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.
I am no fan of Cardinal Law and I think he has much to repent of, but for the sake of accuracy it should be noted that almost all the crimes of homosexual priests happened before Law became Archbishop of Boston in 1984. His sin --- and it's a grave sin --- was, principally, negligence.
Law had all these priests' personnel files and paid scant attention to them. Priests with records of seriously bad behavior related to homosexual vice, alcoholism, and drug abuse were sent off on therapeutic sabbaticals and then placed back in parish work on the dubious strength of psychiatrists' or therapists' recommendations that they were "O.K. now."
Irresponsible. Disgusting. Pastoral malpractice to a very disturbing degree. But it's not the same as "condoning pedophiles." It's more like a jaw-dropping naivete: "These psychologists say this priest is recovered." "This priest wouldn't lie to me." And so forth.
I think the history of the Archdiocese shows that this kind of negligence became routine, not because of sloth or laziness, but (paradoxically) because of workaholism. For example, when Cardinal Law became archbishop of Boston, he found over fifty agencies reporting directly to him. He worked like a wheelhorse; but you can safely say that he pushed the problem of bent, spiritually sick priests WAY down on the priority list. WAY down. Priority? Somewhere between 50 and infinity.
My personal opinion is that he shouldn't have been given a prominent post in Rome. He should have had to kneel outside the door of the Cathedral for a decade or so in sackcloth and ashes, begging those who entered therein to pray for the salvation of his soul.
I don't know if churches ever will truly embrace that lifestyle or prostitutes, etc., but individual Christians can and should. We don't have to condone what they do, but we ARE commanded to love them. Kinda makes you wish Christ would return tomorrow. It's up to individuals to love the sinner and hate the sin. Churches mostly won't do that, IMHO. Depends on the church, I guess.
I am Catholic, but frequently went to Wisconsin Synod (WELS) services, because my mother was raised as a WELS Lutheran. Dare I say, the WELS Lutherans at my mother's church were/are far more "Catholic" than the Catholics. They even use their communion rail, which I've never even seen in a Catholic church. They're also just as anti-abortion, if not more so.
I DO love to sing. Unfortunately, I can't sing the Gregorian chants intoned by early monks, LOL.
Leni
It's not? - Is your dictionary a bit different than mine? - look up condone again.
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I was raised in the church that eventually became the ELCA. We left about 13 years ago to the LC Missouri Synod. Perfectly happy now.
(You wrote) It's not? - Is your dictionary a bit different than mine? - look up condone again.
Condone: To overlook, forgive, or disregard (an offense) without protest or censure.
OMG! You're absolutely right!
I always thought "condone" was more along the lines of "justify, find an excuse for, approve." But you're exactly right, Law did "condone" (overlook, forgive, etc.)the pedophiles.
More shame. I'm disgusted.
Gulp.
I'm going to get my sackcloth tunic on, as soon as it's back from the cleaners.... :~<
"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."
Is she reading the same inspired Word of God that I am?
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
You're forgiven. I didn't realize it meant that either. so double gulp here.
I had second thoughts about this church when I juxtaposed the recent placement of The Da Vinci Code in the church's library with the pastor's earlier, harsh criticism of The Passion of the Christ. I am now attending a LCMS church.
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