The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America is having it’s biennial convention this week and we’re seeing coverage about the most politically exciting topic that will be debated — homosexuality.
There have already been a couple of good stories. It may seem like such a minor thing but I’m impressed that Patrick Condon of the Associated Press had an anecdotal lede with someone opposed to changing the church’s teaching on whether clergy who are in same-sex relationships should be on the church roster. Here it is:
FRIDLEY, Minn. — The Rev. Dave Glesne stood before the members of Redeemer Lutheran Church a few weeks ago and told them there might be some painful decisions in the near future.
Glesne is against letting people in same-sex relationships serve as pastors of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, and he says his congregation is behind him. They’re worried this suburban Minneapolis church could find itself on the losing side as leaders of the nation’s largest Lutheran denomination vote on whether to take that step at their biennial national convention, which starts Monday in Minneapolis.
“Of course the question was asked: What will we do, Pastor Dave, if this goes?” Glesne said. “The conversation we had left me no doubt that we will definitely have a discussion about leaving the ELCA.”
I’m just so used to seeing the heartbreaking stories from the other perspective and only from the other perspective that it’s a refreshing change and reminds us that there will be heartbreak and loss no matter who wins the theological debate. In fact, that’s a major theme of the story and includes some great quotes from people on opposing sides.
There was one point that was unclear from the story. The piece says that a variety of views are represented at Redeemer, a congregation of about 2,000 that has grown in recent years. But, the pastor says, most of the congregation sides with him regarding church policy on gay clergy:
“I think I’m a voice that represents the great majority of the people in the ELCA who are sitting in the pews,” Glesne said.
That wasn’t the case, however, in recent synod votes on the proposed change. Thirty-four synods approved resolutions supporting the change and 12 called for its rejection. The votes put synods on record for advocating for a position, which ultimately will be decided by voting members at the national assembly.
Here’s the thing. I have no idea whether Glesne is right that the great majority of congregants agree with him. But whether or not it’s true, the fact that 34 synods approved the change doesn’t necessarily contradict him. The ELCA — like many other mainline denominations with a top-heavy governing structure — is known for being much more liberal at its regional and national church headquarters than in the pews. In fact, some folks are downright upset at how hard the ELCA press office has been gunning for one side of this issue.
Still, the story is good. (And here’s a look in the Arizona Republic at the local implications of the vote and retaining membership in the ELCA should the church change its doctrine.) The other story I wanted to highlight was Julia Duin’s in the Washington Times. I believe Duin will be reporting on site from the convention, which is nice to see in this day and age of dwindling travel budgets. Her story has some interesting and easy-to-understand explanation of the process and what each step in the process means. She speaks with both the Maryland and Virginia bishops to better understand the theological underpinnings of the issue. Here’s a sample:
Bishop [H. Gerald Knoche of the 90,000-member, 182-church Delaware-Maryland Synod] said “many” Lutherans are concerned about the sexuality statement “for what they see as a false starting point theologically. The document bases most of its theological work [about sexuality] on the idea of trust.”
The Lutheran understanding of sexuality traditionally begins with the creation account in Genesis and “is based on [mankind] being created male and female,” he said. “This document does not begin there. They base their reasoning on faith and trust,” in order to include same-sex relationships, he added.
To the untrained eye, many of these disputes seem political and secular. But for those debating these issues from within the church, they come down to some pretty serious theological disagreements. It’s nice to see that acknowledged and mentioned in an article.
The AP followed up with a report on a rule change that would allow people in same-sex relationships to serve clearing its first hurdle
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Comments (10) |
August 18, 2009, at 1:17 pm
Richard Johnson, Editor of the American Lutheran Publicity Bureau’s Forum Letter,is running a continuous report on ALPB’s website of the ELCA confab. Very detailed. More than most, except those of us who are really “into” the ELCA’s maneuverings, would probably be interested in. Certainly more than the secular press could/would be able/willing to produce.
August 18, 2009, at 6:15 pm
What I find curious in the article is that the EC is refered to in the context of its world wide communion and the Lutherans are not. ELCA is in communion with the Lutheran Churches in Europe, but this fact is not noted. The major European Lutheran Churches have openly gay clergy, and have done so for years. Why does the world wide position have no bearing on ELCA but does on the EC?
August 18, 2009, at 11:41 pm
The issue of the ELCA being “in communion” is not quite the same as TEC being part of the Anglican “communion”; the words are used in subtly different ways. The churches of the AC share a common history, structure, doctrine; for most intents and purposes, they are one church. (See also the Eastern Orthodox churches, or the particular churches “in communion” with the Vatican) The ELCA’s being “in communion” with European Lutheran churches means simply that they recognize each others’ sacraments and ordinations and work together on certain matters.
