August 10, 2007

ELCA Churchwide Assembly Day Six
Friday

Ok, let's start with the news and then go through how we got there and what it means…

By now many of you may have heard through the grapevines that exist what happened: the memorial motion submitted by the 21 synods, asking the churchwide assembly to eliminate the policy the prohibits LGBT ministers from living in partnered, familial, committed, loving relationships, on pain of removal from the roster, did not succeed as a substitute motion. And the memorials concerning the blessing of same-gender relationships were referred to the Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality (Task Force from now on), which is working on the social statement on sexuality to be presented to the churchwide assembly in 2009.

Where are we now? On Saturday morning we will take up the debate where we left off, poised with the Main Motion to refer the memorial to the Task Force still present but with an amendment pending and a new Substitute Motion asking that synod bishops and councils be allowed local option to permit LGBT committed relationships.

How did we get here?

We started yesterday with the opening of the debate on memorials. Introduced onto the floor of the assembly was the first motion brought by the Memorials Committee. It said that the memorials on the blessing of same-gender relationships from synod assemblies should be referred to the Task Force along with a verbatim record of the committee of the whole discussion from Wednesday so that it can consider the information in its ongoing discernment and deliberation.

One can just picture the formal handover of the binders. You could open up an Office Depot with the binders that have been turned over to study groups and task forces in the 18 years this church has studied everything about homosexuality down to the kerning of the display fonts and whether it is proper to use a serif font prior to Labor Day.

On closer examination, that category (E1) in the Memorials Report covers 3 memorials submitted that, in essence, say that there was no approval for the official blessing of homosexual relationships and requested the churchwide assembly to direct the Church Council and Office of the Secretary to tell everyone that they must refrain from doing any. It also contained a memorial from the Metro DC Synod that asked for the creation of just such a rite of blessing. Oddly enough, the Metro DC Synod will come up later in this report of the happenings at churchwide assembly.

There was floor discussion, already reported, and in the end a vote in which the recommendation to refer passed – that is, was the will of the assembly.

Next on the agenda of memorials was category E2 on Standards for Rostered Leaders containing memorials from 21 synods asking the churchwide assembly to direct the appropriate agencies of the ELCA to remove the provisions in policy documents that prohibit rostered ministers from living in faithful, mutual supportive, loving, lifelong same-gender relationships, and further to amend the policies that establish a 5-year waiting period without call that must lapse before any request for reinstatement can be consider. The requested amendment would permit reinstatement of persons who had resigned or been removed from the rosters solely because they had been in a mutual, chaste, and faithful committed same-gender relationship. The New Jersey synod is among the 21 synods. The New Jersey synod will come up again in this report of the happenings at churchwide assembly.

Additionally, there were memorials from the Northeastern Iowa Synod and the Metro DC Synod that were similar enough that they were included in the category. There's the Metro DC Synod again.

The recommendation of the Memorials Committee is that all 23 of these memorials and a verbatim record of the churchwide assembly "committee of the whole discussion of these issues [be referred] to the [Task Force], urging that it consider this information in its ongoing discernment and deliberation." Binders.

The recommendation of the Memorials Committee is the Main Motion and was moved to the floor for debate.

The debate began with a motion made to remove this issue from the agenda of the churchwide assembly, which did not pass.

Bishop Paul Stumme-Diers, Greater Milwaukee Synod, proposed a Substitute Motion, which was the actual memorial from the 21 synods that requested that the policy of discrimination be eliminated and a reinstatement procedure be established that fast tracked those guilty of no other offense than living in faithful companionship with their life partner. In his submission of the Substitute Motion Bishop Stumme-Diers said that "this is a great church that does not cower in fear." And he said that 21 synods had asked the assembly to hear them and the voice of the Gospel.

The way this works in parliamentary procedure is that both motions are before the assembly at the same time, the debate being people stating reasons to support one or the other of these competing resolutions. Along the way both motions can be amended to arrive at the motions the assembly wishes to vote upon. Proposed amendments are voted on by the assembly.

Pastor Gladys Moore, whose story can be found in the devotion booklet A Place Within My Walls, proposed an amendment to the Substitute Motion that specified that LGBT ministers were to be bound to the same standards for their lives with their partners as heterosexual ministers were for their lives with their spouses. The amendment was overwhelmingly passed by the assembly.

We finished Wednesday's debate with the Main Motion to refer and the Substitute Motion, the actual memorial, as amended on the floor under consideration by the assembly.

On Thursday, today, Bishop Paul Landahl, Metro Chicago Synod, spoke in favor of the Substitute Motion, as did Bishop Dean Nelson, Southern California (West) Synod, both speaking eloquently of the reasons to pass the motion.

Bishop Jon Anderson of the Southwestern Minnesota Synod, Bishop Rick Foss of the Eastern North Dakota Synod, and Bishop Don McCoid of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod spoke in favor of process and therefore in favor of referral to the Task Force. Bishop Callon Holloway, Synod, rose and tried fairly hard not to appear to be simply endorsing process over all other considerations. As a matter of fact, the principal argument made by those committed to preserving the policy that denigrates loving, caring relationships between LGBT Lutherans was one of support and concern for the process of the sexuality study leading to the social statement and for the law as the twined highest values for the church, except for the lady who baldly enumerated a series of things that the ELCA had to do, and fairly shortly, or she was leaving.

Jarring events occurred when first Bishop Roy Riley, New Jersey Synod, and then Bishop Theodore Schneider, Metro DC Synod, rose and spoke against the very memorials their synods had approved at synod assemblies over which they had presided – directly contradicting the will of their synod. They both did say it was odd. Odd?! Other words spring to mind.

The next speaker following Bishop Schneider Called the Question on the Motion to Substitute the actual memorial for the Main Motion of referral. The vote to end debate was 880 in favor and 144 against, ending debate. The Motion to Substitute the Memorial for the Referral Motion was defeated by a vote of 450 Yes – 581 No. This left only the Main Motion, to refer, on the floor

Next up to the microphone was Bishop Craig Johnson, Minneapolis Area Synod, who proposed a new Substitute Motion, that allowed bishops and synod councils to decide whether to allow LGBT ministers to live in faithful, supportive same-gender relationships and that, having done so, the facts used in that determination could never be used against any minister in any disciplinary way. That is now on the floor with the Main Motion.

Also, there is an amendment pending to the Main Motion that would require the Task Force to specifically study homosexuality with regard to ministry. Currently the Task Force documents specifically state they are not doing that as part of their remit. This amendment will be debated and voted on in the morning.

On this note, the day ended, and the assembly will pick up the debate on Saturday.

So what does all this mean? Well, first off, it is not over by a long shot. There is more debate and subsequent votes to come. Setbacks have to be taken in stride, and we know how to do that.

Secondly, let no one have any doubts: this bad policy is going to be eliminated – it is only the when that is in question. The Spirit can but knock on the door; people have to hear and respond.

Last evening, we celebrated. That's right, we celebrated. We celebrated all the wonderful people who come to help, the talented people who give so generously of their time and skills, the Lutherans who will not tolerate anyone trying to separate them from their calling and their devotion to the work of the church in Christ.

Emily Eastwood will communicate with everyone after the assembly ends.

Saturday is a new day; let us do some work on it…

Phil Soucy
Director Communications LC/NA
communications@lcna.org