February 2008
e-Update for Rostered Leaders
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ:
Greetings to you in this Lenten season.
The purpose of this communication is to inform you of the next steps in the work of the Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality.
You may recall that the 2001 ELCA Churchwide Assembly requested that this church develop a social statement on human sexuality. The 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly will discuss and make a determination about the social statement.
Release of Draft Statement
The ELCA Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality has prepared a draft of the social statement for feedback and response. This draft will be made available to the ELCA on March 13 at 1 p.m. Eastern time on this website. It also will be mailed to all rostered leaders and ELCA congregations.
The release date was chosen after long and careful deliberation considering both the parameters of the ELCA social statement process and the church calendar. This included attention to synod assembly schedules (several are held by mid-April) which are key venues for discussion of the draft. The timeline was discussed at length by the ELCA Church Council.
Following an extensive review and comment period, the draft will be revised by the task force. A proposed social statement will be prepared by the task force one year from now. It will be reviewed by the ELCA Church Council in March 2009 for recommendation to the 2009 Churchwide Assembly, which will be held August 17-23, 2009, in Minneapolis.
Please keep in mind these points about the draft social statement and possible responses to it:
1. This document is a draft, and is subject to change.
2. This draft social statement will not contain recommendations, requested by the 2007 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, that "address changes to any policies that preclude practicing homosexual persons from the rosters of this church." The task force will bring recommendations on rostering to the 2009 Churchwide Assembly in a separate document that will be sent to the ELCA Church Council in February of 2009. The task force will also bring to the 2009 Assembly implementing resolutions attached to the proposed social statement.
Responses Sought
In the coming months the task force seeks response from this church on the draft. The means of response include the comment form attached to the draft booklet and reports from organized hearings. As of today 52 synods have scheduled at least one such hearing. Synods are responsible for convening, publicizing, hosting, and reporting on these events. A representative of the task force will be present and a separate summary report will be provided to the task force by the synod.
The task force thanks you for your accompaniment in this journey together and your leadership role in receiving the draft social statement. We will continue to pray for your ministry and ask for your prayers as this work continues.
Kind regards,
The Rev. Rebecca S. Larson
Executive Director
ELCA Church in Society