A Call to Liberate the Church of Sweden

I've been alerted to the latest article by Father Yngve Kalin, priest in the Church of Sweden and Chairman of the Church Coalition for the Bible and Confession (Kyrklig samling kring Bibeln och bekännelsen). It appears as an op-ed in today's Svenska Dagbladet, the main newspaper of Moderaterna (the Moderate Party, a non-socialist party that heads the current coalition government in Sweden) and one of Sweden's leading daily papers.

Father Kalin, who I have posted earlier, has long been exposing the plight of the faithful in the Swedish Church. Here he describes how the "separation of church and state" in Sweden has actually given the Swedish political establishment more control over the Church. What follows is what appears on Fr. Kalin's website. (Or read it in Swedish here or as it appears on the newspaper's site.) My friend from the Society of St. Birgitta, Dr. Birgitta Peterson, writes, "Read it and please spread it around! Particularly among your Lutheran friends who need to know what happens to the Lutherans in Sweden."

One last note: a colleague suggests that the Swedish words translated here as "consequence" would be better understood as "consistency." spt+
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The political parties still keep their grip on the Church of Sweden. That is a paradox and an inconsistency of the separation between the church and the state which is deeply embarrassing and a cause of a great deal of surprise abroad. This amounts to political double-dealing, writes the Church of Sweden priest Yngve Kalin, who has long-standing experience as a member of the Church of Sweden General Synod.

Saturday November 10, 2007

Politicians in the Church Amounts to Sheer Parody

The current Swedish government, which is constituted by a political coalition, are seeking to introduce a legislation that would prohibit every aspect of religious education in the curriculum of the schools. Such sentiments show a clear resemblance to the way things work in the USA, where the Constitution lays down the principle that church and state must be kept separate coupled with some clear statements about religious liberty.

In Sweden however, the details of these government proposals are being prepared while the political parties continue unabated to hold a firm grip on the Church of Sweden and unashamedly to make use of the Church in order to promote their own political programmes.

This is a paradox and an inconsistency of the formal separation between the church and the state in the year 2000, which is a cause of embarrassment for the political establishment and a fact that gives rise to considerable surprise abroad. This political double-dealing is a cause of great embarrassment.

For anyone who would stand for a clear separation between the church and the state, such a position requires consequence in every aspect and must be followed all down the line.

It is now high time for the political parties to withdraw and stop acting as attorneys for the church — not only for the sake of the church, but also for the sake of their own credibility.

When the business of the Church of Sweden are debated by its own highest decision-making body, the Church of Sweden General Synod, it is in fact Social Democrats, right wing Moderates and members of the Centre Party, etcetera, etcetera, who meet to take decisions on issues of all kind, ranging from statements of faith and doctrine to everyday humdrum matters, and their decisions permeate every aspect of the work of the Church of Sweden at every level.

The parishes as well as the dioceses and the national level are consequently the object rather than the subject in this altogether unique manner of decision-making that is unheard of in any other part of Christendom. There is no real separation between the church and the state in Sweden. The political parties have made sure of that, mainly due to their innate fear of permitting too many independent players in the public arena. All this is only too obvious, not least in the current debate about possible new legislation about marriage, in which the political agenda increasingly gains the upper hand, making it blatantly obvious how the church is currently being used to legitimize politically based positions and viewpoints.

BUT: What will these statements and expressed positions really be worth, when it is only too obvious to everyone that they only represent a duplication of decisions taken by the party congress? To begin with, things were different: the uniqueness of the church used to be respected.

When the Church of Sweden General Assembly (as it was called until the formal separation of church and state in the year 2000) met for the first time in 1868, following the Abolition of the Parliament of the Four Estates, it consisted of 30 priests, 30 lay members and the bishops were members ex officio. The Church Assembly was charged to express "the common thought of the guarantors of the faith and doctrine and of the parishes" and should lift church matters above "such political differences that always shift within a national assembly."

In those days the awareness prevailed that the manner of making decisions in the church — even in an established church — must consider the responsibility inherent in the stewardship of the tradition of faith, confession and doctrine that had been handed down and received, and that the parishes must be accorded some real influence on the matters of the Church of Sweden and its government. However, the manner of decision-making was gradually changed.

