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Category Archives: Religious News
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April news: Lutheran CORE, WordAlone, LCMC
The April newsletter from Lutheran CORE is out. The eleven page missive contains two pages trumpeting their August Convocation and nine pages bashing the ELCA. Surprise, surprise, they persist in charging the rest of us with error, heresy, and apostasy. Indeed, their theologian du jure claims that the ELCA is now directly challenging the authority of God.
In previous posts about the ELCA Church Council meeting earlier this month, commenters wondered why ELM representatives were allowed to be present but not CORE folks. Turns out CORE supporters were there and a couple offered their perspectives in the CORE newsletter. Interestingly but apropos of nothing, both mentioned the great views from the ELCA offices in Chicago.
The WordAlone Network held their annual meeting recently, and their big order of business was rebranding themselves as WordAlone Ministries and proclaiming a “New Day”. WordAlone president Jaynan Clark apparently offered an emotional plea of repentence, falling to her knees during her keynote sermon, begging forgiveness “for anything WordAlone failed to do that the Lord called it to do in the past 10 years.” Can I hear an amen? Why do Matt 6:1-8 and a blubbering Jimmy Swaggert come to mind?
The LCMC leadership conference in Omaha is underway right now. More later.
April tally of congregations voting out of the ELCA
In response to my request to the office of the ELCA secretary, I received an email from The Rev Ruth E Hamilton, Ph.D., which is reprinted below:
These are the latest statistics:
As of April 7, we have been advised that 308 first votes have been taken by congregations to terminate their relationship with the ELCA (some congregations have taken more than one first vote). Of those 308 first votes, 221 passed and 87 failed. Synods also have informed the Office of the Secretary that 90 congregations have taken a second vote, 89 of which passed. (This does not mean that all of these congregations have been removed from the roster because Synod Council approval is required for congregations established by the ELCA and former congregations of the Lutheran Church in America, and, in some cases, the vote is disputed because questions exist regarding the process. The Office of the Secretary will remove a congregation from the roster only upon advice of the synod.) As of this date 46 congregations have been removed.
For comparison purposes, the website of Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC) reports 185 new congregations since CWA09. It would appear that a heavy preponderance of the congregations departing the ELCA are coming to rest in LCMC, which raises interesting issues for the Lutheran CORE progeny, the new denomination scheduled to start next August, which will be called the North American Lutheran Church (NALC). Again, remember that the ELCA counts over 10,000 congregations on its rolls.
ELCA Synod Assembly update: NE Minnesota
This past weekend, the NE Minnesota synod of the ELCA met in annual assembly at Cragun’s Resort near Brainerd. The annual assemblies rotate between this venue and the Duluth Entertainment & Convention Center in alternate years. This is the synod my wife and I formerly belonged to, and it was a delight to see many familiar faces and to renew friendships. We were in attendance to promote my recently released novel of Biblical fiction, A Wretched Man.
In private conversations with Bishop Tom Aiken, and in his report to the assembly, Bishop Tom said that the eight months since the church wide assembly decisions of August (CWA09) have been difficult … but it is the nature of the church to always face a crossroads, he added.
Some in our synod are joy-filled about the new ministry policies, some are unhappy, and the bulk are somewhere in between, pondering this issue and willing to live with our decisions as a church. I believe we can be a stronger church if we take this time in the life of our synod, to become more dedicated to a deeper study of Scripture and grow more fervent in our love for each other and for our call to the ministry of reconciliation we received from God.
The Bishop reported that nine synod congregations had taken first votes to leave the ELCA, but only one first vote had achieved the required 2/3 majority.
I spoke at length with two ladies whose congregations are in conflict (one congregation voted to stay and the other is likely to vote to leave), and the tears in their eyes and quivering lips betrayed their anguish. For both, the most odious and hurtful aspect of the conflict was that their own faith as Christians was being questioned; despite lengthy involvement as leaders of their local congregations, their own moral standing before God was the subject of whisper campaigns because they dared to support gays and the ELCA, and their own pastors had been complicit in the judgmentalism of the schismatic faction.
Coincidentally, the weekend saw a similarly self-righteous op-ed piece published by a Duluth newspaper (Duluth is the largest city in the synod and the home of the ELCA synod offices). The article was entitled Pastor’s view: ELCA must repent for turning back on God and subtitled Lutheran? I don’t think so. Curiously, the newspaper named the author as a pastor of a local Lutheran church but failed to note his LCMS (Missouri Synod) affiliation.
