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.

According to the polity of the ELCA, ultimate legislative authority resides with the voting members to the Church Wide assembly that meets once every two years.  The Church Council acts as the penultimate legislative authority, acting on necessary matters that arise between the biennial Church Wide Assemblies and formulating specific policies in response to general directives emanating from the Church Wide assemblies.  And so it was with the much ballyhooed pro-LGBT resolutions at CWA09 that have now been formulated into actual policy language by action of the Church Council over the weekend.

Despite protesting letters from the president of the Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the president of the Roman Catholic Conference of Bishops that encouraged the Council to deviate from the decisions of CWA09, the ELCA Conference of Bishops had earlier taken a significant step toward ministry policy revisions by issuing draft documents in October 2009 (the ELCA Conference of Bishops is advisory).  Those draft documents formed the core of the revised ministry policies adopted by the Church Council on April 10th.  According to the office of the ELCA Secretary, copies of the actual revised ministry policies will be available online by the end of April.

I reprint the full text of the ELCA press release, followed by the response of Lutherans Concerned North America (LCNA), the LGBT advocacy group.

CHICAGO (ELCA) — The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) adopted a series of historic and sweeping revisions to ministry policy documents April 10, the result of months of extensive writing, comment and review by hundreds of leaders and members following the 2009 Churchwide Assembly.
      The Church Council is the ELCA’s board of directors and serves as the interim legislative authority of the church between churchwide assemblies.  The council is meeting here April 9-12.  The next churchwide assembly is in Orlando, Fla., in August 2011.
      The changes were called for by the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, which directed that policy documents be revised to make it possible for eligible Lutherans in committed, publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous same-gender relationships to serve as ELCA clergy and professional lay leaders. The assembly directed that revised policies recognize the convictions of those who believe the ELCA should not allow such service. The assembly also adopted a social statement on human sexuality.
       The council adopted revisions to two documents that spell out the church’s behavioral expectations of ELCA professional leaders — “Vision and Expectations: Ordained Ministers in the ELCA” and “Vision and Expectations: Associates in Ministry, Deaconesses and Diaconal Ministers in the ELCA.” The council also adopted revisions to a document that specifies grounds for discipline of professional leaders, “Definitions and Guidelines for Discipline,” and it adopted revisions to the “ELCA Candidacy Manual,” used by regional committees to help guide candidates seeking to become professional leaders in the ELCA.
      Council members asked few questions and commented briefly on each proposed document before approving them. Only minor editorial changes were proposed and adopted by the council. Each revised document was adopted overwhelmingly. 
      The Rev. Keith A. Hunsinger, council member, Oak Harbor, Ohio, who said he does not agree with the sexuality decisions made in August 2009, announced April 11 that he had abstained on each vote on the documents.  He explained that he didn’t believe that the first drafts of the documents released last fall embodied the full range of decisions made at the 2009 assembly.  “My conscience won’t allow me to vote for any of these documents, but as a member of the board of directors, I can’t vote against the will of the churchwide assembly,” he told the ELCA News Service.
      However, Hunsinger told the council that the final forms of each document reflected “the breadth and depth” of the decisions, including the fact that “we agreed to live under a big tent,” and that multiple voices would be heard.  “Because those documents now said that, I feel my ideas and I are still welcome in the ELCA,” he said.
      The revised policies are effective immediately, said David D. Swartling, ELCA secretary.  Final revised text of each document will be posted online at http://www.ELCA.org/ministrypolicies by the end of April, he said.
     Following council approval of the policies, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, expressed his appreciation to many, including the council and the Conference of Bishops for leading the revision process over the past few months.  He also thanked the Rev. Stanley N. Olson, executive director, ELCA Vocation and Education, the lead staff person working with church leaders and various constituencies through the revision process.
     Olson thanked many others who have worked for changes in ministry policies through more than two decades of effort. “This is the work of many — hundreds, thousands of people who have reflected, thought and prayed.  We are still a church that is tense over this, but we are Easter people, and I think we have done an Easter thing today,” he told the council.
     Prior to voting, the Rev. A. Donald Main, Lancaster, Pa., chair of the ELCA Committee on Appeals, which led the effort to revise Definitions and Guidelines for Discipline, told the council that the document had not been revised since 1993.  New sections address matters such as integrity, and substance abuse and addiction, he said. 
     The Committee on Appeals also “considered each and every word, constantly testing different language so as to be clear and concise as possible, and remain faithful to our charge and to the social statement and ministry policies recommended and adopted by our assembly,” Main added.
     The two Vision and Expectations documents and the Candidacy Manual are “tools in the service of God’s mission through the ELCA, primarily to assist us in that work of calling forth and supporting faithful, wise and courageous leaders,” Olson said. The Vision and Expectations documents were most recently revised in the early 1990s, and the Candidacy Manual was revised in the past few years, he said.
     “We have not attempted to spell out every possible situation and to give definitive direction for every possible situation,” he told the council. “There are broad principles in these documents, and there are guidelines with some details.”  Olson added the documents call for the ELCA to trust established processes and its leaders who have responsibility for oversight and decision-making.
     “Our next step is to orient our staff and the candidacy committees,” Olson said. A memo summarizing key policy revisions will be sent this week to help guide synod bishops, staff working with candidates for professional leadership, candidacy committee chairs, seminary presidents and selected staff, and applicants and candidates.
     Olson added that the ELCA Vocation and Education program unit, the ELCA Office of the Secretary and others are responsible for monitoring the new policies, and suggesting further revisions and guidelines if necessary.

