wfn.org | ELCA Bishops Comment on Gay and Lesbian Hospitality Report

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

March 17, 1999

ELCA BISHOPS COMMENT ON GAY AND LESBIAN HOSPITALITY REPORT
99-10-60-JB

     TUCSON, Ariz. (ELCA)   Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America (ELCA) expressed strong concerns and strong support for an
ELCA Division for Outreach report on congregational ministry with gay
and lesbian people.
     The report, "Congregational Ministry with Gay and Lesbian People,"
from the division's gay and lesbian outreach study team, was previously
adopted by the Division for Outreach (DO) board.  It was presented to
the synodical bishops for comment at the bishops' spring meeting here
March 5-9.
     The ELCA is on record in many forms regarding ministry with gay
and lesbian people.  Churchwide assemblies in 1991 and 1993 approved
resolutions welcoming homosexuals to ELCA congregations and supporting
the civil rights of all people, regardless of sexual orientation. The
bishops themselves called on congregations to "reach out to all God's
people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ" in a March 1996 open letter on
the subject.
     In response to a DO board resolution, the congregational ministry
study team was appointed in April 1997.  The team spent months
researching the topic and interviewing those involved in "welcoming" gay
and lesbian people in 16 ELCA congregations known for their hospitality
to homosexuals.  The congregations were chosen based on recommendations
from synod bishops, the report said.
     Findings focus on signs of ways the congregations welcome gays and
lesbians, leadership in such congregations and the process of becoming a
congregation that welcomes gay and lesbian people.  The report was
authored by Susan Thompson, executive for maturing congregations, ELCA
Division for Outreach, and Kathryn Sime, evaluation analyst, ELCA
Department for Research and Evaluation.
     The study team recommended distribution of a resource to be
developed from the report "to all Division-related congregations and
ministries under development."  It could also be made available to other
interested ELCA congregations, the team recommended.  Division training
events should "include sensitization to and encouragement for"
invitation and hospitality to gay and lesbian people, another
recommendation said.
     Regular progress reports should be made and conversations on
outreach to gay and lesbian people should continue, the recommendations
said.
     In her presentation to the bishops' conference in Tuscon, Thompson
said evaluation is a critical component of the welcoming process.  The
study team learned that welcoming gays and lesbians to church also
involves their families, children and friends, she said. "Coming to
agreement about being open doesn't at all mean agreement on all the
issues on homosexuality," Thompson said.
     The bishops offered a wide range of views on the DO report.
     "This piece we have here needs a lot of work," said the Rev.
George P. Mocko, bishop of the ELCA's Delaware-Maryland Synod.   The
report says some things that "we don't want to say," Mocko said.  For
example, the report says congregations that welcome gays often display
the rainbow flag.
     "The Rainbow flag says things that many, many don't want to say,"
Mocko added.
     "We've gone too far in what the division has developed," said the
Rev. Richard N. Jessen, bishop of the ELCA's Nebraska Synod.  Jessen
said the report focuses too much on recruiting one group of people, and
he suggested the church could do a better job in helping
pastor/developers "be sensitive to all."
     There is a small minority of the population that is gay, said the
Rev. Mark B. Herbener, bishop of the ELCA's Northern Texas-Northern
Louisiana Synod.  There are greater numbers of people who are poor,
Herbener said, and he suggested more attention be given to them.
     "Holy smokes, how do we welcome the many people who are
economically deprived?" he asked.
     The Rev. Robert W. Mattheis, bishop of the ELCA's Sierra Pacific
Synod, affirmed DO's work and reminded the bishops of a widely reported
story of a man brutally murdered in Sylacauga, Ala., earlier in the
week.  Authorities said the man's homosexual orientation may have been a
factor in the murder.
     "I realize this will rattle our cage a bit," Mattheis said, adding
it's better to "err on the side of hospitality and welcoming" for gay
and lesbian people.
     ELCA members live and die with AIDS, said the Rev. Stephen P.
Bouman, bishop of the ELCA's Metropolitan New York Synod.  "I hope that
some congregations are places where they can walk into and hold Jesus'
hand," he said.
     There are many members who want to invite gay and lesbian people
to their churches, said the Rev. David W. Olson, bishop of the ELCA's
Minneapolis Area Synod.  Olson thanked DO for the resource and said it
may help people "who want to reach out to their neighbor."
     "I think this has great value," said the Rev. Gary M. Wollersheim,
bishop of the ELCA's Northern Illinois Synod.  Wollersheim suggested the
report be discussed at an upcoming conference of mission developers.
     "The weight of the document" takes an approach that is not
traditional, said the Rev. E. Peter Strommen, bishop of the ELCA's
Northeastern Minnesota Synod, who suggested the report should include
congregations with a "traditional" view.
     The Rev. Richard A. Magnus, director of the ELCA Division for
Outreach, said ministry to gay and lesbian people is not the only
ministry with which the division is involved.  There is a DO strategy
that seeks to do ministry with the poor, ethnic-specific ministry,
increase new congregational starts and work with congregations in
transition, he said.
     "This is one piece that seeks to respond to one area," Magnus
said.  "We feel this is going to be helpful for those doing a specific
kind of outreach."
     The report was shared with the ELCA Church Council at its November
1998 meeting and distributed to the congregations involved in the study,
division staff and DO-related ministries.

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