MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) – The president of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod (LCMS), the Rev. Gerald B. Kieschnick, told the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Churchwide Assembly Aug. 22 that its decisions earlier this week to allow and support rostering those in lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships would “undoubtably cause additional stress and disharmony” in the ELCA and beyond.
The churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of the ELCA, is meeting here Aug. 17-23 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. About 2,000 people are participating, including 1,045 ELCA voting members. The theme for the biennial assembly is “God’s work. Our hands.”
Kieschnick, president of the 2.4-million member LCMS, said the following in brief greetings to the assembly on behalf of the Missouri Synod, which is the second largest Lutheran church body in North America:
“I speak these ... words in deep humility, with a heavy heart and no desire whatsoever to offend. The decisions by this assembly to grant non-celibate homosexual ministers the privilege of serving as rostered leaders in the ELCA and the affirmation of same gender unions as pleasing to God will undoubtedly cause additional stress and disharmony within the ELCA. It will also negatively affect the relationships between our two church bodies.”
“The current division between our churches threatens to become a chasm,” he continued. “This grieves my heart and the hearts of all in the ELCA, the LCMS, and other Christian church bodies throughout the world who do not see these decisions as compatible with the Word of God, or in agreement with the consensus of 2,000 years of Christian theological affirmation regarding what Scripture teaches about human sexuality. Simply stated, this matter is fundamentally related to significant differences in how we understand the authority of Holy Scripture and the interpretation of God’s revealed and infallible Word.
Kieschnick said his greeting from the LCMS came “at a difficult time in the world and in the church,” as he alluded to economic pressures, strife in Lutheranism and the Christian Church as a whole, mankind’s inhumanity to mankind manifest in global unrest and worldwide terrorism and peace that is often elusive, both in the world and the church.
“Lutherans are no strangers to discord and divisiveness,” he said. “The Lutheran church was born under such conditions.”
“Discord can become concord,” Kieschnick said, referencing the “Formula of Concord,” “when Christian individuals and Christian church bodies are faithful to the Holy Scriptures, which reveal the Gospel of God’s grace, forgiveness, and salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” The “Formula of Concord” is a 16th century statement of the Lutheran faith.
Kieschnick told the assembly that the fact that he represents the LCMS at an ELCA churchwide assembly “bears witness to the fact that, sadly and regrettably, in spite of the holy Word and mercy of our God, the Confessions affirmed by the constitutions of both of our church bodies and the faithful example of those who have gone before us, schisms remain, not only in the Christian church, but also in the Lutheran church. We have doctrinal differences that separate us. That is no secret.”
“May God grant each of us sensitivity, humility, boldness, courage, faithfulness, and forgiveness as we continue to strive toward God-pleasing harmony and concord in what we believe, teach, and confess,” Kieschnick said. “We have much to accomplish in the mission our Lord Jesus has entrusted to us. May God have mercy upon us all, and grant us His peace in Christ.”
As Kieschnick ended his remarks, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, expressed to him “my deep commitment that our shared confessions that hold us together as Lutherans ... will be strong enough for us to continue to be in conversation” and to continue work together through several cooperative ministries.
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Information about the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly can be found at http://www.elca.org/assembly/ on the Web.
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John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
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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
