Living Theology
in the Metropolitan Chicago Synod
Evangelical Lutheran Church
In America
Vol. 5 No. 2
Autumn 2000
Reflections on Synod Assembly 2000
Reflections on SynodAssembly
2000:
Where Do We Go from Here?
Wayne R.
Cowell
This issue of Let’s Talk
is devoted to a critical inquiry into a pair of resolutions about gay and
lesbian persons in the church, which passed at the 2000 Metropolitan Chicago
Synod Assembly, and to a discussion of the forum for congregational leadership
at the assembly. The first of these tests the will of the people of the synod to
walk together in their journey of faith because good people are heavily invested
in opposing positions that involve more than different opinions of what the
church should do – they involve
different understandings of what the church can
do. The second is a work in progress, the first act of a play yet to unfold in
new, perhaps surprising, ways. Each of these actions raises, in its own way, the
question, “Where do we go from here?”
The two resolutions are “memorials” to the
ELCAChurchwide Assembly 2001. One petitions the ELCA to develop a rite of
blessing for same-sex couples in committed life-long relationships, and to
produce materials that support pastoral counseling as well as educational
materials that promote biblical and theological foundations for all
committed relationships. The other entreats the ELCA to end the celibacy rule
for gay and lesbian persons in committed relationships who are now on the ELCA
roster or who are candidates for ministry. Our first three articles view
these resolutions from different perspectives.
Robert Goldstein presents the case for the
resolutions. “We as a church,” he says,
“are responding to justice issues proposed by our Western culture in which God
has called us through the Gospel. Our response is in seeking Gospel-centered
new understandings of Scripture and of our Christian way of life.” Goldstein draws on scripture and
tradition, using the latter in an active verbal sense, “traditioning,” to describe a process in which the
church, ancient and modern, has responded to its historical situation in the
light of the gospel.But, Goldstein says, it’s more than scripture and
tradition. This matter touches the lives of real people in real congregations
who are face to face with the possibility of change in the church. For Goldstein
the time has come for this change and for dealing with the pastoral and
educational problems that it implies.
Julie Williams spoke against the resolutions at
the assembly. She is a Sunday school teacher and youth mentor who is persuaded
by her reading of scripture that the ELCA is headed in the wrong direction on gay/lesbian issues.
Williams offers here her interpretation of significant texts and her reflections
on the responsibilities of teachers.
Frank Senn reads the resolutions and asks a
prior question: Can the church bless “committed same-sex relationships”? The ministers
of the church can pronounce “the blessing of God on conditions God has blessed
and for which a promise may be proclaimed (e.g. ‘Be fruitful
andmultiply’).” But the church, says
Senn, can’t do whatever it likes. In particular it can only proclaim that for
which it has scriptural warrant, and blessing is a form of proclamation.
Senn declares that he can find biblical warrant for blessing many things, even a
vow of celibacy for the sake of the kingdom of God. But he has not found
biblical texts that show God’s favor toward same-sex relationships or
promises concerning them. But Senn’s “no” to his question is coupled with his
welcome to gay and lesbian Christians and a summary of his counsel for those who
seek his pastoral care.
Goldstein, Williams, and Senn interpret scripture and
listen to tradition. All three are concerned with hospitality and the care of
the faithful, yet they represent distinct, at times contradictory, points
of view. We often see such lack of congruence when we gather as a congregation
or a synod to make decisions. What shall we do? Shall we avoid messy disputes
in favor of quiet individual piety or a “safe” congregational enclave in the
hope that someone, somewhere, will devise a species of “reconciled diversity?” Or, in this political season, shall we
march with signs that say either, “Yes, Yes, the Church can Bless!” or “Don’t
You Know, the Answer is NO!” and gather at the microphone for our moment
of amplification?
Neither of the above says Gregory Singleton.
Seeking to model deliberation in the church, Singleton offers a different
answer. Avoiding difficult issues, he says, is not really an option unless one
is willing to live with growing tension and bad faith. The alternatives are
either competition in which “factions
emerge,driven by an agenda external to the essence of the Church,” and the
discussion “becomes more and more an adversarial debate” or struggle “with the question, with the tradition of the Church,
with scripture, and the members struggle with each other.” Singleton favors struggle and draws on the
catechumenate as a model of how it might work. His reflections are solidly based
on his personal experience in two congregations and are informed by social
theory and by the liturgical foundation of the catechumenate.
Our other topic, the forum for
congregational leadership, is discussed in two essays. One of the planners of
the event, John Holm, sketches his view of its purposes and objectives, and the
reasons for choosing the program that was offered. The day long event was
designed to “raise up leadership in order to thank, equip, inspire, and
celebrate leaders through their ministries of discipleship development.” Holm
expands on this purpose as approached through the chosen format and concludes
with both satisfaction that the purpose was served and with acknowledgement that
“there remain many more topics and concepts to be offered up that will assist
our leaders in the fulfillment of their mission.”
Julie Ryan recognizes that the language of the
event shaped its character. The language of the day raised some questions for
her, both in terms of what speech was used and what was not. “Our life in God is
one of paradox: we are at once sinners and saints, bound yet free, daily dying
in the waters of baptism and being raised to new life. Does our language reflect this
dimension of mystery?” Ryan probes this
question using direct quotes from the event. Finally, she asks how we link our
conversations about discipleship with the sacraments of the church.
Here, surely, is insight for planners of future events of this kind.
Where do we go from here? Our authors give
various answers. Let’s Talk! And let’s
include the laity in our conversation. In the spirit of the leadership event,
we suggest that pastors give copies of this issue to lay leaders in
their congregations, particularly those who were delegates to the assembly
and/or attended the leadership event (two of the authors and your editor for
this issue are laypersons).