Bishop Eaton's letter on the SCOTUS marriage ruling

ELCA presiding bishop offers letter on Supreme Court marriage ruling

6/30/2015 4:00:00 PM

            CHICAGO (ELCA) – The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), offered a pastoral letter June 30 to the 3.8 million members of the denomination in response to the recent Supreme Court ruling that same-sex couples may now exercise the right to marry. The full text of the statement follows:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace to you in the name of the crucified and risen Christ.

Last week the U.S. Supreme Court rendered its decision announcing the right of same-gender couples to have equal access to marriage. For many members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, this decision is a welcome sign of hope and a time for celebration. Other members of this church do not agree with the court's decision and remain deeply concerned because of their understanding of Scripture.

This decision affects each of us, some profoundly, and we are not of one mind. Let us continue to accompany one another with prayer, love and mutual respect as we reflect on this new reality and remember Paul's words in 1 Corinthians about the enduring power of God's love.

The ELCA social statement "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust" (2009) neither endorses nor forbids same-gender marriages and recognizes that we have differing understandings and convictions on this matter. In its decision, the court stated that "the First Amendment ensures that religious organizations and persons are given proper protection as they seek to teach the principles that are so fulfilling and so central to their lives and faiths."

According to this church's social statement on human sexuality, all decisions about recognizing, supporting and holding publicly accountable same-gender relationships are entrusted to congregations.  Recognizing that the church is not of one mind on this subject, our 2009 actions provide that congregations and clergy should discern together whether to recognize such relationships and to what degree.

Pastors are to engage in conversation, discernment and partnership with the congregations who have called them prior to solemnizing or presiding over a same-gender marriage. On the other hand, no pastor is obligated to solemnize the marriage of any couple, same-gender or different-gender, whom the pastor cannot in good conscience marry.

As Lutheran Christians, we continue to be a church that engages in conversation and discernment in all aspects of our faith and life. Creating space for respectful conversation and dialogue continues to be an important part of our life together. A helpful resource for engaging in difficult conversations is "Talking Together as Christians about Tough Social Issues."

In addition, the ELCA Ministry to and with Same-Gender Couples and their Families Working Group remains in the process of completing its work. A report of the group's findings and possible recommendations will be presented to the ELCA Church Council at its November meeting.

We seek to see our differences as a gift to be celebrated as we live out that which unites us: the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ who leads us into mission and ministry in the world. In the midst of this change, we are first and foremost church – a church that proclaims the good news of Jesus Christ. May God bless, guide and strengthen you each day as you go in peace and serve the Lord.


The statement is available on the ELCA website at http://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/Letter_on_Supreme_Court_Decision.pdf,
the ELCA social statement "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust" at http://www.elca.org/en/Faith/Faith-and-Society/Social-Statements/Human-Sexuality?_ga=1.109044290.1780749877.1352499724
and "Talking Together as Christians about Tough Social Issues" at  http://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/Talking_Together_Social.pdf.

- - -

About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with more than 3.8 million members in nearly 10,000 congregations 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:
Melissa Ramirez Cooper
Associate director, ELCA Publications and Public Relations
773-380-2956 or Melissa.RamirezCooper@elca.org
ELCA News: www.ELCA.org/news
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Lutherans
Living Lutheran: www.livinglutheran.com

- See more at: http://www.elca.org/News-and-Events/7759#sthash.Zmf381HM.dpuf

Staying in Touch with the Churchwide Assembly - the MT Synod Blog

We received this email from the Montana Synod office earlier today. Please do keep our Churchwide Assembly in your prayers as they meet next week.

Dear Sisters and Brothers in the Montana Synod,
The ELCA Churchwide Assembly starts on Monday, August 17. I have asked our Synod to join the Presiding Bishop's call for 50 Days of Prayer preceding the Assembly, and I am grateful that so many of you have participated. I ask you to continue your prayers for the Churchwide Assembly, the Montana Synod's Voting members, and the whole Church throughout the 7 days of the Assembly, and afterwards.
A Churchwide Assembly is many things. It is the highest legislative body of the denomination. It is an opportunity for people from all across the church to get together and pray with one another, learn from one another, work with one another. It is a time to hear from the ministries in which this church is engaged--from disaster relief and refugee resettlement, to early childhood education, to global mission. It is a time when carefully thought out documents and proposals are debated and revised. And it is a time when new ideas come forward and sometimes bear fruit.
At this upcoming Churchwide Assembly, human sexuality is one of the issues being discussed. We will consider a social statement on human sexuality and vote on whether or not to adopt it. That is how these things happen in our denomination--not top-down. Voting members at a previous Churchwide Assembly asked to have a social statement on human sexuality, and voting members at this assembly will vote on whether or not to adopt it as policy. (If you have not read it, you can find it online at http://www.elca.org/.) And voting members will also consider proposals to change the ELCA's standards for rostered ministers. (Again, if you have not read the proposals, do so.) If you look in the newspapers or on TV for news of the assembly, they will probably only report on these issues.
But the Churchwide Assembly is so much more. We will be considering a full-communion agreement with the United Methodist Church. This could have real impact in Montana. After Lutherans, Methodists are the largest Protestant group in Montana. A full-communion agreement with United Methodists could help both our denominations serve our communities better, through sharing. We will be considering the Lutheran Malaria Initiative, an ambitious program dedicated to tackling one of the most prevalant and preventable diseases in the world. We will adopt a budget, elect members of boards and committees, worship, pray, study, and so much more.
I am asking the 12 voting members from our Synod to be available to clusters and congregations to give reports and reflections on the Churchwide Assembly. Invite them! Thank them. Listen to them.
There are ways to keep in touch with what is happening at the Churchwide Assembly. I will be doing a daily blog from the assembly. You can find it at http://montanasynod.org/blogs/blog2.php.
And the ELCA will be providing streaming video of the Assembly as well. http://www.elca.org/livevideo. Below are a whole host of links for assembly materials.
Feel free to contact the Synod Office if you need additional information or assistance.
Thank you for your prayers and your support. It is good to be the church together. And we will continue to be the church together, embracing our differences in God's expansive love.

