wfn.org | [LCMSNews] Statement addresses ELCA actions

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>8.27.2009		
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>THE LUTHERAN CHURCH Missouri Synod  	 	
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	August 27, 2009 .................... LCMSNews -- No. 70

Kieschnick issues statement after ELCA assembly actions

Repeating the LCMS position that the Bible condemns homosexual activity,
Synod President Gerald Kieschnick issued a statement Aug. 24 that also
offers "loving encouragement" and "our willingness to provide
appropriate support" to like-minded pastors and lay people of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

As Kieschnick pointed out early in his statement to Synod leaders and
congregations, the statement came on the heels of the 2009 ELCA
Churchwide Assembly, which on Aug. 21 "voted to open the ministry of the
ELCA to gay and lesbian pastors and other professional workers living in
'committed relationships.' In an earlier action, the assembly approved a
resolution that commits the ELCA 'to finding ways to allow congregations
that choose to do so to recognize, support, and hold publicly
accountable lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships.' "

The assembly met Aug. 17-22 at the Minneapolis (Minn.) Convention
Center.

"The [LCMS] has repeatedly affirmed as its own position the historical
understanding of the Christian church that the Bible condemns homosexual
behavior as 'intrinsically sinful,' " Kieschnick continued in his
statement, adding, "It is therefore contrary to the will of the Creator
and constitutes sin against the commandments of God."

Kieschnick then quoted from greetings he delivered Aug. 22 to the ELCA
assembly, as follows:

"The decisions by this assembly to grant non-celibate homosexual
ministers the privilege of serving as rostered leaders in the ELCA and
the affirmation of same-gender unions as pleasing to God will
undoubtedly cause additional stress and disharmony within the ELCA. It
will also negatively affect the relationships between our two church
bodies. The current division between our churches threatens to become a
chasm. This grieves my heart and the hearts of all in the ELCA, the
LCMS, and other Christian church bodies throughout the world who do not
see these decisions as compatible with the Word of God, or in agreement
with the consensus of 2,000 years of Christian theological affirmation
regarding what Scripture teaches about human sexuality.  Simply stated,
this matter is fundamentally related to significant differences in how
we [our two church bodies] understand the authority of Holy Scripture
and the interpretation of God's revealed and infallible Word."

As Kieschnick also pointed out in his Aug. 24 statement, "Doctrinal
decisions adopted already in 2001 led the LCMS, in sincere humility and
love, to declare that we could no longer consider the ELCA 'to be an
orthodox Lutheran church body' (2001 Res 3-21A). Sadly, the decisions
this past week to ignore biblical teaching on human sexuality have
reinforced that conclusion. We respect the desire to follow conscience
in moral decision making, but conscience may not overrule the Word of
God.

"We recognize that many brothers and sisters within the ELCA, both
clergy and lay, are committed to remaining faithful to the Gospel of our
Lord Jesus Christ, are committed to the authority of Holy Scripture, and
strongly oppose these actions," the statement continued. "To them we
offer our assurances of loving encouragement, together with our
willingness to provide appropriate support, in their efforts to remain
faithful to the Word of God and the historic teachings of the Lutheran
church and all other Christian churches for the past 2,000 years."

Among other actions, the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly adopted:

	

*	a "full communion" agreement with the United Methodist Church.
This is the ELCA's sixth full communion relationship and the first for
the United Methodists.

	

*	"Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust," the church body's 10th social
statement. Requiring a two-thirds vote for approval, it passed by a vote
of 676-338 -- precisely two-thirds.

	

*	development of a social statement on justice for women in church
and society for consideration by the 2015 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

	

*	continued development of the Lutheran Malaria Initiative, a
shared effort with the LCMS, Lutheran World Relief, and the United
Nations Foundation -- to fight malaria, especially in Africa.

	

*	raising $10 million over the next three years to support the
ELCA HIV and AIDS strategy.

	

*	urging comprehensive reform of U.S. immigration policies and
processes, and calling for suspension of immigration raids until such
reform is enacted.

Voting members at the assembly also re-elected on the fourth ballot ELCA
Vice President Carlos Pena of Galveston, Texas.

The next ELCA Churchwide Assembly is set for Orlando, Fla., in 2011.

With 4.6 million members and 2.4 million members, respectively, the ELCA
and the LCMS are the largest Lutheran church bodies in the United
States.

For the complete text of Kieschnick's Aug. 24 statement, go to
http://www.lcms.org/?15620 on the Web. For the text of his Aug. 22
remarks to the ELCA Churchwide Assembly, go to
http://www.lcms.org/?15618. For more information about actions of the
2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, go to the ELCA Web site,
http://www.elca.org.

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

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