ELCA 2017 in Review

Here is the video just shown during the Central/Southern Illinois Synod Assembly, which reviews the year 2017 in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. I must say, of all the videos the ELCA has presented over the years, I found this one very interesting -- on many levels.

Electing a Bishop, Again

Elections are stranger than I once thought.

[The first formal acknowledgement of a significant anniversary.]
The Central/Southern Illinois Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the local church body ("judicatory") in which I serve, gathered in Assembly at 2 pm Thursday, June 1. After about an hour of the usual opening activities, the time came for the election of a Bishop. ELCA Bishops are elected for 6-year terms and, in our Synod, are eligible for re-election. Our current Bishop, John Roth, was first elected in June 2011, a time the ELCA was still in considerable angst. Some of that angst is reflected in posts to this blog.

Bishops are elected by what is called an ecclesiastical ballot. In our Synod there are no candidates or campaigning (at least formally) ahead of time. Sometimes there will be conversations here and there of possible pastors who might serve well, though even that tends to happen only when we know we are electing a new Bishop to replace one who has resigned office or has announced his intention to retire. Rather we gather in the midst of prayer and discussion, and speak of the Holy Spirit doing his work through the election process. Bishop Roth had earlier indicated he was willing to be elected to a second term.

On the first ballot, the eligible voters — the pastors and deacons of the Synod, along with lay voting members sent by the congregations (usually a male and female from each — may write the name of any pastor on the ELCA clergy roster, those in congregations, those serving in other settings, those temporarily not serving somewhere, even those who have retired. If one name appears on 75% of the ballots, that pastor is elected. If there is no election, that ballot serves as a nominating ballot. For the second ballot, voters write the name of one of the nominated pastors, and there is an election if one receives 75% of the votes. If not, the top 7 vote getters appear on the third ballot. (Note that 6 years ago I was the 8th top vote getters.) If one of these receives 2/3rds of the third ballot votes, we have an election. If not, the 4th ballot lists the top three of the third, and 60% are needed for an election. If there is no election, the top two stand on the fifth ballot, the pastor with the majority of votes being elected.

And so we cast the first ballot, and learned the results first thing Friday morning. Bishop Roth received 157 of 291 votes, or 54%. No election, with the next highest number of votes being 26, 22, and 12. All in all, 45 pastors received votes. (I was not among them.) A half-hour was given for those nominated to officially withdraw their names, and shortly after 10 am after doing other business, we were presented a list of 15 pastors remaining; in addition to the Bishop, one who received 4 votes, two who received 2 each, and the rest who'd been named on one ballot. We voted again, took care of other business, and then heard the second ballot results.

No election. Bishop Roth with 193 votes, but that was only 64.5% of the ballots cast, not the 75% necessary. The next highest received 22 votes, the 7th place pastor received 8. The top seven (which, interestingly, included 3 retired pastors) were given time (about 2 1/2 hours over lunch and a time for smaller forums on various subjects, and the approval of the Synod's budget) to fill a form with biographical information and a response to a couple of questions, and for each to prepare a 5 minute address to the assembly before the third ballot. And we voted again, this time using the electronic voting devices.

So we knew after a couple of moments that Bishop Roth had received 174 votes, but that was 61% of the votes cast, short of the 2/3rds needed for an election. Next came Pr. Ryan Anderson, who serves near Peoria (he's part of the weekly pericope study group of pastors who meet weekly at Zion) and who last month was elected Dean of the Northern Conference, with 41 votes, and Pr. Tony Metz of Quincy with 33. (The remaining four received 10-14 votes each.)

And so we listened to the top three respond to a few question that Assembly voting members had submitted, and then we voted for a fourth time. Bishop Roth received 154 votes, about 52%, followed by Pr. Metz with 75, and Pr. Anderson with 68. No election yet, as 60% is needed for a fourth ballot.

And we recessed for the banquet — that's where retirements and significant anniversaries are commemorated, thus my certificate above — and conversation (where many pondered the meaning of these votes) and sleep. And, of course, lots of prayers. The fifth ballot is scheduled for 8:35 inthe morning, after which the Bishop-elect will address the Assembly.

And if you're wondering, I've been voting to re-elect Bishop Roth. He has served the Church faithfully and well.

Repost: Black Friday

Today is the real Black Friday.

Originally posted here Good Friday 2015.

Black Friday

Today is the real Black Friday.

Campaigning for Bishop (or Pastor)

The office of the bishop is political in the best sense of that term. Many of Basil [of Caesarea]'s letters reflect situations of high political intrigue where Basil extended the power and authority of his specific see to shore up and support the struggling churches in outlying areas or areas where orthodoxy had only a fragile hold on the clergy and people. Frequently he intervened in episcopal elections urging the clergy and people to elect a man who would be faithful to the traditions oreceived fromt he apostles and the fathers.... What we gain from Basil's handing of a crisis such as this is a good conception of the historic continuity in shaping the character of the pastoral office. As bishop one is not only placed into a congregation which extends back several years or even several generations, but as bishop one has a responsibility to be faithful to the totality of the Christian experience as it has unfolded over the course of centuries. There is a corporate identity to the church which cannot be reduced to the sum total of the present situation, for in defining what it means to be Christian the totality of the Christian past must be taken into consideration. Basil's point is that the office of the pastor is one of the chief means by which the Church is able to maintain and articulate the meaning of Christian faith from generation to generation.

In Basil's own situation such awareness gave him freedom, for it allowed him to look beyond the immediate squabble with Arianism and the allinace of Arianism with the emperor. Perhaps Basil's comments have a conservative ring to our [modern] ears, for those who today frequently call for loyalty to the past are really hindering our dealing with the present and restricting our freedom to cope with the future. But I doubt wheter this is really the case, for the past about which they speak is frequently the immediate past.... Seldom is it a appeal to the fullness of the tradition, a genuine catholic attempt to see the Church in larger terms than our immediate denominational tradition.... They usually mean the tradition of the last fifty of seventy-five years.

