wfn.org | Bishop Grants First Exception to ELCA Ordination Policy

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

July 3, 2002

BISHOP GRANTS FIRST EXCEPTION TO ELCA ORDINATION POLICY
02-160-FI

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A synod bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America (ELCA) granted the first exception to rules governing
the ELCA's full communion relationship with the Episcopal Church.
Daniel D. Shaw, a 2002 graduate of Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn.,
will be ordained July 20 by his pastor rather than by his bishop.
     The Rev. Wm. Chris Boerger, bishop of the ELCA Northwest
Washington Synod, Seattle, granted the exception.  He said he plans to
attend Shaw's ordination at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Tacoma, Wash.,
"but as a pastor of the ELCA not as a participant in the service."
     The ELCA's 2001 Churchwide Assembly adopted a bylaw amendment on
ordination in "unusual circumstances," which allows a synod bishop,
under certain circumstances, to authorize another pastor of the church
to preside at an ordination.  The full communion agreement between the
ELCA and Episcopal Church directs that "a bishop shall regularly preside
and participate in the laying-on-of-hands at the ordination of all
clergy."
     "In adopting the bylaw on exceptions, the churchwide assembly
recognized the desire for unity within the ELCA without diminishing our
commitment to full communion with the Episcopal Church," said the Rev.
Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the ELCA.
     "I trust this ordination will be a significant healing step for
those in the ELCA who continue to express theological opposition" to
parts of the agreement, said Hanson, "even as we build upon the new
opportunities for shared mission with our full communion partners."
     The Rev. Richard H. Foege will ordain Shaw, 26.  Foege is pastor
of the Tacoma congregation in which he baptized and confirmed Shaw.
     Boerger said he granted the exception after consulting with
Hanson, his synod council, several pastors in his synod and the Rt. Rev.
Vincent W. Warner, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia, Wash.
     "In his consultations with me, it is clear that Bishop Boerger has
fulfilled the intent of the bylaw by exercising thoughtful and pastoral
leadership in granting this request," said Hanson.  "He has exhibited
respect for the conscience of the applicant and the effective ministry
of the calling congregation without diminishing his strong ecumenical
leadership."
     Shaw has consistently questioned the need for ordination by a
bishop, said Boerger.  The congregation which called Shaw to be its
pastor -- Zion Lutheran Church, Kent, Wash. -- has been "vocal" in
questioning requirements related to the ELCA's full communion agreement
with the Episcopal Church, Boerger added.
     The process for securing the exception was "fairly smooth," said
Shaw.  "Bishop Boerger was forthright and honest from the outset," he
said.  "The faculty at Luther was very helpful and insightful in
exploring the confessional issues and the theological warrants for
seeking the exception."
     "The reason for [requesting] the exception is due chiefly to how
our Lutheran confessional writings make the proper distinction between
human and divine authority.  The church government, and/or how the
church is structured institutionally, is a matter of freedom not law,"
said Shaw.
     "This is Luther's classic distinction between what is law and what
is gospel.  The gospel means freedom; the law always accuses.  To
confuse the two is simply to lose the former, which is everything," he
said.
     "Human traditions do not constitute or make the church.  Rather
the church is a creature of the Word, and sustained by that Word only,"
said Shaw.  Ordination by a bishop is a human tradition, and to require
it "is simply to abrogate the Word from its rightful place, which is the
center," he said.
     When the ELCA adopted the amendment allowing such exceptions, the
Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold III, presiding bishop of the Episcopal
Church, said, "It is too early to tell how frequently the ordination in
'unusual circumstances' will occur, or what the Episcopal Church's
likely response will be.  Only our General Convention can speak
officially on that."
     The next Episcopal General Convention will be July 30-Aug. 8,
2003, in Minneapolis.

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