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Local clergy call for unity after recent ELCA vote
By By Alica P. Thiele
Challenger reporter
Challenger reporter
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EmailSeptember 09. 2009 6:00AM
A recent decision by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America has left local clergy feeling the need to find ways for the church to pull together.
On Aug. 21, delegates to the ELCA biennial assembly in Minneapolis voted to allow homosexuals in committed relationships to serve congregations that choose them.
“There are lots of things that can keep you from being a pastor, because they have causes for a scandal, or they can lead people astray,” said Erma Wolf, a Brandon pastor. “A bad gossip wouldn’t be allowed to be a pastor (for example). (Or) if a pastor was arrested for driving under the influence, he would come under discipline from the synod.”
Wolf is on the steering committee of the Lutheran Coalition for Reform, or CORE, a group that campaigned against the recent ELCA decision. The group plans to meet in Indianapolis Sept. 25-26. “We’re calling for a national gathering for anyone in the ELCA who was opposed to what was passed at the assembly and is asking, “Well, now what do we do?’” Wolf said. She especially encourages people who are thinking about leaving the ELCA to attend.
“We’re going to talk together about what we might be able to do within the ELCA,” she said.
Len Halvorson, pastor at Zion Lutheran in Garretson, has been a pastor more than 20 years, including 10 in Sioux Falls and 10 in Fargo, N.D. He feels ELCA members will never all agree on the issue of gay clergy. “I’m troubled when people are hurt, I’m troubled when people are angry, but I’m also just troubled that the church is so divided,” he said.
“The whole concept of church loyalty and devotion that my parents showed and exemplified “people just don’t see that any more. People just leave whenever they see a disagreement any more.”
Halvorson thinks the controversy over homosexuals being ordained gets in the way of accomplishing the church’s mission. “And there’s so much to do,” he said. “There are hungry people, there is the gospel to spread. These divisive issues are stopping our ministry.”
Ray Heidenson, pastor at First Lutheran Church in Valley Springs, said, “Homosexuality has been a hot topic forever, within the church and throughout scripture.” He thinks the recent ELCA ruling might open up “a new can of worms.”
Most states, including South Dakota, don’t recognize gay marriage. By implementing the new decision, the church could be seen as condoning living together without the benefit of marriage. Cohabitation of heterosexuals, or common-law marriage, might become an issue, Heidenson said.
Since 1990, the ELCA’s position has been that gay and lesbian people can be ordained if they remain celibate.
“And I have great respect for them,” Wolf said. But she thinks allowing noncelibate homosexuals to serve in the clergy contradicts scripture.
Following scripture may prevent people “who have wonderful gifts for ministry” from becoming clergy, she said. “And it seems unfair. But I can’t see how to reinterpret scripture.”
Even with the new guidelines, individual congregations still will be able to choose whomever they want as their pastors. “Even though the church-wide made this decision, the ELCA congregations are entirely autonomous,” Heidenson said. “Each congregation will continue to decide who their pastor will be, and that’s based on an interview process.”
Wolf said, “Each congregation has always had the right to say, ‘Yes, we do want this pastor,’ or ‘No, we don’t want that one.’ And that will not change.”
Halvorson said the gay clergy question shouldn’t stop people from having compassion for everyone. He’s known homosexuals in the past who have not felt comfortable in the church and eventually have left their congregations.
He once asked members of a study group if their extended family or social group included any homosexuals. “And pretty much everyone there raised their hand,” he said. “This is something that isn’t just other people any more, this is something in all our lives.”
“I don’t want to tell anybody that they’re not welcome in our church,” Wolf said. “We’re all sinners. There are things with all of us that we’re not able to change.”
Wolf is concerned that if the ELCA splits over the recent ruling, if congregations leave, homosexuals in general could be blamed for it. “The heartbreak in this is that,” she said.
Wolf hopes that people who are considering leaving the ELCA will wait at least until after the CORE meeting in Indianapolis later this month. “We’re encouraging people, ‘Don’t do something rash,’ ” she said.