 And here is the text of the LCNA response:

This weekend, the ELCA Church Council meeting in Chicago moved the decision of the 2009 Churchwide Assembly into policy by  replacing  the language in church documents that excluded ministers in committed same-gender relationships with a policy that allows congregations and organizations to call a fully-qualified minister in a committed, same-gender relationship.  And, the Council also approved the way to reinstate ministers who have been removed from the roster because of the previous policy and to receive ELM pastors onto the roster of the ELCA.  The Council also made the benefits of the ELCA pension plan available to rostered ministers and employees in committed, same-gender relationships.

There were no votes on the Council opposing the adoption of the revised documents, the pension plan inclusion, and the rite of reception for those Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries pastors who were ordained “extra ordinem.”

The ELCA has reached two milestones long sought by the movement for full inclusion. First, it has eliminated all prohibitions against qualified people in a same-gender relationship serving on the ELCA”s roster of ministers. Second, and more importantly, it created a pathway that frees the gifts of ELCA members to pursue ministry and mission with new vigor. Each of these steps is crucial for both our continued healing and our bold walk into a more just future.

These actions are important because they are a major milestone along the journey of full inclusion. We have a policy that recognizes the gifts of its members to spread the good news of God in Christ Jesus and that will allow the return of those who have been removed or alienated from rostered leadership solely on the basis of the old policy.

Bishop Hanson said that one of the results of the Council”s actions would be new life in the church through new leaders.  Bishop Hanson also thanked the Church Council for shepherding this task in most thoughtful way.  He lifted the Conference of Bishops” participation up as key to the process.

As we reflected on the great amount work and effort it took , we observed a paradox. On one hand, in order to follow God”s call for justice, the former policy forced us, as a community, to restrict how we could use our gifts. Many of us spent considerable time and effort working to make the ELCA a more inclusive church. However, even within a relatively narrow focus on the policy concerning LGBT people”s role within the church, we have lifted up crucial questions for the church: What is the relationship of sexuality to salvation in Christ?  What is the diversity in God”s wondrous creation?  What is sinful?  How do Lutherans read and interpret scripture? Who continues to face barriers to ministry and mission? How do we journey together faithfully, in spite of so many differences? What some people have dismissed as a narrow issue has both opened up and profoundly deepened our moral and theological life. God indeed works in mysterious ways.

Although we are closer to full-participation than we ever thought that we would be, there is still further to go. The ELCA continues to be heavily involved in a myriad of issues as it reaches out in Christ”s name and mission. We pray that our well-earned celebration as a community of reconciliation will renew us, will energize us to go yet more miles with even more joy and less fear, together with the whole people of God, as we follow Christ in love, healing, and abundant life.

