Bi And Large

I am SO proud of my church today.

I mean, I have always been proud of them, for so many reasons. Mainly because of their common sense and intelligence and thoughtfulness with theology and social justice. Hot button issues that tend to drive other Christian denominations to emotional fervor, even fundamentalism? In the ELCA - that is my church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, one of the largest denominations in the US - those issues are handled with respect, thoughtfulness, prayer, delicacy, and wisdom. Never with wild abandon and impulse. Never with actions that just result in hurting others. I admire this so greatly, I can't tell you.

Let me give you an example. Abortion: total emotional hot button for most churches out here. Drives many people from some churches with guilt and splits other churches with arguments and cries over SIN and MURDER! In the ELCA? A simple statement, and a plan. The statement is that abortion is usually best avoided, but there are times when it is the best choice that can be made, and any woman or family facing such a difficult decision needs the support of the church like no other time in their life. We should run to embrace them and hold them and love and support them, regardless of the outcome, because anyone facing an unintended pregnancy is in a hell of a place. The plan? Sex education, first and foremost. Lots of it. Contraception. Broader adoption laws. Encourage adoption and foster care within our church community. Work hard to make our world a place where women have equal economic power and always fight tirelessly against rape, incest, and domestic violence. Now see? That makes SENSE. No standing on street corners yelling at people. No blaming the already crushed. It just works. That's what I love.

So. One other thing I have always liked about our church is their more liberal stance on LGBT relationships. They have always welcomed gay and lesbian members to the church with welcome arms. The letter from the bishop, I believe, greets LGBT members "as Children created by God, in His image." I love that. When we joined the church in 2004, some churches were allowing gay and lesbian pastors to serve... but ONLY if they were celibate. OK. So that's a step farther than many Christian churches, and that's good, but it doesn't make any logical sense. Either you welcome and accept LGBT folks, or you don't. No sitting on the fence. Which is it? The church recognized this dichotomy too, but has moved slowly to address it, for fear of a schism in the denomination. It has been discussed to death and this week was the big assembly to finally vote on whether or not ELCA churches could perform gay marriages and have partnered gay pastors.

In my work, I meet many retired ELCA pastors and older Lutherans. I am always pleasantly surprised at how many of these white, farm-bred midwestern seniors are vocally supportive of gay and lesbian brothers and sisters in the church. Some basically leave it with a "Well it's not like what they do in the bedroom affects ME any" attitude. I had one pastor explain in great detail to me the thought process behind this decision for the ELCA, and the rebuttal to those from other denominations who argue that the Bible says homosexuality is a sin. (First of all, yes it is mentioned in the Bible, but not as often as other sins. So while we will discuss it, let's not give it more power than we ought - it's not the ONE thing salvation is determined on, and not the major dealbreaker mentioned in the Bible or anything. Second, while we believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God, we also believe that the men who transcribed the Bible were humans, and were thus by definition fallible. It is quite possible that very strong cultural prejudices of the time could have influenced their writing. Third, if we're going to take every command in the Bible literally, we should take them all. The Bible also says don't touch lizards, or eat goat meat, or have period sex, and never ever touch a dead rabbit. Why is it OK to reject these commandments as holdovers from an earlier age of humanity, but not this one about sexuality now that we know more about how hardwired it is?) I also had one retired pastor just say offhand, and it was such a telling statement; that over the years he had seen many, many men and women come to him in tears and anguish, telling him that they were struggling with these desires and didn't know what to do. That right there told him it was something in the way people were made, they couldn't change it and didn't want it, it just was, and if they were created that way then it is as much a part of the human experience as anything else.

Anyway, the assembly. Pete got to go, at least to part of it when he wasn't bogged down at work. (He works for the ELCA and the assembly was here in town.) He says things were handled marvelously with humor and respect overall. Sure there were some odd ducks, every group has them. But it was run very smoothly by the people in charge. The big event was that at one point during the assembly, randomly - VERY randomly - we had some severe weather pop up and a tornado hit the convention center where this was all taking place. No injuries, the roof was just damaged a bit. But you know it was only a matter of hours before the extremists started calling it a 'sign from God' and claiming it for their side. As I read in one article, "I wonder if they note that the tornado hit before we started even discussing sexuality; and once we took the vote and it passed, suddenly the black rainy weather broke and beautiful warm sun burst out. You can make an argument for the weather being on your side go any way you like!"

The end results? Everything passed. :) Celebrating gay marriages passed by 61% and ordaining partnered gay ministers passed by 55%. Tornadoes be damned. I am sure there will be a bit of an aftermath, there always is with something this important with a denomination this size. But it is my sincere hope and prayer that the church will remain whole and healthy, stronger than ever, blessed by this decision taken in prayer and thoughtfulness. I know I am beaming from inside out with pride and joy today. Once again, my church did the right thing. They restored my faith in God and in people really listening to God and doing His work instead of their own here on earth. I am humbled.

I read an incredible rundown of the issue / vote on a blog by Matt Algren. He quoted a pastor in his blog that I simply must quote as well, because it's too good not to.

"In testimony before the vote on Resolution Three/Step Two, Rev. Lee M. Miller, II of St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran in Philadelphia stepped to the microphone and had this to say:

'I stand in favor of this resolution because I stand on the shoulders of gay and straight folks who have proclaimed the gospel of Christ and a message of love.

I am not saved because I’m a heterosexual. I’m saved because of what God has done.

And I want to say to those who are listening that they are not condemned because of their sexuality; but they are saved because of how God loves them, that God’s grace is for all, in all.

Thank you.'

This is the message of the Christian Church. That we’ve gotten so far away from it is disheartening, but I’m so proud of my Lutheran sisters and brothers for their courageous move back in the direction of the message. One day we will be of one mind on this issue. Until then, we all will continue to work."