| Pastor On Trial - ELCA History on Homosexuality
| Can you make this history more complete? Email website links, stories, and names of pastors removed from the ELCA roster. | In the same part of the Bible that describes two men lying together as an abomination, one finds the passages forbidding eating shellfish, wearing clothes made of two kind of fabric, and men cutting their hair. I'ts hard to remember the last shellfish trial that was held in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), but there's lots of history and information about the ELCA dealing with men loving men and women loving women.
How did we get here? Why are we still here? A brief history:
The Evangelical Church in America (ELCA) formed in 1988 from three predecessor church bodies, the American Lutheran Church ALC), the Lutheran Church in America (LCA), and the American Evangelical Lutheran Church (AELC). (More on Lutheran History) The ELCA has conducted many studies but still has no official social policy statement on homosexuality. The ELCA continues to rely on the ALC and LCA predecessor church body statements.
Predecessor Statements:
1970: Marriage and Family: A Statement of the Lutheran Church in America
by Lutheran Church in America
"Marriage is that order of creation given by God in love which binds one man and one woman in a lifelong union of the most intimate fellowship of body and life." (Read the full statement)
The 1970 statement has no mention of homosexuality. This statement does mention the special needs for understanding of inter-racial marriages, an issue current at this time of history.
1980: Human Sexuality and Sexual Behavior: A Social Statement of The American Lutheran Church, a predecessor church body of the ELCA
A much longer and broad-reaching document, the ALC statement acknowledges a wide variety of sexual expression:
"Whether one is male or female is far more complex to determine than most persons realize. Scientists tell us that one's gender is determined by one's chromosomes, gonads, hormones, internal reproductive organs, external genitalia, gender assigned at birth, gender identity accepted by the person, and gender of person chosen as sexual partner. Any defects in biological development or miscues in interpretation can confuse one's identity as male or female. Both nature and nurture combine to shape us as male or female, masculine or feminine. How this happens, how our sexuality both separates us and draws us together, remains a mystery. We gladly accept and celebrate as one of God's gifts this mystery of our sexuality." (Section B.2)
Still, when the statement comes to homosexuality, it includes this judgment in section G
1. We note the current consensus in the scientific community that one's preferred sexual behavior exists on a continuum from exclusively heterosexual to exclusively homosexual and that homosexual behavior takes a variety of forms. We believe it appropriate to distinguish between homosexual orientation and homosexual behavior. Persons who do not practice their homosexual erotic preference do not violate our understanding of Christian sexual behavior.
2. This church regards the practice of homosexual erotic behavior as contrary to God's intent for his children. It rejects the contention that homosexual behavior is simply another form of sexual behavior equally valid with the dominant male/female pattern.
3. We have reviewed the challenges to the traditional interpretations of those scripture passages that appear to proscribe homosexual behavior. We are not convinced by the evidence presented. Among passages cited as requiring interpretations different from the traditional interpretation are Genesis 18:l6—l9:29; Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13; Romans 1:24-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 1 Timothy 1:10. While we see no scriptural rationale for revising the church's traditional teaching that homosexual erotic behavior violates God's intent, we nonetheless remain open to the possibility of new biblical and theological insights.
4. We agree that homosexually-behaving persons need God's grace as does every human being. We all need the care and concern of the congregation. We all need opportunity to hear the Word, to receive the sacraments, to accept the forgiveness God offers, to experience the understanding and the fellowship of the community of Christ. We all need the power of the Holy Spirit for ethical living sensitive to our own individual situations. So saying we nevertheless do not condone homosexual erotic behavior. Nor do we condone idolatry, pride, disrespect for parents, murder, adultery, theft, libel, gossip, or the other sins known in our circles. The sacrifice God finds acceptable from each of us is "a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart." Then he can answer our prayer for a "clean heart . . . a new and right spirit within me." (See Psalm 51.)
