Issue: July 2009

[1] The decisive argument in the two texts produced by the Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality – the proposed social statement “Human Sexuality – Gift and Trust“ (hereafter, HSGT) and the related set of concrete proposals “Report and Recommendations on Ministry Policies” (RRMP; in both cases, references will be to line numbers) – […]

[1] During the current church-wide discussion about the ELCA statement, “Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust,” and the “Report and Recommendation on Ministry Policies” we, the undersigned members of the faculty of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, remember Paul’s advice to our Christian community: “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no […]

[1] Anticipation and anxiety continue to mount as the ELCA Churchwide Assembly draws near. The Report and Recommendation on Ministry Policies stands in the forefront of many minds bringing with it a flood of commentaries, petitions, and conversations. All corners of the ELCA including theologians, congregations, seminarians, and clergy have voiced nuanced perspectives on the […]

The Scene of the Compromise [1] The recommendations on ministry policy made by the Task Force for the ELCA Studies on Sexuality and coming before the 2009 Churchwide Assembly have provoked disparate responses from differing constituencies within the ELCA. The report of the task force itself includes as an appendix two dissenting positions from members […]