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The New York Times
Lutherans Urge
Restraint
in Disciplining Gay
Ministers
By NEELA BANERJEE,
nytimes.com on the Web, August 17, 2007
The country’s largest Lutheran
denomination officially bars openly gay people from the ministry. But in a
move that advocates for gays are hailing as a step toward changing that policy,
the denomination is urging bishops to refrain from disciplining gay and lesbian
clergy members who are in committed same-sex relationships.
A resolution to that effect was passed last weekend in Chicago by delegates to
the biennial meeting of the Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church of America.
Church officials said it did not signal a change in policy. But they said
a denomination task force is completing “a social statement,” or theological
document, on human sexuality, to be discussed in 2009, and the resolution allows
bishops to hold off, in the interim, on taking action against gay and lesbian
ministers in their jurisdictions.
Robert Tuttle, counsel to the Bishop of the Metropolitan Washington synod, said,
“What it changes is that it gives bishops some cover who want to exercise
discretion to not bring charges.”
Those who support the ordination of openly gay and lesbian people hailed the
vote.
“Full inclusion and acceptance is still down the road, but the dam of
discrimination has been broken,” said Emily Eastwood, executive director of
Lutherans Concerned/North America. “The church is on the road to
acceptance.”
But Lutherans who consider open homosexuality incompatible with Biblical
teachings played down the vote, saying that it still left the decision to press
for discipline at the discretion of bishops.
“I’ve talked to a lot of bishops about this,” said Paull Spring, former bishop
of the synod of Western Pennsylvania and a member of the traditionalist group,
Lutheran CORE. “Many have said they have no intention of exercising
restraint.”
Indeed, the resolution cannot stay the hand of a bishop intent on disciplining
an openly gay or lesbian pastor. It also does not prevent disciplinary
proceedings from being initiated by other sources, like a group of priests that
turns to the denomination’s disciplinary committee, Mr. Tuttle said.
But initiating disciplinary procedures is an enormous drain of time and energy
at a synod, which acts as restraint already on many bishops, Mr. Tuttle said.
And because the resolution “prays, urges and encourages” bishops to refrain from
discipline, those who do pursue such steps risk being seen as divisive, said
Phil Soucy, a spokesman for Goodsoil, a coalition of groups within the church
that backs greater rights for gays.
The vote comes a bit too late for Bradley Schmeling, the pastor of St. John
Lutheran Church in Atlanta, who was recently defrocked after telling his
congregation and bishop that he was in a long-term same-sex relationship.
But Mr. Schmeling’s congregation intends to keep him as their pastor. The
resolution permits his bishop, the Rev. Ronald Warren, to forgo disciplining the
congregation for retaining him.
“I’m disappointed that they couldn’t fully change the policy, but I think it’s a
big step forward for us,” Mr. Schmeling said. “For the first time, the
church is saying that there are partnered gay and lesbian pastors who are
serving faithfully and well in our church, and they should stay in place.”
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