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PDF versionLutheran bishops to welcome gay clergy
Mar. 12, 2010
Bishops in the nation's largest Lutheran denomination have approved preliminary steps to welcome a group of openly gay and lesbian ministers as official clergy with new liturgical rites.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Conference of Bishops approved a draft proposal on Monday (March 8) for the new rites, which include prayers and the laying on of hands by the local bishop, according to the denomination's news service.
The proposal only applies to 17 pastors who had followed normal ELCA procedures for education and ordination, but remained barred from the denomination's official clergy roster because of their sexuality. The clergy are all members of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries, a group devoted to gay rights in the ELCA.
Last summer, the ELCA, which has about 4.6 million members, voted to change its longtime policy barring noncelibate gays and lesbians from the pulpit. The church's executive council is expected to vote on the proposed rites at its meeting in Chicago next month, when it is also expected to draw up new rules for other gay and lesbian clergy candidates.
Since the ELCA's decision to allow noncelibate gay and lesbian clergy, 62 congregations have taken the two necessary votes to leave the denomination. An additional 197 have passed one of the votes, according to the ELCA, which has 10,230 congregations in all.
In addition, financial support for the denomination hit an all-time low of about $60 million in 2009, the church announced. ELCA Treasurer Christina Jackson-Skelton said the economic recession and “disagreements within congregations” about the decision on gay clergy had contributed to the decline.
With the recent reports of
With the recent reports of male prostitutes found in the Vatican, perhaps we Catholics could be a lot more honest and follow an ethical standard that sees dedicated relationship a lot more important than just meetings sexual needs. There have been gay clergy in the church since the early beginnings. To see the clear statistics about what is happening in our supposed celibate priests, google Richard Sipe a Benedictine priest who left the priesthood and married. We could become a lot less hypocritical if we followed the Lutherans. Most of Luther’s original 96 thesis after all have in the past 15 years agreed to by the RCC!
My we gain grace by accepting the whispers of the Holy Spirit more quickly,
R. Dennis Porch, MD
Watch as the ELCA shrinks and
Watch as the ELCA shrinks and undergoes the same fate as the Episcopal Church!
This is another great step
This is another great step toward the inclusive love that Jesus preached about and it is a giant step forward for another Christian Communion. I commend the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for their courage and love. This is wonderful news.
This is such a loving,
This is such a loving, compassionate statement of healing. It touched my heart. Thank you.
So what, its not as if any of
So what, its not as if any of their ordinations are valid. They are pretenders spreading hereasy just as their namesake founder did some 500 years ago.
Tom A's comments that
Tom A's comments that Lutherans do not have valid ordinations is just plain wrong and untruthful. In the eyes of the Lutherans, it is the Catholic Church that has taken the wrong bend in the road in authentic Christianity. The Protestant Reformation happened for many reasons. A Catholic Reformation is about to take place as a result of implosion from the corrupt and decaying foundations and it begins with the Pope and continues right on down to many but not all of its' bishops and cardinals. Sorry, Tom, but I am afraid it is YOU, who are spreading the heresy and hypocrisy. It is largely because of narrow thinking like your own that got the Church into the mess it is now in. Martin Luther did the opposite of spreading heresy and ignorant comments like the ones you posted in this thread only point to the problems that Rome and people like you have failed to address. The size in numbers of all Christian Communities, be they Orthodox, Protestant or Catholic are shrinking. I know the third world numbers are increasing for the Catholic Church but that will change also as they gain in educational and economic status. It is the Catholic Church that people like you want to keep as it is that will be changing. It is rotting from within. Wake up.
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