— Robert L. Wilken, "The Practice of Piety: Basil of Caesarea and the Pastor Office," Una Sancta (24:4, Christmass, 1967), 79-80, as it appears in the March 2015 issue of Forum Letter which arrived in today's mail.

Pondering...

ELCA News Service: Elizabeth Eaton elected ELCA presiding bishop

ELCA NEWS SERVICE
August 14, 2013

Elizabeth Eaton elected ELCA presiding bishop

13-56-MRC

     PITTSBURGH (ELCA) - The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Northeastern Ohio Synod, was elected Aug. 14 presiding bishop of the ELCA at the 2013 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. She was elected on the fifth ballot. There were 889 votes cast, and 445 votes were needed for an election. Eaton received 600 votes and the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, received 287. Eaton is the ELCA's first woman presiding bishop-elect.

      The churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of the ELCA, is meeting here Aug. 12-17 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The theme for the triennial assembly is “Always being made new.” This year marks the 25th anniversary of this church.

     “We are a church that is overwhelmingly European in a culture that is increasingly pluralistic. We need to welcome the gifts of those who come from different places, that is a conversation we need to have as a church,” Eaton told the assembly shortly after the election.

     Prior to becoming synod bishop, Eaton served as pastor for ELCA congregations in Ohio. She earned a Master’s of divinity degree from Harvard Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass., and a Bachelor’s degree in music education from the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio.

     An assembly schedule is available at www.ELCA.org/assembly and up-to-the minute news entries at http://blogs.ELCA.org/assemblynews.

- - -
About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with more than 4 million members in nearly 10,000 congregations across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of “God's work. Our hands,” the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer, Martin Luther.

For information contact:
Melissa Ramirez Cooper, Manager of Public Relations
773-380-2956 or Melissa.RamirezCooper@ELCA.org
http://www.ELCA.org/news
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Lutherans
Living Lutheran: http://www.livinglutheran.com

ELCA Elects New Presiding Bishop

From the @ELCA twitter feed:

On the fifth ballot for the office of presiding bishop 889 votes were cast. Eaton 600 and Hanson 287. Rev. Eaton is elected.

Fourth Ballot

Total Votes: 907
Needed to Elect: 545 (60%)

Elizabeth Eaton 523
Mark Hanson 300
Jessica Crist 84

The fifth ballot will be later in the current plenary session.

I Am Stunned!

The third ballot results from this morning, after the top nominees offered brief, 5-minute statements to the Assembly:

Total ballots: 919
Necessary for election (2/3): 613

* Eaton 345
* Hanson 271
* Crist 171

* Svennungsen 130
* Marty 1
* Lundblad 0
* Lose 0

The Bishops Hanson and Crist both declined about 100 votes each. Bishop Eaton increased by 258. It seems Bishop Eaton, in her 5 minute address, spoke of the costs of the decisions this church has made in the past. She supports them, but acknowledged the grief of those of us who do not.

This afternoon's plenary, going on right now, is a Q&A with the top three, and then a fourth ballot. 60% is needed to elect. Well,

Electing a Presiding Bishop

The first/nominating ballot was Monday, with the results (officially announced at the beginning of the Tuesday morning session) getting out that evening:

* Mark Hanson 440 (ELCA Presiding Bishop)
* Jessica Crist 53 (Bishop, Montana)
* Michael Rinehart 36 (Bishop, Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast)
* Jon Anderson 26 (Bishop, Southwestern Minn.)
* Elizabeth Eaton 23 (Bishop, Northeastern Ohio)

* Rafael Malpica-Padilla 20 (Exec. Dir, ELCA Global Mission; former Bishop, Caribbean)
* Stephen Bouman 19 (Exec. Dir, ELCA Congreagation and Synodical Mission; former Bishop, Metro New York)
* Peter Marty 16 (Pastor, St. Paul, Davenport, Iowa; last host of the ELCA's Lutheran Vespers radio program)
* David Zellmer 15 (Bishop, South Dakota)
* Kurt Kusserow 12 (Bishop, Southwestern Penn.)

* April Larson 12 (Pastor, First, Duluth, Minn.; former Bishop, La Crosse Area, and the first woman bishop in the ELCA)
* Wayne Miller 11 (Bishop, Metro. Chicago))
* Ann Svennungsen 10 (Bishop, Minneapolis Area)
* Michael Burk 9 (Bishop, Southeastern Iowa)
* Peter Rogness 7 (Bishop, Saint Paul Area)

and 107 other pastors with fewer votes. Other than the number of ballots cast being 877, making the required 75% for an election add up to 666 votes, there was nothing remarkable. The main observations seemed to be, Bishop Hanson will be elected on the next ballot, Bishop Crist (who is also Chair of the Conference of Bishops) and Bishop Rinehart (who overnight posted a blog entry explaining why he would withdraw his name from further consideration) seemed to be highly regard as possible successors when Hanson retires. But, no, the important election news would come later this week as a new Secretary (a very powerful office in the ELCA) is elected.

So the second ballot results that came before the Tuesday afternoon session were a bit of a surprise. Of the 943 votes cast (75% to elect being 708), the top 7 vote getters:

* Mark Hanson 369
* Jessica Crist 272
* Elizabeth Eaton 87
* Peter Marty 45
* Ann Svennengsen 36
* David Lose 33 (Homilectics Prof at Luther Seminary)
* Barbara Lundblad 15 (Professor at Union Theological Seminary, New York).

42 other pastors also received votes. But note that Presiding Bishop Hanson's votes went down by 71. And Bishop Crist's went up by 219.

