Pastor Tim's Reflections on ELCA Ministry Recommendations: Some Pastoral Information, pleas, and encouragement Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Prayer

Most gracious and loving God, we give you thanks for all your blessings, but we are bound to thank and praise you most of all for the precious gift of relationship--with you, though we are unworthy,  and with one another.  We acknowledge before you our sinfulness that in every moment threatens to separate us from you and from one another, and we pray your forgiveness and your guidance.  We come to you as a Church (ELCA), as a synod (NC),  and as a congregation (Grace) sorely divided. Some finally feel embraced into your church, while others feel the church has abandoned them.  Amid our disagreements lead us to and focus us on your cross, and help us to be slow to judge, careful in our actions, and intentional about loving.  We pray in the name of Christ.  Amen.

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

There was much business and ministry guidance at the ELCA's biennial assembly in Minneapolis last week, but the only big issue I'm reading about in the New York Times and the Watauga Democrat is the set of four Ministry Recommendations that passed at the Assembly on Friday, August 21. 

The Facts

Interestingly, the letter to the editor that appeared in last Monday's Watauga Democrat and Thursday's Mountain Times from a Mr. Hayes in Hickory announced that "a friend who is Lutheran" lamented to him that "the Lutherans" were going to go the way of the Episcopal Church and have homosexual clergy.  Mr. Hayes' friend must have prophetic powers, because this letter was published before the ELCA Assembly even considered these ministry recommendations!  Mr. Hayes was also quite critical of "the clergy" who were ruining the Lutheran Church, and, in the context of Boone, I suppose that would have to imply me.  "The clergy," he said, voted this in (though nobody had voted yet) and further, he noted, the lay people had no chance or say in the vote. In actuality, the ELCA Assembly is made up of voting members from the 65 ELCA synods. 60% of the voting members are lay people, and 40% are clergy. Whether you like the decisions made or not, let's help Mr. Hayes and his friend get the facts right.  The ELCA Assembly by design has more lay voters than it does clergy voters.  I can't help but wonder if the Democrat would have allowed a letter to the editor with so much misinformation and the slandering of clergy in some other (predominant) local denominations?

Secondly, many of our members at Grace are following the online buzz of groups like Lutheran CORE (Coalition for Reform), a group made up at least for the moment mostly of folks still within the ELCA but opposed to the ministry recommendations.  In their press release this past Friday, they were quoted as saying they couldn't believe that the ELCA is in favor of gay marriage.  But wait!  In the Human Sexuality Document approved earlier last week, marriage was clearly defined as a commitment of lifelong fidelity between one man and one woman.  The ministry recommendation #2 that passed at ELCA Assembly stated simply that "this church is committed to finding ways to allow congregations that choose to do so to recognize, support and hold publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships." Nowhere is marriage language used or intended.

Thirdly, CORE and WordAlone are strongly encouraging congregations and individuals to STOP giving money to the ELCA.  Accordingly, several folks have already shown up at Grace and/or informed me that they intend to withdraw or re-direct their financial giving.  Not that this is unexpected or unanticipated, but I must say how sorely disappointed I am in folks who are acting so hastily before they can gather the facts...facts such as, less than 10% of Grace's income goes to the NC Synod for benevolence, and less than 40% of that total amount is forwarded to the ELCA.  Of that 40% (which for Grace would total around $26,000), the overwhelming majority goes to seminaries, colleges, church-wide staff in education, evangelism, campus ministry, Lutheran Social Services, World Hunger, Lutheran World Relief, development of new congregations, overseas missions, etc.  I am, and always have been, extremely opposed to the war in Iraq, but I still pay my taxes, because I'm part of the United States and I love my country even when I find it to be in error.  Sure, I might go to prison if I don't pay, but on a wider level I think it's important to think of all the wonderful things my country does do and provide for.  Same for my church.

Fourthly, if you quit giving because you want to punish the ELCA for affirming that some congregations somewhere might have gay clergy, then you must know that the ELCA will move right along, including through whatever division might precipitate from all this, but Grace Congregation in Boone just had a major congregational meeting lamenting our ability to pay for a Youth & Family Minister and to give our church staff a raise.  Bottom line:  if you quit giving to our general fund altogether because you're unhappy with this decision, then you are hurting our children and youth and our Grace staff and mission mightily, and the ELCA will not even notice.  Sorry, folks, but this is ever so close to "if I don't get my way, I'm taking my marbles and going home." How can communities, families, nations, the church, survive with such an attitude?