A reform in 1949 changed the constitution of the Church Assembly and put the laity in the majority. The ex officio membership of representatives for the theological faculties was abolished in 1970. The role and influence of theology was markedly weakened.

The next decisive reform took place in 1982, when the Church Assembly became openly political on the model of the parochial church councils that had been developed particularly at the local level in the city parishes.

From then on, elections took place by a system of electors, but the number of members was more than trebled and the party groups appeared openly as nominators and as membership groups. That meant that the politically independent members, who had nevertheless been elected, found it necessary to organise themselves into a politically independent group.

At the same time the bishops were divested of their right to vote in the Church Assembly but were charged with the duty to be present. It was left to the political parties and groupings to take decisions about any possible representation of the clergy on the membership.

When all this had been achieved, a way had been found to continue to exert control while at the same time the out-dated bonds between the church and the state could cease to exist in any formal sense. That decision was taken in 1997. Later on the Church Order, which provides the tools for the domination of the church, was laid down.

Through the introduction of direct elections at all levels, the parties no longer need to take the "long way" via the parishes in order to ensure that their representatives become members of the diocesan governing bodies and what is nowadays called the Church of Sweden General Synod.

The Church of Sweden Church Order no longer recognises any independent responsibility for the ordained ministry. The entire framework for the exercise of ordained ministry has been established with great consequence and the limits have been effectively imposed by politically elected bodies.

The control of the church is now totalitarian and complete. How long can this parody be allowed to continue? Should there be a separation between the church and the state or not? Could we please have at least an ounce of consequence, thank you!

YNGVE KALIN

Priest in Hyssna and a member of the Church of Sweden Church Assembly 1995-2000 and of the Church of Sweden General Synod 2000-2001, currently a member of the Nomination Group "Confident Church" and called upon to serve at the recently held sessions of the Church of Sweden General Synod this autumn.


© Yngve Kalin & Svenska Dagbladet 10 nov 2007

Lutheran CORE News 1.5

Note: Lutheran CORE's latest update includes:
1) Gary Diers from the Churchwide Assembly Floor
2) Steering Committee Update from Bp. Paull Spring, Chair
3) Financial Support? by Mr. Ryan Schwarz
4) Forming a Chapter by Pr. Mark Chavez, Director
5) 2009 Churchwide Assembly Voting Members


Lutheran CORE News 1.5
November 8, 2007
(Please copy and distribute as widely as possible.)

Boundaries and discipline
by Mr. Gary Diers

[Note: Gary Diers is an active Lutheran from Waverly, Minnesota, who was a lay voting member to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Churchwide Assembly in Chicago this year. He spoke these powerful words as part of the debate.]

First I would like to say that listening to the debate on this [homosexuality] issue this week just breaks my heart, but having said that, Mr. Chairman:

In this post-modern world in which we now live, which says everyone defines what is right or wrong for himself or herself, the idea of discipline by someone else for violating boundaries is viewed as an injustice. We however cannot, whether young or adult, live our lives without boundaries.

I'm a farmer and work daily around large animals and, especially today, large equipment. My wife and I raised five children in that environment, and those children always wanted to be with Dad. But because I loved them and was concerned for their safety, I built a fence in the front yard and they had to stay within the boundaries of that fence even if they begged, cried, threw a tantrum, etc. They could, however, with some effort climb out. When that happened they were disciplined and returned to the fenced-in yard. It did not matter how much they wanted to be with me, nor in fact did it matter how much I wanted them to be with me.

Our Creator has given us boundaries within which to live our lives and if we could just live our lives within those boundaries, most if not all evil and need for discipline would not exist.

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Lutheran CORE steering committee update
by Pr. Paull E. Spring, steering committee chair

The Steering Committee of Lutheran CORE met September 28 and 29, immediately following the Lindenhurst gathering. We were all very encouraged by the attendance at Lindenhurst and the spirit of commitment to our concerns that was so evident.

Our most important work at the steering committee meeting was to complete a strategy for the 2009 churchwide assembly in Minneapolis. Our chief goals are to focus on the social statement on human sexuality and the elections for the churchwide assembly and the Church Council.

