Fifteen Years, Today

O Lord God, dear Father in heaven, I am indeed unworthy of the office and ministry in which I am to make known thy glory and to nurture and to serve this congregation.

But since thou hast appointed me to be a pastor and teacher, and the people are in need of the teaching and the instruction, O be thou my helper and let thy holy angels attend me.

Then if thou art pleased to accomplish anything through me, to thy glory and not to mine or to the praise of men, grant me, out of thy pure grace and mercy, a right understanding of thy Word and that I may also diligently perform it.

O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, thou shepherd and bishop of our souls, send thy Holy Spirit that he may work with me, yea, that he may work in me to will and to do through thy divine strength according to thy good pleasure. Amen!

That is Luther's Sacristy Prayer, and I pray it every Sunday as I vest for the Divine Service. I'll sometimes think then that it would be good to post it here and it is particularly fitting to do so today (thank you, Pastor Weedon, for the idea), for it was 15 years ago today that the Rev. J. Roger Anderson, Bishop of the Southern California (West) Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America addressed me as we stood in the Chancel of the Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, Canoga Park, California, about 15 feet from where I had been baptized 33 years (less one week) earlier:

According to apostolic usage you are now to be set apart to the office of Word and Sacrament in the one holy catholic Church by the laying on of hands and by prayer.

Bishop Anderson was joined in the addresses that followed by the pastor loci and my pastor, the Rev. C. David Olsen (of blessed memory, who preached that afternoon), the Rev. Brian Eklund (pastor then and now at St. Mark's Lutheran Church, Los Angeles, who had supervised my seminary "Cross Cultural Experience"), and the Rev. Jeffrey Frohner (a friend and seminary classmate who had just begun serving his first call at Trinity Lutheran Church, Santa Barbara). With them standing around me, the Bishop then examined me:

Before almighty God, to whom you must give account, and in the presence of this congregation, I ask: Will you assume this office, believing that the Church's call is God's call to the ministry of Word and Sacrament?

I will, and I ask God to help me.

The Church in which you are to be ordained confeses that the Holy Scriptures are the Word of God and are the norm of its faith and life. We accept, teach, and confess the Apostles', the Nicene, and the Athanasian Creeds. We also acknowledge the Lutheran Confessions as true witnesses and faithful expositions of the Holy Scriptures. Will you therefore preach and teach in accordance with the Holy Scriptures and these creeds and confessions?

I will, and I ask God to help me.

Will you be diligent in your study of the Holy Scriptures and in your use of the means of grace? Will you pray for God's people, nourish them with the Word and Holy Sacraments, and lead them by your own example in faithful service and holy living?

I will, and I ask God to help me.

Will you give faithful witness in the world, that God's love may be know by all that you do?

I will, and I ask God to help me.

Almighty God, who has given you the will to do these things, graciously give you the strength and compassion to perform them.

After the Prayer of the Church and Come, Holy Ghost, they (though Brian and Jeff aren't really visible from this angle) were joined in the laying on of hands by the Rev. John Stump (Pastor Olsen's predecessor and my pastor at Resurrection during most of my college years) and the 2 nearest neighboring ELCA pastors, the Rev. John Lundeen (then of St. Luke Lutheran Church, Woodland Hills, and one of the Augustana Synod's Lundeen clan) and the Rev. Bryan Woken (then and now at Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church, Canoga Park (West Hills). And thus they committed the Office of the Holy Ministry to me. Every time I attend an ordination, or simply take a few moments during devotions to review those promises -- many of us who have been in the Society of the Holy Trinity for a longer time have a card with them imprinted on the obverse of a holy card of Rublev's icon of the Old Testament Trinity -- I am struck once again by what I have been called to. How awesome! And how inadequate I am to bear that office.

