Africa?). Anyway, here he is in being profiled and quoted by the MSM again and we are quoting it in its entirety because it is such a solid sterling example of "The Shellfish Argument." What's that? O, you know, when people equate sexual ethics with the food you eat. Duh. One would think a liberal would at least once surf the web and see how their arguments are faring, but apparently not.


Bishop: Religion hampers gay civil rights
Published: April 6, 2009

ATLANTA, April 6 (UPI) -- Outmoded Western religious beliefs are the biggest obstacle to gay and lesbian civil rights, New Hampshire Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson said.
Robinson's 2003 consecration as the first openly gay bishop in a mainline Christian denomination set off a rift in his church's parent body, the Anglican Communion.

"Let's be honest, most of the discrimination ... has come at the hands of religious people, and the greatest single hindrance to the achievement of full civil rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people can be laid at the doorstep of the three Abrahamic faiths: Christianity, Judaism and Islam," Robinson said in Atlanta at Emory University's Center for the Study of Law and Religion.

Justifying anti-homosexuality laws with presumed moral authority from the Bible's Book of Leviticus -- which says a man "shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination" punishable by death -- ignores that life has changed since 400 B.C., Robinson said.

People today routinely do many other things, from eating shellfish to wearing two kinds of cloth, that Leviticus also labeled abominations, said Robinson.
Humanity's beliefs about God and life have evolved in many ways, but Leviticus's few verses about homosexuality "are quoted as if nothing has changed in our understanding since biblical times," Robinson said.
Robinson called on "religious voices and religious people to undo the harm and devastation" by helping the nation and religious communities to question, if not change their minds about, religious convictions that "we've been very sure about for thousands of years."


Evolving are we? Listen, some people are so far from evolving that the can't even advance an argument.

UN Commission on Population and Development Ends with Delegations Saying No to Abortion

By Samantha SingsonNEW YORK April 3, 2009 (CFAM.org) - As the sun rose on the last day of negotiations at the Commission on Population and Development (CPD) at the United Nations (UN) today, delegations were still embroiled in a contentious debate over language concerning “sexual and reproductive health and rights,” which some radical NGOs and UN committees have interpreted and used to promote abortion.

As UN member states came together at the closing meeting to adopt the document, delegations took the floor to define abortion out of the document.

Up until the eleventh hour, the contentious term “sexual and reproductive health and rights” remained in the draft document. Just prior to adoption, Iran took the floor to object to the phrase which has never before been included in any negotiated UN document.

Iran stressed that the term remained problematic for a number of delegations and urged the Commission to revert back to previously agreed upon and carefully negotiated language from the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Program of Action, which is understood not to create any right to abortion.

In an attempt to get consensus, the chairwoman from Mexico suspended the meeting and after twenty minutes, returned to the room and announced that Iran’s proposal would be accepted and that the term “sexual and reproductive health and rights” would be removed from the text.

The document was then adopted by consensus.Several delegations, however, went further and made statements to explicitly define abortion out of the CPD document and to reiterate that the document created no new rights.

Comoros, Peru, Poland, Ireland, Chile, the Holy See, Malta, and Saint Lucia spoke out against the other remaining reproductive health-related terms such as “reproductive rights,” “reproductive health services” and “sexual and reproductive health” and emphasized that these could not be construed to “support, endorse or promote” abortion.

Malta’s ambassador stated that his delegation was finding it more difficult in accepting the resolutions of UN bodies like the CPD where there were consistent attempts to expand “reproductive health” to include abortion.

Saint Lucia made an explicit objection to the term “safe abortion” because the term could “give the impression that abortion was a procedure completely free of medical and psychological risks.”

Saint Lucia also highlighted a provision in the CPD document which called on states where abortion was legal to “train and equip health service providers and should take such measures to ensure that such abortion is safe and accessible.”

The Saint Lucian representative stressed that her delegation understood this provision did not impact the right of healthcare providers to refuse to perform or be complicit in abortions as a matter of conscience, stating, “Again, no new rights are created or acknowledged in this document, and the universal right to conscience can in no way be overridden or weakened.”

Only the representative of Norway expressed regret that the term “sexual and reproductive rights” was not accepted in the text, saying that his country had widespread access to abortion and virtually no negative effects on women.The CPD will next meet in April 2010.

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09040314.html

We Say More...

...about and in yesterday's entry "News from Sweden." Go ahead, read it.

