Religions face turmoil over
ministry to gay people
We are on the verge of holy turmoil. In the next few months, I predict that multitudes
of religious people will be evaluating their membership in churches
and synagogues and deciding whether to pull out or stay for the
duration. Most are going to stay until hell freezes
- or longer. Further, no matter how denominational executives
fiddle with the religion, there will always be loyal religious
people. But there is no question that a mess is starting to build
and nobody can halt the momentum. What's got everyone so worked up? It's the
issue of what religion will do with homosexual people. In the
past, gay men and lesbians could attend churches and synagogues,
they could give their money for the daily operation and they could
even sing the hymns and shake hands in the vestibule following
worship. But in the old days, homosexual people knew
they did not have a voice in congregational matters. They knew
they could never expect the church to bless their union with someone
they loved. They knew they would never be ordained into the ministry
of the religion even if they felt called by God. They knew membership
into a religious organization meant there would be few services
for them but many trials and sacrifices. That inequality has been going on for centuries.
Certainly some gay men and lesbians have always lived openly with
their sexuality. But in countless small towns, rural areas and
in many congregations across the nation, homosexual people have
been forced by their religion to live a lie. Recently however, Reform Judaism opened
the gate and voted to allow rabbis to conduct blessings of gay
and lesbian relationships. In fact, Reform rabbis can probably
do full-blown weddings if two people of the same sex ask for such
a ritual. You may think that a pronouncement from
the most liberal branch of Judaism will not have much of an effect
on Christian denominations. But if you hold negative views of
gay men and lesbians, don't let your hopes rise too high. Every
time a religious organization makes a freeing move toward homosexual
people, other denominations will soon try to follow. For instance, a Lutheran congregation in
St. Paul, Minn., has asked its denomination "to grant an
exception to the present policy" of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America document "Vision and Expectations of Ordained
Ministers." That document says that any ordained person
who is homosexual must abstain from sexual relationships with
people of the same sex. St. Paul Reformation Lutheran Church believes
one of its ministers, Anita Hill, is uniquely qualified to become
ordained into the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Hill
has completed the rigorous academic training required of a Lutheran
pastor and has served on the staff at St. Paul Reformation for
the past 11 years. Since 1994, Hill has been a pastoral minister
in the congregation and has conducted a wide range of pastoral
responsibilities, including serving Holy Communion. St. Paul Reformation congregation and senior
pastor, the Rev. Paul Tidemann, say this is an urgent matter and
the request asks the ELCA church council to make an exception
to the rules for Hill. This congregation, in spite of many challenges
because of their location, has been a loyal member of the St.
Paul Synod of the Evangelical Church in America. Through all the
years that St. Paul Reformation has been an inclusive church,
actively welcoming people of all races, ethnic backgrounds and
sexual orientations, there has never been a rift between congregation
and denomination. This is a solid congregation that has carried
on a ministry in that part of the city for more than 100 years.
When the neighborhood began to change, the members voted to seek
African-American members, a move that probably shocked Lutherans
in other places. They figure their history entitles them to some
unusual consideration. And now with the ministry of Anita Hill,
about 25 percent of the congregation is made up of gay men and
lesbians. If this exception is granted by the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America, I think most Lutherans in these parts
will yawn and nod their heads. If it isn't granted, then we surely
are headed into a time of holy turmoil. Wouldn't it be great if
all people could find justice in the church - without a lot of
holy turmoil?
Clark D. Morphew
Posted For April 15, 2000