August 19, 2009, at 2:22 am
Jon is correct, plus it is curious that dalea does not mention they are also in fellowship with Evangelical Lutherans in Africa and Asia. The latter are the healthy, growing ones. And their heads have been begging Hanson to derail this somehow. That is called by Lutherans “putting the best construction on their neighbor’s motives since most suspect Hanson has been facilitating the whole thing.
There is an an interesting collection of letters coming in from the developing nations, i.e., Hong Kong http://www.alpb.org/forum/index.php?topic=2139.msg107312
as well as the Silesian Lutherans
http://saveelca.blogspot.com/2009/06/open-letter-from-silesian-lutheran.html
and a few other of the “lesser lights”
You can find others as well as other stories at the Shellfish blog: http://saveelca.blogspot.com/
You can go to my blog for a “better than average lutheran” roundup and some theological refreshments.
Cheers
Eric
August 19, 2009, at 11:21 am
My question was not about the structure of the church, it was about the reporting. Why does TEC get shown in terms of its worldwide community and ELCA does not? If TEC is compared to other branches of Anglicanism, why not compare ELCA to other branches of Lutheranism?
As expected, ELCA is doing its too little, way too late routine regarding Gay people.
August 19, 2009, at 10:33 pm
I don’t have much of an answer to Dalea’s question, except the old complaint that Episcopalians (and by extension Anglicans) get a level of attention from the press that is disproportionate to their numbers. Lutherans and Methodists, among others, greatly outnumber them in the US, and go through most of the same struggles, but get far fewer column inches.
Internationally, where the number of Lutherans and Anglicans are more nearly alike, the results of this biennial assembly could (in a worst-case scenario) bring the Lutheran Word Federation into something like the crisis the Anglican Communion enjoys. So why are there no warning quotes from dignitaries in Namibia or Estonia?
it could just be reportorial laziness. But in my most cynical moments, I think of it as “the Masterpiece Theatre Effect,” by which an assumed air of stuffiness is mistaken for actual importance. Which isn’t to say that Anglicans aren’t important, of course — merely that other people are worth writing about, and understanding, as well.
August 21, 2009, at 12:42 am
Rev. Michael Church:
Perhaps because almost all 1st world Lutheran Churches are open to Gay people, which does not seem to be the case with Anglicans.
The only other reason I can come up with is that Lutherans in the US tend not to live in major media centers. Chicago, Omaha, Seattle and Minneaoplis do not get the attention LA and NYC do.
Not much there I am afraid.
August 21, 2009, at 5:55 pm
Why don’t we just get along! You can almost hear the words echo in the room. Be nice to one another, be kind, is that not what it is about? Listen to those crazies over there: saying, “we must trust the bible”. Trust the bible, what interpretation are they reading? My (NSV) New Sodomy Version says that God created Adam and Steve and Adam and Eve at the same time. So, what is the problem? A news flash is coming in over the wires: An arrest warrant has been issued for Lot, nephew of Abraham, in regard to evidence beginning to surface about a major disaster in the valley of the five cities. No warrant has been issued for Abraham at this time, although his ties to God and his Angels are widely known. Lot is wanted for questioning in the matter of two men suspected of being terrorists and possibly: heavens “Angels”. Rumor has it that the people of Sodom wanted to know who those two men were; because they were suspected of carrying what we now think may have been, some new form of suitcase bomb. The attempt by the authorities to arrest these men for interrogation resulted in the crowd being blinded by what we think was a flash of light. Our sympathies are extended to the public and those brave officers who attempted to grab and detain those terrorists. Information is scarce, but reports are surfacing, reporting that there is nothing left in the valley and that all five cities are gone: and that the smoke going up is like the smoke of a furnace. We only hope that these reports are false. All the major denominations are calling for increased cooperation with the authorities in finding all these agents of this so called “God of Abraham”, and putting an end to these troublemakers once and for all. The Catholic Church, because of its long history of hunting down and killing dissident terrorists is taking the lead in offering moral and financial support. With the Catholic efforts to make peace with all religions, a church spokesman told us off the record, “the only thing we really lack is a charismatic leader who believes in peace enough to enforce it, and a powerful religious spokesman to work with him and support him.” Discussions are in the works for some form of visual support for the anti-terrorist movement; the use of a mark visible to everyone has been suggested. Our unnamed source suggests that a visible mark, perhaps a number or a name would be in line with our security efforts and could tie in very easily with our Global attempts to put down this God of Abraham cult. Other suggestions include a building, possibly a tower. The location for this “Tower of Hope” has not been decided, but the clear frontrunner seems to be the City of Babylon. Our congratulations and best wishes go out to the Administrators and people of that great city of Babylon. Good luck and go get those bad guys.
August 21, 2009, at 9:00 pm
[…] a past of hanging with those who would likely opposed "sexually active gays." Wonder how Get Religion will spin this one. Hopefully they spin it back the the referenced piece by GLAAD that got it […]
August 21, 2009, at 10:16 pm
We can still love people and disagree with their choices. http://ow.ly/kLaz