And apparently the Holy Spirit (and others) had been busy Monday night. They would be busy Tuesday night, too, as these top 7 prepare brief bios and statements for the Wednesday morning plenary -- well, four of them, as Pastor Marty and Profs. Lose and Lundblad are not at the CWA and sent word that they would not be there come Wednesday morning.

The ELCA Churchwide Assembly

The ELCA's Churchwide Assembly (CWA) is in session this week in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One can follow the proceedings live as they happen from the ELCA's website. That particular link will likely expire shortly after the the CWA's adjournment, but www.elca.org/assembly will get you not only to the current assembly, but to the whatever is kept on the ELCA's permanent web archive of past CWAs, too.

There are other ways to keep up with what is happening, too. Pr. Dick Johnson, editor of the American Lutheran Publicity Bureau's monthly Forum Letter, is doing up-to-date reports on ALPB Forum Online; just click the "ELCA Churchwide Assembly 2013" section. As at earlier CWAs, he also offers some commentary and behind the scenes reporting; and other members of the pan-Lutheran online forum comments, too.

In addition, this is the first CWA in which, rather than printing everything on paper, most everything is being done electronically, with Voting Members being provided iPads (or using their own tablet device) for just about everything. Most of the material is available to anyone through the apps at the 2013 Assembly Guidebook web page, or this page for any web browser, which include the ELCA's own news blog.

An ELCA Churchwide Assembly receives reports of what is happening within the church, elects people to various offices, sets the budgets for the upcoming years, and acts on various subjects and matters that are part of this church's life. Among the "significant" matters for this one is a proposed Social Statement on Criminal Justice, "The Church and Criminal Justice: Hearing the Cries," the ELCA's 25th Anniversary, and the elections of a Presiding Bishop and Secretary.

At the moment, it is the Presiding Bishop's election that most observers are focussing on, and it is initially a bit more interesting than most anticipated. The Rt. Rev. Mark S. Hanson was first elected in 2001 (ELCA Bishops have 6-year terms), has led during a time of great controversy, and had announced earlier that he was available for election to a third term. At the Churchwide level, there is no "campaigning" ahead of time at least officially ;). Rather, for the first ballot serves as a nominating ballot, with every ELCA pastor eligible for election.

An election can happen on that first ballot if a pastor receives 75% of the votes, which is what happened in 2007, when Bishop Hanson was re-elected. Every pastor's name written on that first ballot appears on the second ballot, unless the pastor deliberately withdraws, again with 75% needed to elect. A third ballot would be limited to the top 7 vote getters, election happening with 2/3rds of the votes. Fourth ballot has 3 pastors, 60% required for election; fifth ballot is the top 2, majority vote elects.

To be continued...

The ELCA's Newest Bishop-Elect

"The Reverend R. Guy Erwin, a member of the Osage Nation of Oklahoma, is the first American Indian bishop in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America." Yes, I had to do some hunting to find this as the lede for a report of the Bishop-elect for my home synod, but I did find it -- at indianz.com. That's because everyone else is focussing on him being the first openly gay pastor to be elected Bishop of an ELCA Synod.

It happened last weekend as the Southwest California Synod met in Assembly in Woodland Hills, California. One can see the towers of the Marriott Hotel where the election happened from the front porch of my parents' home. As if that weren't personal enough, Dr. Erwin, the Gerhard & Olga Belgum Professor of Lutheran Confessional Theology at California Lutheran University, is the Interim Pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Canoga Park. He's my mother's pastor. She speaks very well of him.

But there is more to the story. Prof. Erwin's ordination was the subject of an article in The Lutheran magazine's July 2011 issue entitled "R. Guy & Keith Fry ...." Subtitled "Ordination stories move church forward," the article began,

R. Guy Erwin's ordination on May 11 proved quintessentially Lutheran: Two ELCA bishops and a former bishop played key roles; the service doubled as a "teaching" moment for California Lutheran University students, and the 75-member university choir led the 450-strong congregation in singing the final hymn, "A Mighty Fortress is Our God."

The symbolism rang poignantly true since Erwin, 53, serves as the Gerhard and Olga J. Belgum Chair in Lutheran Confessional Theology at CLU in Thousand Oaks; taught Lutheran studies and church history at Yale Divinity School, New Haven, Conn., for several years; and studied in Germany for his doctoral thesis on Martin Luther's era.

You can read more of that article here, but the full article is behind a pay firewall. Yes, I had some thoughts on this when I read it, which I put into a Letter to the Editor -- which did not get published.

Editor, The Lutheran magazine:

The article "R. Guy & Keith Fry... Ordination stories move church forward" (July, pages 32-33) exemplifies much more than simply "how openly gay leaders are finding their full expression as rostered ELCA pastors." While the 2009 Churchwide Assembly committed the ELCA to "finding a way" for those in committed same-sex relationships to serve as rostered leaders, that same Assembly resolved only a few moments later, "to recognize the conviction of members who believe that this church should not call or roster" such persons. As I read these enthusiastic reports of partnered gays and lesbians being received or ordained into the ELCA, I find myself wondering if we are already at the stage of needing to "find a way" to include those of us ELCA clergy who remain convinced this church has made a grave error.

Furthermore, R. Guy Erwin's ordination exemplifies even greater change in the ELCA's standards for ordination. For years some of us have argued that the ELCA needs to be more flexible about the lengthy and expensive requirements for ordination to enable congregations that cannot support full-time compensation to nonetheless be served by called pastors, only to be met with either silence or great resistance from ELCA authorities. Now we read of a college professor flying through the candidacy process in 9 months and being ordained to serve a "specialized call" that doesn't appear to be anything different from his prior vocation -- two things that have been virtually impossible. How is it that these sorts of changes in ELCA ordination practice suddenly become accomplished, without discussion or even prior announcement, when the candidates are in committed same-sex partnerships?

