Posted 1:55 pm Saturday, November 21, 2009
Lutherans Split Over Homosexual Clergy Issue
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By PATRICK S. BUTLER
Religion Editor
Religion Editor
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has split as a result of wide disagreements over the authority of scripture, said The Rev. Dr. Mark Bratten of Tyler's Our Saviours Lutheran Church. A new denomination will be formed by August, Bratten said Friday from Minneapolis to the Tyler Morning Telegraph.
Bratten serves on the 10-member steering committee of the Lutheran Coalition For Renewal (CORE) that is facilitating the new denomination. Close to 500 congregations have already joined CORE, Bratten said, in its effort to reestablish the Bible as the preeminent arbitrator in decision making. The new denomination is to combat what CORE leadership sees as a decades-long struggle against the erosion of scriptural authority.
The decision was announced Wednesday from Minneapolis by CORE leadership. There was no apparent acrimony, Bratten said, with ELCA leadership headed by the presiding Bishop the Rev. Mark S. Hand. Former Lutheran Bishop Paul Spring of Pennsylvania is acting as the chairman of CORE.
"Everyone on both sides are working hard to keep this above board and be gracious," Bratten said.
The decision was announced Wednesday from Minneapolis by CORE leadership. There was no apparent acrimony, Bratten said, with ELCA leadership headed by the presiding Bishop the Rev. Mark S. Hand. Former Lutheran Bishop Paul Spring of Pennsylvania is acting as the chairman of CORE.
"Everyone on both sides are working hard to keep this above board and be gracious," Bratten said.
SAME-SEX CLERGY
What prompted the breakaway group of CORE congregations was the decision in August by the ELCS Churchwide Assembly to allow same-sex relationships among its clergy, said Bratten, who was one of 1,100 voting attendees.
The vote was close, he said.
"A two-thirds vote was required, and the 'sexuality statement' passed by a single vote," Bratten said. "Some (voter) who went out for coffee or were late in a taxi might have made the difference."
There were no celebratory outbursts when the recommendation passed, he said.
"When the votes went up on the board and it passed by 66.6 percent, the room just got really quiet," he said. "It's been a very divisive issue."
And a constant one, said John Brooks, a spokesman for the ELCA in Chicago.
The vote was close, he said.
"A two-thirds vote was required, and the 'sexuality statement' passed by a single vote," Bratten said. "Some (voter) who went out for coffee or were late in a taxi might have made the difference."
There were no celebratory outbursts when the recommendation passed, he said.
"When the votes went up on the board and it passed by 66.6 percent, the room just got really quiet," he said. "It's been a very divisive issue."
And a constant one, said John Brooks, a spokesman for the ELCA in Chicago.
"We're a young denomination," Brooks said by phone to the Tyler Morning Telegraph on Friday. "We were formed in 1988 and almost as long as the church has been together, this (sexuality) has been an issue. Up until the Church-wide Assembly in August, if you were an unmarried clergy in this church -- heterosexual or homosexual -- you were expected to refrain from sex outside of marriage. That is still in effect, by the way."
What has changed are "options" he said.
"In April of 2010, the church will adopt language as directed by the assembly that says publicly accountable, monogamous and committed life-long relationships (among homosexuals) will be acceptable. All the assembly has done has added options for our clergy."
Those "options" and others are what CORE members find "disturbing" Bratten said.
"We're overlooking -- and there is a lack of -- an emphasis on the authority of Scripture in the ELCA," Bratten said. "The emphasis on personal experience has become more important, as it did in Germany during a liberal protestant movement in the 19th century. The churches in Europe today are dead as a result of similar movements and the same could happen in America if we don't get the issue of the authority of Scripture settled. If we forget the authority of Scripture, we're in serious trouble as a church."
What has changed are "options" he said.
"In April of 2010, the church will adopt language as directed by the assembly that says publicly accountable, monogamous and committed life-long relationships (among homosexuals) will be acceptable. All the assembly has done has added options for our clergy."
Those "options" and others are what CORE members find "disturbing" Bratten said.
"We're overlooking -- and there is a lack of -- an emphasis on the authority of Scripture in the ELCA," Bratten said. "The emphasis on personal experience has become more important, as it did in Germany during a liberal protestant movement in the 19th century. The churches in Europe today are dead as a result of similar movements and the same could happen in America if we don't get the issue of the authority of Scripture settled. If we forget the authority of Scripture, we're in serious trouble as a church."