Being reminded of that is a good thing. There is another similar Sacristy Prayer of Luther's that I don't use, but it always makes me smile, then ponder:

Lord God, thou hast appointed me a bishop and pastor in thy church. Thou seest how unfit I am to undertake this great and difficult office, and were it not for thy help, I would long since have ruined it all. Therefore I cry unto thee; I will assuredly apply my mouth and my heart to thy service. I desire to teach the people and I myself would learn ever more and diligently meditate thy Word. Use thou me as thine instrument, only do not forsake me, for if I am left alone I shall easily bring it all to destruction. Amen.

What an exciting day it was 15 years ago. And despite all I've done since, somehow it's not yet been destroyed. What a gracious Lord God we have!

Pastor Zip Gets Quoted: Part 2

Continued from previous entry.

This morning's paper reminded me of how difficult it is to get an idea across via the press. Mind you, it's not because reporters do a bad job, or misquote, or don't understand the issues. Most reporters do a good job, are accurate with quotes, and if they don't understand the issues they want things explained to them so that they will.

When I'm asked questions, by parishioners or (in this case) the press, about something that has happened, I try to first explain things as objectively as possible before giving my perspective. Hopefully that has shown up in this blog now and again. It is one way I try to apply Dr. Martin Luther's explanation of the 8th Commandment in his Small Catechism [note to self: update links on Pastor Zip's Christian Web Links]:

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

What does this mean?

We should fear and love God, so that we do not lie about, betray or slander our neighbor, but excuse him, speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything.

I tried to do that when interviewed earlier this week, and this is how it came out in the paper:

"I think at least symbolically that really is a big victory for including active gays in the ministerium," said the Rev. Steven Tibbetts, pastor of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Peoria who also served as a volunteer at the assembly.

What struck Tibbetts, though, was how much of an effort was made by people on both sides of the issue to get along and remain united as a church.

Read the entire column here.

I do admire how Michael Miller was able describe a 15 minute interview in 2 sentences. And as far as I am concerned, he did his reporting and editing job well. But he only had so much space and, when I read it this morning, it seemed like a reader could reasonably think that I was pleased with the "victory" I described. In my own small way I felt like Senator Obama, or President Bush, or someone like that reading what they said in the paper or seeing the soundbite on TV and thinking, "But that's not what I meant!"

Michael Miller and I have talked about church matters over the years, he reads this blog, and we covered quite a bit of ground on the phone the other afternoon. I don't think for a minute that he thinks I'm pleased with the outcome of the "refrain from discipline" vote or that he intended to suggest that. Well, what are ya gonna do?

How about post a sign next to the phone saying something like, "Give juicy quote, but watch it!" ;->

The vote was a symbolic victory for the proponents of the gay agenda in the church. It was a real defeat for the orthodox believers in the ELCA. And a clear signal that we cannot just sit back and let someone else take care of things. It was one skirmish and we did poorly. All is far from lost, however.

On Friday, September 28, Lutheran CORE is holding a gathering, 'This Church' and God's Church, at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Lindenhurst, Illinois, on the north side of metro Chicago. From 10 am to 4 pm CORE will review what happened at this Churchwide Assembly and plan for the next two years' Synod and Churchwide Assemblies. Dr. James A. Nestingen, Dr. Robert Benne, and retired Bishop Paull Spring will speak. And ELCA Lutherans, clergy and lay, from across the land will be there because they want to have the ELCA we were promised 20-25 years ago, not the one we're getting.

I'll be there. And if you send $10 payable to "WordAlone Network" to Lutheran CORE, c/o WordAlone Network, 2299 Palmer Drive, Suite 220, New Brighton, MN 55112 (which is to cover lunch), you can meet me there. For more details, contact my friend and colleague, Pr. Steve Shipman.

Pastor Zip Gets Quoted: Part 1

I've been quoted twice over the last month in articles by Peoria Journal Star Religion Editor Michael Miller in the Saturday "Faith & Values" section. In July (while I was on holiday in Los Angeles) I had responded via e-mail to questions he'd asked in the light of the recent statement on the Doctrine of the Church, and he used some of that to conclude his Religion Beat column, Vatican words rile some Protestants.