Since the August decision to change policy, we have heard from many of you that it feels as though celebration is “stuck in our throats.” Verily, the time has come to clear our throats. Currently, censures are being lifted from congregations, for which we can celebrate. Soon, we will start to see pastors received and reinstated across the whole church. By the time we gather together in Minneapolis at Let Justice Roll Down Like Waters, we will be ready to shout out in holy joy! We hope that you can join us in July to add your voice to the chorus of people singing praise and thanksgiving to God.

Finally, there are acknowledgements to make. There are so many people who have worked to overturn the policy of the ELCA for so long. Among them, we offer thanks to God for the past and present service of the Goodsoil Legislative Team, the Regional Coordinators, Board, and staff of LC/NA, countless volunteers in congregations and synods, and the working group of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries.

Alleluia! Christ is risen! Thanks be to God!

When my wife and I moved from Upsala to Northfield in November, 2008, we left many church friends behind, not merely in our ELCA congregation in Upsala, but across the Northeast Synod of Minnesota where we had been active in many ways.  We had frequently attended synod assemblies, which alternated between Duluth and Cragun’s resort near Brainerd, and Lynn served as WELCA synod president, board member, and parliamentarian for annual assemblies.

In Northfield, as members of Bethel Lutheran, we are now part of the Southeastern Minnesota synod of the ELCA, and we are learning our way around.  I have attended several conference and synod gatherings, and Lynn and I will be voting members at this spring’s 2010 synod assembly.

So, it was with great interest and pleasant surprise when a news release crossed my desk from Lutherans Concerned North America (LCNA) which praised our new synod for its recently adopted statement of affirmation and inclusion.  Turns out that the 2009 synod assembly voted to become a Reconciling in Christ (RIC) synod and to appoint a task force to craft an LGBT friendly welcoming statement.  Our synod becomes the 24th synod of the ELCA to officially become RIC (out of a total of 65 synods nationwide).  In a nutshell, the RIC movement is for synods, congregations, and individuals to become overtly gay friendly and welcoming.

The single element that is central to the program is the Affirmation of Welcome. It is simple, yet powerful in its witness … Making the Affirmation promotes a publicly inclusive ministry and helps heal the pain of doubt.

Here is the full statement of the SE Mn synod:

Affirmation of Welcome

Baptized into the waters of Christ and raised to new life by the strong word of God, fed and nourished by the body and blood of Christ, the people of God in the Southeastern Minnesota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America decided in the 2009 assembly to be a Reconciling in Christ Synod. This synod, called by the Holy Spirit, is kept in unity with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. We are freely forgiven in Christ and we are in full service to one another. Whenever we meet in worship, prayer, deliberation and decision, as a large and diverse body of Christians, we recognize various ministries to ensure all people are welcomed into a transforming relationship with Jesus Christ. As baptized believers created in the image of God – including, but not limited to, people of every race, nationality, age, political affiliation, marital status, gender identity, economic or social status, sexual orientation, mental and physical abilities – our synod welcomes all people of all backgrounds to become Christ’s devoted disciples.

On March 10th, I reported on the actions of the ELCA Conference of Bishops to welcome to ministry those pastors on the Extraordinary Lutheran Ministry (ELM) Roster.  In my blog, I wondered about the use of the word “ordination” or its lack in the rite proposed by bishops.  I also updated my post immediately with word that Lutherans Concerned North America (LCNA) quickly and enthusiastically endorsed the action of the Conference of Bishops.  Since then, ELM has similarly offered its heartfelt gratitude toward the bishops. 

Members of ELM were present as observers during the Conference deliberations.  At one point, Bishop Stephen Marsh offered a motion which passed to allow one of the ELM persons present to have the privilege of “voice”, i.e. an invitation to address the assembled bishops.  On today’s ELM blog, the remarks offered by ELM member Erik Christensen are published, and I reprint them here in their entirety.