The "sexuality statement" at the ELCA assembly was one of many concerning CORE leaders, Bratten said.
"The sexuality issue is what got people's attention and pushed CORE congregations over the edge, but there are some very basic issues under debate that relate to the authority of Scripture and the theological slide of the ELCA," he said. "Issues relating to Salvation only being through Jesus, marriage between one man and one woman, the revealed name of God as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Bible as the Word of God and the calling of the church to evangelism and outreach."
"The sexuality issue is what got people's attention and pushed CORE congregations over the edge, but there are some very basic issues under debate that relate to the authority of Scripture and the theological slide of the ELCA," he said. "Issues relating to Salvation only being through Jesus, marriage between one man and one woman, the revealed name of God as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Bible as the Word of God and the calling of the church to evangelism and outreach."
CATHOLIC SUPPORT
An unexpected source of support for CORE is coming from the Catholic Church, Bratten said. A Catholic parish in Indianapolis hosted a CORE meeting in September when the Lutheran church was too small to accommodate the more than 1,000 attendees, Bratten said.
Catholics also spoke to the ELCA assembly in August just prior to the historic vote.
"The Archbishop of the Twin Cities (John Nienstedt) addressed us," Bratten said. "He delivered a strong message that we (ELCA) could not do this, to allow same-sex clergy. He was ignored."
Nienstedt prohibited Catholic prayer services in the Twin Cities "celebrating the homosexual lifestyle" in 2008.
Catholics also spoke to the ELCA assembly in August just prior to the historic vote.
"The Archbishop of the Twin Cities (John Nienstedt) addressed us," Bratten said. "He delivered a strong message that we (ELCA) could not do this, to allow same-sex clergy. He was ignored."
Nienstedt prohibited Catholic prayer services in the Twin Cities "celebrating the homosexual lifestyle" in 2008.
Congregations with the ELCA will not be bound to accept same-sex clergy, Brooks said.
"This (new policy) does not really change anything," he said. "Each ELCA congregation calls its own pastor and they reject pastors for all kinds of reasons. What has changed is that now there are more pastoral options."
The numbers of CORE congregations actually breaking away are a "very small percentage" of the ELCA, said Brooks.
"There are many CORE congregations that don't want to leave the ELCA," he said. "Our Secretary's office reports only 87 CORE congregations have taken the initial vote to leave the ELCA and that 28 did not achieve the required two-thirds vote to enter the second phase of the process, which is a 90-day waiting period."
Another vote is taken after 90 days and a two-thirds majority needed to officially leave the church, Brooks said.
"To date, only five congregations have voted to leave the ELCA," he said.
Bratten said, "This has just begun. Since we've made the announcement to form a new denomination, the phone has been ringing off the hook from congregations saying, 'We know we need to leave the ELCA, but don't know what to do. What can you do for us?'"
Bratten's own congregation in Tyler is "wrestling with the issues," he said.
"Probably in January our congregation will take a vote," he said. "I can tell you they are very concerned."
But in the Lutheran church, clergy does not determine a congregation's direction.
"When it comes time to make the decision, I only have one vote like anyone else," he said.
Visit the Web at www.lutherancore.org and www.elca.org for information.
"This (new policy) does not really change anything," he said. "Each ELCA congregation calls its own pastor and they reject pastors for all kinds of reasons. What has changed is that now there are more pastoral options."
The numbers of CORE congregations actually breaking away are a "very small percentage" of the ELCA, said Brooks.
"There are many CORE congregations that don't want to leave the ELCA," he said. "Our Secretary's office reports only 87 CORE congregations have taken the initial vote to leave the ELCA and that 28 did not achieve the required two-thirds vote to enter the second phase of the process, which is a 90-day waiting period."
Another vote is taken after 90 days and a two-thirds majority needed to officially leave the church, Brooks said.
"To date, only five congregations have voted to leave the ELCA," he said.
Bratten said, "This has just begun. Since we've made the announcement to form a new denomination, the phone has been ringing off the hook from congregations saying, 'We know we need to leave the ELCA, but don't know what to do. What can you do for us?'"
Bratten's own congregation in Tyler is "wrestling with the issues," he said.
"Probably in January our congregation will take a vote," he said. "I can tell you they are very concerned."
But in the Lutheran church, clergy does not determine a congregation's direction.
"When it comes time to make the decision, I only have one vote like anyone else," he said.
Visit the Web at www.lutherancore.org and www.elca.org for information.