The Vatican’s recent statement on the primacy of the Roman Catholic Church has riled some non-Catholic Christians in the ecumenical movement, but Catholic leaders and some Protestants are saying it’s nothing to be concerned about and certainly nothing new.

For me the statement had come shortly after I'd attended a conference Freedom and Authority in the Christian Life sponsored by the Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology. Among the speakers there was Dr. Margaret O'Gara, who has been an official Catholic representative in the Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogues in both the U. S. and internationally, and I had been struck by the tone of her address where it seemed she was minimizing particular differences between Lutherans and Catholics (related to her conference topic) so much that it sounded like the Catholic Church had become Lutheran—sort of along the lines of American missionaries of a few generations ago "going native" after spending so much time in a non-Christian culture. So that, along with the understanding that the Vatican's "Responses" statement was targeting that sort of ecumenism, was behind my reply to Miller and what he included of my response in the paper:

However, Kieschnick said that the LCMS looks "forward to the continuation of our theological dialogues with Roman Catholic leaders in discussion of this very important matter and to strengthening our common witness on such matters as the sanctity of life."

That "sanctity of life" movement is one of several where Catholics and other Christians participate on a grass-roots level. Another area of cooperation is the Cursillo renewal movement, which in the Diocese of Peoria has historically been marked by Protestant involvement. Such interaction will probably continue without a noticeable hitch.

That’s the feeling of the Rev. Steven Tibbetts, pastor of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in South Peoria. Tibbetts has been involved in ecumenical efforts since the early 1980s. He’s also a "non-Roman" spiritual advisor on Cursillo weekends and takes part in the conferences of the Center for Catholic and Ecumenical (sic) Theology.

"It is almost as if the pope is trying to get Catholic ecumenists to give a more consistent message to the various communions and groups with whom they have dialogues," said Tibbetts, whose church is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

The statement’s impact will be minor, Tibbetts said, "because ecumenical relations aren’t really going anywhere beyond the committees having the discussions—at least formally."

"I think that, in this statement, the Vatican is challenging ‘Protestant’ ecumenists, and the churches themselves, to seriously deal with a doctrine of the church, of which the ministry-priesthood and apostolic succession are an indispensable part."

If you haven't already, read it all here.

And, yes, the Lutheran Reformers saw the Holy Ministry (the Confessions speak repeatedly and approvingly of "priests" and the "priesthood," except where the office has been abused) and Apostolic Succession as indispensible to the Church. They hadn't defined them precisely as the Council of Trent would a few years later, but they didn't just throw them out the door like the more Radical Reformers did. As we confess in Article V of the Augsburg Confession:

That we may obtain this faith, the Ministry of Teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments was instituted. For through the Word and Sacraments, as through instruments, the Holy Ghost is given, who works faith; where and when it pleases God, in them that hear the Gospel, to wit, that God, not for our own merits, but for Christ's sake, justifies those who believe that they are received into grace for Christ's sake.

They condemn the Anabaptists and others who think that the Holy Ghost comes to men without the external Word, through their own preparations and works.

Lutherans need to remember who we are, so that we can remind Romans Catholics of who they are, so that we can together re-discover the Catholic Faith and be fully "Church" once again.

Continued on next post.

Lutheran CORE's Chair Reflects on CWA

The Rev. Paull Spring is retired Bishop of the Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod, ELCA, and Chair of Lutheran CORE, a coalition of pastors, lay people, congregations and reforming groups seeking to preserve within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) the authority of the Word of God according to the Lutheran confessions. Our intention is to remain within our church and to work with congregations, individuals, and other reform-minded groups for the reform of our church.

Some reflections on Chicago 2007
by Paull Spring, Lutheran CORE chair

Now that I'm back home from the Chicago churchwide assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, I've had some time to reflect a bit on what occurred during those six steamy days.