Our most urgent need now is to identify synod coordinators in all sixty-five synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Effective synod coordinators are key contacts within the synods. The coordinator's job, for now, is to work for the election to the churchwide assembly of voting members who share our perspectives on marriage and the Bible.

If you are willing to serve as a synod coordinator or as a part of a synodical team within your synod, please contact me at pastorspring@pennswoods.net or Pastor Mark Chavez, Lutheran CORE director at wordalone@popp.net. All the members of the steering committee have agreed to provide guidance and support for synod coordinators. A job description is available from Pr. Chavez or me if it will help you make your decision.

Right now, the most important work is to elect voting members for the churchwide assembly. In some synods this process has already begun. We need your help. Now is the time to pray without ceasing for our church and for our cause. Now is the time for all of us to work hard and do our part for the sake of our church's fidelity to the Word of God.

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Will your congregation support Lutheran CORE?
by Mr. Ryan Schwarz, steering committee member and fundraising coordinator

In many congregations, it is now budget season. Council, finance teams and staff are hard at work preparing financial plans for 2008. Could Lutheran CORE become one of your benevolence initiatives in 2008? We have a most ambitious action plan for the next two years, a critical time for the future of the ELCA. We must assist synod organizers across the country, pay our staff, prepare newsletters, produce teaching materials, organize local events, and do all the things that are necessary to have an impact. All this costs money, and our opponents are raising literally millions of dollars for their efforts.

Lutheran CORE needs your congregation's support. Even a relatively modest contribution is quite meaningful to us. Beyond financial support, we are also seeking to grow the number of congregations that formally join Lutheran CORE. Can you help us? Are you willing to advocate for Lutheran CORE in your congregation?

We can assist you with explanatory materials and procedural advice. Contact me at rschwarz@mba1994.hbs.edu, or any member of the Lutheran CORE Steering Committee. Informational resources are also available on our website www.lutherancore.org.

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Consider forming a Lutheran CORE chapter
by Pr. Mark Chavez, director

If there is not an organized group in your area, you might consider following the example of the Ebenezer Conference Committee on Sexuality in Georgia. Pastor Don Rieder, the Southeastern synod coordinator for Lutheran CORE, reported that the committee was formed in 2004 to consider all the groups that were opposed to the trend in the ELCA to move away from our biblical foundations. Pastor Rieder has chaired the group since it began and it had met 15 times in the past few years. At their meeting in October, when they reviewed their group's history and the present situation in their area and in the ELCA, the members of the committee decided to form an Ebenezer Chapter of Lutheran CORE. If you would like suggestions for how you might start a chapter in your area, contact me at wordalone@popp.net.

New groups of Lutheran CORE supporters have begun meeting in two synods, Rocky Mountain and Indiana-Kentucky. Pastor Tom Renquist in Aurora, CO, has helped convene two meetings in the Denver area this fall and Pastor Blair Fields in Florence, KY, helped convene a meeting in the Indianapolis area last month. These are encouraging developments in areas where there have not been many public meetings in the past. If you know of other new groups being formed or meeting, please report the news to the Lutheran CORE steering committee.

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How can you make a difference in 2009?

It is urgent that you contact your synod office NOW to learn what the election procedures are for 2009 CWA voting members, and then getting yourself or other confessional folk who fit the criteria in a position to be elected. Do the same for conference and synod positions. Until we get a significant number of our people in places of influence, nothing much is going to change.

An anonymous saying (often wrongly attributed to Edmund Burke) reminds us, "All that is needed for the triumph of evil is for enough good people to do nothing." Now is the time for you to do something. Decisions are made by the people who show up for meetings. Be there in your congregation, your conference or district, your synod, and if possible at churchwide assembly. Take the profound yet kind and simple speech by Gary Diers (reported above) as your example. Speak the truth in love. And pray constantly for this Church and all its leaders.

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We are most thankful for your prayers and welcome your financial contributions. We are grateful that the WordAlone Network, a member group of Lutheran CORE, provides administrative support. Tax-deductible donations may be sent to:
        Lutheran CORE
        c/o WordAlone Network
        2299 Palmer Drive, Suite 220
        New Brighton, MN 55112

Please make checks payable to "WordAlone Network" and write "Lutheran CORE" on the memo line.

