wfn.org | ELCA Boards Appoint Task Force for Studies on Sexuality

[News News <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

March 18, 2002

ELCA BOARDS APPOINT TASK FORCE FOR STUDIES ON SEXUALITY
02-051-FI

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Boards of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA) Division for Church in Society and Division for Ministry
appointed a 13-member task force to assist the Rev. James M. Childs Jr.,
director of the ELCA studies on sexuality.  The boards acted in a joint
session here March 16.
     Childs began Feb. 1 as director of a four-year study on
homosexuality for the ELCA.  The study is meant to help the church
answer questions about the ordination of homosexual clergy and the
blessing of same-gender relationships.  The study will also feed into
the preparation of a social statement on human sexuality.
     In August the 2001 ELCA Churchwide Assembly asked the Division for
Ministry and Division for Church in Society to lead a comprehensive
four-year study on homosexuality and report back to the 2003 and 2005
Churchwide Assemblies.  The assembly also asked the Division for Church
in Society to prepare a social statement on human sexuality.
     The two divisions developed a six-point "protocol" to coordinate
the assembly mandates.  The protocol outlined how leadership in the
projects will be shared, the selection of a study director, how the
director is to be supervised, the selection of a task force, how and
when study reports will be issued and how study documents will be
authorized for distribution.
     "On behalf of the whole ELCA, the board members and staff of the
Division for Ministry and the Division for Church and Society express
our sincere gratitude to these persons for their willingness to accept
appointment to the Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality," said
Childs.  "We are confident that these individuals are persons of deep
faith and genuine integrity who will serve the church well."
     Childs said the task force will work with him "in setting
directions for the studies and in the preparation of reports and
documents responsive to the mandates of the 2001 Churchwide Assembly
regarding studies on sexuality."
     "A task force selection committee, which included representatives
from both boards, engaged in extensive deliberation and consultation
with persons throughout the church before selecting a slate of nominees
from more than 200 nominations received from church members all over the
country," said Childs.
     "Although it is not possible for a workable-sized task force to be
a microcosm of the church in all its various viewpoints and
constituencies, we have taken care to see that it includes persons who
represent a variety of important voices in the church and who have the
necessary blend of maturity and competence to listen, study, and
prayerfully and intelligently process the myriad of concerns,
convictions, and theological, ethical, and scientific opinions that come
before it," Childs said.
     "It is important to underscore the fact that the task force will
be supplemented by consultations with people of various viewpoints and
with particular expertise and experience," said Childs.  "Most important
of all will be the feedback from dialogues carried on in congregations,
synods, and schools throughout the church," he added.
     The Rev. Margaret G. Payne, bishop of the ELCA New England Synod,
Worcester, Mass., will chair the task force.  The other 12 members are:
 + Erin Clark, student at Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, member of Grace
Lutheran Church, Knoxville, Ill.
 + the Rev. Terence E. Fretheim, professor at Luther Seminary, St. Paul,
Minn., member of Messiah Lutheran Church, Park Ridge, Ill.
 + Dr. Julio A. Fonseca, psychologist, member of Iglesia Luterana
Getsemani, Dorado, Puerto Rico
 + Louis M. Hesse, farmer, member of Immanuel Lutheran Church, Moses
Lake, Wash.
 + the Rev. Lucy A. Kolin, Resurrection Lutheran Church, Oakland, Calif.
 + the Rev. Gary J. Liedtke, Calvary Lutheran Church, Brookfield, Wis.
 + the Rev. Kevin R. Maly, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Denver
 + Dr. John Prabhakar, surgeon, member of Faith Lutheran Church,
Rochelle, Ill.
 + the Rev. E. Peter Strommen, bishop of the ELCA Northeastern Minnesota
Synod, member of First Lutheran Church, Duluth, Minn.
 + Dr. Nancy W. Walker, psychologist, member of St. Luke Lutheran
Church, Charlotte, N.C.
 + the Rev. Timothy J. Wengert, professor at Lutheran Theological
Seminary at Philadelphia; member of St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran
Church, Glenside, Pa.
 + Dr. Diane Yaeger, professor at Georgetown University, Washington,
D.C.; member of Resurrection Lutheran Church, Arlington, Va.
     "We have a task force that represents the broad thought and
perspective of the church," said the Rev. Denver W. Bitner, Zion
Lutheran Church, Rockford, Ill.  Bitner is board chair of the ELCA
Division for Church in Society.
     As a member of the selection committee, Bitner said he was
impressed by the large number of people who expressed an interest in
serving on the task force and by "their desire to help their church come
to grips with these difficult issues."
     As a parish pastor, Bitner said he has been concerned about the
church's ability to deal with the delicate issues related to human
sexuality.  "Seeing the people who have agreed to serve on the task
force, I have real hope that the church can do this and do it well," he
said.

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