I attended a non-assembly service that was sponsored by the Lutherans Concerned/North America and Goodsoil folks, two groups calling for approval of homosexual behavior. To call it a service would be a disservice. It was really more of a rally in celebration of a lifestyle that runs counter to the Biblical paradigm for marriage and the family. The texts for the creed and the Lord's Prayer were not the ones in our hymnals. References to God were thoroughly gender neutral. It was not an inclusive service at all, but a quite exclusive occasion to celebrate who "we" are as over against who "they" are.

The passage of the resolution on "restraint in discipline" was surely the biggest disappointment. I do think, however, that we need to be clear among ourselves about what the resolution does and does not do. The resolution does not change Vision and Expectations and Definitions and Guidelines. Persons who are practicing gays and lesbians still are precluded from ordination. What the resolution permits is that, under certain circumstances, a synodical bishop may choose not to discipline a pastor who is in an active homosexual relationship. My hunch is that only a few bishops will avail themselves of this permission. I also suspect that only a few pastors in gay relationships will avail themselves of this possibility. Time will tell, but, bad as the resolution is, it does not open the gates to the ordinations of active gay and lesbian persons.

It is my hope that all of us will stay within the ELCA and work hard toward bringing about an orthodox, confessional statement on human sexuality at the 2009 churchwide assembly.

The next two years will be difficult and turbulent times for our church. We need to put all of our energy into plans for the 2009 churchwide assembly. To that end, I hope we are all planning to attend the Sept. 28 Lutheran CORE gathering at St. Mark Lutheran Church, Lindenhurst, Ill., 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. You can download a registration sheet at: http://www.commonconfession.net/PDFs/COREgathering.pdf.

++Mark Hanson on the Assembly

From ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson:

August 15, 2007

Dear colleagues in ministry:

I greet you in the name of our crucified and risen Christ. Amen.

The 2007 ELCA Churchwide Assembly ended last Saturday afternoon. Some of you were voting members. Others were present as congregational observers, volunteers, or visitors. Many followed the assembly via the Internet. Most of you have heard a variety of reports through the media. Thank you for your interest, involvement, and sustaining prayers.

As I approach the beginning of a second term, it is in a spirit of humility and gratitude for the honor of serving as your presiding bishop. But it is also with the deep conviction that we are called to share leadership for this church as we are sent into the world in the power of the Holy Spirit and with the promise of the Gospel.

As ELCA leaders we share responsibility for understanding and interpreting the actions of the assembly. Both the assembly's work and how we describe and discuss it become part of our witness to the world. What do we want our testimony to be?

I want it to be that the living Word of God was at the heart of the tenth ELCA Churchwide Assembly. The assembly's life and work each day was centered in worship around the means of grace. We engaged Scripture through Bible study, prayer, and moments of "dwelling in the word" -- personal stories about what the Word of God means to individual members. Paul's invitation in Colossians to "let the word of Christ dwell in you richly" became a refrain woven throughout the week.

In fact, one of the assembly's most significant decisions was to call the entire ELCA to a five-year initiative, "Book of Faith: Lutherans Read the Bible." As a church body, we are committed to becoming fluent in the first language of our faith -- the language of Scripture. We know the power of God's Word not only to convict and free, but also to reform the church and transform the world. Let us now build upon the strong foundation of engagement with Scripture that undergirds this church. We are delighted that Professor Diane Jacobson will coordinate the project as she continues teaching half-time at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minn.

The "Brief Summary of Assembly Actions" (see link below) provides an overview of the primary actions of the assembly, which included the election of a new secretary for this church, Mr. David Swartling of Seattle, Wash.; adoption of the ELCA's tenth social statement, this one on education; a call for a strategy on HIV and AIDS; reaffirmation of the "Peace Not Walls" campaign; and commitment to the funding of this church's mission and ministry as outlined by the Blue Ribbon Committee on Mission Funding.