The only official order of business pertaining to the revised ELCA ministry policies was a resolution calling for a polling of congregations and congregational members regarding their views of the CWA09 decisions. The first speaker from the floor opposed the resolution because it was extra-constitutional—a method of decision-making inconsistent with constitutional procedures. A second speaker suggested it was time to move on and that such a polling would prick the scab off the still fresh wound in his own congregation that had voted to stay and to move forward. Following repeated invitations from the bishop for someone to speak in favor of the resolution, one person came forward and offered half-hearted support. The fourth speaker moved the question, and the resolution failed by an overwhelming show of hands—to my eyes, it appeared that only 10% or so supported the resolution.
Last week, I reported on the first round of springtime ELCA synod assemblies, and I invite you to post a comment about your assembly.
Springtime in the synods UPDATED
The primary legislative body of the ELCA is the assembly of voting members. Nationally, there are church wide assemblies every two years, but in each of the 65 regional synods, there are annual, springtime assemblies. The season of synod assemblies has begun, and the first reports are trickling in. I encourage folks of various synods who follow this blog to provide your own reports of your assemblies.
Synod assemblies often consider resolutions or memorials urging the church wide assembly to do this or that. These resolutions are not binding but merely express the mood or prevailing views of the various synods. According to the Fargo, North Dakota, Forum newspaper, the Eastern North Dakota synod rejected a resolution that would have urged a reversal of the pro-LGBT ministry policy resolutions enacted at the 2009 church wide assembly (CWA09). The Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast synod also met this past weekend, and there were apparently no resolutions pertaining to the CWA09 decisions. According to one report, the bishop reported that the sister synods in South America and Africa had not expressed disapproval of the revised ELCA ministry policies, and the bishop suggested immigration reform ought to be the paramount concern of this synod in geographical proximity to Latin America.
This weekend, I will be in attendance at the NE Mn synod assembly (our old synod) where I will have a display promoting my book, but I will certainly pay close attention to the actions of the voting members. In two weeks, my wife and I will be voting members at our new SE Mn synod’s assembly in Rochester.
Again, I urge readers to provide reports from other synod assemblies. A full calendar (pdf file) of springtime assemblies is available from the ELCA website.
UPDATE:
The third synod assembly held last weekend was in SW Minnesota. In a private email from a voting member, I was informed that a resolution to memorialize churchwide to rescind the ministry policy actions of CWA09 was defeated, but not without “nasty and high hatted” debate points offered by the conservative proponents of the failed resolution.
National media discovers the ELCA
The recent actions of the ELCA council revamping ministry policies and welcoming ELM clergy into the ELCA were natural consequences of CWA09–hardly surprising but welcome nevertheless. For those of us in the ELCA, as well as the trio of dissident organizations (LCMC, CORE, & Wordalone), the news and the issues behind the news are in some ways old hat.
Not so with a national news article appearing on the Huffington Post and the hundreds of comments that follow. The article was written by Rev Dr. Cindi Love, the newly appointed executive director of Soulforce (an LGBTQ advocacy group). Except for the rather notably understated reference to CWA09 as merely “discussions”, the article is pretty straight forward. Many of the comments that follow the article are rants from trolls.
Yet, I commend the article and the comments because it affords us a glimpse into the way others view Lutherans. Hear the words of Dr. Love:
The ELCA has served as the beta test site for a process through which a very traditional faith community can reverse its thinking and policies. They will continue to push the envelope and all of us will learn from their experiences. Other denominational leaders and congregants will be glad that they tested the waters first.
The ELCA has conducted itself with grace and dignity, and many of us are longing for some of that type of public civility. Their example is going to make people within other embattled denominations long for a better process within their own communities. The ELCA members didn’t wage war in public with one another. There was no public outcry that diminished everyone while they worked their way through a quarter century of discussion.
One critical comment pointed out that Love overlooks the pain of dissension felt in some congregations and some geographical areas such as Montana:
Unfortunately the ELCA churches of Montana are going through tremendous upheaval over this issue- yes, they are arguing in public, friendships of many years are dissolving as people refuse to talk to one another, or yell at each other, some churches have stopped donating to the ELCA altogether etc. Most every church is taking a vote on whether to leave the ELCA or not. This is the situation in Montana, and it’s not pretty or quiet- and readers need to know that tremendous pain is being caused by this process.
Other comments contain plenty of judgment and condemnation:
ELCA – Another Apostate Denomination … God will be their judge. Woe to them when that time comes.
But, there is a refreshing new awareness from many that the ELCA may be a welcoming place. There is a recurring theme of agnostics and wounded former Christians taking a second look. Here is a sampling:
So Lutherans, I applaud your decision to welcome ALL your children back into your pews. I hope other religious leaders will follow your example.