ELCA Church Council rejects pleas for 2/3 majority

by Mark C. Chavez

In spite of requests from 15 ELCA synods and a significant majority of ELCA bishops asking for a two-thirds majority vote, the ELCA Church Council voted to stick with its November decision to propose rules of procedure for the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly that would require only a simple majority vote on resolutions about changes in church teaching and policy to allow practicing homosexuals to serve as ELCA ministers. The Church Council met March 27-30 in Chicago.

The council's Legal and Constitutional Committee presented a proposed rule for the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly that was nearly identical to the rule it had recommended in November. The Church Council had voted 19-10 to delete the two-thirds majority requirement at its November meeting. In presenting the rule at the March meeting, the committee made no recommendation for approval or disapproval. Ten council members voted for the two-thirds majority rule for the ministry policy resolutions, 21 opposed it and two abstained in the Saturday, March 28, vote.

In recent weeks, 15 ELCA Synod Councils had asked the Church Council to propose a two-thirds majority rule on all the sexuality matters to be considered by the Churchwide Assembly. Three Synod Councils had supported a simple majority rule.

The ELCA Conference of Bishops voted by a two-to-one margin in support of a two-thirds majority rule at their meeting in early March. Because it was a closed session, the ELCA had not reported the bishops' vote. However, when a council member requested that the council hear the Conference of Bishops' advice on this matter, the bishops' views were made public.

Some council members said that if they changed their minds on the rule, it might look like the council was succumbing to pressure from "a few synods."

One member suggested that perhaps all of the other synods agreed with the simple majority rule.

Some council members also said that by making the decision in November -- prior to the release of the task force report -- their decision was neutral with respect to the content of the task force report. If they changed their minds now, it might look like they were commenting on the content of the task force report.
The 2009 Churchwide Assembly will adopt its rules of procedure at its first session and could amend the rules to reinstate the two-thirds majority requirement for changes in ministry standards.

ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson set the tone for all of the council's discussions with his report at the start of the meeting on March 28. He said, "We are at the intersection of fear and hope," and went on to say that the council and the ELCA should not let fear keep them from doing what they ought to do and be who they ought to be. He urged them to move forward boldly in hope.

Sunday, March 29, the council dealt with the proposed social statement on human sexuality and the ministry policies resolutions from the Task Force for ELCA Studies on Human Sexuality.

The Rev. Steve Loy, chair of the council's Program and Services Committee, which had reviewed the proposed social statement, Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust, before the meeting, said that the committee considered the proposed social statement to be credible and therefore recommended that the Church Council pass it along to the Churchwide Assembly with minimal changes.
When the Churchwide staff and leaders presented the social statement to the Church Council for consideration, they praised the task force for its work.

The Rev. Roger Thompson, chair of the Church in Society Program Committee, said the task force accurately reflected the diversity of views in the ELCA and that the social statement is a "very admirable document."

The Rev. Roger Willer, director of the ELCA Department of Studies, Church in Society, reported that the task force took seriously the feedback to the 2008 Draft Social Statement on Human Sexuality and made significant revisions in the proposed statement including: writing a shorter statement (1,000 words less); placing sexual ethics within the doctrine of creation; clarifying the role of the Law; using less technical language; locating sexuality in God's left-handed ruling; and noting that disagreements on sexual ethics are not matters in which salvation is at stake.

The Church Council unanimously approved amendments to the proposed social statement, which the task force regarded as friendly amendments that further the intent of the social statement. Then the council voted by a strong majority to "transmit" the social statement to the Churchwide Assembly as amended.
The Church Council also voted to transmit implementing resolutions related to the proposed statement, with some amendments, to the Churchwide Assembly. Some council members opposed this action.

The amended social statement and implementing resolutions as they will be presented to the 2009 Churchwide Assembly will be available online at www.elca.org/faithfuljourney April 2.

The Church Council then took up the Report and Recommendation on Ministry Policies resolutions from the task force. The Rev. Rebecca Larson, head of the Church in Society Unit said that, contrary to some news reports, the ELCA is not proposing a change in rostering policies but proposing a process by which the ELCA will decide if it wants to consider a change in policies.

The task force recommended a series of four resolutions that would allow ELCA pastors and other rostered leaders to be in same-sex sexual relationships.

The Rev. Peter Strommen, chair of the Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality, repeated that the task force had not proposed what the ELCA ought to do, but rather a process for how to proceed when there is no consensus on the sexuality issues.

