Saturday, June 12, 2010
Extraordinary Ordinations
Rooted in the extraordinary ordinations that were performed by Martin Luther and the reformers as recorded in the Lutheran Confessions, 18 Extraordinary Ordinations have taken place to date. In the days before the first Extraordinary Ordination, Krister Stendahl, Harvard Professor and Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Stockholm of the Church of Sweden, wrote to Jeff, Ruth, and Phyllis: “Since I cannot be with you at your ordination which—it seems—must take place extra ordinem, I want to send you a greeting affirming my conviction that the steps that your congregations and you are taking stand well before God.”
- 1 - 3 Extraordinary Ordination of Jeff Johnson, Ruth Frost and Phyllis Zillhart- January 22, 1990: Pastor Jeff Johnson is called by First United Lutheran Church. Pastors Frost and Zillhart are called by St. Francis Lutheran. This first extraordinary Ordination resulted in a trial and the ultimate expulsion of First United and St. Francis from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
- 4. Extraordinary Ordination of Donna Simon - October 28, 2000 in Kansas City: Pastor Simon was called by Abiding Peace Lutheran.
- 5. Extraordinary Ordination of Craig Minich - February 18, 2001 in Berkeley: Pastor Minich is called by two Oakland churches and University Lutheran in Berkeley
- 6. Extraordinary Ordination of Anita C. Hill - April 28, 2001 in St. Paul, Minnesota: Pastor Hill was called to St. Paul-Reformation Lutheran Church in St. Paul, Minnesota to serve with Pastor Paul Tidemann, a straight pastor in the congregation. The congregation is censured, but the censure is later repealed. Active ELCA Bishop Paul Egertson participated in Anita's ordination as did the Rev. Dr. Krister Stendahl, Bishop of the Church of Sweden.
- 7. Extraordinary Ordination of Sharon Stalkfleet - May 12, 2002 in the Bay Area: Pastor Stalkfleet is called to the East Bay Nursing Home
- 8. Extraordinary Ordination of Jay Wiesner - July 25, 2004 in Minneapolis, MN: Pastor Wiesner was originally called by Bethany Lutheran Church in Minneapolis; he is now serving University Lutheran Church of the Incarnation in Philadelphia
- 9. Extraordinary Ordination of Erik Christensen - October 21, 2006 in Chicago: Pastor Christensen was called to St. Luke's of Logan Square.[9]
- 10. Extraordinary Ordination of Megan Rohrer - November 18, 2006 in San Francisco: Pastor Rohrer was called to be the director of the Welcome Ministry with a call from herchurch; Christ Church; St. Francis and Sts. Mary and Martha in San Francisco.Queer in sexuality and gender, Rohrer became the first openly transgender person to be ordained in the Lutheran church.
- 11. Extraordinary Ordination of Dawn Roginski - June 16, 2007 in San Francisco: Pastor Roginski was called on March 25, 2007 by St Francis Lutheran Church of San Francisco to serve as its Pastor of Parish Programs.
- 12. Extraordinary Ordination of Jen Rude - November 17, 2007 in Chicago: Pastor Rude was called to Resurrection Lutheran and the Night Ministry in Chicago.
- 13. Extraordinary Ordination of Jen Nagel - January 19, 2008 in Minneapolis: Pastor Nagel was called to Salem Lutheran where she had been serving for four and a half years as a pastoral minister.
- 14. Extraordinary Ordination of Lionel Ketola - May 16, 2008 in Newmarket Ontario: Pastor Ketola was called to Holy Cross where he will serve as associate pastor and Ambassador of Reconciliation. Ketola became the first legally married gay man to be ordained in the Lutheran church. Later, the congregation and the pastors who participated in the ordination were censured by the local bishop, who is investigating whether or not to further discipline the congregation.
- 15. Extraordinary Ordination of Lura Groen - July 26, 2008 in Houston, Texas: Pastor Groen was called to Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church.