We were energized and encouraged by the presence of 100 young rostered leaders and nearly that many young people. We heard the witness of partners from around the world. We pondered and deliberated, we prayed and sang, we listened and laughed, we worshiped and heard God's Word. There are vital stories of faith and commitment, many of them overlooked by media reports, woven into each of the assembly's decisions. They deserve to be told throughout this church.

It is important that we accurately describe the assembly's various decisions regarding our current studies on sexuality and standards for rostered ministries. It is significant that the tone of our discussions was thoughtful and respectful, reflecting the commitment made by the 2005 Churchwide Assembly that we "concentrate on finding ways to live together faithfully in the midst of disagreements ..." The following summary may inform your discussions:

* The ELCA Churchwide Assembly rejected resolutions that would have changed ELCA policy and practice to permit persons in same-gender relationships to serve as rostered leaders.
* The assembly affirmed the study process that will lead to the development of a social statement on human sexuality, voted to share with the study's task force the synod memorials on this matter, and directed the task force to address current policies precluding "practicing homosexual persons" from serving as pastors or rostered leaders as part of the recommendations it will bring to the 2009 Churchwide Assembly.
* While voting on several occasions not to change the ELCA's constitution, bylaws, or policies, the assembly did take action to pray, urge, and encourage the leadership of the ELCA to "refrain from or demonstrate restraint in disciplining" pastors and other rostered leaders who are "in a mutual, chaste, and faithful committed same-gender relationship" and are currently serving in this church, as well as congregations that call such otherwise qualified candidates.

Let me underscore that this third action is not a change in the official documents or policies of the ELCA. Attempts to make such changes were rejected by the assembly.

However, the assembly offered the advice and counsel described above to bishops and others in positions of authority as they make pastoral decisions on matters relating to discipline as issues of human sexuality are being studied throughout the church prior to action by the 2009 Churchwide Assembly. The third action does not bind bishops to follow this requested course; rather, it expresses the sense of the assembly to encourage restraint in discipline during this time of deliberation.

As we prepare for a social statement on human sexuality in 2009, it is essential that leaders of this church invite ELCA members to participate in the current phase of the ELCA Studies on Sexuality. The development of social statements is participatory in nature. Responses to the third study are welcome until November 1, 2007. Watch for the first draft of the social statement in March 2008. Please encourage thoughtful response to it. You will find more information at www.elca.org/faithfuljourney.

On an afternoon in the middle of the assembly, voting members participated in a "committee of the whole" discussion. I want to share with you the compelling image of that discussion from Bishop Peter Rogness of the Saint Paul Area Synod. He described the long lines of people at every microphone and then wrote, "Since [assembly] rules indicate we alternate speaking pro- and con-, a set of two microphones stands at each station -- one green, one red. I looked at the microphones closest to me and saw Saint Paul Area Synod voting members standing in both lines. I was proud of that. We've been together enough to enjoy and respect each other, and we went to different lines. And then we worshiped together, ate together, did other work together. This synod -- and this church -- is not simply a red line synod or a green line synod. We are church together. We can commit ourselves to living together, faithfully."

You will soon receive in the mail the "Brief Summary of Actions" from the assembly. The ELCA Web site provides information and photos from the assembly at www.elca.org/assembly . In addition, the links that follow will provide more information about the Churchwide Assembly, which you are invited to use as resources for your leadership in this sent church:

Brief summary of actions: www.elca.org/assembly/summary
MSH sermon: www.elca.org/assembly/worship/
MSH verbal report: www.elca.org/assembly/video/070808.html#bishop

I close with deep appreciation for you, for your ministry, and for our partnership in the mission we share. Yes, we are "marked with the cross of Christ forever, claimed, gathered, and sent for the sake of the world." Thanks be to God!