Your partner in Christ,

Jessica Crist, Bishop


Here are some URL shortcuts for the 2009 Churchwide Assembly Web pages.

2009 Churchwide Assembly links:
* Assembly main page: http://www.elca.org/assembly

* Blessing and Sending for CWA09 participants: http://www.elca.org/assembly/blessing

* Live Web stream: http://www.elca.org/livevideo

* Memorials Report: http://www.elca.org/assembly/memorials

* Multimedia section: http://www.elca.org/assembly/multimedia
CWA09 blog: http://blogs.elca.org/assembly
ELCA Twitter stream: http://twitter.com/ELCA
ELCA Facebook page: http://facebook.com/Lutherans
* Pre-Assembly Report (includes all reports and memorials): http://www.elca.org/assembly/report

* Schedule: http://www.elca.org/assembly/schedule

* Summary of Actions: http://www.elca.org/assembly/voting

* Voting Results (when the assembly starts rolling): http://www.elca.org/assembly/actions


Other relevant links:
You can find an alphabetical listing of topics with URL shortcuts at A-Z Index. But here are a few highlights:

* ELCA News Service: http://www.elca.org/news

* ELCA Studies on Sexuality: http://www.elca.org/faithfuljourney

* Lutheran Malaria Initiative: http://www.elca.org/malaria

* HIV and AIDS: http://www.elca.org/aids

* Full Communion partners: http://www.elca.org/fullcommunion

* Justice for Women: http://www.elca.org/justiceforwomen

Letter from Bishop Jessica Crist

This letter arrived in our office last week, a little too late for the July newsletter. I read it aloud at the beginning of worship on Sunday, per the bishop's request. Please do keep the whole church in your prayers! LBC


"Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot would say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear would say, 'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' that would not make it any less a part of the body... Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it." 1 Corinthians 12:14-16, 27.

June 29, 2009
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
In fifty days the ELCA Churchwide Assembly will begin. Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson has called the church to 50 days of prayer preceding the Assembly, and I invite you as well. During these fifty days there will be a lot of preparation for the Assembly. Worship will be planned, resolutions will be fine-tuend, guest speakers will be confirmed, meetings will take place. But what happens in Minnesota is not all we are as a church.
In the next fifty days, the work of the church goes on. Weekly worship will take place in congregations large and small, rural and urban. Food banks will provide food for the hungry. Nursing homes will care for the elderly. In the next fifty days, new missionaries such as Josh and Susie Magyar will have their initial training and orientation. Outdoor ministries and camps will proclaim the Gosepl to campers young and old. Campus pastors will prepare for the opening of school in the fall. In the next fifty days, Vacation Bible Schools will stretch congregations and young people to find new ways to hear and tell the old, old story. "Jesus, Justice and Jazz" will engage tens of thousands of teenagers in a church that is bigger than all of us. In the next fifty days, Lutheran Disaster Relief will respond to crises, Lutheran Social Services will create forever families. In the next fifty days we will be the Church in many places, and in many ways.
Paul's image of the church as the Body of Christ is meaningful for us, especially as he reminds us how much we need each other. I ask you, in the next fifty days, and beyond, to pray for the whole church, to seek wisdom for the whole church, and to seek the unity of the whole church. I ask you to listen to one another, especially those with whom you disagree, and not to jump to conclusions about what the Church may or may not do in Minneapolis in August.
At the end of our Synod Assembly, when two pastors who had been on opposite sides of the sexuality debates read a joint resolution of mutual trust and harmony, it was a powerful moment, and the assembly concurred. I shared that moment with other ELCA Bishops, and one used it as a "snapshot of new creation," in his closing sermon at their Synod Assembly.
Friends, let us work together on being that new creation, by God's grace, proclaiming the Good News to all creation. "Now you are the body of Christ, and individually members of it."
You are in my prayers.