- 16. Extraordinary Ordination of Jodi Barry - October 25, 2008 in Minneapolis, MN: Pastor Barry was the first pastor called by Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries to a specialized ministry. Pastor Barry is a Hospital Chaplain.
- 17. Extraordinary Ordination of Jay Wilson - December 6, 2008 in San Francisco, CA: Pastor Wilson called to serve Welcome with a call from First United Lutheran.
- 18. Extraordinary Ordination of Steve Keiser - January 5, 2009 in Philadelphia, PA: Pastor Keiser was ordained at Holy Communion Lutheran Church in Philadelphia.
Greetings from Anne Lamott
This is a beautiful and profound event and I wish I could be there. My contribution to the prayer is my pastor's benediction; "God bless you real good." We love and welcome or brothers and sisters with open arms, jumping up and down in godfull joy.
Annie Lamott
Annie Lamott
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
ELCA News Release: Two Dismissed Pastors, Others Welcomed to ELCA Clergy Roster
ELCA News Service - May 25, 2010
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Two dismissed pastors have been welcomed back to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The candidacy committee of the ELCA Sierra Pacific Synod, Oakland, Calif., met May 24 and unanimously approved the reinstatement of the pastors to the ELCA clergy roster, and it also approved for reception six pastors from Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries (ELM).
According to the synod, a formal Rite of Reception for the pastors will be offered this summer.
The Rev. Ross D. Merkel, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Oakland, and the Rev. Steven P. Sabin, Christ Church Lutheran, San Francisco, have been approved for reinstatement.
In 1998 Sabin was removed from the ELCA clergy roster for being in a committed, same-sex relationship while serving as pastor at Lord of Life Lutheran Church, Ames, Iowa. His removal by an ELCA discipline committee drew national attention.
"I am relieved and happy that a long and painful episode in my relationship with my church family is ending. I look forward with hope to the restored partnership and opportunities for service that the actions of the 2009 Churchwide Assembly and the Sierra Pacific Candidacy Committee have made possible," said Sabin.
"For two decades, many have been grieved and alienated by the ELCA's exclusion of gay and lesbian pastors blessed with loving spouses. I hope and pray that they can, like me, lay aside the hurts and take hope from the gracious power of God to renew and direct the church into evermore faithful and effective proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I hope that this will be the beginning of a new period of evangelical outreach for the ELCA aided by our new witness to the forgiveness and grace of God truly being for all people," said Sabin. "Like the psalmist, I can only observe with awe and gratitude: 'This is the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes.'"
ELM pastors approved for reception to the ELCA clergy roster are:
+ the Rev. Jeff R. Johnson, pastor, University Lutheran Chapel of Berkeley, Berkeley, Calif.
+ the Rev. Craig Minich, pastor of youth ministries, Oakland-Berkeley Lutheran Youth Program
+ the Rev. Dawn Roginski, pastor of parish programs, St. Francis Lutheran Church, San Francisco
+ the Rev. Megan Rohrer, executive director, WELCOME, San Francisco
+ the Rev. Paul R. Brenner, St. Francis Lutheran Church, San Francisco
+ the Rev. Sharon Stalkfleet, Lutheran Ministry to Nursing Homes, Oakland.
ELM is an organization that credentials qualified candidates of "all sexual orientations and gender identities" for ordained ministry.
"Twenty years ago when I was ordained, we could dimly imagine that Lutherans would one day fully recognize lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people," said Johnson in a May 24 ELM news release. "I'm very thankful for all who have helped to carry this struggle forward and for our church which has finally opened up to the new and exciting future God has in store for us," he said.
"I was very pleased by how the candidacy committee came together," said the Rev. Mark W. Holmerud, bishop, ELCA Sierra Pacific Synod. "This was a special meeting of the committee. We in the synod felt it was important to move forward with this process in a timely manner, so the committee agreed to this special meeting," he told the ELCA News Service.
