Posted on 06/06/2005 1:06:41 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
Bishop: We're united amid differences
MILWAUKEE, WI (AP) - The Greater Milwaukee Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has passed a resolution recommending the Churchwide Assembly permit gays and lesbians in committed relationships to be ordained.
Bishop Paul Stumme-Diers said it was important to maintain unity within the church.
"We are committed to remaining united even amid our differences, recognizing our center is not on our opinions but rather it is in Christ," he said.
The recommendation was passed at its annual meeting Saturday.
It is one of up to 65 that are expected to be delivered to the Churchwide Assembly, which in August will consider whether to bless same-sex unions and whether to allow homosexuals to serve as pastors, associates in ministry, deaconesses and diaconal ministers.
(In Madison, a representative of the South Central Synod of Wisconsin said that the group did not take up the issue during its annual meeting last month.)
The issue of homosexual unions and pastors has been discussed by the Greater Milwaukee Synod since the late 1990s. Homosexual issues have also been intensely debated by other denominations and were controversial in the recent presidential election.
Nearly 20 synods held regional meetings this weekend, and it was unclear how many other synods have passed similar resolutions, said John Brooks, a national spokesman for the ELCA, whose headquarters are in Chicago.
The resolution components that will be recommended to the Churchwide Assembly are:
• That individual congregations be allowed to disagree about whether to accept homosexual members and pastors.
• That homosexuals in committed relationships be allowed to serve as leaders.
• That individual congregations be allowed to decide whether to bless committed same-sex unions.
Pastor Jennifer Thomas, 32, of Lake Park Lutheran Church in Milwaukee, said she was pleased with the results.
"I believe the Gospel of Christ calls us to fully include everyone in the church. Homosexuality is not a sin," Thomas said.
But Pastor Jay Thorson, 45, of Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church in Hubertus, disagreed with the vote and said homosexuality is a sin.
"I see the entire Bible as the inspired word of God. (Ordination of homosexuals) violates our understanding of the use of Scripture," he said.
For the Churchwide Assembly to revise national ELCA policies, two-thirds of the 1,100 voting delegates would have to approve a change.
The ELCA has 96,000 baptized members and 141 congregations in the Greater Milwaukee Synod, making it one of the largest Christian denominations in the area, second to the Catholic Church.
Nationwide and in the Caribbean, the ELCA has 5 million baptized members and 11,000 congregations.
It's really sad what they're trying to stick on Christ these days.
Egads!
And the Lutheran's show again that they haven't been on message since Martin Luther himself...
***And the Lutheran's show again that they haven't been on message since Martin Luther himself...***
Let's not confuse the ELCA with the LCMS.....
Looks like God's separating the sheep from the goats.
"I believe the Gospel of Christ calls us to fully include everyone in the church. Homosexuality is not a sin," Thomas said."
Well, the Bible says homosexuality is a sin. But why believe the Bible - let's just all make up our own rules to live by. By the way, does anyone know if the Lutheran Church is growing in the US or going down hill? I go to a Baptist Church and we welcome everyone but no way we would ever ordain a homosexual minister.
This is sad. I have come to the opinion these folks work with the ACLU mentality. They know it will take decades but they will keep hammering at American churches until they allow the ordination of homosexuals as "normal" behavior. Which of course splits the denominations. So a sad day indeed. I doubt they get the 2/3rd's vote this time. But this will not be the last we hear of this. They will stay at it for the long haul.I hope the church is prepared for that.
This one did, about 23 years ago. And it truly did feel as if I came home.
Where did you go? I've about had it with the ELCA myself.
I recently left a Lutheran Brethren (you're up north, are you familiar with them?) congregation for the ELCA church I was baptized in down here in Texas. They seem pretty conservative to me. I guess I just got the luck of the draw.
So? The church will lose
thousands of Christians. It will
gain dozens of gays!
Good for Pastor Jay! Another denomination down the tubes.
Hmmmm.... someone's in for a surprise.
Rome has its share of homosexuals, too.
An SBC church opened up here recently, I might give it a look see. My old country Lutheran church is as it always was, very conservative, but it's an hour drive out there and I tend to be a bit groggy on Sunday mornings from time to time. I've been attending a local Lutheran, but it's almost as bad as this Milwaukee synod looks to be.
And it's probably livelier, too! I was episcopalian (and other denominations until I found the one I'm in now) and I couldn't be happier to be out of the 'so called' mainstream.
Yeah, hold hands with a fister who just explored someone's you-know-what and sing Kumbaya.
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