The Evangelical Lutheran Church In America Made the Right Decision: Ordaining Gays and Lesbians in Committed Relationships

In August 2009 the ELCA churchwide assembly adopted a social statement on human sexuality. Additionally, the assembly adopted proposals to permit non-celibate gays and lesbians,in publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous same-gender relationships to become clergy, and to serve as ELCA associates in ministry,deaconesses and diaconal ministers. The assembly's votes followed eight years of careful debate about sexuality, complete with study guides for congregations and, in 2008, more than 110 hearings. Recognising that consensus will be elusive, the ELCA’s changes allow flexibility for congregations that disapprove. The hope is that the church will remain intact, despite its deep disagreements. I believe this was the right decision. It makes the ELCA, with 4.8 million members, the largest denomination in the U. S. to welcome gays into pulpits without restrictions. The new rule, which went into effect in November, allows individual congregations to decide whether or not they want to call a gay pastor --the so-called "local option."

Many in the ELCA are conscious that they are not only deciding an important matter for their constituency but are also contributing to a national debate on the status of same-sex couples. While the ELCAs decision is not perfect, it may encourage other religious groups to move forward on this issue.

In related matters, the U. S.-based Pew Forum on Religion in the Public life released a survey in March with results showing that 56 per cent of mainline Protestants in this country say homosexuality should be more acceptable.

Specifically, 70% of Episcopalians feel that way, as do 69% of those in the United Church of Christ, 56% of ELCA members, 52% of Presbyterians and 51% of those who attend United Methodist churches.

Fifty-eight per cent of Catholics also believe that homosexuality should be accepted, as do 48% of Orthodox believers.

Members of some other religious groups in the U. S. expressed similar viewpoints, with 79% of Jews also believing homosexuality should be more accepted, along with 82%of Buddhists and 48% of Hindus.

Of course, not all religious groups approve of homosexuality. Seventy four per cent of evangelical Protestants say that homosexuality is a way of life that should be discouraged, as do Mormons (76%), Jehovah's Witnesses (88%) and Muslims (73%).

These figures compare with 48% of the general U. S. population who consider homosexuality to be morally acceptable, according to a 2008 Gallup poll, while 55% believe homosexual relations should be legal.

This was a USA survey. Although it is commonly held that religion and homosexuality are in conflict, in the U. S., at least, there is more support for gays and lesbians among many religious people than in the general population.

Although evangelicals and Muslims disagree about many things, on this subject they seem to see eye-to-eye. According to the Pew Forum: "Despite their relatively liberal political orientation, Muslims by no means take liberal positions on all issues. On social issues, they are more similar to white evangelicals."

Lutheran WordALong Network: Disrespect For Security Guards

WordAlong Editor Betsy Carlson (August 21, 2009, http://www.wordalone.org/nr/isn't-it-ironic.shtml) seemed to relish the opportunity to slam the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America when an Ethiopian pastor, The Rev. Francis Stephanos, one-time vice president of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus was "kicked out of the Minneapolis Convention Center." Carlson and Stephanos show a careless disregard for the security officer who asked Rev. Stephanos for identification and credentials required for presence in the convention center. The security guard was performing his duty. Stephanos, now a Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod pastor, was not a delegate but had taken it upon himself to talk to various voting members, "the people with the yellow name tags" about "the word of the Bible," according to Carlson. Security guards do not get their authority or instructions from the ELCA. They are ultimately answerable to security firms contracted by the Minneapolis Convention Center. They are responsible for the security of persons attending meetings at the center, and they are, yes, on the lookout for persons who are not registered or who are not a part of the proceedings. Security officers are first responders, the eyes and ears of people assembled in public spaces across the nation. They are low paid workers who deserve the respect and thanks of persons who meet in gatherings such as the ELCA Assembly. Stephen Tyrone Johns, a six-year veteran security guard at the U. S. Holocaust Memorial Museum was fatally shot by 86-year-old white supremacist James W. von Brunn several months ago when he too performed his duties as a security guard. The WordAlone Network invited uncredentialed people into the convention center to pray for the assembly, and then protested when the Rev. Stephanos was asked to leave. Security workers are on the move in public spaces, and they do "walk around" people. They too, serve and protect.

MICHAEL JACKSON AND THE SHAME OF CONGRESSMAN PETER KING

Congressman Peter King and Bill O'Reilly could not wait until Michael Jackson's family and his fans completed mourning and burial before they began to spew hot air attacks about Jackson. King calld Jackson a "pedophile" and a "pervert," something he (King) cannot prove and which has been knocked down in a court of law. O'Reilly picks up where King leaves off, with tasteless bottom feeder comments about Jackson's skin color, his children and his finances.

