ELCA Moves Toward Acceptance of Openly Gay Ministers

By Joseph Erbentraut in News on Mar 13, 2010 5:15PM

Amidst news of financial support at an all-time low, executives of the Chicago-based Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) are expected to vote next month on new liturgical rites that would allow openly gay and lesbian ministers to become official clergy. It is only the most recent of many examples of American denominations grappling with the contentious issue of increasingly visible gay and lesbian people of faith.

The ELCA reportedly approved a draft of the new rites on Monday. If passed, the rites will allow 17 pastors who have followed the normal ELCA procedures to be ordained.

The denomination's move comes on the heels of a vote last summer striking down a long-time policy which barred non-celibate gays and lesbian Lutherans in the church from attaining official clergy status. In addition to supporting gay and lesbian pastors and professional workers living in committed relationships, the ELCA also approved a resolution committing the church to work toward ways to "recognize, support and hold publicly accountable life-long, monogamous, same gender relationships."

The ELCA's progressive stance toward gay issues has caused a major rift in the church's ranks. To date, sixty-two congregations, of the ELCA's total of 10,230, taking the two required votes to leave the denomination, while nearly 200 others have passed one vote. Similar issues have been faced recently by the Episcopal and Presbyterian Churches, who've both also opened their doors to gay and lesbian people of faith. The Catholic Church has not suffered from such disagreements.