What to make of this?



My church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America , released a panel's recommendations from its study on homosexuality, which I've blogged about a while back. Here's the press release from yesterday.

I'm not sure what to make of this, really. It seems to me that the panel elected to do nothing. Or, more accurately, to keep the church's current policies and not punish congregations that choose to look past them and ordain practicing homosexuals or bless same-sex couples.

I'm a little disappointed, but I'm not surprised by the recommendation. I would have liked a more definite, open stance-- the church saying that it would gladly welcome homosexuals in the ministry. After all, even if you view homosexuality as a sin, which I do not, we are all sinners. And why should we deny someone who feels he or she is called into the ministry? It just seems like we're putting up a human-devised barrier.

But I'm not in the majority. Or, as the panel says, there's no consensus of opinion on this issue, so we should strive for tolerance of those who disagree.

It's probably the safest decision for the denomination right now, but I was hoping for a little more oomph. It's my belief that in 20-30 years, when my generation makes up much of the leadership of the church, this won't be a polarizing issue anymore. And that goes for government, too... Those of us in our 20s, early 30s and younger just don't care as much about people's sex lives as our society as a whole seems to now.

Wow, my writing is pretty convoluted today. There's just a bunch of stuff rattling around in my head on this issue. You can read the report for yourself here.

Posted: Fri - January 14, 2005 at 01:46 PM          

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