Representative King wants more coverage of persons in the military. I bet that just as 3,000 plus U.S. troops and their families welcolmed Jackson in March of 2007 at the Army base Camp Zama, Japan, that troops stationed at U.S. military bases globally felt the loss of Michael Jackson and watched his funeral on television.

Peter King claims that "there's nothing good about the guy." Bill O'Reilly, famous for incendiary statements went after Jackson's kids, spending habits - and skin care.

Although Jackson’s personal life is controversial his fans and friends stood by his side and spoke outwardly revealing a man who gave not only to persons in military service, but to young people in college. Shame on Peter King and O'Rielly. They are obviously out of step with Jackson and his worldwide fans.

GOV. MARK SANFORD - SAINT AND SINNER

It is not surprising to learn that Gov. Sanford is a sinner. Aren't we all! What is intriguing is how people in the USA, and especially in media, are so fixed on sexual infidelity. Sacred writings from a variety of religious traditions list all sorts of sins human beings can be tempted into. Politicians can lie practically every time they move their lips, and get no reaction from most people. Some sectors of the press employ truth squads who use accuracy monitoring, but these come off as entertainment. The mention of sex sets us off. Sex of course, is a topic that's easy to exploit. When the focus is on genitalia, what else is there to speak and write about? Most people are not even bothered by the fact that Sanford is a hypocrite, another sin. That he called for former President Clinton's impeachment over the Monica Lewinsky scandal gets scant coverage in some media. But as a society, and as religious people we obsess on sex. Americans ought to get used to the fact that the people who lead this country are both saints and sinners, and often on the same day. Gov. Sanford shares the same moral geography as all Americans. He is capable of great good on his best day, and can morally slip by the end of the same day. Sanford has confessed. The hope is, at last, he will use his remaining days as governor to fulfill the contract with the people of South Carolina that he holds.

Apologizing For Slavery

The United States Senate finally got around to offering African Americans an apology for hundreds of years of slavery, segregation and Jim Crow laws. The resolution sponsored by Senator Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, "apologizes to African-Americans on behalf of the people of the United States for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow laws." The Iowa Democrat’s co-sponsor on the apology was Senator Sam Brownback, R-Kansas. The apology comes almost 150 years after the start of the Civil War. The senators inserted a disclaimer stating that "nothing in this resolution authorizes or supports any claim against the United State; or serves as a settlement of any claim against the United States." In other words reparations are not a part of the apology. A number of members of the Congressional Black Caucus objected to the disclaimer, noting, in the words of Rep. Will Lacy Clay, D-Mo., that an apology does not "...repair the damage..."

At the end of the civil war in 1865, Gen. William Sherman offered a reparations plan that included 40 acres and a mule for each ex-slave. Under Sherman's plan, land would be set aside in Georgia and South Carolina for the settlement of ex-slaves. Of course, this never happened.

President Barack Obama has stated his opposition to offering reparations to the descendants of slaves, putting him at odds with Rep. Clay and certain other members of the Black Caucus and some other black groups and individuals. Obama believes that good schools, proper health care and jobs are "the best reparations..."

Those who support reparations as well as an apology face many obstacles. The scramble for American tax dollars is only one.

Don't Ask- Don't Tell - A Failed Policy

The "don't ask,don't tell" policy used by the United States government reminds me of the racial segregation policy practiced by the U.S. Military prior to 1948. U.S. military policy prevented black and white soldiers from serving together. In 1948 President Harry Truman abolished racial segregation in the armed services by executive order. The abolition of segregation was a leap forward in the conduct of American military strategy.

According to Morris J. MacGregor, Jr., the "...Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps were called upon to reexamine their traditional practices of segregation. While there were differences in the ways that the services moved toward integration, all were subject to the same demands, fears, and prejudices and had the same need to use their resources in a more rational and economical way. All of them reached the same conclusion: traditional attitudes toward minorities must give way to democratic concepts of civil rights." (www.army.mil/cmh/books/integration/IAF-fm.htm - 38k) Research gathered at UCLA claims that an estimated 65,000 lesbian and gay troops now serve in the armed forces. A 2005 study by the Government Accountability Office showed that about 10,000 service personnel have been discharged since the policy took effect, including 54 Arabic specialists. (Reexamining "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" - TIME Mar 13, 2007) Dismissing gays and lesbians from the military when the Pentagon is trying to hold on to every soldier, sailor, airman and Marine doesn't seem to many to be rational and does not make economic sense. Morris J. MacGregor is right. "Traditional attitudes toward minorities must give way to democratic concepts of civil rights."