Yours,

The Rev. Steven P. Tibbetts, STS
Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church
Peoria, Illinois

Two years later, nothing has happened in the ELCA to make me feel any better about progress on answers to my questions. But I don't want to make this post sound like sour grapes, so for the moment at least, I'll just let my comments of two years ago stand. Because what the election of Pastor Erwin is show me just how much my thoughts of four years ago have settled in my spirit. The heart of my letter to the congregation I serve from the 2009 Churchwide Assembly remains true, except that it is not the open wound of August 2009. I quote two paragraphs in full:

By these actions, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's teaching and practice on marriage, family, and sexuality has not only departed from the faith and teaching of the Holy Scriptures and nearly 2000 years of Christian teaching, it is proclaiming what the Apostle Paul calls "another gospel."


One of the things that I was taught from a young age and have grown to experience more and more over the years is that a Lutheran pastor relates to the denomination differently than the laity and congregations. When I was ordained, the ELCA became my church. On Friday afternoon, I lost my church.

Since 2009, the church I serve has still not bothered to offer justification for what its leadership is implementing full steam ahead. As I wrote elsewhere, "but I'm discovering that I did my mourning for the ELCA as a church in 2009-10. I'm sad, but in the same way I was sad when my Grandmother, who had slipped into dementia years earlier and would not have known who I was, died. Memories for what was, and now the lingering is over."

We Have a Bishop-Elect!

The Rev. Dr. S. John Roth, pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, Jacksonville, Illinois, was elected the fourth Bishop of the Central/Southern Illinois Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America at its annual Synod Assembly this morning in Springfield, Illinois. He received 218 votes in that final ballot, with the Rev. Robert Rasmus, Senior Pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Urbana, receiving 101.

Bishop-elect Roth will succeed the Rt. Rev. Warren D. Freiheit, who had earlier announced his resignation effective June 30 to accept a call to Christ Lutheran Church, Hot Springs Village, Arkansas. Bishop Freiheit would have been entering the last year of his second six-year term as the Synod's Bishop. Bishop-elect Roth, who has served the Jacksonville parish since 1983, will take office September 1. The Rev. Gary L. Hansen, Bishop of the ELCA's North/West Lower Michigan Synod 1995-2007, will serve as Interim Bishop in July and August.

Pastor Roth has been serving on the Synod Council as the Dean of the West Central Conference since 2006, and has been Chair of the Synod's Finance Committee since 2007. Among the challenges faced by the Synod are the departure of 11 congregations since the ELCA's 2009 Churchwide Assembly (with another half-dozen reportedly in the process to consider departing) and a 20% reduction in income in the last two fiscal years. Earlier the Assembly approved several by-law changes enabling the restructuring of the Synod's program committees.

Pastor Roth is also well-regarded in the Synod as a theologian and biblical scholar, most recently having prepared biblical interpretive reflections for the Assembly's focus on 1 Peter 2:1-10 to explore its theme, "God's Work. Our Hands: God's Building Blocks." Pastor Rasmus and the Rev. Dr. Michael C. Hoy, pastor at First Lutheran Church, Decatur, Illinois, who made it to third place in the election's fourth ballot, were two of the Assembly's three presenters on its theme.

Te Deum laudamus...

To the End

Election of the Fourth Bishop of the Central/Southern Illinois Synod, ELCA: Ballot 4 Results. 362 votes cast, 60% required for election.

S. John Roth 192 or 53%
Robert Rasmus 90 or 24.9%
Michael Hoy 80 or 22.1%

So we go straight to prayer and the fifth ballot, between Pastors Roth and Rasmus.

The Process Continues

Each of the top seven was given the opportunity to complete a biographical form that included questions about the gifts they'd bring to the office of Bishop, the principle challenge in the Synod's next 6 years (12 congregations voted to leave since the 2009 CWA, and 6 more are in a discernment/voting process; furthermore, mission support from congregations to the Synod is down 20% in the last 2 years, and that trend has not yet stopped), and their leadership style. Each also got to briefly address the Assembly to say pretty much what they wanted. In the meantime, Pastor Marty was finally reached by phone and he had asked that he not be considered further.

Ballot 3: Roth 136; Rasmus 72; Hoy 64; with 91 votes spread fairly evenly between the other three.

The top three were then given time to answer 6 questions culled from questions submitted by members of the Assembly. Disappointingly, three of those questions were essentially the same as the 3 they had answered in writing. And then we voted. Results for the 4th ballot will be announced in the morning.

Off to the Assembly banquet, where we do our official "farewell" to Bishop Freiheit.

Electing a Bishop

A bit more on that first (nominating) ballot. 339 votes were cast for 49 ELCA pastors. Ten pastors received 5 or more votes; eight of us received 4. Of the 49, 22 withdrew their names.

On the second ballot, 17 pastors received 355 votes. My six votes were one fewer than the pastor who came in 7th, Peter Marty (who formerly hosted Grace Matters, the ELCA's late, lamented radio ministry. I should survive.

The top 7 are: Dr. S. John Roth, who had 93 the first ballot and 157 the second; Robert Rasmus (37, then 52); Paul Olson (27, then 41); Michael Hoy (21, 33), Jacqueline Linden-Schade (current Asst. to the Bishop, 13, 27), Phil Lund (7, 10 -- and my neighboring colleague at Bethel, Bartonville); and Peter Marty (3, 7), the only one not serving in our Synod.

We'll be hearing from them in a few minutes.

It Finally Happened!

One of the matters for our Synod Assembly that is currently in session is the election of a new Bishop; our current Bishop, Warren Freiheit, is resigning his office (a year before his current 6-year term expires) to accept a call as a parish Pastor in Arkansas.