Mark S. Hanson
Presiding Bishop

Dr. Kieschnick's Statement on the CWA Actions

As in the previous two Churchwide Assemblies, The Rev. Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick, President of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, brought greetings to the ELCA Churchwide Assembly. This cannot be an easy task, especially since the 2001 LCMS Convention questioned whether the ELCA can genuinely be described as Lutheran, but his greetings have been honest about our differences while spoken graciously. At the close of his 2005 greeting, tears were welling in my eyes (really, that almost never happens) and close to half of that Assembly stood in their applause afterwards.

Dr. Kieshnick was briefer this year and was graciously received, though I didn't notice much standing. What I did note was that he concluded "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit"—notable because the new ELCA liturgies used at the CWA rarely speak this Name of God, preferring "Triune God." As you read (if you looked at the ELCA News release), the continued discussion on gay pastors is one of the matters that divide the two largest Lutheran Churches in the US. Now Dr. Kieschnick has written his church about the Assembly's action. Here's his entire statement:

TO:        The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
FROM:     Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick, President
SUBJECT: Statement regarding 2007 ELCA Churchwide
                Assembly Action
DATE:      August 13, 2007

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

Greetings in the Name of Jesus Christ, Savior of the world and Lord of the universe, through whom alone we receive forgiveness of sin, life, and salvation!

On the final day of its 2007 Churchwide Assembly in Chicago (Saturday, August 11), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) adopted a resolution which "prays, urges, and encourages [ELCA geographical] synods, synodical bishops, and the presiding bishop to refrain from or demonstrate restraint in disciplining those rostered leaders in a mutual, chaste, and faithful committed same-gender relationship who have been called and rostered in this church."

News of this action troubles me greatly and is causing serious concern and consternation among the members and leaders of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). We in the LCMS hold firmly to the conviction that, according to the Holy Bible, homosexual behavior is "intrinsically sinful." We are deeply disappointed that the ELCA, by its decision, has failed to act in keeping with the historic and universal understanding of the Christian church regarding what Holy Scripture teaches about homosexual behavior as contrary to God's will and about the biblical qualifications for holding the pastoral office.

The LCMS firmly believes that the sin of homosexual behavior, like every sin that fallen human beings commit, has been paid for in full by the life, suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The LCMS also believes that we must continue to reach out in love to all people on the basis of what God's Word alone teaches about human sinfulness, God's grace in Christ, and the new life empowered by God's Holy Spirit.

It should be noted that the ELCA voted not to amend at this time its governing documents regarding the expectations of its ordained workers in this area (this matter was referred to its task force on sexuality). However, its decision "to refrain from or demonstrate restraint in disciplining" ELCA workers in “a mutual, chaste, and faithful committed same-gender relationship” raises troubling questions about whether the expectations set forth in its governing documents will be taken seriously by the ELCA or by the task force. The potential implications of decisions such as this for future LCMS-ELCA relations have been discussed in previous meetings involving leaders of the LCMS and the ELCA. In addition, I stated in my official greetings to the 2007 ELCA Assembly on Friday, August 10, "For the sake of our mutual witness and service together, the implications of such action, should it be taken, would need to be addressed, fraternally and evangelically."

As the LCMS noted in a resolution adopted at its 2001 Convention (Resolution 3-21A), "we of the LCMS recognize that many of our brothers and sisters of the ELCA remain faithful to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and we resolve to reach out to them in love and support." As President of the LCMS, it is my ongoing hope and fervent prayer—as stated in my remarks to the 2003 ELCA Assembly—that the ELCA's continuing "study and deliberation of this matter will be made in the light of the biblical understanding of human sexuality and the qualifications for the pastoral office." I also pray that God the Holy Spirit will lead and guide all Christians and Christian denominations everywhere to seek wisdom and truth from God's inspired, inerrant, infallible Word on this and other critical issues in our contemporary church and culture.

Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick, President
The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod

"Transforming lives through Christ's love ... in time ... for eternity ..." John 3:16-17

Thank you, Dr. Kieschnick.

