What will our witness be? As members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, what stories shall we tell?
In the weeks following the 2009 Churchwide Assembly there are many who are asking:

• What does this mean?
• What does it mean to be faithful?

We are a church that believes every member is sent to do God's work with their hands. We are a church willing to engage in difficult conversations that sometimes reveal our differences.
As a church, we have many conversations ahead -- not only about human sexuality, but about how our congregations can grow as evangelical centers for mission.

September 23, 2009

Dear Colleague in Ministry,

"And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly." (Colossians 3:15-16a)

I give thanks to God for your faithful leadership and your committed partnership in the gospel. I am mindful of the varied responses to churchwide assembly actions on human sexuality -- joy, anger, hope, confusion, ambivalence, perhaps even detachment. In this letter please join me in reflecting on our witness together as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, particularly as we continue to live into the implications of assembly actions.

Subject: 2009 Churchwide Assembly Letter from Presiding Bishop Hanson

August 22, 2009

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ:

Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.
-- Colossians 3:14-15

I write to you from the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Minneapolis with official information about the actions of this assembly related to human sexuality. I am grateful for the manner in which this church has engaged in this conversation. The way this assembly has discussed these questions is a continuation of the way this church has deliberated: with deep and heartfelt respect for each other, engaging with Scripture, listening to the faith stories and experiences of one another, and through worship and prayer seeking the discernment of the Spirit.

• Pastoral Remarks following the vote on the Ministry Policies.
• Pastoral Remarks at the closing of the assembly.