Bishops in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America are elected by what is called "the ecclesiastical ballot." One of the things that means is there are no official nominations as such, but rather (as happens in the ELCA) each voter at the Assembly (which is all the pastors of the Synod, those on the lay rosters of the Synod, and those sent by the Synod's congregations) is given a piece of paper where he can write down the name of any ELCA pastor. In the ELCA, if any one pastor gets 75% of the votes in that first ballot, he is elected. We had 348 voters as of that ballot this afternoon, so it would take 261 votes for an election (assuming everyone casts a legal ballot).

Since we don't "campaign" ahead of time in this Synod and the Bishop is not available for re-election, the First Ballot effectively functions essentially as a nominating ballot. The second ballot includes the name of every pastor who got a vote on the first ballot (except those who officially withdraw). Again, a Pastor receiving 75% of the votes is elected. If no one gets that many votes, the third ballot lists the top 7 vote-getters, and only at that point, will we get to begin to question the "candidates." An election happens with the third ballot with two-thirds of the votes; otherwise the top 3 are on the fourth ballot, which takes 60% to elect. Otherwise, the top 2 show up on the fifth ballot, where the Pastor getting the majority is elected Bishop.

In previous Assemblies, a person or two had told me ahead of time that they planned to vote for me. But I never received any votes. This year, no one said anything to me. On the notice posted this evening, I have 4 votes.

Along with a whole bunch of other pastors (including some names I recognize from outside the Synod) who got anything from 1 to 93 (if memory serves) votes. I'll try to not let this go to my head. +;->

Stumme on the ELCA's "Bound Conscience"

The latest edition of the ELCA's on-line Journal of Lutheran Ethics begins a two month focus on the topic of "bound conscience," the expression of which emerged with the ELCA's Social Statement Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust. the first article is by the recently retired Director of the Department for Studies in the Church in Society unit of the ELCA, John R. Stumme. Here's how Pr. Stumme begins (complete with associated endnotes):

"Conscience-bound Beliefs" Rule and the "Conscience-bound-belief" Rule

John R. Stumme

[1] What is striking about the ELCA's August 2009 decisions about sexuality is that they changed policy without giving a scriptural account for the change. The policy change allows persons in publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships to be ordained, yet the change is not supported in any official church document on the basis of what "this church" (as the ELCA likes to call itself) holds to be the authoritative source and norm for its life and teaching.¹

[2] Instead, the ELCA appealed to its members to respect the "conscience-bound beliefs" of persons who have different understandings regarding same-gender sexual behavior and relationships. This appeal to respect beliefs bound by conscience, it was assumed, gave "this church" the authority to accommodate different practices on ordination and blessings. On this question, then, "conscience-bound beliefs" rule in the ELCA, replacing any claim that Scripture authorizes or does not authorize same-gender sexual behavior. If "this church" is going to be consistent with what it stated about "conscience-bound beliefs," it will also apply its new "conscience-bound-belief" rule to other issues. I hope to develop these themes in what follows.²

[3] Because the ELCA has elevated the concept of "conscience-bound beliefs" to such prominence for its life and teaching, the concept deserves careful scrutiny. The social statement Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust made it the "pivotal" concept in how the ELCA "resolved" the most controversial, exhausting and expensive issue in its history, and therefore I look carefully at what is said there.³

Without a Biblical Teaching
[4] The social statement describes four positions on same-gender behavior and relationships with the preface: "This church recognizes that, with conviction and integrity:" (each individual description beginning) "On the basis of conscience-bound belief, some are convinced that...."⁴ The four positions described may be simplified into two basic ones, each with two variations: one position does not approve same-gender sexual behavior and the other approves it within lifelong, loving, and monogamous commitments. The descriptions are brief, and no argument is presented for their biblical truth. References to, interpretation and discussion of biblical texts are absent from the descriptions.

[5] The social statement announces that "this church...will include these different understandings...." in its mission and ministry.⁵ Why are they included? The reason given is that they represent the "conscience-bound belief" of some.

[6] Does this mean that the ELCA affirms as its own biblical teaching four distinct teachings on same-gender sexual behavior and relationships? So I thought at one point, but I have changed my mind. If what is said here are descriptions — and nothing more — of what members are said to believe, as is claimed, then the ELCA is not saying that this is what "this church" teaches. None of the four positions is identified as the preferred or the true one. Nor does the social statement say that all four positions are equally valid or equally invalid for members to hold. No, the social statement is only descriptive; it does not make any judgment whatsoever about these positions it includes in its life. Most importantly, how could "this church" or any church body in its official teaching hold as true and faithful to Scripture contradictory positions on a matter of God's law? What this all means, I finally realized, is that the ELCA has no biblical teaching on same-gender sexual behavior.⁶

[7] Before August 2009 the ELCA did have a teaching on same-sex sexual behavior as expressed in social statements from the American Lutheran Church and the Lutheran Church in America.⁷ This teaching was in accord with the Christian church's universal tradition of biblical interpretation and with what most churches in the world teach today, as found, for example, in the statements from the Lutheran churches in Ethiopia and Tanzania: that same-sex sexual behavior is not in accord with the biblical witness.⁸ The ELCA declined to affirm this teaching as its own, and it did not give a scriptural argument on why it abandoned this teaching. It also declined to develop and affirm the teaching that same-gender sexual behavior in a committed relationship was, like marriage, pleasing to God. The ELCA abdicated in its authority to state its understanding of biblical truth on the issue.

[8] The absence of a teaching on same-gender sexual behavior seems to create major obstacles for anyone who in their teaching office represents the ELCA. When pastors, bishops or other teachers in the church are asked, "Does the ELCA believe and teach that same-sex sexual behavior is acceptable to God or not?," the honest answer has to be: "We don't know. We as a church don't have a teaching on the matter." It would be dishonest for a representative to claim one of the four positions as the ELCA's teaching. If the follow-up question is, "What then should I believe the Bible says?" the answer would seem to be something like: "Study the Bible, pray, understand the issue, decide what you think is the biblical witness, and respect the beliefs of others. It's an individual decision made, of course, in dialogue with others."

