ELCA Presiding Bishop-Elect Reflects on Assembly Issues

INDIANAPOLIS (ELCA) -- When elected presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, bishop of the ELCA Saint Paul Area Synod, told the assembly that elected him, "I do not regard this as an election won but a calling received."
The churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of the ELCA, is meeting here Aug. 8-14 at the Indiana Convention Center. There are more than 2,000 people participating, including 1,040 ELCA voting members. The theme for the biennial assembly is "Making Christ Known: Sharing Faith in a New Century."
At an Aug. 11 news conference, Hanson fielded questions about some of the key items under discussion and consideration by voting members of the assembly, such as same-sex unions and the ordination of gay and lesbian people in committed relationships, and a proposed ELCA constitutional bylaw that would amend a "full communion" agreement with the Episcopal Church. Under the full communion agreement "Called to Common Mission" (CCM), bishops must ordain new pastors. The bylaw, which was adopted by the churchwide assembly Aug. 11, allows a synod bishop to delegate to another pastor the authority to ordain.
"[As bishop of the St. Paul Area Synod] I have sought to articulate a real passion and vision for the mission of this church that does not disregard the differences that we have, but find unity both in our past as a Lutheran church grounded in its confessions and in our future as a missionary church in a diverse culture," Hanson said.
"Our church now does not ordain gay and lesbian people in committed relationships, and that is the position of this church that calls me to serve as its presiding bishop. And, until this church in assembly chooses to change that position, it will be that position I articulate on behalf of the church," Hanson said.
"As bishop [of the ELCA Saint Paul Area Synod], I carry forth the will of the [synod] assembly and speak on behalf of the actions of the synod. It is not the position of the bishop as a person that is to be articulated, but the position of the church," he said.
"What gives me consolation is that for 2,000 years the Christian church has been debating and [has been] divided over who is welcomed into the community of faith and on what terms. And, those have been difficult and contentious conversations," he said.
"What keeps us together in that is not the outcome of an assembly vote but [it's the ability to] stay centered, for us as Lutherans, the proclamation of the Word and the celebration of the Sacraments, and [the] realization that our unity comes from outside of us through the Gospel, which brings together a tapestry of people that do not agree on every difficult issue of the day," he said.
Hanson said one of the challenges that faces the church is "how do we see the gifts of particular people -- be they gay and lesbian, supporters of an ecumenical proposal or those opposed to it -- as strengthening the mission of this church rather than retracting energy from it?"
At the 1997 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Philadelphia, "I publicly supported the debate in The Concordat [of Agreement]. I have done so because I think that, as Lutheran Christians, we have been given a wonderful historical [moment] in ecumenism. I think my readings of [Lutheran] confessions gives us the freedom to do that because those relationships are centered in Word and Sacrament," Hanson said.
The 1997 ELCA Churchwide Assembly narrowly defeated "The Concordat of Agreement," which initially described the ways to implement full communion between the ELCA and the Episcopal Church.
"I continue to support the revised edition 'Called to Common Mission,' which I think is even an easier document for us to embrace as Lutheran Christians. I have not viewed CCM as embracing a theology that is foreign to who we are," Hanson said.
For some members of the ELCA, CCM is unsatisfactory. Those who oppose CCM believe it threatens Lutheran identity and gives more power to bishops. CCM requires a bishop to preside at all ordinations of pastors. Before CCM, ELCA bishops presided at ordinations but could delegate that authority to another pastor.
Hanson said he supports the ELCA constitutional bylaw that would allow a bishop to delegate to another pastor the authority to ordain.
"We need to walk that line between the integrity of our promises to our ecumenical partners that we made [via] CCM and the integrity of our call as leaders concerned for unity in our church. We, as a church, do not want to send messages to our ecumenical partners that our words cannot be trusted. But, we want our ecumenical partners to have the strongest united church that it can be," Hanson said.
The ELCA has full communion agreements with the Episcopal Church, Moravian Church, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Reformed Church in America and United Church of Christ.
Born in Minneapolis and raised in St. Paul, Hanson and his wife, Ione Amgrison Hanson, have six children, four of which are adopted, and one grandchild.
Hanson will begin his six-year term as the third bishop of the ELCA on Nov. 1. His installation is planned for Oct. 6 at the Rockefeller Chapel at the University of Chicago. - - -
Information about assembly actions is at http://www.elca.org/assembly/01 on the ELCA's Web site. Recorded updates during the assembly are available by calling 773/380-2477.

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