CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) decided "to decline to initiate a study on the ordination of non-celibate gay and lesbian persons." The suggestion for such a study came to the 1999 ELCA Churchwide Assembly as "information."
The Church Council is the ELCA's board of directors and serves as the legislative authority of the church between its churchwide assemblies. The council met April 8-9 in Chicago. Assemblies are held every other year; the next is Aug. 8-14, 2001, in Indianapolis.
In November 1999 the council asked the ELCA Department for Research and Evaluation to prepare a "Draft Proposal on the Feasibility of a Possible Study on the Ordination of Non-Celibate Gay and Lesbian Persons in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America." The council received that report at this April meeting and modified its recommendations.
The Church Council voted "to continue thoughtful, deliberate, and prayerful conversations throughout the ELCA about human sexuality, including homosexuality, and the inclusion of gay and lesbian persons in our common life and mission, and to encourage the participation of congregations, synods, seminaries, and churchwide units in this process."
It also asked various divisions and commissions, as well as the ELCA Conference of Bishops, to report annually to the council and churchwide assemblies through 2003 "on the nature and extent of their activities and conversations regarding these issues."
Calling for continued conversation and annual reports were portions of two recommendations from the draft proposal, said Sally Young, council member, Waterloo, Iowa, after she made the motion for the council's program and services committee. She said the church was not "ready" to tackle the volatile issues related to such a study.
The conversation of the 1999 Churchwide Assembly was one of "concern and respect," she said. "We want to hold on to that; keep that going."
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