[9] Without a scripturally based teaching to guide members' beliefs that the ELCA claims as its own, the obligation to answer the question is foisted on each congregation, finally on each individual member. Any answer (one should probably add, within the parameters of the four positions described in the social statement, although, it seems, a "conscience-bound belief" could be outside them) is as good as any other in the ELCA since "this church" has no normative teaching by which to evaluate them. The decisive authority is the belief attested to by the individual's conscience. "Conscience-bound beliefs" are in the driver's seat. "All the people did what was right in their own eyes" (Judges 21:25). If every congregation and individual is left to decide for themselves what authoritative, biblical teaching is, it is plausible to expect further fragmentation in an already divided church body.

10] In ecumenical settings, ...
_ _ _ _ _ _
Endnotes
1. The ELCA in its constitution states that Scripture is "the authoritative source and norm of [this church's] proclamation, faith, and life" (ELCA 2.03). The 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly adopted the social statement "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust" (ELCA: 2009) and four ministry policy resolutions. For more information on these documents and a link to ELCA Ministry Policies go to the Web site "Frequently Asked Questions about the 2009 Churchwide Assembly actions regarding sexuality" (http://www.elca.org/What-We-Believe/Social-Issues/Social-Statements/JTF-Human-Sexuality/cwafaqs.aspx#policy).

2. I thank Victor Thasiah for his invitation to write on "bound conscience" for JLE. My line of thought continues the argument I made in a JLE article in 2005 that the ELCA has an obligation to be clear on its biblical teaching on marriage and sexuality before it changes its policies. "Moral discourse structured by communally accepted 'objective convictions' is the controlling factor in moral deliberation, not personal experiences or individual consciences." Here I argue that because the social statement side-steps the question of biblical truth, the ELCA's policy changes lack a trustworthy basis in the church's authoritative teachings. Cf. "The Church as a Community of Moral Deliberation — a Time of Testing," Journal of Lutheran Ethics 5:8 (August 2005).

3. My intent is to give a close reading to the actual text of the social statement in the section "Lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships," 18–21, and its endnotes, # 24–26. The social statement calls the concept of conscience "pivotal," #26.

4. "Human Sexuality," 20.

5. "Human Sexuality," 19.

6. The social statement notes that "this church is united on many critical issues" regarding same-gender relations and "that it has a pastoral responsibility to all children of God." "Human Sexuality," 19. Rev. Dr. William O. Gafkjen, now Bishop of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod, in an online response (www.iksynod.org) to Dr. Robert Benne, wrote: "The clear teaching and proclamation emerge around assertions that public accountability and lifelong faithful monogamy are to be the norm for same-gender relations." "Response to 'Lutherans in Search of a New Church'." (July 2010). The bishop has stated the policy, but he has begged the question on how the ELCA arrived at a biblically-based teaching that approves same-gender sexual behavior. In fact, it has not.

7. "Sex, Marriage, and Family," Lutheran Church in America (1970), 4. "Human Sexuality and Sexual Behavior," American Lutheran Church (1980), 8–9. Where social statements from the predecessor church bodies were in agreement, they remained the teaching of the ELCA until it adopted its own teaching.

8. See "The Dodoma Statement" of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (www.elct.org) and the Ethiopian Evangelical Church of Mekane Yesus (www.eecmy.org), including its April 2010 news release, "EECMY Reaffirms its Rejection of Same Sex Marriage."

Read it all here.

Sort of reminds me of something I wrote here in July 2009:

Nevertheless, I had hopes that, since every possible theological resource would be available to the ELCA Task Force, if anyone could offer such a sustainable argument, they would. I participated in all the studies. I read through all the official materials. I participated in many discussions.

And in the end, they offered no argument at all. They have given us assertions that cover the "sides" in the debate over the place of homosexuality in the Church, but there is no argument made for changing the Church's teaching on homosexuality anywhere to be found in the Report and Recommendations or the proposed Sexuality Statement.

In the end of nearly 8 years of work, given the chance to show that the Church's teaching has been wrong, having the best and brightest minds of the ELCA at their disposal, they did not even try.

One might understand why the complaints of a pastor of a tiny parish in Peoria would be ignored. But ignoring the concerns of one of the ELCA's own staff theologians?

Ah, the hopes we had in the 1980s for the New Lutheran Church. Then there's the legacy our leaders have, uh -- "built" isn't quite the right word, is it?

Pr. Jonathan Jenkins' Open Letter

ELCA Pastor Jonathan Jenkins has written the following in response to ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson's latest pastoral letter, which was posted (among other places) on ALPB Forum Online.

August 28, 2010
An Open Letter to Colleagues in the ELCA:

I did not read Bp. Hanson’s pastoral letter until after my return from the Conference and the subsequent Convention of Lutheran CORE. The bishop’s letter was timed for the opening day of the conference, August 24, and expressed his opposition to the formation of the Lutheran denomination, the North American Lutheran Church (NALC). “As yet another Lutheran church body forms, we must ask how this separation in the body of Christ will serve the ministry and message of reconciliation entrusted to us by God.”

This is a good question, and I would like to offer an answer. I am a pastor of the ELCA, and I attended both the conference and the convention (which were distinguished by being held in separate locations.) I wish to respond to the bishop by reporting something of what I saw and heard in Ohio.

CIVILITY AND CHRISTIAN PATIENCE
To begin with, Bishop Hanson’s letter reminds us, “We live in a world that is plagued by incivility, willful misunderstanding and hurtful caricatures of those with whom one disagrees. Let us declare that such behaviors will stop with us.” I am happy to report that a serious effort was made to do so, in Columbus.