According to a 1993 Government Accountability Office study of allied nations, "the presence of homosexuals in the military is not an issue and has not created problems in the functioning of military units." Nathaniel Frank, author of "Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America" reports on "a 1994 assessment by the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences finding that predicted negative consequences of ending gay exclusion in the Canadian Forces never materialized; the 2000 assessment of the British Ministry of Defense, calling its new policy of equal treatment "a solid achievement" with "no discernible impact" on recruitment or other critical variables; and four academic studies conducted by the Palm Center,... , finding that lifting bans in Britain, Israel, Canada and Australia had no negative impact on military readiness, including on recruitment and retention."

At a time when the military is allowing convicted felons, (According to the Palm Center, the number of convicted felons who enlisted in the U.S. military almost doubled in the past three years, rising from 824 felons in fiscal year 2004 to 1,605 in fiscal year 2006), it is time for Congress to overturn “don’t ask, don’t tell” and bring equality to the military for gays and lesbians.

Judge Sotomayor The Right Choice

People in The United States will have a strong jurist with the appointment of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. Judge Sotomayor brings experience and a worldview which will strengthen the Court. As a woman of color, she brings a rich blend of gender based experience. When confirmed, she will be the first Latino/Hispanic appointed to the Supreme Court. (Some say Benjamin Cardozo was the first. Cardozo's ancestors were Sephardic Jews who immigrated to the United States in the 1740s and 1750s from the Iberiian peninsula via the Netherlands and England) Judge Sitomayor's record as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is impressive.

Here is what Senator Joe Lieberman said about Judge Sotomayor: "President Obana made an impressive choice by nominating Judge Sotomayor for the position of Associate Justice for the Supreme Court. Judge Sotomayor's career represnets the best of the American dream and she possesses distinguished and superior legal credentials..."
(Source: Office of the Press Secretary, May 27, 2009)

Judge Sotomayor's membership on the court will aide favorably to the administration of justice in the United States.

WHY A MENDING WALL?

Saturday, September 30, 2006
More Discussion About Walls
This is the first posting of Mending-wall। You guessed it। The title is taken from the poetry of Robert Frost। I was drawn to the verse, "Something there is that doesn't love a wall, That wants it down!" George Montiero wrote, "Were walls and fences instrumental in the retention and renewal of human relationships Is a question central to 'Mending Wall'" The answers the poem presents us with are somewhat less than clear- cut।" (See lengthly critiques of "Mending Wall" at http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/a_f/frost/wall.htm. I was also drawn to this poem upon seeing in July 2006 the mammoth barrier Israel is building in the name of border security. Lastly, at a cost of at least $2.2 billion -- a 700-mile wall was once proposed for the Southwest border of the U.S. and Mexico for the purposes of "gaining operational control of the border."

The poem Mending Wall relates to an ongong conversation neighbours are having over the need for a barrier to separate private space. The wall acts as a divider in separating their individual properities, as well as a impediment to friendship. For the neighbour who labors at filling in gaps in the wall, its provides a sense of security and private boundaries. This neighbor may believe that people can be friendly across fences, but there still is a need for the privacy. He believes, 'good fences make good neighbours'. Do fences make good neighbors? At a time when billions of dollars are spent on erecting walls, can we afford not to have more discussion?

George Tiller's Death An Outrage

I worshipped last Sunday as a guest at an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America congregation in rural Hamilton Square, Pennsylvania. I was greeted by a friendly man (usher) at the door, who presented me with a worship bulletin. I thought very little of the exchange. When I read the news about Dr. George R. Tiller's murder, I thought about my exchange with the usher. He was there to welcome me. His was a small attempt to make me comfortable in a new place. That is what Dr. Tiller was up to on Pentecost Sunday. He was extending hospitality. He was saying welcome to worship. He was in church, a place most human beings consider a sanctuary. Perhaps when he came face to face with his assassin he greeted him. We may never know what transipired in their brief exchange before the gun was fired. The murder of Dr. Tiller in church goes too far. Anti-abortion groups will have to crawl long and far to get from under the ethically and morally challenging cloud which hovers over their cause. What greeted worshippers at Reformation Lutheran Church on the day their children made their confirmations was simply an outrage. As the only African American present at worship at Hamilton Square,Pennsylvania I felt that everything was alright after crossing the threshold. I felt welcomed when the usher extended his hand।Iwas in a holy sanctuary.

Guns In Church

Do we need guns for protection in our churches? The answer may be obvious. Theologically, guns and churches are at odds. The Church continues under the reign of God. Jesus presents Jesus self as the Prince of Peace. Christians believe that God is ever present in the life and affairs of the Church. When Christians arm themselves as earthly militias in the Church they are at variance with the realm of God. Church property is not private property. There is an owner. The owner does not require feeble human protection. Suffering, and yes, even death are not casual in the Christian experience. They are a real part of it. The just shall live by faith, not by any human intervention.