religious dispatch

4 Things the Lutheran Gay Vote Doesn’t Mean. And 5 Things It Does

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Following August’s vote by ECLA to permit noncelibate Lutherans to become clergy, Queerty has brought you straight pastor Erik Samuelson’s perspective, and queer pastor Lura Green’s as well. Today we hear from Ross Murray, interim associate director of Lutherans Concerned/North America, a group that actively lobbied for inclusion of LGBTs in the Lutheran Church. Here, he shares what the vote did, and didn’t, mean.

I was raised as a life-long Lutheran. To be perfectly honest, I think that being Lutheran is just as much of my identity as being gay is. I grew up in Northern Minnesota, on the Canadian Border, and my small hometown was not known for its gay-friendliness. I didn’t dare come out until I was ready to move to Minneapolis. However my pastor was a major part of my coming out process. I came out to him long before coming out to others, He put up with a lot of angsty shit. He also pointed me in the direction of ministry, even knowing that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America policy would not allow it.

When I was in high school, my pastor was a voting member to a previous Churchwide Assembly. There was a brief debate about sexuality and changing the discriminatory policy of the ELCA. As he told me about the debate, he mentioned, “I think that the Church has come a long way, but I don’t think that policy change is going to happen in your lifetime.”

A note from Mr. Murray: Thanks to the editors for actively reaching out to get as many perspectives as possible on the recent actions of the Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. I’m going to attempt to put these events into perspective. You have seen other reports and commentary on here, but I may be able to describe the week in terms of the strategic intentions of the people who were working toward full inclusion.

I became active in Lutherans Concerned/North America because of a small discriminatory experience I had with a Christian ministry not associated with the ELCA. I was on a traveling music ministry team and was kicked out after coming out to my teammates. I went home discouraged and found a lot of comfort in the Twin Cities chapter of LC/NA. My involvement in the Twin Cities chapter led to attending an assembly for all of LC/NA. I found the people to be warm and hospitable, like a large family. Since then, I’ve served on the Board of Directors, and eventually the staff of LC/NA.

So what is this LC/NA? It’s an organization committed to education and advocacy for the full inclusion of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities in the life of the Lutheran Church, its ecumenical and global partners. (Our membership includes people from the ELCA, the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, the Wisconsin Evangelical Synod, and a host of other Lutheran and pseudo-Lutheran organizations.) LC/NA has been around since 1974, starting as a sanctuaried worship movement. LGBT people (mostly G at that time) would have worships in secret locations because they were too afraid to worship in a congregation. Sanctuary is still important to our organization, as there are still places and denominations that are not as safe for LGBT people.

LC/NA works toward making the whole Lutheran Church a more welcome place to LGBT people. This is where our work with the ELCA comes in. Formerly, the ELCA had a policy that called for its ministers to be either married or celibate. There was a particular line that read, “Ordained ministers who are homosexual in their self-understanding are expected to abstain from homosexual sexual relationships.” So a minister would be gay and single and technically still be allowed to serve, but if that minister was known to be partnered (or dating…or even suspected of wanting to date), then that minister could be removed from the roster of clergy serving. It was a system that removed a lot of good pastors, either through trial or through intimidation.

I must say, with no small amount of pride, LC/NA and our Goodsoil partners got exactly what we were going for at the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

LC/NA is not the only LGBT Lutheran organization around. LC/NA has worked with several other partners to form a coalition called Goodsoil, a coalition of organizations working toward policy change within the ELCA since it began its sexuality study process. We have had representatives at meeting of the ELCA Task Force on Human Sexuality. We worked with LGBT and allies Lutherans across the ELCA at synod assemblies (the miniature versions of the Churchwide Assembly) to pass memorials along to the Churchwide Assembly to attempt to change the policy. We offered trainings in faith-based community organizing to help congregations become more welcoming and to create change in the ELCA. Our members and partners learned to tell their story, talk about scripture, and have one-on-one conversations with leaders and voting members. All of these actions helped to set the tone that LGBT people have always been a part of the Lutheran Church, and always will be. All of this work was for “full inclusion”. The passage of a positive social statement and the elimination of the prohibition of clergy in same-gender relationships were steps to full inclusion.

I must say, with no small amount of pride, LC/NA and our Goodsoil partners got exactly what we were going for at the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. We were able to pass a Social Statement on Human Sexuality (by a 2/3 majority). We also got the assembly to pass a resolution that allows congregations to issue calls to clergy in committed same-gender relationships. For all of these, we give thanks!

A very Lutheran question is, “What does this mean?” I think it is a relevant question for all of us as we digest the news from the Lutheran world.

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First, let’s address what this doesn’t mean:

• Discrimination against queer people was not eliminated in the Lutheran Church.

• There is no universal Lutheran statement that “gay is OK” or any equivalent. The Social Statement lays out four categories of opinion about homosexuality. They range from abhorrence to celebration. Nowhere in the Social Statement does it state that Lutherans now whole-heartedly endorse the full inclusion of LGBT people in the life of the Lutheran Church. It basically just describes the debate we’ve been having for the last couple of decades.

