Lutherans Move Closer to Full Inclusion of Gay/Lesbian Clergy

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the nation’s largest Lutheran denomination with 4.78 million members, passed a resolution earlier this month urging church leaders to refrain from punishing gay and lesbian clergy that are in committed relationships. Prior to the resolution, gay and lesbian pastors could be openly gay but had to remain celibate in order to remain in a leadership position within the church.

A large number of Minnesotans were responsible for changing the church’s position on the issue of gay and lesbian clergy. Minnesota’s large populations of both Lutherans and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender have contributed to a long history of efforts  by church members to ensure full inclusion of LGBT people into in the Lutheran church.

One driving force behind those efforts is Lutherans Concerned, a Christian Ministry whose mission is “affirming God’s love for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities.” Lutherans Concerned started in Minneapolis in 1974.

At the ELCA national assembly this month, 82 church leaders came out as LGBT in a booklet called A Place Within My Walls handed out to assembly members by a coalition including Lutherans Concerned. Thirteen were Minnesotans, including the Rev. Anita Hill of St. Paul Reformation Lutheran Church. Hill was ordained in 2001 against the wishes of the ELCA. Hill has a same-sex domestic partner. The ELCA, until two weeks ago, considered that a violation of church rules.

More insideMany more Minnesotans shared their stories at the ELCA national assembly, including Pastor Darin Easler. “In 2002, after five years as pastor of United Redeemer Lutheran Church in Zumbrota, Minn.,  I came out to the congregation of 1,200 members,” Easler wrote in the booklet. “There was amazing support. They didn’t care that I was gay, and they knew I loved them as their pastor. They wanted me to stay; many were shocked I could be removed if I had a life partner. They knew I longed for companionship. On August 3, 2003, I left my call, hoping the ELCA would change its policy.”

Pastor Mary Albing of the Lutheran Church of Christ the Redeemer in Minneapolis told assemby members, “I belong in the church because I am a baptized child of God. I belong in ministry because I have been called. I am Lutheran, so I have stayed in the ELCA. We belong to one another. My prayer is that we will all soon awaken to that truth.”

Jen Nagel lives with her partner, Jane McBride, in the Twin Cities. Nagel is a pastoral minister at Salem English Lutheran Church. “Since the ELCA roster is not currently open to people like me, I am on the roster of the Extraordinary Candidacy Project (ECP). I serve as a leader in our synod and beyond,” wrote Nagel. “Jane serves Falcon Heights United Church of Christ as associate pastor, and together we will soon welcome a baby through adoption. I trust that together with our communities we’ll be able to teach this little one the Sunday school truths to which we cling. Jesus loves us all. Grace is a gift. Yes, we are called by God.”

After hearing those stories, the ELCA assembly passed the resolution 538 to 431, a decision that LGBT people of faith in Minnesota have called a positive move, yet one that should be a steppingstone to further inclusion.

The Rev. Laurie Crelly, chair of the Faith, Family, and Fairness Alliance, an interfaith coalition of the LGBT community said, “We are encouraged by the recent decisions made by the ELCA regarding LGBT clergy as a step in the right direction. We hope and pray, however, that this is a temporary solution to allow the church to come to a more decisive and supportive stance of LGBT clergy serving faithfully within and without the ELCA,” said Crelly. “We have contact with many clergy who are serving churches and synagogues that are not welcoming to openly LGBT clergy. We stand in solidarity with them to help people of faith become more welcoming and inclusive of all God’s children.”

Crelly said that it’s not just LGBT people who lose when a minister is excluded on the basis of sexual orientation. “It is a great loss to the faith community when they exclude such effective ministers simply because they are LGBT,” said Crelly.

The next meeting of the ELCA assembly will occur in Minneapolis in 2009.

Minnesotans who came out to the ELCA assembly came from all over the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Here are the church leaders from Minnesota who came out as LGBT and the official status of each with the church.

Pastor Mary Albing, ordained 1988, serving Lutheran Church of Christ the Redeemer, Minneapolis, Minneapolis Area Synod, ELCA On Leave From Call.

Pastor Richard Andersen, ordained 1986, serving St. Paul-Reformation Church, St. Paul, St. Paul Area Synod, ECP Active, ELCA  Postponed.

Candidate Jodi Barry, awaiting ordination, graduated United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities 2001, serving Mercy Hospital as chaplain and Grace University Lutheran as youth director, Coon Rapids and Minneapolis, Minneapolis Area Synod, ECP Approved.

Pastoral Minister Brenda Froisland, awaiting ordination, graduated Luther Seminary St. Paul, 2005, serving Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, MN, Minneapolis Area Synod, ELCA Postponed Pending Policy Change.

Pastor Brad Froslee, ordained 2004, serving St. Luke Presbyterian Church, Minnetonka, Minneapolis Area Synod, ELCA Active.

Pastor Ruth Frost, ordained 1990, serving Hospice of the Twin Cities, Plymouth, Minneapolis Area Synod, ECP Active.

Pastor William Heisley, ordained 1980, serving Mount Olive Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, Minneapolis Area Synod, ELCA Active.

Pastor Anita Hill, ordained 2001, serving St. Paul-Reformation Lutheran Church, St. Paul, St. Paul Area Synod, ECP Active, ELCA Postponed Pending Policy Change.

Seminarian Margaret Kelly, attending Luther Seminary, CPE Intern, University of Minnesota, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Minneapolis, ECP Endorsed, ELCA Endorsed 2006.

Pastoral Minister Jen Nagel, awaiting ordination, graduated University of Chicago Divinity School 1998, further courses at Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago 1999, serving Salem English Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, Minneapolis Area Synod, ECP Approved, ELCA Approved Pending Policy Change.

Associate in Ministry Mark Sedio, consecrated 1980, serving Central Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, Minneapolis Area Synod, ELCA Removed 2006.

Pastor Jay Wiesner, ordained 2004, serving Bethany Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, Minneapolis Area Synod, ECP Active.

Pastor Phyllis Zillhart, ordained 1990, serving Abbott NW Hospital Chaplaincy, Minneapolis, Minneapolis Area Synod, ECP Active.