5. Truth, mercy, and justice should impel members of congregations of The American Lutheran Church to review their attitudes, words, and actions regarding homosexuality. Christians need to be more understanding and more sensitive to life as experienced by those who are homosexual. They need to take leadership roles in changing public opinion, civil laws, and prevailing practices that deny justice and opportunity to any persons, homosexual or heterosexual. We all need recognition and acceptance as human beings known to and loved by God. (Read the full statement)
Internal Conflict of the 1980 Social Statement
The history of the ELCA with regard to homosexuality has been the struggle to hold together two conflicting convictions of this social statement
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This church regards the practice of homosexual erotic behavior as contrary to God's intent for his children.
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Christians need to be more understanding and more sensitive to life as experienced by those who are homosexual. They need to take leadership roles in changing public opinion, civil laws, and prevailing practices that deny justice and opportunity to any persons, homosexual or heterosexual.
Those who proritize the first of these statements work to prohibit marriage equality as well as ordination for partnered lesbian and gay pastors.
Those who prioritize the second of these statements believe that marriage equality and ordination for gay and lesbian partnered pastors in the ELCA is required for justice and opportunity.
Visions and Expectations:
In 1987, as the ELCA was being formed, seminary students Joel Workin, Jim Lancaster, and Jeff Johnson announced they were gay and sought ordination. Joel was certified for call by the American Lutheran Church. His certification was subsequently vacated when the bishops refused to place his name on the roster of approved candidates waiting for call. (About Joel Workin). Jeff Johnson was called by United and St. Francis Lutheran Churches in San Francisco along with lesbian pastors Ruth Frost and Phyllis Zillhart. The congregations were almost immediately suspended and subsequently removed from the ELCA roster of congregations in 1995.
In 1990 the ELCA adopted Visions and Expectations: Ordained Ministes in the ELCA which inlcuded this prohibition:
Ordained ministers who are homosexual in their self-understanding are expected to abstain from homosexual sexual relationships.
Since 1990 this sentence has been used to charge and remove ELCA ordained pastors from call and to remove ELCA seminarians from the ordination process. The number of seminarians removed from the ordination process and the number who never applied because of this restriction cannot be counted. The ELCA pastors who have been removed from call or denied call because of this prohibition includes
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Joyce Arnold
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Ruth Frost
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Jeff Johnson
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Jane Ralph
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Steve Sabin
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Joel Working
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Phyllis Zillhart
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Statements by Bishops:
1993: Conference of Bishops statement
We, as the Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, recognize that there is basis neither in Scripture nor tradition for the establishment of an official ceremony by this church for the blessing of a homosexual relationship. We, therefore, do not approve such a ceremony as an official action of this church’s ministry... (ELCA LINK TO THIS DOCUMENT IS CURRENTLY BROKEN)
1996: A Word of Welcome to Gays and Lesbians An Open Letter from the Bishops of the ELCA
(ELCA LINK TO THIS DOCUMENT IS CURRENTLY BROKEN)
2000: Clarification Regarding Same-sex Blessings and Ongoing Deliberation Concerning Homosexuality. From Presiding Bishop H. George Anderson.
Reiterates the ALC Statement that marriage is between one man and one woman. (Read the full statement)
Actions of the Churchwide Assembly
2001: Churchwide Assembly charges ELCA to create a study of marriage and ordination and to prepare for a vote at the 2005 Assembly.
2005: Churchwide Assembly votes against creating blessing ceremonies for same gender couples. Churchwide Assembly votes against approving ordination for pastors in same-gender committed relationships. A Social Statement on Human Sexuality is to be prepared for 2009. (See the ELCA Timeline)
Current:
ELCA is developing a Social Statement on Human Sexuality for the 2009 Churchwide Assembly. The first draft of the document is expected to be released in December of 2006. (Pre-Order this document)
Extraordinary Candidacy Process continues to work with congregations willing to call partnered gay and lesbian partnered pastors who meet all ELCA qualifications except the requirement of celibacy.
Organizations and individuals continue to work for and against LGBT equality in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender members and their families and friends continue to worship and serve in ELCA congregations throughout this country.
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