CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The draft of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America's (ELCA) proposed social statement on human
sexuality will be available March 13. The Task Force for ELCA
Studies on Sexuality met here Jan. 25-26 to complete its work
on the draft and give final instructions to its writing team.
The task force received a final report on responses for
"Free in Christ to Serve the Neighbor: Lutherans Talk about
Human Sexuality" -- part three of the "Journey Together
Faithfully" study materials for members of the ELCA -- and the
group spent eight sessions reviewing draft material of the
social statement in closed, off-the-record sessions.
"When social statements are in the actual process of
being written, things are very fluid," said the Rev. Peter
Strommen, bishop, ELCA Northeastern Minnesota Synod, Duluth,
and task force chair. "This is our last meeting before the
draft is released. The task force continues to work very
hard, securing participation from the entire group," he said.
Members of the church can expect a draft document that
is theological and examines human sexuality from a "deep
Lutheran perspective," said Strommen. He said the task
force hopes the social statement will serve to benefit the
church's discussion on the topic of human sexuality.
"A social statement needs to build a theological
foundation that engages the social context. On something as
broad and complex as human sexuality, specific topics cannot
be addressed comprehensively. The social statement's
implementing resolutions will lift up the areas that need
greater attention from this church," said Strommen.
"One way of picturing the social statement is a bridge.
We seek to fashion a theological bridge that can handle the
heavy traffic of human sexuality issues of our times and (to)
do so without losing our evangelical focus," said Strommen.
The draft of the proposed social statement on human
sexuality will be posted at http://www.ELCA.org/faithfuljourney
and sent to clergy and other professional leaders of the ELCA.
Between March and November, a series of hearings on the draft
document will be held across the church. Members of the task
force will participate in the hearings and gather feedback on
the draft until Nov. 1.
A proposed social statement on human sexuality is due in
early 2009. The final proposed statement will be given to the
ELCA Church Council with a request to place the document on the
agenda of the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly for action. The
assembly will be held Aug. 7-13, 2009, in Minneapolis.
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Information about the ELCA Studies on Sexuality is at
http://www.ELCA.org/faithfuljourney on the ELCA Web site.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog
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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
