Lutherans to allow sexually-active gays in committed relationships into their clergy

Lutherans to allow sexually active gays, in committed relationships, into the clergy

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090822/ap_on_re/us_lutherans_gays

The nation's largest Lutheran denomination took openly gay clergy more fully into its fold Friday, as leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America voted to lift a ban that prohibited sexually active gays and lesbians from serving as ministers.

Under the new policy, individual ELCA congregations will be allowed to hire homosexuals in committed relationships as clergy. Until now, gays and lesbians had to remain celibate to serve as clergy.

The change passed with the support of 68 percent of about 1,000 delegates at the ELCA's national assembly. It makes the group, with about 4.7 million members in the U.S., one of the largest U.S. Christian denominations yet to take a more gay-friendly stance.

"I have seen these same-gender relationships function in the same way as heterosexual relationships ? bringing joy and blessings as well as trials and hardships," the Rev. Leslie Williamson, associate pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Des Plaines, Ill., said during the hours of debate. "The same-gender couples I know live in love and faithfulness and are called to proclaim the word of God as are all of us."

Another step forward!

 

Hey, cool.

 

Not all ELCA Lutherans are for this, many of them are against it as it has no Scriptural backing at all. That said, what was passed leaves everything up to the discretion of the individual congregations as to whether or not they want to have a pastor who is in a same sex relationship. In short, the ELCA is not forcing it, but they are letting congregations that chose this to remain in the ELCA.

 

Lex Luthor has his own church? Cool!

 

Lutheran is Catholic Lite. I'm surprised they did this.

 

He would've wanted to burn some Jews first.

 

Anyways, this is just the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It's the largest Lutheran group, but the Missouri Synod is very conservative and still does not allow homosexual clergy, and I don't see them allowing it anytime soon. So, saying that Lutherans in general will allow it is not quite accurate. They're not exactly unified.

But whatever. Schism begets schism and heresy begets heresy.

 

I grew up ELCA Lutheran, had my children baptized in an ELCA Lutheran church, and I am very proud of the church for doing this. I've been advocating for it for years and have considered switching to another denomination, either Episcopalian or Unitarian Universalist, because I thought the ban on gay clergy (or should I say the "don't ask don't tell" policy) was so stupid.

It's true that Lutherans are not exactly unified. In the 80s, the Lutheran Church of America merged with the American Lutheran Church to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA). My congregation at the time was LCA. The Missouri Synod and Wisconsin Synod (which is even more conservative than the Missouri Synod, and the Missouri Synod is very conservative) refused to join the merger because the LCA was "too liberal". And this was before they even considered allowing openly gay clergy members.

My husband and I were just discussing last night how many people will leave the ELCA church now because of this. I have an uncle who converted to Catholicism because he decided the Episcopalians were too liberal. I'm sure some ELCA Lutherans will convert to Catholicism, start going to a Missouri Synod church, etc. because of this. To which I say, at the risk of being ugly, good riddance. I'm glad to be a member of a church body that is now more aligned with my beliefs.

 

This is why I'm not Lutheran...

 

I grew up ELCA Lutheran, and I still consider it to be my "home" church. Now I need to find a church near me to attend regularly. The closest Lutheran church to my apartment is Missouri Synod, and I went there once. I liked the service fine, but I didn't like how every single person I talked to there asked me if I was Missouri Synod. And the fact that they don't allow anyone who isn't Missouri Synod to take communion. I like a more welcoming church.

 

You're thinking of the Missouri Synod. Most who know the difference would find what you said as hilarious as I did.

For their own part, members of the Missouri Synod would object that they don't take orders from a guy in a funny hat on another continent.

 

One of my Catholic friends used to tell me that I was an Angry Catholic.

 

I thought Episcopalianism was Catholic Lite.

 

But did you reply that they were a repressed Lutheran?

 

My father-in-law, who was raised Catholic, attended my children's baptisms (at an ELCA Lutheran church) and said that the service was "Catholic lite." I don't think the theology is at all though.

 

Lutherans, for the most part, still use a lot of Catholic liturgical stuff, even though the theology is totally different.

 

Lame, why do they have to be in a committed relationship?

 

Because Christians typically believe that you shouldn't be having sex unless you're married.

 

So you can't be single, gay, and in the clergy?

 

I would imagine you could, just that you couldn't be single, gay, and promiscuous, and in the clergy.

 

I love how "gay" automatically equates to "sex" where ignorant people are concerned.

I mean, there are actually religious (christian even) gay men and women, who are waiting until marriage... how is this so difficult for people to comprehend? They're people.

 

Great, more prejudice against uncommitted relationships.

 

harps . . . the title says "sexually-active".