The Rev. Stan Olson, head of the Vocation and Education unit, said that "structured flexibility" is a shorthand way to refer to what already exists in the ELCA candidacy process. He said that "structured flexibility" is not a proposal for local option because the ELCA does not currently have a local option. If the ELCA already had a local option then it would be accurate to say the task force recommendation is a proposal for local option.

Later in the meeting, Olson clarified that Resolution #4 would allow for different practices among ELCA synods and congregations.

The Church Council voted overwhelmingly to transmit Resolutions #1 and #2 to the 2009 Churchwide Assembly.

Resolution #1 asks the ELCA to "commit itself to finding ways to allow congregations that choose to do so to recognize, support, and hold publicly accountable life-long, monogamous, same-gender relationships." The council amended this proposal to delete a reference to synods.

Resolution #2 asks "that the ELCA commit itself to finding a way for people in such publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships to serve as rostered leaders of this church."

The Church Council also voted overwhelmingly to transmit Resolutions #3 and #4, but after much more discussion.

Resolution #3 states that "in the implementation of these resolutions, the ELCA commits itself to bear one another's burdens, love the neighbor, and respect the bound consciences of all."

Questions were raised about the definition of "bound conscience" -- prominent in the third resolution. Is it a proper definition? Is it a new definition?

Pastor Willer said that the Church in Society Unit is preparing a document that will show that the definition of "bound conscience" used by the task force is long-standing in Lutheran and Christian teaching. He said it hasn't been used in recent years, which is why it appears to be new. Willer asserted that Martin Luther understood "bound conscience" to apply not only to central matters of salvation but also to other matters, and that Luther understood it to mean the ability to judge moral doctrine. The document is to be available later this month.

Resolution #4 details the policy changes necessary to current ELCA teaching and policy to enact the previous resolutions.

After much discussion, Resolution #4 was substantially amended and shortened. One council member said that the amendments are more transparent in that they make it clear that the resolution allows a congregation to introduce a practice in a synod that might otherwise not accept the practice.
Throughout all of the discussions on the sexuality issues, only a few people spoke in opposition to the content of the task force documents.

The Church Council made its decisions on the sexuality documents after hearing grim news about the financial situation of the ELCA and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.

Canadian Bishop Susan Johnson was first to report its grim financial situation. She has had to cut her staff by 30 percent. There are now only 10 full-time employees in the ELCIC national office. She is trying to run the office with one-third the real funds they had in 1986. Individual income in Canada has kept pace with inflation, but giving to congregations and giving to synods and Churchwide has not. She believes they will need to reduce the number of synods or to downsize them. "We're running out of runway," Johnson said. She added they still have some time to make choices, but they soon won't.

When the ELCA's financial condition was reported, the Rev. Wyvetta Bullock, the Executive for Administration, said that the ELCA is close to being on the edge like the Canadian church.

The ELCA has had a significant decline in mission support from synods thus far this year. January 2009 was the second lowest January in the ELCA's history, February was down, and March is down. In fiscal year 2008 the Churchwide unit received 95.8 percent of planned mission support. The estimate is for only 93 percent in 2009. The ELCA treasurer reported that factoring for inflation, mission support is down 42 percent from 1989.

Because of the revised income estimates, 35.5 Churchwide staff positions were eliminated in recent weeks -- 23.5 occupied staff positions and 12 vacant positions. All Churchwide units have made reductions, a partial hiring freeze is in place, and salaries for the highest pay grades will be reduced by 3 percent.
In another action the Church Council approved, with no discussion, the ELCA bishops' response to the 2007 Churchwide Assembly resolution that called for a report from the bishops to the 2009 Churchwide Assembly on their accountability to ELCA policies. The bishops have concluded that no new document is needed for the 2009 assembly because they had been regularly reviewing accountability all along and the current ELCA documents are sufficient.

The Church Council used process observers throughout the meeting to report on the freedom in the meeting for all to express themselves and for all voices to be heard. Ironically, at the very end of the meeting when advisers to the council were making reports, the Rev. Khader N. El-Yateem, chair of the Multicultural Ministries Program Committee informed the council that none of the Arab or Middle Eastern ELCA congregations had participated in the sexuality studies and feedback in the past several years. The leaders of those congregations did not present the sexuality studies and documents in their congregations because it would have been unhelpful and troublesome. He said many other ethnic congregations had also not participated for the same reasons. He warned the Church Council that it does not have the input or participation of many of these congregations.