I’m confused, but for the most part happy. As a proud agnostic, I have issues with people’s struggle to be accepted by a segment of the population that blatantly thought less of them. However, I wholeheartedly embrace the decision by the church as something loving and progressive.
I am not even a Christian, but nonetheless, throughout my life, I have revered the message of Christ – one of love and tolerance and inclusion. And that’s what the Lutherans did with this declaration – they embraced the loving spirit of Christ regardless of the words (and translated, to boot!) in the book … Jesus would be proud of them. They are walking with the spirit in love and acceptance. Exactly the way Jesus intended.
What is so striking to me about the Lutheran journey toward inclusion is the way that, in recent years especially, they have considered their ministry to the LGBTQ community. When asked, what is the pastoral message to the LGBTQ, they have had an answer. All too often, our congregations/denominations reveal that they have no response to the pastoral needs of the LGBTQ community. Kudos to the ELCA! May we all follow their example.
Some straight people equate homosexuality with one thing SEX. Why not try just once to look at us as people. You are so hung up on the sexual aspect you can’t see the forest for the trees. Stop using the bible to do your dirty work and stop hiding behind it. Do some research or are you afraid to learn we put our socks on one foot at a time just like you. I imagine many bibles are only dusted off when needed as an anti gay weapon because you would not be spewing this garbage if you read it.
Congratulations, ECLA, and a bit of applause from one of the ‘neighbors.’ 🙂
You’ve helped make the world a little less divided tonight, …whatever some may say, less hate in the world can’t be bad. Blessed be.
When it comes to Christians, the Lutherans are probably the most tolerant. They believe in grace.
Once I read this, as a former Mormon but (continuing) homosexual man, I have spent the afternoon researching the Lutheran-organized charities in my neighborhood. I am thrilled that there is finally a faith-based organization I can believe in (even though it has specific tenets with which I do not agree.) I am excited that I can volunteer with or donate to their charity organizations without the underlying fear that the fruits of my good intentions will go toward encouraging further discrimination against me, my husband and my fellow gay brothers and sisters.
There was a time when this news would have meant a lot to me personally. I still think it’s great, particularly since the influence of the church is so huge in the U.S. I’m happy that a major mainline denomination has taken this step and hope it will lead others (like the milk toast Methodists) to finally do the same. For me personally, however, this is too little to late. I gave up on the church long ago partly because of it’s stance on homosexuality, among a host of other nonsensical stances. I now consider myself an agnostic more inclined to support secular humanism that some religious superstition and hierarchy. Still – congratulations to those still within the church who have worked so hard for this victory against prejudice and ignorance.
Even as a non-believer, I find this to be great news. Thank you, Lutherans. Maybe some believers actually are good people.
Canadian Lutherans preparing human sexuality social statement
Our Lutheran friends and family north of the border (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada—ELCIC) are boldly stepping forward with the process of creating a social statement on human sexuality. Of course, it was the ELCA sexuality statement and related changes to ministry policies enacted at the 2009 churchwide assembly (CWA09) that has roiled the ELCA, the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States. The Canadian Lutherans are in the process of discernment and discussion with the goal of presenting the finished policy statement to their 2011 national assembly. For information on the process, check out the ELCIC website.
At this time, the first draft has been created consisting of eleven pages. Although the document deals with the broad range of human sexuality, certainly the passages relating to gays and lesbians will draw the greatest attention. Here is what this preliminary document, released April 15th, states:
This church acknowledges diversity of opinion on how to respond to the reality that people of orientations other than heterosexual are members of our neighbourhood and are faithful members of this church. Our church is affected by the biases of our heterosexually-privileged culture, and by our society’s call for more openness. Working from a rich and faithful practice of Word and Sacrament, members of this church have come to very different opinions on these matters.
Opportunities for ministry will be maximized by permitting congregations to engage in practices that more fully enable persons of various sexual orientations to live as members of the body of Christ and as co-workers in ministry. This would empower congregations to support families and the processes of healing, no matter how family is defined, and to help nurture disciples who “are responsible persons made in the image of God.”
This church commits itself to engaging the diverse faces of the world in which we live. This church recognizes that meeting diverse peoples and forming a truly inclusive community will be a journey of discovery that will include moments of discomfort and anxiety. This church celebrates the vital role that congregations play in helping diverse people of faith to meet and to form community.