Pastor W. Stevens Shipman, steering committee member and communications committee
prsteveshipman@gmail.com

Ministry: A Call from God to become Holy

Thanks to Professor (and ELCA Pastor) Karl Donfried (he's the guy who came in second in the last election for ELCA Presiding Bishop) for calling attention to this from Luke Timothy Johnson:

Particularly for those called to a life of ministry within the church, 2 Timothy poses some powerful challenges. It proposes that ministry is not a career choice, but a call from God to become holy. Neither is ministry a body of lore to communicate or a set of skills to exercise, but a matter of living in a certain manner that expresses one's deepest convictions in consistent patterns of behavior. Transformation of character or, if one prefers, continuing conversion is the very essence of ministry, as it is of discipleship. Carrying out acts of ministry without the corresponding affections is a form of counterfeiting, to "have the form of piety while denying its power" (3:5). Ministry, furthermore, is not measured by success, but by fidelity. Ministry demands witnessing to uncomfortable and unpopular truths in the face of indifference and disagreement. Ministry inevitably involves suffering if the gospel is truly lived and rightly proclaimed. The minister labors in a hope not of reward or recognition in this life, but in a hope of sharing in the resurrection life. Not one of these truths is supported by present-day culture. Few of them are supported by the church. The voice of 2 Timothy is not a voice that lulls Christians into a comfortable security, but one that speaks with the urgency of prophecy, calling for witnesses to truth in an age that prefers teachers who cater to its desires (4:3).

From The First and Second Letters to Timothy: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, Luke Timothy Johnson, Anchor Bible, Vol. 35A, New York, Doubleday, 2001, p. 330.

The Mayor Brought Us Together...

O Lord, our creator, by your holy prophet you taught your ancient people to seek the welfare of the cities in which they lived. We commend our neighborhood to your care, that it might be kept free from social strife and decay. Give us strength of purpose and concern for others, that we may create here a community of justice and peace where your will may be done; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The above collect (found in the Lutheran Book of Worship) is one we've prayed many times over the years at Zion, beginning with a series of prayer vigils we held for the neighborhood during our centennial year. (You're looking at a flier we made for one of them.) It's one I've prayed during community prayer gatherings this last year in response to an epidemic of shootings here in Peoria.

Last week I received a letter from Peoria Mayor James Ardis inviting area pastors to engage in a concerted prayer venture on behalf of our community. Michael Miller of the Journal Star reported it like this in Thursday's paper:

Jim Ardis wants to drive the city to its knees.

The mayor of Peoria has invited religious leaders to meet with him at 2:30 p.m. Friday at Riverside Community Church, 207 NE Monroe St., to discuss a citywide prayer effort he's calling "Ready Set Pray" as part of the fight against crime.

"I think it's going to energize the faith-based community more," Ardis said Wednesday.

Prayer gatherings were the norm during a spate of slayings in Peoria earlier this year. Churches also have been involved in a recent gun buyback program.

Ardis said he was inspired by an effort started earlier this month in Orlando, Fla., called Operation Armor All. That 40-day program was initiated by police department chaplains in response to an increase in violent crime.

The Peoria mayor said he will ask the faith leaders to create a 40-day calendar and try to get different groups to commit to prayer on each of the 40 days.

Read it all here.

For some reason a clergy association for all Peoria clergy has never caught on. I'm not sure how conscious it is, but the associations that have existed in my 15 years here have not been able to attract across too broad a theological / political / racial spectrum -- even for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity celebrations that happened for about a decade. Black-white; evangelical/pentecostal-mainline; inner city-suburban -- individuals cross those barriers for a while, then lose steam or other priorities take over. I'm one of those. I say this with some pride, for I have participated in and been among the leaders of some of these efforts. And I say this with some (okay, more) shame -- for I have not persevered.

But I've not given up. And earlier this afternoon the Mayor greeted some 60-70 clergy and other leaders of Christian groups -- perhaps the broadest spectrum of Christians I've seen at one time in my 15 years here -- told us what he hoped we could do, then got out of our way. Zion will take part in the effort, whatever comes out of the steering committee that organized.

