It has been distressing to see some congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ("ELCA") abandon the national church in the wake of the Churchwide Assembly vote in August to recognize same sex relationships and to allow partnered gay clergy in Synods/parishes that want them. With all the huge issues that parishes could and should be focusing upon - feeding the poor, housing the homeless, aiding the victims of domestic violence, the list goes on and on - it is a sad commentary that some people's idea of what it means to be Christian is reduced down to the single issue of demonizing a segment of the population who are merely living their lives in accordance with the way God made them to be. I have previously written about St. John's Lutheran, an ELCA parish in Roanoke, Virginia that is moving towards leaving the ELCA because of anti-gay animus. Interestingly, I received this comment just today from one of the "pro-gay" parishioners at St. John's:*
Hello, I am a member of St. John, 40 years now and my entire family and I voted with the minority. Please recognize that though we were out voted, we fought and voiced our opinions. Not everyone in Roanoke is "backwater" as you say. We are deeply disappointed with the leadership of this church. The message from the pulpit has slowly become more and more tainted with "anti" messages for many years now. The ELCA vote was just the "means" to pull away. This has been one of the most difficult times of my life to be forced to leave something that has been such a pivotal place in my life-baptism, confirmation, marriage, and on and on... The GRACE of GOD is for all, unconditionally.
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Another ELCA church seems to be wavering in its resolve to depart from the ELCA and I hope that calmer heads will prevail to avoid fractures like those that have occurred at St. John's. Here are some highlights from the Charleston Gazette:
Hello, I am a member of St. John, 40 years now and my entire family and I voted with the minority. Please recognize that though we were out voted, we fought and voiced our opinions. Not everyone in Roanoke is "backwater" as you say. We are deeply disappointed with the leadership of this church. The message from the pulpit has slowly become more and more tainted with "anti" messages for many years now. The ELCA vote was just the "means" to pull away. This has been one of the most difficult times of my life to be forced to leave something that has been such a pivotal place in my life-baptism, confirmation, marriage, and on and on... The GRACE of GOD is for all, unconditionally.
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Another ELCA church seems to be wavering in its resolve to depart from the ELCA and I hope that calmer heads will prevail to avoid fractures like those that have occurred at St. John's. Here are some highlights from the Charleston Gazette:
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St. Timothy Lutheran Church in Charleston is going by its full name again. Since August, a black cloth had hung over the word "Lutheran" on the church's sign on Corridor G. It was Pastor Richard Mahan's way of protesting the vote by leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to allow gays and lesbians in lifelong, monogamous relationships to serve as clergy.
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But it's clear the controversy over gay clergy has overshadowed other matters -- not just at St. Timothy, but at Lutheran churches across the country, said Bishop Ralph Dunkin of the ELCA's West Virginia-Maryland Synod. "This has just diverted the whole mission of the church," Dunkin said.
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Homosexuality isn't a "foundational issue" for the ELCA, Dunkin said. At the assembly, people also discussed fighting malaria and HIV worldwide. They heard reports from church missionaries and Lutheran social service agencies. The media didn't focus on those topics, he said: "They're just not controversial."
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Since the assembly, about 50 of the ELCA's 10,400 congregations have taken steps to separate from the denomination, according to a news release the ELCA posted to its Web site last week.
. . . Dunkin said he senses that fear is at the root of the controversy. Americans are worried about everything from health-care reform to losing their jobs to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he said. "I think we're living in an age of fear right now, ever since Sept. 11. So whenever something new occurs, it adds to the fear," he said. "We're worried about what we're going to lose, versus what might we gain."
St. Timothy Lutheran Church in Charleston is going by its full name again. Since August, a black cloth had hung over the word "Lutheran" on the church's sign on Corridor G. It was Pastor Richard Mahan's way of protesting the vote by leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to allow gays and lesbians in lifelong, monogamous relationships to serve as clergy.
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But it's clear the controversy over gay clergy has overshadowed other matters -- not just at St. Timothy, but at Lutheran churches across the country, said Bishop Ralph Dunkin of the ELCA's West Virginia-Maryland Synod. "This has just diverted the whole mission of the church," Dunkin said.
*
Homosexuality isn't a "foundational issue" for the ELCA, Dunkin said. At the assembly, people also discussed fighting malaria and HIV worldwide. They heard reports from church missionaries and Lutheran social service agencies. The media didn't focus on those topics, he said: "They're just not controversial."
*
Since the assembly, about 50 of the ELCA's 10,400 congregations have taken steps to separate from the denomination, according to a news release the ELCA posted to its Web site last week.
. . . Dunkin said he senses that fear is at the root of the controversy. Americans are worried about everything from health-care reform to losing their jobs to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he said. "I think we're living in an age of fear right now, ever since Sept. 11. So whenever something new occurs, it adds to the fear," he said. "We're worried about what we're going to lose, versus what might we gain."
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I sincerely hope that anti-gay members of the ELCA will open their minds and realize that we gays are really not very different from them. Who one loves and wants to spend their life with should not be controversial.
1 comment:
We are located in Charleston, WEST VIRGINIA and are NOT wavering. Just waiting to vote when we get enough information. We also are "feeding the poor, housing the homeless, aiding the victims of domestic violence, the list goes on and on." God bless and protect you.
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