THE ISSUE IS NOT SEX; IT’S THE WORD OF GOD.
Here is the issue: the ELCA is teaching its members to disobey the Word of God. Bishop Hanson does not seem to realize that the issue is not sexuality: “Throughout the ELCA I hear people asking, ‘Is my voice heard? Will my voice be respected as we seek together to discern God's purpose for us?’ The answer is yes. Nevertheless, people of deep faith and a desire to be part of this church wonder: Do we mean it when we say we can preach, teach and hold divergent views on sexuality and be full participants in the ELCA's life and witness? Again, the answer is yes.”

With respect, the issue is not “my” voice: it is the voice of the Lord.

The idea that the ELCA is permitted by the Lord to preach, teach, and hold two contrary views of sexual fidelity is an opinion ungrounded in Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions. There is no clear word of support for this innovation from the very norms to which we are obliged to submit ourselves and our teaching, according to the ELCA Constitution.

Another pastor’s statement in similar circumstances measures the gravity of the decision of CWA2009: “Taken in its context, it falsifies the gospel of Christ, abandons the authority of Scripture, jeopardizes the salvation of fellow human beings, and betrays the church in its God-appointed role as the bastion and bulwark of divine truth.”

But most ELCA pastors are tired of hearing about it. They believe that “love” and “freedom” and “conscience” are norms with greater authority than words of Scripture (Genesis 1 & 2, the Ten Commandments, Mark 10:2-16, Romans 1:22-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, etc.). These words do not need to be considered, some believe, because they just don’t speak the Word of God any more. I do not doubt the sincerity of those who say such things, but I question their understanding of Lutheranism.

Perhaps “separation in the body of Christ” might “serve the ministry and message of reconciliation entrusted to us by God.” Because we do not speak the same message as it is conveyed to people today by the Spirit who speaks the Word of God in Scripture.

IT’S THE NAME OF THE FATHER.
There are and will be other issues, too, as the ELCA trusts in experience to interpret the Bible, rather than the other way around.

The new hymnal is an obstacle to reconciliation. We are baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit. The saving power of this name is emphasized everywhere in the New Testament. For example, in John 17:11, the prayer of the Son, in the Spirit is: “Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me.” However, the name of the Father is routinely avoided in the new hymnal, Evangelical Lutheran Worship. The language of ELW is not modelled upon or disciplined by biblical ways of speaking to and for God.

IT’S EVANGELISM
Another issue is the goal of the ministry of reconciliation in a global context. Conversion is no longer the aim of global mission, accompaniment is. The ELCA Global Mission unit defines accompaniment as “walking together in solidarity that practices interdependence and mutuality” with non-Christian peoples. Traditionally, the overriding goal of the missionary was to proclaim the Gospel so that the hearers may become Christians, but that is not the stated purpose of the ELCA.

IT’S THE JUDGMENT OF GOD.
How can any of us be unmoved by Bishop Hanson’s passionate appeal to 2 Corinthians 5:14-21? “We celebrate the reconciliation from God that breaks down every dividing wall of hostility and unites humankind in the bonds of Christ. We delight in the promise of the new creation that God is bringing to life in Christ. We joyfully embrace the world and all its inhabitants in love and service. What a cause for rejoicing!” Amen!

But do we overlook verses 10 and 11? “For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others…” Isn’t Christ, finally, to quote the bishop, in “the sin-accounting business”? He will come again “to judge the living and the dead.”

What has happened to the preaching of the Law as an essential aspect of preaching the Gospel? For example, sexual sins (including heterosexual sins) are violations of the 1st, 4th, 6th, and 10th commandments. Is it in the interest of sinners to suggest that these are not sins that God will punish? Isn’t Christ locked out of the church, if absolution in his name is insulting to certain sinners?

God’s way of reconciling us to himself involves the preaching of the Law and the Gospel. However, Dr. H. Richard Niebuhr’s ironical analysis of preaching in the 1930’s comes too close for comfort: “A God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.”

A BETTER WAY?
“Standing together, we are known as a church that rolls up its sleeves and solves problems, the church that is catalyst, convener and bridge builder,” writes Bp. Hanson. We are having a hard time living up to such a flattering self-image. It’s clear that ELCA seminaries, assemblies, missions, educational materials, and ordinations will follow the new policies. We do not, institutionally, have space in the ELCA for two different interpretations of Scripture. If traditional Lutheranism is to have a future, it is necessary to organize new seminaries, assemblies, missions, and publishers, as well as control of ordinations.

What if Bp. Hanson could say something like the following on behalf of the ELCA? “We have to admit, we are going out on a limb. We recognize that we’ve made decisions that are contrary to the way the church has historically interpreted Scripture, and we have departed from practices of the universal church. We believe, but cannot prove, that these changes are necessary for the sake of faithfulness to Christ. We ask you to have patience with us and to remain in full communion with us; but we will respect your decision to part company and will not impede it. We will do everything we possible to work with you as an ecumenical partner.”

A statement along those lines would be the best response to the bishop’s question: “As yet another Lutheran church body forms, we must ask how this separation in the body of Christ will serve the ministry and message of reconciliation entrusted to us by God.” An honorable separation would keep the wounds, deep as they are, from getting still deeper and further infected with bitterness of spirit. In this fallen and divided world, an amicable separation would be a not insignificant witness to reconciliation in Christ.

Pastor Jonathan Jenkins
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church,
Lebanon PA

Thank you, Pastor Jenkins.

Bishop Hanson's Pastoral Letter

ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson issued a pastoral letter last Tuesday. It appeared in my inbox Tuesday afternoon, but because the wifi at my hotel in Columbus was down all week, I didn't see my copy until Friday.

