August 21, 2009

MINNEAPOLIS – Voting members of the 2009 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) are in the middle of taking steps to make it possible for the Lutherans in same-gender relationships to serve as professional leaders in the denomination.

The churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of the ELCA, is meeting here Aug. 17-23 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. About 2,000 people are participating, including 1,045 ELCA voting members. The theme for the biennial assembly is "God's work. Our hands."

Voting members have begun considering four distinct resolutions Aug. 21, which are designed to change current ELCA policy that requires the denomination's professional leaders to abstain from "homosexual sexual relationships."

The resolutions are contained in a report and recommendation on ministry policies developed by the Task Force for the ELCA Studies on Sexuality.

A majority vote is required to pass each of the four resolutions.

With a 771-230 vote, the assembly amended and approved a resolution that states "that in the implementation of any resolutions on ministry policies, the ELCA commit itself to bear one another's burdens, love the neighbor, and respect the bound consciences of all."

With a 619-402 vote, the assembly approved a second resolution that commits the ELCA "to finding ways to allow congregations that choose to do so to recognize, support, and hold publicly accountably life-long, monogamous, same-gender relationships."

Prior to considering the two resolutions, voting members defeated a "substitute" motion with a 344-670 vote to strike out all four resolutions and replace it with the following: "rostered leadership of this church who are homosexual in their self understanding are expected to abstain from homosexual sexual relations and practicing homosexual persons are precluded from rostered leadership in this church." Albert Quie, voting member from the ELCA Minneapolis Synod, made the substitute motion.

As voting members were considering resolution two, Edward A. Kirst, voting member from the ELCA Northeastern Ohio Synod, made a motion to require a two-thirds vote – instead of a majority – for approving the remaining resolutions. That motion was defeated with a 407-576 vote.

During the afternoon plenary, voting members will consider the two remaining resolutions – that the denomination find a way for Lutherans in same-sex relationships to serve as ordained ministers and other professional leadership roles in the church, and that the denomination consider a proposal for how it will exercise flexibility within existing structures and practices to allow for Lutherans in same-sex relations to be approved for professional service in the church.

Information about the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly can be found at http://www.elca.org/assembly/, on the Web.

ELCA News Service