"I am deeply grateful to the ELM pastors, and the two pastors who were removed from the ELCA roster, for their grace and good will in being a part of this process; to the members of the (Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary) faculty who made arrangements to be at this meeting, and to the candidacy committee for their faithful deliberations which have made it possible for these pastors to be brought onto the roster of the ELCA," said Holmerud.
"One of the things that was lived out yesterday was the sense that we were not examining the candidates but rather hearing stories of ministries from pastors who were already actively carrying out the gospel mission. That set the tenor of the meeting," said the Rev. Nancy Feniuk Nelson, bishop's associate, ELCA Sierra Pacific Synod.
"This was by no means an examination. It was a sharing about ministry and a celebration of ministry. We had a worship service that included the former ELM candidacy committee, the present ELCA candidacy committee, the ELM pastors and faculty from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, including the seminary president, the Rev. Phyllis B. Anderson. It was a very moving worship. Bishop Mark and I did the first interviews of all the candidates, and I became profoundly aware of how grateful I am to be a part of this process in this time of the church," Nelson told the ELCA News Service.
Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary is one of eight ELCA seminaries.
Earlier this month at the synod assembly Holmerud lifted a public censure and admonition placed on University Lutheran Chapel of Berkeley in 2000 for calling the Rev. Jeff R. Johnson, who was not a member of the ELCA clergy roster. Johnson was also elected at the assembly to the serve on the ELCA Sierra Pacific Synod Council.
In a May 6 letter to the congregation, Holmerud said by "lifting this censure, the members of the congregation of University Lutheran are hereby welcome into full participation in the mission and ministry of the Sierra Pacific Synod" and the ELCA.
Holmerud wrote that the actions of the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly "have brought us to a new day."
The 2009 assembly called for revisions to ministry policy documents, making it possible for Lutherans in committed, publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous same-gender relationships to serve as ELCA clergy and professional lay leaders. The ELCA Church Council adopted the revisions to ministry policy documents April 10.
"This is another important day for so many in the church," said Amalia Vagts, ELM executive director. "It is wonderful to have leaders like Bishop Mark Holmerud and Bishop's Associate Nancy Feniuk Nelson and the members of the Sierra Pacific candidacy committee demonstrating holy hospitality to all," she said.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director
(773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
Twitter: http://twitter.com/elcanews
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Two dismissed pastors have been welcomed back to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The candidacy committee of the ELCA Sierra Pacific Synod, Oakland, Calif., met May 24 and unanimously approved the reinstatement of the pastors to the ELCA clergy roster, and it also approved for reception six pastors from Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries (ELM).
According to the synod, a formal Rite of Reception for the pastors will be offered this summer.
The Rev. Ross D. Merkel, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Oakland, and the Rev. Steven P. Sabin, Christ Church Lutheran, San Francisco, have been approved for reinstatement.
In 1998 Sabin was removed from the ELCA clergy roster for being in a committed, same-sex relationship while serving as pastor at Lord of Life Lutheran Church, Ames, Iowa. His removal by an ELCA discipline committee drew national attention.
"I am relieved and happy that a long and painful episode in my relationship with my church family is ending. I look forward with hope to the restored partnership and opportunities for service that the actions of the 2009 Churchwide Assembly and the Sierra Pacific Candidacy Committee have made possible," said Sabin.
"For two decades, many have been grieved and alienated by the ELCA's exclusion of gay and lesbian pastors blessed with loving spouses. I hope and pray that they can, like me, lay aside the hurts and take hope from the gracious power of God to renew and direct the church into evermore faithful and effective proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I hope that this will be the beginning of a new period of evangelical outreach for the ELCA aided by our new witness to the forgiveness and grace of God truly being for all people," said Sabin. "Like the psalmist, I can only observe with awe and gratitude: 'This is the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes.'"
ELM pastors approved for reception to the ELCA clergy roster are:
+ the Rev. Jeff R. Johnson, pastor, University Lutheran Chapel of Berkeley, Berkeley, Calif.