Thanks, Mr. Mayor, for bringing us together.

Fair weather strikes again

You know that I am a Los Angeles Angels fan -- it not only goes back to some of my earliest blog entries, my first baseball cap -- I can't remember a time before I had it, so I must've been 3 when I first got it -- was from the original expansion Angels, blue with a red bill and intertwined "LA," and the cool silver/white halo on top. (Please, Mr Moreno, please!!!) Jimmy Fregosi, Bobby Knoop, Rick Reichardt, Bob (later "Buck") Rodgers, Jay Johnstone, Aurelio Rodriguez, Roger Repoz, Dean Chance, Bill Rigney (hmm, lots of Rs), those are my guys.

But an afternoon at Grandma-and-Grandpa's often had Vin Scully describing the Dodger game in the background, "brought to you by Farmer John Hot Dogs, proud sponsor of the Dodgers" and maker of the world famous Dodger Dogs®. My first professional baseball games were at Dodger Stadium where, my Angels cap long-disappeared (and too small anyway), I bought a Dodger cap with my very own money when I was 10. I still have it.

In 1988 we were sitting in the lounge of PLTS' Beasom Hall watching the first game of the World Series. The whole world knew that the Oakland A's were going to win that Series, and in Berkeley everyone's an A's fan. Except the Angel fan from LA, watching because he likes watching baseball (though he has no dog in this particular game) and the company. And then, Kirk Gibson comes to bat as a pinch hitter. (Go ahead, read it, for the author's got it just right.) For when the crippled former Tiger put that ball over the fence, well, Tibbetts is an LA boy and the Dodgers are the home town team. Everybody was shocked. One was overjoyed.

Okay, I'm a fair weather Dodger fan. And, yes, I'll always have a longing for anything that reminds me of home. But who'da thunk 2 weeks ago that the Los Angeles Dodgers, a once-proud franchise that has been in chaos since O'Malley sold out to Murdoch and Lasorda had to retire, would now be managed by Joe Torre.

It's time to get a new Dodger cap. And 2, not just one, bobbleheads.

The Wonder of It All

All alone in the movie theater, I sat on the edge of my seat transfixed for much of the nearly 2-hour film. Documentaries rarely do that, but In the Shadow of the Moon easily brought me back into that sense of awe and wonder and optimism I had as a boy watching the Apollo astronauts go to the Moon, land there, explore a bit, and come back. I was 10 years old again, except this time it was in color and on the big screen, rather than the black-and-white TV we had in the den.

For a couple of reviews of this film that give a good flavor of my own experience, see the Hollywood Reporter:

"In the Shadow of the Moon" unites 10 of the 12 astronauts who flew on nine Apollo missions and descended to the moon between 1968 and 1972 along with remastered archival footage from NASA, much never seen before. The value of this film, not just to moviegoers today but to future generations, is simply enormous.

Documentaries these days tend toward doom and gloom, so "Moon" is a welcome relief. The movie is about an uncontrovertibly glorious moment in U.S. history. ThinkFilm should see a nice run in art houses and perhaps beyond. The Discovery Films and Film 4 production is sure-fire TV and a collector's item on DVD for any space and history buff. If anything, when the film ends, you feel a bit like Olivier Twist, the boy who cried out for "more."

and Ad Astra at Space.com:

Not only do we get to see this Apollo footage as it has never been seen, and get to hear the astronauts express themselves as never before, but they have gone one step further by marrying the sound and film from Mission Control. We are all so familiar with the words spoken by Neil Armstrong as he stepped onto the dusty lunar surface, and the voice from Mission Control that answers him (Charlie Duke), so it may come as a surprise that all film footage inside Mission Control was silent. The producers found the audio loops and painstakingly matched the voices to film for the first time ever. This is a memorable feat that may go unnoticed by many viewers, but from a historical perspective, it is a welcome show of the diligence of the filmmakers of "In the Shadow of the Moon."

"It was a time when we made bold moves," observes JIm Lovell of Apollo 8 and 13, the only man to go to the Moon twice, neither time able to land. Indeed, as one of the astronauts described feeling the dance of the engines keeping the mighty Saturn V rocket pointed up during the launch it struck me just how bold the whole enterprise was. Especially compared to how risk-averse a society we have become today.