God is still speaking, comma
Ten months ago at the General Synod of the United Church of Christ (UCC), the keynote address was offered by the Rev Otis Moss III. Here is a report of his stirring sermon from my blog post dated June 30, 2009:
God says I am the Alpha and the Omega, COMMA, who is, COMMA, and who was, COMMA, and who is to come, COMMA.
In a mind-jolting, three-minute recitation of the history of Christianity, Moss shouted a COMMA between each event, all the way through to the 1957 creation of the United Church of Christ and the presence of John Thomas as General Minister, who introduced him Friday night.
Don’t get angry with the haters, the Rush Limbaughs. Next time you hear them, just say, ‘COMMA!’ When you see Dick Cheney, just say, ‘COMMA!’ Remember, there used to be a period on Pennsylvania Avenue. At Calvary, death wanted to place a period, but Jesus got up on Sunday morning. ‘COMMA!’
The UCC has created a short video, entitled “The Language of God” which utilizes the theme of the “comma” to suggest that God still speaks. Enjoy.
Lutheran CORE, Wordalone, LCMC updates
This coming Sunday, April 18th, will mark the opening of the two day WordAlone Ministries annual convention (when did they change from “network” to “ministries”?). The convention will take place at Calvary Lutheran of Golden Valley, Minnesota, a church that aspires to the mega-church model. I attended Sunday worship there a year ago to hear author William Young speak about his experiences behind his best-seller, The Shack, and the array of musicians and singers using the best technologies of sight and sound was impressive. Apart from the opening and closing, there really wasn’t much of a service other than the interesting, if a bit rambling, presentation by the novelist (the umpteenth service that morning?)
The Wordalone website offers a video presentation promoting the annual convention and a pdf brochure. The brochure takes a few paragraphs to get to what it claims to be the main thing, the proclamation of Christ, but the first paragraph betrays their real main theme:
In August 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly votes crossed yet another line in calling into question orthodox understandings of God’s Word. These very troubling decisions have caused a great storm of confusion, misinformation and conflict for Lutherans. Literally thousands of Lutherans are trying to discern what their next steps will be in the church. If you find yourself struggling with these issues, this convention has been designed with you in mind.
In addition to links to a lot of old speeches and position papers which have previously been covered here, the WordAlone website also cites their new blog, Faithful Transition. Even the blog was a little stale with the latest entry nearly two weeks old promoting their book, We Still Believe (with the implication that the rest of us do not).
Not much new over at the LCMC website either. The website claims 170 new LCMC congregations since CWA09 through the end of March (remember, the ELCA consists of over 10,000 congregations). As I have noted previously, the “Friends of LCMC” Google group has been made private so I can’t report on the conversation that is going on there. I suspect my earlier reporting had something to do with the change from public to private.
The latest addition to the Lutheran CORE website is a lengthy position paper written by Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick, President, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Seems CORE is only too happy to provide a forum for LCMS rants against the ELCA. While the news media and the blogosphere is filled with discussions about the rampant homophobia of Uganda and other African nations (kill the gays bill), the Lutheran CORE blog’s latest entry is entitled, African Lutherans are ‘extremely disturbed’ by ELCA, Swedish actions on homosexual behavior.
It appears that Lutheran CORE would have the ELCA follow LCMS orthodoxy and African attitudes regarding homosexuality. Hmmm.
Catholic patriarchs counterattack
The papacy is under siege as allegations mount of Benedict’s complicity in the priestly sexual abuse coverups of prior decades. Should we be surprised at the circle-the-wagons response of the patriarchy? It is merely a conspiracy of the liberal press, says one spokesman. Blame the Jews, says another. And now the Vatican’s number two, Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone, scapegoats the gays:
“there is a relation between homosexuality and pedophilia. That is true,” said Bertone. “That is the problem.”
The “deputy pope” missed the irony that his comments made in Santiago, Chile overlooked the notorious local case of a priest preying upon girls and young women, impregnating one. Irish blogger, Colm O’Gorman, blasts Bertone:
But to suggest that homosexuality is to blame for paedophilia is deceitful and vile. To blame an already marginalised section of society for the crimes of child rapists is a contemptible act which further reinforces homophobia and hatred and grants permission to bigotry and violence.
It is also a blatant deceit. It is true that the majority of victims of abusing priests are male children and teenagers. But by no means are all. And even so, we don’t describe sexual offenders who target girl children as heterosexual offenders, we describe them as paedophiles. The gender of the victim does not make the abuse either heterosexual or homosexual and many abusers target children of both sexes.