Fifthly, and this is admittedly the stickiest one, those who oppose these ministry recommendations for reasons of "bound conscience," which the ELCA recognizes and affirms, claim that the "Word of God" precludes such ministry policies.  Interestingly, Jaynan Clark, president of WordAlone, toots this horn the loudest.  But wait!  She's a woman! Hasn't she read Paul about women covering their heads, not speaking in church, etc.?  Here's my problem, and, I think, the Church's problem when it comes to the scriptures:  we all claim them as our ultimate authority, and some claim to do so using words like literal and inerrant, but I have yet to meet a pure biblical literalist, no matter what their denominational affiliation--only selective ones who take the parts of the Bible literally that suit them.  Leviticus counts as abomination the consumption of cheeseburgers (milk & meat together) as well as homosexual behavior.  Paul also advises slaves to obey their masters, women to submit to their husbands, and citizens always to obey the governing authorities.  What we need in the ELCA and in our training of pastors is a clear Biblical hermeneutic, that is, a clear set of assumptions and tools through which we interpret the scriptures.  Book of Faith begins to clarify that a bit.  Lutherans, and Luther, have always asked, "What does this mean?"  In my opinion, we should have a clearer sense of that meaning and scriptural interpretation before we take votes on changing precedents that have guided the church for the past 2000 years!

Sixthly, my family is a microcosm of the pain of separation and division the church is experiencing now.  My parents are struggling with whether they can remain a part of this ELCA because the recommendations have passed, and my children were wondering the same thing if the recommendations did NOT pass!  I wonder if we can still be a family?  I hope so, I believe so, I pray so, for my blood relatives as well as my larger church and my congregation.  We need each other, even if we're feeling disappointed in, disgusted with, betrayed by, angry at, hurt by, elated with, fulfilled with, (you fill in the blanks) this recent ELCA direction.  As Bishop Hanson said so eloquently, we still all meet at the foot of the cross.  (The ground is level there, you know).

Seventhly (now that can't be a word?), about 12 years ago I got quite caught up in, even obsessed with my opposition, based on Article 7 of the Augsburg Confession and my concern for the precedents for unity we were setting, with the "Called to Common Mission" agreement with the Episcopal Church, USA.  The recommendation passed--I lost--and 14 families of which I am aware left Grace over that issue.  Several of them helped form a new Missouri Synod Lutheran Church in Linville.

Dear people, to this day, whom I love and respect.  But here's the thing:  My obsession with this issue, in retrospect, caused great celebration for the devil and his (her?) minions, because the devil, I think, loves strife and division within the church.  If we can re-direct the focus of the church away from serving, caring, proclaiming the gospel, administering the sacraments, then we win! (say the demons).  We mustn't let this or any one single issue prevent us from being about the work of the church.  We'll still be having weddings, funerals, Sunday worship, choir practice, Meals on Wheels, circles, etc....that is, if we have energy for those things after all this mess.  We can't let this eat our souls!

Lastly, for now, because I'm tired and my head hurts along with my heart:  Some congregations will leave the ELCA.  Some individuals will leave Grace. But not everyone, by a long shot, is sad and upset.  As in my family, I hear the body of Christ also saying "It's about time!" and "What's the big deal?" I am not leaving the ELCA.  It is my heritage, my church, and it has, still, in my mind, the richest proclamation of the Grace of God I've seen anywhere.  Not perfect, by a long shot.  But I'm staying.  God is faithful and will see us through this division.  And I'm going to Candidacy meeting this week to fulfill part of my synodical commitments. And my check for $950 for September, $900 for thegeneral fund and $50 for the Norris House mortgage, will be in the offering plate same as every month.  I'm asking you, however you feel about these ministry recommendations, to join me.  Please be patient with me in the currently overwhelming requests to process this, and remember Pastor Sarah and Vicar Lisa and Pastor John are here too.

Blessings, peace, healing to you and to us!

Pastor Tim Smith, Grace Lutheran Church, Boone, NC