On Aug. 21, delegates to the ELCA biennial assembly in Minneapolis voted to allow homosexuals in committed relationships to serve congregations that choose them.
“There are lots of things that can keep you from being a pastor, because they have causes for a scandal, or they can lead people astray,” said Erma Wolf, a Brandon pastor. “A bad gossip wouldn’t be allowed to be a pastor (for example). (Or) if a pastor was arrested for driving under the influence, he would come under discipline from the synod.”
Wolf is on the steering committee of the Lutheran Coalition for Reform, or CORE, a group that campaigned against the recent ELCA decision. The group plans to meet in Indianapolis Sept. 25-26. “We’re calling for a national gathering for anyone in the ELCA who was opposed to what was passed at the assembly and is asking, “Well, now what do we do?’” Wolf said. She especially encourages people who are thinking about leaving the ELCA to attend.
“We’re going to talk together about what we might be able to do within the ELCA,” she said.
Len Halvorson, pastor at Zion Lutheran in Garretson, has been a pastor more than 20 years, including 10 in Sioux Falls and 10 in Fargo, N.D. He feels ELCA members will never all agree on the issue of gay clergy. “I’m troubled when people are hurt, I’m troubled when people are angry, but I’m also just troubled that the church is so divided,” he said.
“The whole concept of church loyalty and devotion that my parents showed and exemplified “people just don’t see that any more. People just leave whenever they see a disagreement any more.”
Halvorson thinks the controversy over homosexuals being ordained gets in the way of accomplishing the church’s mission. “And there’s so much to do,” he said. “There are hungry people, there is the gospel to spread. These divisive issues are stopping our ministry.”
Ray Heidenson, pastor at First Lutheran Church in Valley Springs, said, “Homosexuality has been a hot topic forever, within the church and throughout scripture.” He thinks the recent ELCA ruling might open up “a new can of worms.”
Most states, including South Dakota, don’t recognize gay marriage. By implementing the new decision, the church could be seen as condoning living together without the benefit of marriage. Cohabitation of heterosexuals, or common-law marriage, might become an issue, Heidenson said.
Since 1990, the ELCA’s position has been that gay and lesbian people can be ordained if they remain celibate.
“And I have great respect for them,” Wolf said. But she thinks allowing noncelibate homosexuals to serve in the clergy contradicts scripture.
Following scripture may prevent people “who have wonderful gifts for ministry” from becoming clergy, she said. “And it seems unfair. But I can’t see how to reinterpret scripture.”
Even with the new guidelines, individual congregations still will be able to choose whomever they want as their pastors. “Even though the church-wide made this decision, the ELCA congregations are entirely autonomous,” Heidenson said. “Each congregation will continue to decide who their pastor will be, and that’s based on an interview process.”
Wolf said, “Each congregation has always had the right to say, ‘Yes, we do want this pastor,’ or ‘No, we don’t want that one.’ And that will not change.”
Halvorson said the gay clergy question shouldn’t stop people from having compassion for everyone. He’s known homosexuals in the past who have not felt comfortable in the church and eventually have left their congregations.
He once asked members of a study group if their extended family or social group included any homosexuals. “And pretty much everyone there raised their hand,” he said. “This is something that isn’t just other people any more, this is something in all our lives.”
“I don’t want to tell anybody that they’re not welcome in our church,” Wolf said. “We’re all sinners. There are things with all of us that we’re not able to change.”
Wolf is concerned that if the ELCA splits over the recent ruling, if congregations leave, homosexuals in general could be blamed for it. “The heartbreak in this is that,” she said.
Wolf hopes that people who are considering leaving the ELCA will wait at least until after the CORE meeting in Indianapolis later this month. “We’re encouraging people, ‘Don’t do something rash,’ ” she said.
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A recent decision by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America has left local clergy feeling the need to find ways for the church to pull together. On Aug. 21, delegates to the ELCA biennial assembly in Minneapolis voted to allow homosexuals in committed relationships to serve congregations that choose them. File photo by Jill Meier |  |
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