Presiding Bishop Hanson, Secretary Almen, and other ELCA leaders made particular note throughout the CWA of those ways our two churches are able to work together. But I am baffled as to how it is that we in the ELCA seem so willing to throw that away for a dubious theological stance.

My Bishop Reflects on the Assembly

Bishop Warren D. Freiheit of the Central/Southern Illinois Synod, ELCA, sent the following to the Synod's congregations today:

EARLY REFLECTIONS ON THE CHURCHWIDE ASSEMBLY
As has often been the case in the past, my mind tends to spin as I try to recall all that took place at the Churchwide Assembly in those days immediately following. Many reports on the activities of this church are given and many actions are taken to maintain the faithful mission of this church. In addition to catching up on what has accumulated in my office, there is the need to review my notes and pages of actions taken by the Assembly.

In the midst of it all, I am concerned when I see how the Assembly is portrayed or interpreted by the media. A fellow bishop noted that in his synod, he became aware of two articles describing the action of the Assembly with headlines that read:
  -  "Lutherans to Allow Pastors in Gay Relationships"
  -  "Lutherans Don’t Change on Gays"

I became privy to the slant that a number of web sites have given to the action of the Assembly, and the various sites are not exactly sharing the same information. As in the past, there seems to be an inordinate amount of press given to issues pertaining to human sexuality, and little attention is given to the other actions taken by the Assembly. Let me give you a little sampling.

  *  Our Presiding Bishop, The Rev. Mark Hanson was reelected on the second ballot with an 86% margin.
  *  Mr. David Swartling of Seattle, Washington was elected as the new secretary.
  *  The initiative, “Lutherans Read the Bible,” was affirmed.
  *  A social statement on education was adopted.
  *  The ELCA recommitted itself to the battle against HIV and AIDS.
  *  Concern for efforts in the Middle East were again emphasized.
  *  A report of Lutheran Disaster Response was given, commending the ELCA for contributions of over $27 million over the past two years in response to natural disasters.
  *  An optimistic report was given on the progress of the fight against world hunger by the Lutheran Hunger Appeal.
  *  The Eucharist was celebrated each day and prayer preceded each major decision.

In the area of human sexuality, the recommendation of the Memorials Committee was to refer four groupings of memorials to the ELCA Task Force on Human Sexuality for consideration as they compose a social statement on human sexuality for the 2009 Churchwide Assembly. Although substitutions were offered for the first two recommendations, they failed to pass. A substitute motion became the main motion on the third recommendation, and it passed. The substitute motion which is not a legislative act to change policy moved that the Churchwide Assembly "prays, urges, and encourages restraint in disciplining those congregations and persons who call into rostered ministry otherwise-qualified candidates who are in a mutual, chaste and faithful committed same-gender relationship . . ." Following the Assembly, an ELCA official noted that "These are words of counsel . . . not words that change the standards of the Church."

Later a resolution from the floor requested discussion by the Conference of Bishops on the "matter of accountability of bishops to the adopted policies, practices, and procedures of the ELCA, and that a clear statement of such accountability be formulated for consideration and adoption by the 2009 Churchwide Assembly." My sense is that, in the coming months, these two resolutions will be closely scrutinized as to their meaning and application to this Church.

My hope is that when we look for clarification of the actions of the Assembly, we consult the ELCA News Service on the ELCA web site for further explanation and description of the 2007 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

An exhortation from the 2005 Orlando assembly is that we "concentrate on finding ways to live together faithfully in the midst of disagreements, recognizing the God-given mission and communion we share as members of the Body of Christ." There was little doubt that there were disagreements among those who were voting members at the Assembly in Chicago. And yet, by the same token, there was little doubt that there was a desire to live together faithfully during the assembly, and as a denomination following the assembly. My hope continues to be that the attitude of the voting members may become infectious throughout the ELCA as we recognize that "we are marked with the Cross of Christ forever, and that we are claimed, gathered, and sent for the sake of the world."

Bishop Warren D. Freiheit