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.
If God is calling you to stay, then you must stay.
Sometimes, with these lib ministers, all you have to do is mention Jesus and salvation in the same breath and they hyperventilate! I don't want to be standing next to them on Judgement Day. Whew.
I just did this week.
Anything contrary to God's laws is sin. He says not to fornicate. If we do, outside of marriage or have an adulterous relationship, it's a sin--plain and simple. I just love the way sinners try to justify their 'mistakes.' I don't think God is impressed.
then you would LOVE the old Baptist and even the OLD Methodist hymns, before gender-bending took place there. Sigh. There's nothing like 'The Wonderful Grace of Jesus.' That hymn, sung in four parts, is exciting to sing.
Welcome home. The place is better with you around.
Thanks, my wife and I have talked to the parish and will start attending services this Sunday.
Some of them ARE the church's leaders, sadly.
Excellent. If you have any concerns or questions please FReepmail me. I may not know everything - but I'm pretty good at tracking down people who do.
I tend to like the classic Catholic Hymns and have a couple albums by John Michael Talbot that I enjoy listening to.
Be Not Afraid
Here I Am, Lord
One Bread, One Body
On Eagle's Wings
I'm quite sure Christ would not agree with the 'opinion' that it is okay to ordain homosexuals.
Well guess what happened yesterday? I got a letter from the church telling me that the elders are demanding that Pastor Steve step down! He's the reason I left in the first place, because he jealously got rid of our Junior Pastor who was AWESOME, and then put us $600,000 in the hole building a school and remodeling the church, against the wishes of many that were happy we had no debt and money in the bank for once in our long history.
MIL & I are contemplating our next moves now. Maybe we CAN go back to our church once the cause of our frustration is gone. Time will tell. And trust me, I'll keep a sharp eye on this gay marriage/ordination business. If I hear one INKLING of them leaning that way (WI Synod, so they might) I'll be outta there for good and all.
I wish I had a better answer or at least a better option, Mary. The ELCA seems to be overrun with Upper Midwesterners who believe every word out of Garrison Keillor is equal to Gospel. Ours is a comfortable little old church not too far from the very first seminary built in the United States. We like the pastor and the rest of the congregation, but are growing more and more unhappy with the ELCA's top management.
God bless,
Reb
Amen! The more I hear about the corruption in these big denominations the more I am glad that I belong to a non-denominational church. IMHO, small house-churches, closer to what Paul was planting during his ministry, are Christ's plan for His Church. It wasn't until men, with the desire to control others in their drive to stamp out "heresies", started finding justifications in the Bible for the bureaucracies that became the organized church.
While churches do need to be in relationships with other congregations to keep on the "straight and narrow", that in no way justifies these huge conglomerates that find it much too easy to lead their members astray. The "power corrupts" statement is all too true here.
I know exactly how you feel, having done the same with my little Methodist church. Just keep praying and asking God to lead you to the church HE wants you to go to. He may want you to stay there and be a light. I don't know what His choice is for you but it's something you and He will have to figure out. I wish you the very best! Love, Mxxx
There's one they sing at funerals a lot that I like. I got a copy of it once but then put it somewhere. It could be Be Not Afraid. It's been sung at a couple of funerals in the Catholic Church that I attended.
Try this link. The hymn you mentioned is on this album and they have a brief audio that you can listen to to see if it is the correct one.
http://www.johnmichaeltalbot.com/Albums/4624/4624.html
The Great Apostasy continues...
It sure does; and-- assuming your mean unchaste homosexuals --- I don't see any prospect of rooting sin out of the Catholic Church until Christ comes again. It's a wheat-and-tares situation.
The Catholic Church has a lot of chaste homosexuals as well--- and they are invited to the frequent reception of the Sacraments, particularly Reconciliation and Holy Communion, as a way to gain the spiritual strength to live a morally pure and upright life.
Here's the deal: the Catholic Church has never taught, does not now teach, and will never teach that homosexual acts are OK. The church teaches that same-sex desire is, in itself "intrinsically disordered" -- like any sinful desire, it's not a sin itself, but it's a temptation, something you are morally obliged to resist --- and homosexual acts are always gravely wrong.
We've got some major sin problems. But we have the advantage(s) of (1) fidelity to moral teachings that have been transmitted faithfully for 2,000 years, and (2) a way of life which, if followed makes the soul receptive of Godd's great mercy, grace, and strength.
How I wish our churches REALLY welcomed the homosexuals, the prostitutes and tax-collectors too --- to a new life in Christ!
Gal, have you got that right! I love Lutheran hymnody!
But if you took the whole range of Catholic music, 20 centuries worth, I'd confidently challenge your best with our best...
Or even better, we could have a sacred music fest and praise God together til the rafters ring. I love to sing. Do you?
:^D
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