In Christ,
Bishop Jessica Crist

Pastoral Letter from Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson

July 1, 2009

Dear colleagues in ministry,

As we approach the churchwide assembly, I am thankful for the thoughtful and respectful discussion at synod assemblies of the proposed social statement on human sexuality and the ministry policy recommendations. I am mindful, however, that we remain a church body that is not of one mind about these decisions, and that these continuing differences have raised concerns among some about whether we are headed toward a church-dividing decision.

I am writing to express my shared, heartfelt commitment to the church’s unity, and, even more, my deep confidence that this unity will not be lost. For this reason please join me in reflecting on the unity of Christ’s church that is the foundation both for our life together in the ELCA and our relationships with other Christians throughout the world.

The unity of Christ’s church is God’s daily work through the Holy Spirit calling, gathering, enlightening and sanctifying us with the gospel. Sometimes, when I hear concerns about division in the ELCA, I worry that they express a fear that unity depends on the actions of church leaders or assemblies. Our unity, however, comes to us because God gives it freely and undeservedly in Jesus Christ. Although everyone in leadership shares responsibility for stewarding our unity in Christ, it will not be won or lost at the churchwide assembly in a plenary session vote. Rather, it will be received as a gracious gift from God when the assembly is gathered each noon by the Word and Sacrament through which God gives us unity, making us one in Jesus Christ.

We hold in common this confession that God makes us one in Jesus Christ, but it is not making this confession that makes us one. Rather, because God unites us to Jesus Christ in Baptism we are also united to each other in one body that transcends any other difference. Paul states this clearly. “For in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” (Galatians 3:26-27).

A marvelous insight into this unity was made recently during a Bible study as members of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Executive Committee took turns reading Paul’s familiar words about the body of Christ in their own languages. The differences were fascinating. Several read, “all the members of the body, though many, are one body” (1 Corinthians 12:12). Others read, “all the members of the body, being many, are one body.” Our Bible study leader suggested that “though many” implies that our “many-ness” (that is, our diversity or differences) is a problem that compromises the unity of the body of Christ. But, “being many” within the Body of Christ implies that diversity is unity’s strength, not its weakness. The witness of Scripture is that both unity and diversity are God’s gifts. There is one Spirit, one Baptism, one faith, one Lord of us all, but a variety of gifts and callings are given for the sake of the gospel and the common good.

God’s gift of unity in Christ informs our life and witness together in the community of Christ’s church. Rather than approach the assembly apprehensively, I invite you to see it as an opportunity for faith-filled witness to the larger human family that struggles with division and yearns for healing and wholeness that is real and true. We live in a polarized culture that equates unity with uniformity and sees differences as a reason for division. This moment, and our witness as a church body in the midst of it, deserves something better from us. We have the opportunity to offer the witness of our unity in Christ—diverse, filled with different-ness and differences, broken in sin, and yet united and whole in Christ. This moment deserves the witness of a community that finds and trusts its unity in Christ alone, engages one another with respect, and seeks a communal discernment of the Spirit’s leading.

In recent weeks I have been re-reading Bonhoeffer’s Life Together where he writes, “God already has laid the only foundation of our community, because God has united us in one body with other Christians in Jesus Christ long before we entered into common life with them.” He says that other Christians who may be different and yet live by God’s call, forgiveness, and promise are a gift and a reason to give thanks. He continues with this remarkable insight about all of us and the unifying power of Christ’s forgiveness:
Even when sin and misunderstanding burden the common life, is not the one who sins still a person with whom I too stand under the Word of Christ? Will not another Christian’s sin be an occasion for me ever anew to give thanks that both of us may live in the forgiving love of God in Jesus Christ? Therefore, will not the very moment of great disillusionment with my brother or sister be incomparably wholesome for me because it so thoroughly teaches me that both of us can never live by our own words and deeds, but only by that one Word and deed that really binds us together, the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ? (Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, vol. 5, pp. 36-37.)

Some may question why I am writing and wonder if this letter is advocating for a particular position on the questions before the churchwide assembly. It is not. Rather, it is an honest expression of my conviction that the Gospel of Jesus Christ, God’s mission for the life of the world, and the members of this church deserve this witness from us: In Christ we are members of one body serving God’s mission for the life of the world.

As we approach the Assembly, I invite you to join me in confident hope, grounded in Christ, where we meet one another not in our agreements or disagreements, but at the foot of the cross. We meet as we hear the Word, confess our faith, receive Christ’s presence in bread and wine, sing our praises to God, make our offerings, and then go in peace, to share the Good News, remember the poor and serve the Lord.

God is faithful. Christ is with us. By the power of the Spirit we are one in him. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:31)

In God’s grace,
The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Churchwide Assembly Preparations

Christ the King is one of more than 10,000 congregations of our church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Just as synods (we're part of the Montana Synod) meet in assembly every year, the whole ELCA gathers every other year in Churchwide Assembly. It happens this year in August in Minneapolis. Ever wondered what happens at a Churchwide Assembly? Curious what the hot topics will be this year? Check out the 2009 Churchwide Assembly Update.