Look here to find out if In the Shadow of the Moon is showing on a Big Screen near you. Listen to astronauts reflect upon having gone to another world, re-live (or, for you young whippersnappers, see for the first time) the excitement of a great excitement, and get a good look at the American spirit at its best.

The Unity of the Church

When the ELCA formed in 1988, it established a medical plan for seminarians that was separate from the larger one "rostered leaders" (that's ELCA-speak for Pastors, Diaconal Ministers, Associates in Ministry, and Deaconesses--the latter 3 categories being laity). The rules were that all seminarians were required to enroll, unless they had alternate coverage through family or employment. It was to be self-supporting from the premiums seminarians paid. The exceptions weren't monitored by the seminaries very closely, for actual enrollment was lower than anticipated and, due to two mental health claims, the plan was bankrupted within a couple of years.

So the ELCA's Division for Ministry and Board of Pensions (which maintains the ELCA's health plans) went back to the drawing board and created a new plan, one chief difference being that if a seminarian had other medical coverage, s/he had to pay a waiver fee. And then they went on the road to all 8 seminaries for us to vote on whether to accept this plan or to be on our own. Meanwhile, the Graduate Theological Union (of which PLTS is a constituent) had worked out an arrangement that its students would be included in the much better, and much less expensive, health plan for University of California graduate students, and that opportunity was being extended to the students of its constituent schools.

For us at PLTS, it was a no brainer--the GTU/Cal plan was by far the better one. But the folks from Higgins Road pulled out all the stops to encourage us to vote for the ELCA's plan. And in Berkeley, we asked 2 key questions: 1) Why must the seminarian plan be separate from the main ELCA plan and 2) Why should we vote for the ELCA plan?

The first question was answered, "Because it has to be separate." The second was answered,

"For the unity of the church."

Appalled, I turned to my classmate next to me and whispered, "I thought unity of the Church had something to do with a common theology." Nothing about whether the plan was a good one. Nothing about the health needs of seminarians or rostered leaders. Nothing about good stewardship. Here we were, candidates for the ministry in a church that before its inception was divided over such matters as the ministry, biblical interpretation, and a social/political emphasis by the highest levels, and that as soon as it was born was engulfed in a dispute over homosexualty. It was right then that I realized that the heart of our divisions in the ELCA was a very basic disagreement on the nature of the church itself. And we may not be able to agree on any of those things, I disgustedly mused, but the medical and pension plan can keep us together. (Alas, my diagnosis of the ELCA hasn't changed a bit over the years--time and time again, I speak my variation on then-Governor Clinton's chief weapon against the first President Bush: "It's the ecclesiology, stupid.")

All this came to mind this afternoon as I sat near the back of the room during this afternoon's session of the Diocese of Quincy's Annual Synod (what we'd call a convention or assembly). Quincy is one of the Dioceses that is fundamentally opposed to the direction the Episcopal Church (now abbreviated TEC) has been going and the general tenor (though there are a few exceptions) has been that they can't get out fast enough. Since the General Convention accepted Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire, most of the parishes have described themselves as "Anglican," rather than "Episcopal." And last year, the Synod began taking a series of steps to disassociate the Diocese from TEC while more strongly emphasizing its tie to the Archbishop of Canterbury and the "Global South" Anglicans. Recent news reports have included Quincy as among those receiving "threats" of lawsuits by TEC to keep the property of those determined to leave.

And during the financial report, the chair of the Finance Committee delivered news he clearly didn't want to. If they leave, liability insurance for congregations and their officials, which is done throught a trust of TEC, will not be able to be renewed at the end of that policy's year (next summer), and it has proved much harder than anticipated to get such coverage. Worse, the medical plan for priests will only last until the end of the month they disassociate from TEC. And that has proved even harder than liability insurance to find a suitable, affordable replacement.

Where's the unity of the Episcopal Church? You guessed it. Nothing to do with common theology, worship, understandings of the Word of God. It's insurance and pensions.

Kyrie eleison. Lord, have mercy.