ELCA Bishops Hear Proposals for Study, Voice Preferences

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Two divisions of the churchwide organization of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) said they will work cooperatively to carry out directives of the 2001 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, division leaders said in a report to the ELCA Conference of Bishops Oct. 8. The assembly, which met in August in Indianapolis, directed the churchwide organization to produce a study on homosexuality, develop a plan and time line leading to a decision regarding the possible ordination of gay and lesbian people in committed relationships and initiate a process to develop a social statement on human sexuality.
The Conference of Bishops, which met here Oct. 4-9, is an advisory body to the church. Its members include the ELCA's 65 synod bishops, ELCA presiding bishop and ELCA secretary.
The bishops were the first group to hear suggestions for how the study and statement may be done. They made known their preferences for how to proceed, though the ELCA Church Council will make formal decisions on the proposals.
The ELCA Church Council is the church's board of directors and functions as the interim legislative authority between churchwide assemblies. The next assembly is planned for 2003 in Milwaukee. The council will meet here Nov. 9-11.
In introducing the report on the proposals to the bishops, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop-elect, said "homosexuality and human sexuality should not define who we are as the ELCA, but a part of who we are."
The ELCA Division for Ministry and ELCA Division for Church in Society propose to lead together the effort to fulfill the assembly mandates, said the Rev. Joseph M. Wagner, executive director, Division for Ministry. The units propose to combine into a single effort the homosexuality study, the request for a specific time line leading to a decision on ordaining gay and lesbian people in committed relationships and the process for a social statement on human sexuality, Wagner said.
The process would involve regular consultation with the Church Council, Conference of Bishops, presiding bishop, members of synods, seminaries, colleges and universities, and other units of the church, he said. He also said the lead units involved acknowledge the "unsettled time" in the United States following the recent terrorist attacks and the U.S. military response in Afghanistan.
The homosexuality study and ordination plan and time line have the ELCA's 2005 Churchwide Assembly as deadlines for possible decision; the assembly mandated no deadline for the human sexuality social statement.
"We could not accomplish all of this in four years," Wagner said. Initial work will build on the existing ELCA message, "Sexuality: Some Common Convictions," which the Church Council adopted in 1996, he said.
A preliminary report on the homosexuality study will be provided to the 2003 Churchwide Assembly, with a final report in 2005, Wagner said. A preliminary draft of the human sexuality statement would be made in 2005, with a final report planned for 2007, he added.
In a written report to the bishops, the divisions outlined as many as four different options for accomplishing the tasks. One option is to delay the study, given the circumstances surrounding the Sept. 11 attacks. Three other options lay out proposals for study with costs that could range from $850,000 to $1.3 million over six years, depending on the process chosen, the bishops were told. Presently, no funds are budgeted for these expenses.
Next month, the report said, the divisions plan to ask the Church Council to authorize an initial expenditure of $250,000, which would include appointment of a full-time study director. In the spring, they plan to ask the council to identify sources for additional funds, parameters of the study and, if desired, appointment of a task force.
Both of the divisions' executive directors proposed that they approve printing and distribution of any documents associated with the study, the report said.
In an informal poll, the bishops seemed to favor appointment of a study director, a small task force, and use of existing meetings in congregations and synods for discussion and feedback. Costs for this mid-range option are estimated at $1 million over six years.
In a discussion, the bishops offered a wide range of opinions about how to proceed.
"I think there would be great value in having the widest possible involvement," said the Rev. Paul J. Blom, bishop of the ELCA Texas- Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod, Houston. Speaking in favor of a greater degree of study, he said such a process might provide a good teaching moment in the church for how members can engage in moral deliberation together.
The Rev. Peter Rogness, bishop of the ELCA Greater Milwaukee Synod, said an approach without a task force might offer the church a better chance for wide-ranging and open discussion. "I think we widen it (the study process) by doing a low-budget process," he said.
Anxiety in congregations about the study might be reduced if congregations are engaged and there is regular consultation with the ELCA bishops, said the Rev. Marcus J. Miller, bishop of the ELCA Northeastern Ohio Synod, Cuyahoga Falls. "People I have heard from want the opportunity to speak with the director and the task force," he said.
Finances for such a study are important, said the Rev. Ronald D. Martinson, bishop of the ELCA Alaska Synod, Anchorage. However, he noted that money provided for a study alone may not provide all of the answers to meet the needs of members.
"What's going to do it is when people really dig into Scripture and learn where we are as Lutherans," Martinson said.
In brief comments to the bishops on behalf of the ELCA's seminary presidents, the Rev. Frederick H. Reisz Jr., president of Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, an ELCA seminary in Columbia, S.C., said the presidents have discussed this issue. As the church works through the assembly's mandates, Reisz said, seminary faculties will likely offer at least three resources: a bibliography of resources on homosexuality, a booklet including the views of four authors based on biblical hermeneutics and ethics, and a resource on the issue of blessings of same-gender relationships based on a series of papers.
However the ELCA proceeds, Reisz emphasized the importance of a full church discussion and discernment leading to any decisions.
"People have to come out of this process feeling like this was a church decision," he said.

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