Remarks made by Rev. Erik Christensen to the ELCA Conference of Bishops 

Last weekend at the ELCA Conference of Bishops, Bp. Stephen Marsh (Southeast, MI) made a motion to give voice to a representative from ELM. With just a few minutes to prepare, Rev. Erik Christensen offered this response:

Good afternoon, my name is Erik Christensen. I’m a pastor here in Chicago at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church of Logan Square. I did my candidacy in the Southeastern Iowa Synod. I’m a son of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Des Moines, Iowa. And I did my seminary training both at Candler School of Theology at Emory, but also at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. I interned on the Jersey Shore at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Toms River.

I want to say it’s really wonderful to be asked to speak. I really thank you for recognizing the privilege that it is to be allowed to speak to all of you and I thank you for extending that privilege. And I just want to say what you all know is true, but if I say it, it makes it a little less true for me in the moment…this is scary (laughter). So I just needed to say that so I could have permission to shake a little bit in my shoes.

I’ve often been afraid of what bishops think about the work that we do in ELM. And often I’ve been afraid because the way that our relationship has worked out historically has not been so good. But I really enjoy being in the room for the conversation right now because it builds my trust in the shared commitment to the Gospel that all of us have. And I can hear the sensitive, and the probing, and the discerning questions that are being asked, and it builds my trust in the church that we are becoming together.

A lot has been said, a lot has been written about the authority by which ELM has understood its ordinations to take place. So I actually don’t want to say too much about that at this particular moment, because I’m hearing a lot of that language filtering into your conversation. It’s really clear that this room of brothers and sisters has a really strong grasp on the myriad precedents, and that precedent alone isn’t really what we’re discussing here. And so I’ll be happy to entertain any questions, and others would as well, about that question of authority and by what authority we did those ordinations. But I think most of those points have been raised by you in these conversations already.

The contribution I want to make at this point in the conversation is to this question, “Why ordination?” Or why not ordination? How important is that word, really?

I want to lift up an image of my year at the Lutheran School in Philadelphia. I entered candidacy in Southeastern Iowa Synod, I made it through approval, I made it through endorsement, I made it through internship. I completed my M.Div and was in my Lutheran year in Philly and halfway through my Lutheran year, I was removed from ELCA candidacy by the candidacy committee in Southeastern Iowa Synod. And they attached a statement to their decision saying, “the only reason we have for denying approval for ministry is this policy that the church currently holds, and should that policy be removed, we would enthusiastically endorse this person.”

And there it was, I was denied, and I was no longer a candidate. And I was trying to make a decision about whether or not the ELM process had integrity, whether or not it was something I could offer my vocation up to, and put my faith in. So I went to my favorite professor and someone who is still a mentor in his writing and his speaking, Gordon Lathrop, and I said, “I’m trying to understand, Dr. Lathrop, whether or not I should offer myself to this process. Could I really understand an ordination that takes place without the full endorsement of the denomination as a full ordination?”

And he said, “No. That would be a broken ordination.” And I was confused.

And then I said, “Well, Dr. Lathrop, what about your ordination?”

And he said, “No, mine is broken as well. My ordination is also broken by the status of the body that we have right now and all of our ordinations won’t be completed until this reconciliation takes place.”

And so, I welcome the laying on of hands. I welcome the blessing with oil and with prayer and with every other form of public blessing that this church has to offer and I don’t think that “ordination” is the right word for that. Because I’ve been ordained. And you’ve been ordained. And our ordinations have been broken. And the healing and the reconciliation that needs to take place right now is contextual.

And I’m not ignorant to the fact that ordination is a word…it’s so nice to hear that there are these four different words, there are plenty of other words and they are not understood the same way at all moments in the life of the church and the history of the church. And so in one sense, “don’t get too hung up on it.” It’s ordination, it’s not ordination. But at this moment in the church, and in this does have meaning, now, for us. context, it’s a word that does have importance. It’s a word that

And so, if the purpose of the rite that you are trying to craft, if the purpose of this moment is to announce reconciliation and healing, then it will be important what word you choose. Not because that word always means that thing and always has meant that thing, but because you want that word to do something right now. And if you want it to do that thing, if you want the word, if you want the rite to do that thing that is healing and reconciliation in the body, that heals my broken ordination and your broken ordination, then affirm the ordinations that we’ve received. Affirm the calls that we’ve received.

Let’s bless one another in this ministry together.