ELCA Council Asks for Report, Suggests Bylaw on CCM Exceptions

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) asked the ELCA Office of the Bishop to consult with other bishops and ecumenical partners about a possible constitutional bylaw that would allow for exceptions to ordination procedures -- procedures required by a full communion agreement between the ELCA and The Episcopal Church. The council offered a draft of a possible bylaw for discussion by the church.
The council asked the Office of the Bishop to report back to the council at its Spring 2001 meeting, and it said it "may consider at that time" transmitting a bylaw proposal for consideration by the 2001 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.
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 here Nov. 10-13. Assemblies are held every other year; the next is Aug. 8-14, 2001, in Indianapolis. The ELCA is organized into 65 synods, each headed by a bishop.
The council's request and suggested text for a possible bylaw are the result of many discussions in the ELCA in the past few years. In 1999 the ELCA, and in 2000 the Episcopal Church, adopted the full communion agreement, "Called to Common Mission" (CCM). With CCM, the churches agreed to cooperate in a variety of ministries, and it allows for sharing of clergy. It is not a merger of the churches.
In the ELCA, CCM has generated some opposition. Those who oppose CCM say it threatens Lutheran identity and gives bishops more authority. One issue for some Lutherans who oppose CCM is a requirement that a synod bishop preside at future Lutheran ordinations; under present practice in the ELCA, a synod bishop may designate another pastor to ordain.
The council's action is intended as a possible answer for those who may prefer to be ordained by another pastor instead of a bishop. Under the suggested bylaw text, a synodical bishop may allow another pastor to ordain a properly approved candidate "for pastoral reasons in unusual circumstances."
"Prior to authorization of such an ordination, the bishop of the synod of the candidate's first call shall consult with the presiding bishop as this church's chief ecumenical officer and shall seek the advice of the Synod Council," the suggested text said. "The pastoral decision of the synod bishop shall be informed by the guidelines developed by the ELCA Division for Ministry, reviewed by the ELCA Conference of Bishops and adopted by the Church Council."
The suggested text is consistent with the suggestions of the Conference of Bishops, an advisory body comprised of the ELCA's 65 synod bishops, presiding bishop and ELCA secretary. The conference reviewed the issue and made its recommendations when members met here last month.
The decision to offer a possible bylaw for comment allows time for the council to get more input from the church and its ecumenical partners before the spring 2001 meeting, said Dale V. Sandstrom, council member, Bismarck, N.D. Sandstrom also chairs the council's Legal and Constitutional Review Committee.
"This is also an opportunity to ensure that your mailboxes will be full," Sandstrom told the council.
Sandstrom explained that if the council decides to transmit a bylaw to the 2001 Churchwide Assembly, it may be done at its spring 2001 meeting. Had it chosen to transmit a constitutional amendment to the 2001 assembly, it would have been required to do so at this meeting. Consideration and discussion of a possible bylaw allows time for comment.
The Rev. Lowell G. Almen, ELCA secretary, agreed, saying the council's recommendation "will allow time for further conversation" as the church seeks to "live into the agreement we made on CCM."
Mark Buccheim, council member, Tulsa, Okla., asked when proposed guidelines for exceptions to ordination will be developed by the ELCA Division for Ministry in consultation with the ELCA Conference of Bishops. The Rev. Joseph M. Wagner, executive director of the ELCA Division for Ministry, said the division hasn't discussed the issue, but he said he expected it will develop proposed guidelines early next year in consultation with the bishops.
J. David Watrous, council member, Richland, Wash., asked if a candidate ordained in a manner other than required by CCM will be placed on the church's official clergy roster or another roster.
Candidates ordained according to the ELCA's constitution and bylaws become pastors of the ELCA, Almen said. "The ELCA is a church where we maintain one roster of ordained ministry," he said in response.
"The concept (of the council's proposal) is driven by seminarians who cannot in good conscience participate" in ordination under CCM's terms, said the Rev. Roy G. Almquist, bishop of the ELCA Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod, Norristown, Pa. Almquist serves as one of nine advisory bishops to the council.
"Some bishops are struggling with this issue," said Almquist, who added that CCM is not a significant issue in his synod. "This is an attempt to be responsive to our colleagues where this is a very painful issue," he said.
Earlier in the meeting, the council transmitted to the churchwide assembly proposed constitutional amendments that would make possible a bylaw addressing exceptions to CCM ordination procedures. -- -- --
Documents from the Church Council meeting are available at http://www.elca.org/os/churchcouncil/actions.html on the ELCA Web site.

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