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	April 4, 2005 .................... LCMSNews -- No. 21

	LCMS responds to ELCA sexuality report

	Scriptural authority is the foundational issue in dealing with
the blessing of same-sex unions and qualifications for the professional
ministries, according to a Lutheran Church?Missouri Synod response to
the report of the Studies on Sexuality Task Force of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America.

	"As the LCMS has wrestled with the sensitive issue of
homosexuality, it has had to return time and again to the more
fundamental question of how we go about addressing these questions in
the first place: namely on the basis of the Holy Scriptures as God's
inspired and inerrant Word," says the response.

	Noting that the Bible clearly identifies homosexual behavior as
sinful, the LCMS statement said the authority of Scriptures guides
consideration of other moral and ethical questions such as abortion,
euthanasia, assisted suicide, cloning and stem-cell research.

	The statement was shared during theological discussions on March
29 between representatives of the two church bodies. It has been posted
on the Synod's Web site, sent via LCMS e-News and sent to members of the
Council of Presidents, Board of Directors, and the Commission on
Theology and Church Relations.

	Issued in January, the report of the ELCA's Studies on Sexuality
Task Force responds to a request from the 2001 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.
The task force dealt with questions on homosexuality -- should the
church bless same-gender relationships, and should the church allow
people in same-gender relationships to serve as professional lay and
ordained ministers?

	The ELCA task force offered three recommendations:

	* Concentrate on finding ways to live together faithfully in the
midst of disagreements.

	* Continue to respect the pastoral guidance of a 1993 statement
of the ELCA Conference of Bishops opposing the blessing of homosexual
relationships but remaining open to pastors wanting to provide pastoral
care for gay and lesbian Lutherans.

	* Continue under current standards that expect unmarried
ministers to abstain from sexual relations -- defining marriage as being
between a man and a woman -- but, respecting the consciences of those
who find these standards in conflict with the mission of the church, the
ELCA may choose to refrain from disciplining gay and lesbian ministers
in committed relationships and from disciplining those who call or
approve partnered gay or lesbian people for ministry.

	The ELCA Church Council will consider the report at its April
8-11 meeting in Chicago and will prepare a resolution for the ELCA
Churchwide Assembly when it meets Aug. 8-14 in Orlando.

	The LCMS statement commended the report for its reaffirmation of
the ELCA position that "marriage is a lifelong covenant of faithfulness
between a man and a woman," and its decision not to recommend a revision
of the current standards regarding sexual conduct for ministers in the
ELCA.

	"However, the report does not speak clearly and authoritatively
regarding homosexual behavior and the ordination of those who are openly
involved in such behavior," the LCMS statement said. "This goes contrary
to the historic and universal understanding of the Christian Church
regarding what the Holy Scriptures teach about homosexual behavior as
contrary to God's will and about the biblical qualifications for holding
the pastoral office."

	The LCMS statement described the Synod?s own efforts to deal
with ministry to homosexuals. When a 1973 convention resolution set an
official position that homosexual behavior is "intrinsically sinful," it
also spoke of "ministering the forgiveness of our Lord Jesus Christ to
any and all sinners who are penitent."

	The statement also cites a report of the LCMS Commission on
Theology and Church Relations calling on the church to recognize "that
all people are born in need of deliverance from the effects which sin
has imposed on their lives." The CTCR report said " there are those
persons who, apart from any deliberate choice on their part, have a
predisposition toward homosexuality," and urged the church to offer the
"compassionate help they need to overcome the temptations which beset
them and to remain chaste before God despite their homosexual
orientation."

	The statement also cites other LCMS convention resolutions and
reports dealing with ministry to homosexuals and instances among
professional church workers.

	The ELCA, with 5 million members, and the LCMS, with 2.5 million
members, are the largest Lutheran church bodies in the United States.
They do not share altar and pulpit fellowship but they cooperate in
disaster response, world relief efforts, military chaplaincy, and some
human-care services.

	The LCMS statement reflects concern that the topic of homosexual
behavior may further distance relationships between the two church
bodies.

	Signing the statement were LCMS President Gerald Kieschnick; Dr.
William Diekelman, first vice president; Dr. Raymond L. Hartwig,
secretary; Dr. Thomas Kuchta, treasurer and administrative officer of
the Board of Directors; Rev. C. William Hoesman, Michigan District
president and chairman of the Council of Presidents; Dr. Samuel Nafzger,
executive director of the Commission on Theology and Church Relations;
Dr. Walter A. Maier III, professor at Concordia Theological Seminary,
Fort Wayne; and Rev. Ralph Blomenberg, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran
Church, Seymour, Ind.

	***************************************

	If you have questions or comments about this LCMSNews release,
contact Joe Isenhower Jr. at joe.isenhower@lcms.org or (314) 996-1231,
or Paula Schlueter Ross at paula.ross@lcms.org or (314) 996-1230.

	***************************************

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