Columbus? I was there for three events related to Lutheran CORE, the constituting convocation of the Seven Marks Society on Monday and Tuesday; "Seeking Directions for Lutheranism: Biblical, Theological, and Churchly Perspectives," a theological conference for all Lutherans in North America organized by Carl Braaten that went Tuesday through Thursday; and Lutheran CORE's convocation on Thursday and Friday, which included the formation of the new North American Lutheran Church. It was for me an exhilarating and exhausting week of joys and sadness, which I'll reflect upon elsewhere.

But by midday Tuesday, word was out about Bishop Hanson's letter and there were several copies circulating. Here it is:

For Everything There Is a Season

A pastoral letter from Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.
              - Ecclesiastes 3:1

August 24, 2010

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

On a recent morning walk I reflected upon familiar words from Ecclesiastes, "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven" (Ecclesiastes 3:1, NRSV). As I walked, I prayed and pondered about this time in the life of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). It is my prayer that we use this time for discerning and engaging; for repenting and reconciling; for restraint but not timidity; and for rejoicing.

A Time for Discerning and Engaging
Throughout the ELCA I hear people asking, "Is my voice heard? Will my voice be respected as we seek together to discern God's purpose for us?" The answer is yes. Nevertheless, people of deep faith and a desire to be part of this church wonder: Do we mean it when we say we can preach, teach and hold divergent views on sexuality and be full participants in the ELCA's life and witness? Again, the answer is yes.

My confident "yes" is predicated upon our shared commitment to be engaged together in discernment. This discernment is hard work. It must be grounded in the witness of the Scriptures and the Confessions, and it needs the voices of all the baptized. It calls for the Holy Spirit's guidance and our prayerful, disciplined and respectful listening to one another.

Even more, the source for my confident "yes" is God's gracious "yes" to us, spoken through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. The "yes" of Jesus empowers us to be passionately engaged. It frees us to ask questions, have difficult conversations and uncover differences and tensions. It calls each of us to be everyday evangelists, discerning together what the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ means for the world and for our common life.

Let our shared commitment be that our discerning together always will serve our proclamation of Jesus Christ in word and deed and our engagement in God's mission for the life of the world.

A Time for Repenting and Reconciling
The most powerful moment in the recent assembly of The Lutheran World Federation occurred when Lutherans asked for forgiveness from God and from Mennonites for the violence done to Anabaptist Christians in Reformation times and through the continuing legacies in Lutheran teachings. This public act of repentance, with many delegates on their knees, was a powerful witness to the healing of wounds in Christ's body, the church.

With tears in our eyes, we heard promises of God's mercy in Christ and words of forgiveness from Mennonite sisters and brothers as we received and shared God's gift of forgiveness and healing.

This experience of reconciliation is underscored for me in the fifth chapter of 2 Corinthians: the powerful announcement that if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation. This new creation rises from Jesus, who died rather than be in the sin-accounting business.

The implication for us of the gospel's transforming power is that we become ambassadors for Christ. God has entrusted to each of us the message and ministry of reconciliation.

As yet another Lutheran church body forms, we must ask how this separation in the body of Christ will serve the ministry and message of reconciliation entrusted to us by God.

The ELCA has and will continue reaching out to others for the sake of the gospel and serving our neighbor. Standing together, we are known as a church that rolls up its sleeves and solves problems, the church that is catalyst, convener and bridge builder. Our strong ecumenical relationships and global partnerships testify to that commitment. Yet before the ELCA can undertake any such efforts with a new Lutheran church body, I believe we must commit to obey the commandment against bearing false witness and commit to live its meaning in every setting, both private and public: "We are to fear and love God, so that we do not tell lies about our neighbors, betray or slander them, or destroy their reputations. Instead we are to come to their defense, speak well of them, and interpret everything they do in the best possible light" (The Small Catechism, Evangelical Lutheran Worship, p. 1161).

A Time for Restraint but not Timidity
We live in a world that is plagued by incivility, willful misunderstanding and hurtful caricatures of those with whom one disagrees. Let us declare that such behaviors will stop with us. There is room in this church for lively conversations and disagreements about questions of faith and life. There is room in this church for vigorous dialogue that witnesses to faith without rushing to judgment and closing off discussion.

Let us be restrained in our judgments and speak charitably with and about one another. Let us not be timid as we boldly proclaim Jesus Christ and participate in God's healing of the world. Let us generously, faithfully and courageously respond to the groaning of the creation and the cries of humanity.

A Time for Rejoicing
Even in the midst of great challenges in the economy and in the church, we can rejoice because the ministry in which we are engaged is a ministry of God's mercy and reconciliation in Christ. Our ministry is not about us, our shortcomings or our problems, for we proclaim Jesus Christ. We rejoice in the forgiveness that God offers at the font and the table, in public proclamation and personal assurance. We celebrate the reconciliation from God that breaks down every dividing wall of hostility and unites humankind in the bonds of Christ. We delight in the promise of the new creation that God is bringing to life in Christ. We joyfully embrace the world and all its inhabitants in love and service. What a cause for rejoicing!

By your word, eternal God, your creation sprang forth, and we were given the breath of life. By your word, eternal God, death is overcome, Christ is raised from the tomb, and we are given new life in the power of your Spirit. May we boldly proclaim this good news in our words and our deeds, rejoicing always in your powerful presence; through Jesus Christ, our risen Lord. Amen. (Evangelical Lutheran Worship, p. 75)

In God's grace,

The Rev. Mark S. Hanson
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

_{Copyright © 2010 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
All rights reserved. This copyright notice must appear on all copies and reproductions.
Copies may be produced for distribution within the ELCA by affiliated ELCA organizations.}

For the moment, let's just say that, for those of us in Columbus, Bishop Hanson's letter might have been better received if there had been any indications during the last 12 months that this expression of respect and desire for reconciliation were more than lip service. More follows...