Difficult trip

Lutheran, The, Aug 2004 by Favre, Jeff

Mount Carmel Lutheran Church, San Luis Obispo, Calif.

Where the 'Journey' led

Three congregations tell of their experiences with the ELCA homosexuality study

Journey Together Faithfully, Part Two: The Church and Homosexuality is the study booklet created for congregations, part of the ELCA study of homosexuality called for by the 2001 Churchwide Assembly. Recommendations from the study task force with reference to the blessing of same-sex unions and to the ordination of people in committed same-sex unions will be presented to the 2005 Churchwide Assembly.

Included in the task force deliberations will be responses from all ELCA congregations that did the study. In February (pages 12-17), The Lutheran introduced three of those congregations. Now we revisit each, learning something of what the members discovered as they went on this Journey together.

Congregations still have time to participate and to make their opinions count. Responses are due Nov. 1. One copy of the booklet was mailed to all congregations in September 2003. Additional copies, at $1.50 each, may be ordered by calling (800) 328-4648; the text also is available at www.elca.org/faithfuljourney.>By exploring the Journey Together Faithfully homosexuality study, Mount Carmel Lutheran Church, San Luis Obispo, Calif., may have armed its members with a healthy dose of information regarding the various sides of perhaps the most controversial issue in ELCA history.

But the journey through the material also left no doubt that this congregation is one of the church's most divided.

Against the intentions of its lead pastor, Russ Gordon, and a 12-member panel that developed five discussion sessions using the material, several parishioners brought to a vote a resolution that would have supported the ELCA's current position regarding homosexuality.

The ELCA has no policy on the blessing of same-sex unions. In 1993 the Conference of Bishops stated that they did not approve of an official ceremony for such unions (www.elca.org/sr/blessing-homosexual.relations).

The Vision and Expectations document adopted by the Church Council states: "It is the policy of the ELCA that all single rostered people, including those who understand themselves to be homosexual, are expected to abstain from sexual relationships."

The attendance for the congregational meeting, which was as large as had been assembled in recent memory, resulted in a 78-77 vote to defeat the resolution, Gordon says.

The obvious division-and the loss of a few families who left over the debate-is a source of concern for Gordon. But he still believes that meeting the issue head-on and allowing for an open discussion was a necessary step.

"It's been difficult," he said. "Obviously we don't want anyone to leave. When we lose any set of voices, we do not have a chorus. The trick to having harmony is by listening to other voices and not trying to be the loudest."

Paula Lowe, a worship team member at Mount Carmel, agreed. "Going through the sexuality study was helpful but painful," she said. "Deep divisions between older, conservative members and newer, liberal members were exposed. Conservative members who believe that homosexuality is a sin used the study to substantiate their position. Other members strengthened their understanding that the inclusion of homosexual clergy is a social justice issue. The big middle of members dislikes conflict and didn't participate very actively in the process."

Jon Ericson, a member since 1970 and a Lutheran for more than 75 years, said the team assembled to conduct the study was beneficial. "The planning began prior to the ELCA distribution of study materials," he said. "The benefit of early planning was that the team worked to find resources and sought to create common ground. To have such scholarly dissertations available to the laity was a privilege."

On the other hand, Dwayne Head, a member of the study team, believed the material made it clear to him and to many parishioners the direction the ELCA wants the discussion to go.

'Frustrating process'

"In my view," Head said, "the written materials are biased toward blessing and ordination. The process we went through was very frustrating because the current approach relegates the Bible to a co-equal position with science, tradition and experience in dealing with this important issue.

"Under the ground rules established for this discussion, how a person feels about something is taken as seriously as what Scripture tells us about it. Inconclusive research carries as much weight as what Paul says in his letters. Because of this, there are no core values that can be brought to bear on the discussion."

Although the study sessions ended several months ago, Gordon said the congregation still is working on the issue. "I'm proud of the congregation for going through this process and not hiding its head in the sand," he said. "I hope we are better off for it."

Jeff Favre