It is time to dust off an earlier post from this blog dated November 20th, 2009 entitled NEWS FLASH: GALILEO ARRESTED which reported the preliminary findings of the study commissioned by the American Conference of Roman Catholic Bishops to investigate the causes of priestly sexual abuse, which suggested “the idea of sexual identity be separated from the problem of sexual abuse. At this point, we do not find a connection between homosexual identity and the increased likelihood of subsequent abuse from the data that we have right now.”
I reprint below the entire post which first appeared here late last fall.
Copernicus expressed the view that the earth circled around the sun and not vice versa. The 17th century astronomer Galileo Galilei agreed:
Galileo’s championing of Copernicanism was controversial within his lifetime, when a large majority
of philosophers and astronomers still subscribed (at least outwardly) to the geocentric view that the Earth is at the centre of the universe. After 1610, when he began publicly supporting the heliocentric view, which placed the Sun at the centre of the universe, he met with bitter opposition from some philosophers and clerics, and two of the latter eventually denounced him to the Roman Inquisition early in 1615. Although he was cleared of any offence at that time, the Catholic Church nevertheless condemned heliocentrism as “false and contrary to Scripture” in February 1616, and Galileo was warned to abandon his support for it—which he promised to do. When he later defended his views in his most famous work, Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, published in 1632, he was tried by the Inquisition, found “vehemently suspect of heresy,” forced to recant, and spent the rest of his life under house arrest.
When the Catholic Church of the twentieth century experienced a crisis of priest sexual predation, homosexuals were scapegoated. According to Thomas C Fox, editor of National Catholic Reporter:
It has been so unfair. Elements in our Catholic community have repeatedly placed the blame of the sex abuse scandal that has rocked our church at the feet of a gay clergy.
It has been a case of guilty until proven innocent.
But wait, a new scientific study commissioned by US Catholic Bishops and conducted by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice researchers reports a contrary view:
The study, which is due to be completed next year, was commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops after the scandal overtook the U.S. church in 2002.
In a presentation to the bishops on Tuesday, Margaret Smith of John Jay said: “What we are suggesting is that the idea of sexual identity be separated from the problem of sexual abuse. At this point, we do not find a connection between homosexual identity and the increased likelihood of subsequent abuse from the data that we have right now.”
Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive director of the gay Catholic group DignityUSA, called the report “very welcome news for gay people, gay priests, and our families and friends.”
She said the John Jay report confirms other studies in concluding that sexual orientation is not connected to pedophilia or other sex crimes. “We hope that the hierarchy of the Catholic Church will finally accept this finding, since it has been borne out through their own study,” Duddy-Burke said.
Surely, the bishops will accept this scientific finding. Surely, the church will promptly and expeditiously exonerate Galileo. Or not, as progressive Catholic blogger Terence Weldon suggests:
The fact that this report confirms what the rest of the world knows [i.e., that homosexuality is not a factor in the cases of abusive priests], is welcome, but not earth-shattering. Don’t hold your breath for the bishops to announce that they accept the report, or will act on this finding, or even for them to release the full report when it has been concluded.
The real causes of the problem lie within the church’s own structures, as numerous observers have noted: the appalling monopoly and abuse of power, compulsory clerical celibacy, and a deeply flawed, seminary based training system that is a hangover from the Middle Ages, leaving priests with minimal understanding of human sexuality, their own or anyone else’s.(Reports elsewhere state that this same interim John Jay report concludes that priests with the better training in human sexuality were the least likely to offend).
The naysayers within the hierarchy were quick to dismiss the scientific report, according to Beliefnet News:
“I wouldn’t put a lot of credence in it,” said Archbishop John Nienstedt of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
After the abuse crisis rocked the church in 2002, Nienstedt helped lead a Vatican investigation of U.S. seminaries aimed at rooting out homosexuality, and served on a committee that drew up new sex abuse prevention policies for U.S. dioceses. He has also written that homosexual orientation is the result of childhood trauma.
And blogger Mark Silk adds:
[Nienstedt promoted] the idea being that if you got rid of the gays, the abuse would stop. Not that Nienstedt doesn’t have a fall-back position; to wit: “a priest has to be accessible to all his people, and someone with a strong same-sex attraction would not be good to have in the pastoral care of people.” As opposed to a priest with a strong opposite-sex attraction?
The bishops’ problem with the John Jay study goes beyond Nienstedt’s species of homophobia, however. If, as the study suggests, sexual abuse by priests is the result of not homosexual orientation but the availability of certain types of people (i.e. altar boys), then someone might be led to the conclusion that clerical celibacy is a big part of the problem. The horror, the horror!
