ELCA Council Adopts Message on Commercial Sexual Exploitation

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) adopted a message on commercial sexual exploitation "to raise awareness of the industry that sexually exploits vulnerable persons, principally women and girls, but also men and boys." The council called on Lutherans "to examine how this industry might affect their lives" and consider ways "to combat its evils."
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. 9-11. Assemblies are held every other year; the next is Aug. 11-17, 2003, in Milwaukee.
The Rev. Alvin S. "Al" Erickson Jr., an ELCA pastor and founder of the Alliance for Speaking Truths on Prostitution (A-STOP), Minneapolis, told the council, "The leadership of the ELCA bringing this issue to light is remarkable." He said he didn't know of any other church body sending such a message.
The pastor described a "dark world" of commercial sexual exploitation that enslaved young women in a cult-like atmosphere -- promising love and support their family and friends cannot provide -- sometimes against their wills. The product of that slavery enslaves its users, he said.
Erickson said much of what the sex industry does is legal -- strip clubs, Web pages and escort services. "People will give us as much nonsense as we have room for," he said, inviting council members to open the phone books in their homes and look up "escort services" to see how "mainstream" the sex industry has become.
A-STOP has produced a number of educational programs for churches and schools to help educate everyone from teen-agers to pastors, said Erickson. He compared pornography to quicksand in which anyone can get bogged down.
"Love born of faith in Jesus Christ calls us all to attend to, discuss, resist, and reject the system of commercial sexual exploitation," says the ELCA message. "Members, congregations, synods, churchwide units, and affiliated agencies and institutions are encouraged to renew their care and concern for children and youth, recognizing that there are those who prey upon young persons in their dependency and vulnerability."
"Commercial sexual exploitation includes the businesses of prostitution, pornography, and stripping," says the message. "It includes what customers do by: viewing pornographic videos; downloading pornography from the Internet; visiting strip clubs; engaging in simulated sex by phone or computer; using escort services; and participating in sex tourism."
"While customers may think they harm no one but themselves, the truth is that they are swept up in a system of sexual exploitation that degrades all participants, both providers and customers," it says.
"Equally committed people may disagree on what laws should be in place or what are the best measures to address prostitution, pornography, and stripping. In light of the scope and complexity of the action required, a multitude of creative and courageous responses are needed," says the message.
The message provides several things that Lutherans and Lutheran institutions can do to "combat" the sex industry. "Find out what is happening in your community," it says. "Inquire about the legal situation in your locale, consider joining with advocacy organizations that address the issue, and support law enforcement agencies when they constitutionally pursue and prosecute predators."
"Prevent youth from becoming captives of the system of sexual exploitation," says the message. "Provide safe settings for men, women and youth to talk about their attitudes toward and struggles with prostitution, pornography and stripping and appropriate uses of the Internet."
"Examine spending and investments" and "support social agencies that work with youth and adults who are in prostitution," recommends the message.
"This church supports international agreements and national laws to stop sex trafficking and calls for the will and the resources to enforce them," it says. "This church supports Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service and Lutheran World Relief in their efforts to assist these victims in the United States and other parts of the world."
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service is a joint ministry of the ELCA, Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) and Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It was established by Lutheran churches in the United States to carry out the churches' ministry with immigrants and refugees around the world.
Lutheran World Relief (LWR) is the overseas relief and development ministry of the ELCA and LCMS. In addition to supporting development projects worldwide, LWR is a member of Action by Churches Together, an international alliance of churches and relief agencies assisting thousands of people recovering from emergencies in more than 50 countries.
The council decided to delete a phrase contrasting sexual exploitation and marriage. The message reads: "The system of sexual exploitation corrupts God's wonderful gift of sexuality by reducing it to a marketable item. It separates sex from mutual relationships of trust, love, and equality intended by God." An amendment deleted what was to be the rest of the second sentence: "and mocks the faithful, caring, life-long marital context for sexual intimacy." -- -- --
The ELCA Message on Commercial Sexual Exploitation is available at http://www.elca.org/dcs/commercial_sexual_exploitation.html on the World Wide Web.
The Alliance for Speaking Truths on Prostitution (A-STOP) has a home page at http://www.a-stop.org/ on the Web.
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service has a home page at http://www.lirs.org/ on the Web, and http://www.lwr.org/ is the home page for Lutheran World Relief.

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