wfn.org | Denver Church Hosts Gay/Lesbian Ceremony (Corrected Margin)

[News News <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

August 26, 1999

DENVER CHURCH HOSTS GAY/LESBIAN CEREMONY (CORRECTED MARGIN)
99-CWA-60-LJG

     DENVER (ELCA) -- After a procession through downtown Denver, 13
self-proclaimed gay and lesbian pastors and pastoral candidates were
honored and unofficially rostered to Lutheran ministry at a ceremony at
St. Paul Lutheran Church.
      More than 150 people, including voting members and volunteers
from the ELCA 1999 Churchwide Assembly, attended the Aug. 21 noon
celebration sponsored by The Alliance.  The Alliance comprises of the
Extraordinary Candidacy Project (ECP), Lutheran Lesbian and Gay
Ministries (LLGM), Lutherans Concerned/North America, the Lutheran
Network for Inclusive Vision and Wingspan Ministry.  A "roster "
indicates a list of people who have met specified criteria for ministry.
     "The gifts of these candidates have been affirmed by the ECP, by
the communities in which they serve, including several ELCA
congregations and by many of their colleagues and bishops," read Mari
Irvin, San Francisco, co-chair of LLGM, during the service.
     Those rostered by the Extraordinary Candidacy Project were: the
Rev. Jonathon Abernethy, the Rev. James Bischoff*, the Rev. Deborah M.
Click*, the Rev. David Deppe, Greg Egertson, the Rev. Ruth Frost, the
Rev. Michael Hiller*, the Rev. Jeff Johnson, the Rev. Ned O'Donnell, the
Rev. Steven Sabin, Dr. Lisa Stenmark, the Rev. Cindy Witt*, and the Rev.
Phyllis Zillhart.   An asterisk indicates the person is listed in the
1999 ELCA yearbook as an ELCA pastor.
     The 75-member procession and others were welcomed at the door to
St. Paul's by the congregation's pastor, the Rev. Stephen H. Swanson.
     "You have been away too long," Swanson said.  "Jesus said: 'Feed
my sheep.' Let's get on with the task."  Then the people gathered on the
church steps climbed steep steps to the church's sanctuary as robed
celebrants shook water from branches over them.
     Sabin, Lord of Life Lutheran Church, Ames, Iowa, a former ELCA
pastor who has been removed from the official ELCA roster of pastors,
preached.
     "Rostering is a new word in the life of the church, " Sabin said.
"We are not commissioning, we are not ordaining, we are not installing.
But we are a listing of people who have a call to ministry.  In
extraordinary times you need extraordinary measures."
     Sabin talked about spending time healing the sick and casting out
demons, not in study and discussion.
     "If I spend too much time on studies and discussion, or shaking a
fist at those I'm pleased to be angry with, then I'll miss those other
people and let down the Lord who reconfirmed my call," Sabin said.
     "Don't let anybody else die," is a mother's plea that lives in
Sabin's memory, he said. The woman urged him to continue to let gay and
lesbian people know "There is in the world a place where they fit in
God's family."  Her son committed suicide, leaving a letter revealing
that he was gay, and that he felt he didn't fit anywhere.
     An offering was taken for professional support of those honored at
the celebration.

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