wfn.org | ELCA Ministry Board Accepts Ordination Guidelines for Exceptions

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

March 22, 2001

ELCA MINISTRY BOARD ACCEPTS ORDINATION GUIDELINES FOR EXCEPTIONS
01-064-FI

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The board of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America (ELCA) Division for Ministry met here March 9-11 and
approved guidelines that would help the church implement a bylaw
being considered to permit ordinations "in unusual circumstances."
The guidelines were approved by a 10-7 vote and recommended to the
ELCA Church Council for adoption.

The Possible Bylaw
     In November the ELCA Church Council -- the church's board of
directors and the legislative authority of the church between its
churchwide assemblies -- referred a possible bylaw for the ELCA
Constitution to the Rev. H. George Anderson, ELCA presiding bishop.
At its meeting here April 6-8, the council will decide if it will
transmit the bylaw to the Churchwide Assembly, which will meet Aug.
8-14 in Indianapolis.
     On Jan. 1, the ELCA and Episcopal Church entered into full
communion.  For Lutheran clergy to serve in Episcopal congregations -
- a feature of the new relationship -- the ELCA accepted the
"historic episcopate."
     The historic episcopate traces the ordained ministry back to
the early days of the Christian Church through a succession of
bishops.  To participate in that succession, ELCA bishops preside at
the ordinations of new ELCA pastors.  In addition to the presiding
bishop, a bishop heads each of the ELCA's 65 synods.
     Some Lutherans remain opposed to incorporating the historic
episcopate in the ELCA, and the bylaw is seen as a compromise
measure.  It "would permit a synodical bishop to authorize an
ordination in unusual circumstances by a pastor other than a pastor
holding the office of synodical bishop."
     The assembly could add the bylaw to a section of the ELCA
Constitution that deals with standards for ordained ministers.

The Guidelines
     The board of the ELCA Division for Ministry approved a set of
guidelines related to the bylaw and recommended the Church Council
adopt them in April.  The guidelines state that their purpose is to
describe how a synod bishop may "allow an exception to this church's
established ordination practices" in unusual circumstances.
     The guidelines define "unusual circumstances" broadly to let
bishops "use their judgment in evaluating individual cases."  The
guidelines also lay out specific procedures to implement the bylaw.
     Staff of the ELCA Division for Ministry drafted the guidelines
earlier in the year and forwarded them to the division's "liaison
committee" of the ELCA Conference of Bishops.  The liaison committee
suggested a "sunset clause" be added to the bylaw, saying the bylaw
will expire in 2007.  The clause was removed from the revised
guidelines, at the recommendation of the Conference of Bishops.
     The Conference of Bishops -- an advisory body consisting of the
ELCA's synod bishops, presiding bishop and secretary -- met March 1-6
in San Antonio.
     Key provisions in the revised guidelines call for:
     + a candidate for ordination who seeks an exception to discuss
the request with the synod bishop;
     + the synod bishop to seek the advice of the synod council and
consult with the presiding bishop;
     + the synod bishop to exercise "pastoral judgment" in making a
decision;
     + no appeal of the synod bishop's decision; and
     + periodic evaluation of the guidelines by the Division for
Ministry and review by the Conference of Bishops and Church Council.
     The bishops suggested deleting "these guidelines shall be
reviewed and evaluated at the direction of the Office of the
Presiding Bishop prior to the 2007 Churchwide Assembly."
     The Division for Ministry board voted down a motion to receive
the guidelines' original wording -- eight in favor, nine against and
one abstaining.  The board then approved the guidelines the bishops
suggested and recommended the council adopt them.
     "It was one of those votes that, when you take it, everybody
sits quietly afterward and lets it sink in, because it was not a win-
lose vote," said the Rev. Joseph M. Wagner, executive director of the
ELCA Division for Ministry.  "It was a realistic struggling with a
very complex issue, recognizing that we are only one step in the
process."
     Wagner said the vote came after more than two hours of
discussion.  "It was very long and extended, direct, healthy, strong
conversation," he said.  "Our board asked, because of the intensity
and vigor of the conversation, that the original version also be
transmitted to the Church Council as information for its
conversation."
     "The guidelines, as they were passed along by the Conference of
Bishops and were recommended by our board, are a realistic middle
ground," said Wagner.  He said the ELCA is "committed to having very
few exceptions" while recognizing "there are several synods in the
church that need to have the flexibility the guidelines permit."
     "We are in the process of living into full communion,
recognizing the differences that are still in our church and the fact
that we nevertheless have taken a clear position, have accepted it
and are moving forward," said Wagner.  "It's a negotiated pathway
that is being worked out."
     The bylaw and guidelines create "the possibility for exceptions
while honoring the fact that we have this relationship with the
Episcopal Church," said the Rev. A. Craig Settlage, associate
executive director of the ELCA Division for Ministry.  They provide a
process of consultation to determine "good reason a synodical bishop
may authorize another ELCA pastor to preside at the ordination
service."
     "The opportunity for a widely acceptable compromise is being
missed," said Dr. Michael J. Root, professor of systematic theology,
Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio.  Root is a member of the
DM board and was one of three Lutherans who drafted the full-
communion agreement the ELCA adopted in 1999 and the Episcopal Church
adopted in 2000.
     "I have come to the conclusion that exceptions with clear
restrictions and a definite end-date, to cover only those persons
already in the candidacy process on January 1, 2001, could be seen as
the flexible implementation of the new relationship and not its
permanent alteration," he said.
     "I was pleased with the original guidelines developed by the
division and discouraged by the removal of all limiting features by
the bishops," said Root.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html