February 27, 2009

CHICAGO – The president of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) expressed "great disappointment and deep sadness" as he shared comments with the LCMS on the content of two documents from the Task Force for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Studies on Sexuality.

The ELCA is the largest Lutheran church body in North America with 4.7 million members. The LCMS is the second largest with 2.4 million members.

The task force released a "Report and Recommendation on Ministry Policies," which focuses on changing the standard that "ordained ministers who are homosexual in their self-understanding are expected to abstain from homosexual sexual relationships" – as stated in the ELCA's "Vision and Expectations" for ordained ministers. The same expectation applies to associates in ministry, diaconal ministers and deaconesses.

The task force also released "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust," a proposed social statement that addresses a spectrum of topics relevant to human sexuality from a Lutheran perspective.

Both documents released Feb. 19 will be considered by voting members at the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly – the church's chief legislative body – Aug. 17-23 in Minneapolis.

In a letter to LCMS members, the Rev. Gerald B. Kieschnick, LCMS president, said if the recommendation should be adopted by the ELCA Churchwide Assembly "it would constitute a radical departure from the 2,000-year-long teaching of the Christian tradition that homosexual activity, whether inside or outside of a committed relationship, is contrary to Holy Scripture."

Kieschnick said the LCMS has repeatedly affirmed that the historical understanding of the Christian church is that the Bible condemns homosexual behavior as "intrinsically sinful."

In the coming months, Kieschnick said the LCMS will hold the ELCA in prayer as ELCA leaders and members "discuss, debate and determine the outcome of the task force report" and recommendation.

Kieschnick also reminded LCMS members of a resolution passed by the church's 2001 convention that the LCMS "cannot consider (the ELCA) to be an orthodox church body," but "we of the LCMS recognize that many of our brothers and sisters of the ELCA remain faithful to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we resolve to reach out to them in love and support."

ELCA News Service