• Clergy in a same-gender relationship are not necessarily going to find a call wherever they want. Because the decision lies with the congregation (no one can “force” a pastor on a congregation), the congregation can continue to discriminate by not offering a call to an openly queer clergy member. Women have been ordained since 1970, and there are still places that will not issue a call to a woman. The same can be said for a person of color, a divorced person, or someone with a disability.

• A queer couple looking to have a wedding/blessing ceremony will not necessarily be able to have it in any ELCA congregation. Again, this is a decision that pastors and congregations are going to have to make for themselves. There may still be places that won’t ritualize any of the milestones of queer life.

I know, that’s not very encouraging. However, before you give up, let me share what the actions of the Churchwide Assembly does mean:

• It forces congregations and individuals to put their discrimination out on the table for all to see. If a congregation refuses to call a queer pastor, it’s because the congregation chose to do so. If a pastor refuses to bless the union of a same-gender couple, it’s because the pastor doesn’t want to participate in such a program. There is no more hiding behind the rules. There is no more passing the blame along to someone else. If a congregation refuses to be welcoming, it will not be done in a passive-aggressive fashion.

• There will likely be more ELCA congregations that are willing to perform blessings now that the Churchwide Assembly has freed them to do so. Formally, several congregations did not perform blessings because they felt that they might get in trouble. The prohibition that congregations felt is gone.

• The many ELCA congregations that are already being served by pastors who are in (or someday want to be in) committed same-gender relationships will be able to keep their pastors without fear of reprisal. There will be no more expensive trials, trying to remove pastors from their congregations. There will be no more congregations kicked out of the ELCA for wanting to keep their pastors.

• Seminary students who are going through candidacy (the multi-year and quite invasive process that people go through to become pastors) will be able to be out and open. They will no longer be asked if they are in compliance with the policies that kept queer pastors in the closet.

• There are many “Lutherans in Exile” who may finally be able to come back to their theological home.

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You are probably well aware that that there are Lutherans who are displeased with this decision. You got a photo of one of them in a previous article. Many of them are also probably life-long Lutherans, just as I am.

What will happen to them?

There are some who may leave to join more conservative denominations. There are some who will stay in the ELCA, but complain loudly. However, I think the majority of those who opposed full inclusion can still see what gifts LGBT people bring to the life of the church. They will also see that the standards for rostered ministry are still as rigorous as they always have been. They may get to see directly the ministry of a queer pastor and understand what gifts we bring to the Lutheran Church.

How does this happen? By us continuing to act like we are in relation to them, because we are.

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We have all been a part of this Church together for a very long time. LC/NA (and I) does not want to force anyone out of the ELCA. Our goal all along is for “full-inclusion.” We want that inclusion to mean us, and any other queer Lutheran who happens to be raised, finds a partner, or wants to seek ordination. For Lutherans, grace is the most important tenant of our faith. We know that as humans (and human institutions), we fall short of perfection. God also knows this, and provides grace as a free gift so that we can continue working in the world without fear of “messing it up”. As a Church, we will continue to disagree on many things: the sacramental nature of the Eucharist, support for Israel, health care, justice for women, abortion, racial justice, and the list goes on. Just because we don’t settle on one opinion does not mean that we should split apart. Indeed, we should know that the grace of God is more important than our understanding about the world and how it works.

There is a final “What does this mean?” for you, dear reader.

On behalf of ELCA Lutherans and Lutherans Concerned/North America, I invite you to see if a Lutheran congregation is the right place for you. I do not want you to walk into a Lutheran church and encounter someplace that is going to ignore you or treat you like a pariah. That’s why I encourage you to visit our web site and take a look at the list of Reconciling in Christ (RIC) congregations. An RIC congregation is one that has made a welcome statement that specifically includes people of all sexual orientation and gender identities. When the congregation mails in such a statement of welcome, LC/NA would designate the congregation an RIC congregation and add information about the congregation to our web site. Currently, there are 430 RIC congregations in North America. We anticipate that our list of RIC congregations is going to grow, now that the ELCA has sparked such conversation.

The Lutheran Church is a very big church, with a lot of opinions on a lot of things. If you visit several churches, you will find a variety of worship styles, programs, small groups, fellowship, and educational events. Each congregation has its own unique culture. Find the one that is best for you. If you can’t find one, but you are finding that you like the Lutheran Church, then we encourage you to become a member of Lutherans Concerned/North America, and help to make our Church a more inviting place.

During the Churchwide Assembly, I ran into my childhood pastor. He reminded me of our conversation and his prediction that the Church would never change its policy prohibiting clergy in same-gender relationships. He then cried a little and told me how happy he was to be wrong. As I hugged him, I realized that the ELCA has always been my home, but now it feels just a little more like home.

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