Lutheran gay
Resources for the LGBTQIA+ Community
This is Christ's church. There is a place for you here.
We are the church that shares a living, daring confidence in God's grace. Liberated by our faith, we accept you as a whole person – questions, complexities and all.
ELCA social statement on human sexuality
Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust expresses ELCA teaching on human sexuality. A social statement is a learning and policy document that assists us in thinking about and discussing social issues in the context of faith and community. This statement was adopted in 2009 and provides guidance on matters fancy marriage, family and same-gender relationships.
LGBTQIA+ voices and ministries in Living Lutheran
We are a church that values and encourages diverse voices and lively dialogue.
Find articles authored by LGBTQIA+ church leaders and stories about ministries that affirm people of all sexual orientations and gender identities in Living Lutheran magazine and on LivingLutheran.org.
Evangelical Lutheran Worship Service of Marriage:
Supplemental Resources
This marriage service supplement bids inclus
The Church and Homosexuality
[1] After attending a study group using the ELCA review guide Journey Together Faithfully: The Church and Homosexuality at Advent Lutheran in Arlington, TX, I felt as Dennis Bielfeldt (2003) did when he wrote:
“While I believe Journey Together does fairly describe the diverse voices and positions within the ELCA on this controversial issue, I locate it neither particularly helps readers reach at justifiable views, nor effectively aids the institution of the ELCA in coming to a responsible and defensible position.”
[2] I certainly had a viewpoint on all the topics addressed in Journey, and this contribution is an attempt to declare part of that viewpoint as a defensible position. I have assumed that statements by Jesus in the Gospels outweigh rules and judgments found elsewhere in the Elderly and New Testaments and that those rules and verdicts must be evaluated in light of Jesus’ moral principles as applied to 21st century western culture.
[3] Jesus’ moral principles are basic , the application difficult: “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 19:19; 22:39; Impression 12:31; Luke 10:27); “always treat others
Same-Gender Issues Among Lutherans in Canada
A Statement from the Council of Presidents/Bishops of Lutheran Church-Canada
Recent years have brought separation and discord among Lutheran Christians around the world as various church bodies have departed from historic Biblical teaching and practice by approving same-gender relationships, both within their churches’ membership and even in the ranks of the ordained clergy. This disruption will now spread in our country through the decision of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) to authorize its pastors to conduct same-gender marriages, as adv as by its finding that sexual orientation is no longer an issue in certifying candidates for the ministry.
Because these decisions will be covered in the media, members of the larger Christian community and the Canadian public in general may mistakenly conclude that these decisions stand for the position of all Lutherans in this land. In truth, the ELCIC is the only Lutheran church body in Canada which has approved such a departure from accepted Christian training. Further, although the ELCIC formally reports large membership statistics, nearly 40 percent of Canadian Luth
Readers of The Lutheran know the ELCA has been emotionally attached in a research of human sexuality with specific reference to homosexuality and whether homosexual people should be ordained as pastors. Pastors and others received a thorough analyze, Background Essay on Biblical Texts, as part of the ELCA’s study.
Members of some congregations have not had the opportunity to read this explore, or they may have been turned off by its length and detail. But even for those who execute read it, I share some insights that I contain not seen in this study. I will also question some questions to ponder as you consider the biblical texts, leaving you free to sketch your own conclusions.
I am in no way involved in the process for determining the ELCA’s position or policies on the issues before the church. My purpose is to inform and invite reflection on the subject of homosexuality and the church today, while not trying to persuade anyone toward any conclusion on the issues at hand.
In dealing with biblical texts, it is easy to read into or out of them what one wants to find. Therefore, different and disagreeing interpretations of the texts often occur, which is adv demonstrated in the study mentioned. I will deal b