wfn.org | Gay, Lesbian Ministry Report Completed

[NEWS <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

April 1, 1999

GAY, LESBIAN MINISTRY REPORT COMPLETED
99-12-069-JB

     LISLE, Ill. (ELCA) -- A report from the Division for Outreach
board of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) on
congregational ministry with gay and lesbian people will be sent as
information to the 1999 Churchwide Assembly through the ELCA Church
Council as part of a series of reports on the subject.
     The report, "Congregational Ministry with Gay and Lesbian People,"
from the Gay and Lesbian Outreach Study Team, was previously adopted by
the Division for Outreach (DO) board. 
It was reviewed this month by the ELCA Conference of Bishops.
     The resolution for the study came from the board in 1997,
following actions by  churchwide assemblies in 1991 and 1993, and by the
ELCA's 65 synod bishops.  The assembly actions said gay and lesbian
people are welcome to participate fully in the life of ELCA
congregations and opposed harassment of people because of their sexual
orientation.  The assemblies called on ELCA members to welcome gay and
lesbian people into congregations and to support the civil rights of all
people, regardless of sexual orientation.
     In 1996 the bishops wrote an open letter urging ELCA members to be
sensitive to the gifts and needs of gay and lesbian members, and they
urged congregations to reach out "to all God's people."
     The report on ministry with gay and lesbian people recommends that
the division "develop and distribute to all division-related
congregations and ministries under development a resource on  welcoming
to gay and lesbian people."  It recommends that future DO training
events include encouragement for congregational invitation and
hospitality to gay and lesbian people; that DO continue to take part in
"interunit" conversations within the church on such ministry; and that 
DO staff submit a progress report at the fall 2000 board meeting.
     Most of the report's information resulted from observations and
interviews at 16 ELCA congregations.  A nine-member team studied the
congregations for their openness to gay and lesbian people. The team
included Joanne Chadwick, executive director, ELCA Commission for Women;
Robert Gibeling, program executive, Lutherans Concerned/North America;
the Rev. Gary Mills, mission director and shared staff, ELCA's
Metropolitan New York Synod; Judith Moldenhauer, professor, Wayne State
University; the Rev. Leslie Weber, associate executive director, ELCA's
Division for Church in Society; Kathryn Sime, research analyst, ELCA
Department for Research and Evaluation; Susan Thompson, project
coordinator and executive for maturing congregations, ELCA Division for
Outreach; and two advisors to the project, Kenn Inskeep, director,
Department for Research and Evaluation and the Rev. Richard Magnus,
executive director, Division for Outreach.
     The report focused on ways the congregations visited welcome gays
and lesbians, on leadership in such congregations and on the processes
those congregations followed in becoming welcoming to gay and lesbian
people. 

VISIBLE SIGNS OF WELCOME
     "Prospective visitors search for tangible clues to a
congregation's openness, hoping to see visible signs that this
congregation will be a 'safe place,'" the report said.  Welcoming signs
include intentional displays of hospitality recognized in the gay and
lesbian community.
     "Welcoming congregations also encourage hospitable attitudes or
environments," the report said.  These include "warmly greeting"
visitors before and after worship; including gay and lesbian members in
different leadership roles in the congregation; affirming members
individuall first and then as a family unit; recognizing that
hospitality is not judgmental, even if not all members and visitors
share the same views; having a reputation outside the congregation as
being active in social justice issues; and participating in community
gay and lesbian events.
     "Lay and clergy leaders of welcoming congregations model
hospitality towards gay and lesbian people through their words and
actions," the report said.  "In particular, lay and clergy leaders often
use the words gay and lesbian in sermons, prayers, adult forums and
other congregational settings."
     Welcoming congregations tend to use inclusive language in the
worship service and acknowledge gay and lesbian couples as partners in
the same way married couples are recognized, the report said.

LEADERSHIP
     "Congregations need strong leaders to initiate the discussion of
becoming welcoming," the report said.
     The report says pastoral leadership is critical during a
congregation's decision-making process; lay leaders are often
instrumental in beginning the conversation and then advocating for a
public statement welcoming gays and lesbians; strong leadership does not
mean circumventing normal congregational deliberations and decision-making processes; and clergy and lay leaders struggled with the need to
care for all members in the midst of "painful conversations" about
welcoming gays and lesbians.
THE PROCESS OF BECOMING A WELCOMING CONGREGATION
     "Although all the congregations we visited manifested their
welcoming attitudes in different ways, they all emphasized that being
welcoming was not so much an end product as it was a process or a
journey," the study team wrote.  "The initial steps toward becoming
welcoming often involved some type of congregational dialogue process
which included a significant educational component."
     "Additionally, welcoming congregations, whether they initiated the
welcoming process recently or many years ago, still talked about the
need to work on their commitment of hospitality."
     The report concluded that initial conversations about hospitality
to gays and lesbians look different in various congregations.
     In some cases, gay and lesbian members already active in
congregations started the first conversations about making public
declaration about hospitality, the report said.  Congregations that
became involved learned that hospitality to gays and lesbians also
includes hospitality for their families.  
     "As congregations struggled with the decision to be formally
welcoming and open, many members were concerned about how this decision
would impact the congregation's relationships with other congregations,
with the synod and with the wider church," the study team reported.  "A
congregation's decision to make a public statement of welcoming ... does
not necessarily mean coming to a unified decision about the scriptural
and moral issues related to homosexuality."
     The team learned that for some congregations, there was "a clear
impetus" for the welcoming process based on perceived gospel principles
of inclusivity, the report said.  
     "Very often, the initial conversations around becoming openly
welcoming to gays and lesbians were painful and did, as many feared,
create some division within the congregations we observed," the team
members reported.  "On the other hand, most congregational leaders
reported very few instances of members leaving because of the decision." 
The decision to welcome gays and lesbians was seen as a turning point in
the life of some congregations, the report said.
     Some congregation members said they opposed welcoming gays and
lesbians because they feared a negative impact on the congregation,
versus being opposed to the idea of welcoming gays and lesbians, the
report said. "However, the experiences of the congregations we observed
do not support these fears and, in fact, some congregations believe that
their membership increased because of their open hospitality."
     An important part of becoming a welcoming congregation is
education of members, such as providing human and written resources, the
report said.  Congregation members often need practical tips for
welcoming gays and lesbians, the report said.  The study team said
ongoing efforts to promote hospitality are crucial.
IMPLICATIONS FOR WELCOMING CONGREGATIONS     
     Congregations that welcome gay and lesbian people often encounter
unanticipated implications of their hospitality, the study team said.
     These include learning to manage conflict productively and
welcoming other people who may not feel welcome in their congregations,
such as young adults, singles, apartment-dwellers, single parents and
married people whose spouses may not attend church.
     Implications may also include open discussion of other issues
related to gays and lesbians in church life, including the issue of
performing blessing ceremonies for gay and lesbian couples and the issue
of ordaining gays and lesbians.  Welcoming congregations report their
members "come to a deeper understanding of the Gospel," the report said.

          
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html