+ the Rev. Craig Minich, pastor of youth ministries, Oakland-Berkeley Lutheran Youth Program
+ the Rev. Dawn Roginski, pastor of parish programs, St. Francis Lutheran Church, San Francisco
+ the Rev. Megan Rohrer, executive director, WELCOME, San Francisco
+ the Rev. Paul R. Brenner, St. Francis Lutheran Church, San Francisco
+ the Rev. Sharon Stalkfleet, Lutheran Ministry to Nursing Homes, Oakland.
ELM is an organization that credentials qualified candidates of "all sexual orientations and gender identities" for ordained ministry.
"Twenty years ago when I was ordained, we could dimly imagine that Lutherans would one day fully recognize lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people," said Johnson in a May 24 ELM news release. "I'm very thankful for all who have helped to carry this struggle forward and for our church which has finally opened up to the new and exciting future God has in store for us," he said.
"I was very pleased by how the candidacy committee came together," said the Rev. Mark W. Holmerud, bishop, ELCA Sierra Pacific Synod. "This was a special meeting of the committee. We in the synod felt it was important to move forward with this process in a timely manner, so the committee agreed to this special meeting," he told the ELCA News Service.
"I am deeply grateful to the ELM pastors, and the two pastors who were removed from the ELCA roster, for their grace and good will in being a part of this process; to the members of the (Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary) faculty who made arrangements to be at this meeting, and to the candidacy committee for their faithful deliberations which have made it possible for these pastors to be brought onto the roster of the ELCA," said Holmerud.
"One of the things that was lived out yesterday was the sense that we were not examining the candidates but rather hearing stories of ministries from pastors who were already actively carrying out the gospel mission. That set the tenor of the meeting," said the Rev. Nancy Feniuk Nelson, bishop's associate, ELCA Sierra Pacific Synod.
"This was by no means an examination. It was a sharing about ministry and a celebration of ministry. We had a worship service that included the former ELM candidacy committee, the present ELCA candidacy committee, the ELM pastors and faculty from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, including the seminary president, the Rev. Phyllis B. Anderson. It was a very moving worship. Bishop Mark and I did the first interviews of all the candidates, and I became profoundly aware of how grateful I am to be a part of this process in this time of the church," Nelson told the ELCA News Service.
Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary is one of eight ELCA seminaries.
Earlier this month at the synod assembly Holmerud lifted a public censure and admonition placed on University Lutheran Chapel of Berkeley in 2000 for calling the Rev. Jeff R. Johnson, who was not a member of the ELCA clergy roster. Johnson was also elected at the assembly to the serve on the ELCA Sierra Pacific Synod Council.
In a May 6 letter to the congregation, Holmerud said by "lifting this censure, the members of the congregation of University Lutheran are hereby welcome into full participation in the mission and ministry of the Sierra Pacific Synod" and the ELCA.
Holmerud wrote that the actions of the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly "have brought us to a new day."
The 2009 assembly called for revisions to ministry policy documents, making it possible for Lutherans in committed, publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous same-gender relationships to serve as ELCA clergy and professional lay leaders. The ELCA Church Council adopted the revisions to ministry policy documents April 10.
"This is another important day for so many in the church," said Amalia Vagts, ELM executive director. "It is wonderful to have leaders like Bishop Mark Holmerud and Bishop's Associate Nancy Feniuk Nelson and the members of the Sierra Pacific candidacy committee demonstrating holy hospitality to all," she said.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director
(773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
Twitter: http://twitter.com/elcanews
Saturday, August 22, 2009
NY Times: Lutheran Group Eases Limits on Gay Clergy
By MICHAEL LUO and CHRISTINA CAPECCHI
Published: August 21, 2009 in the New York Times
After an emotional debate over the authority of Scripture and the limits of biblical inclusiveness, leaders of the country’s largest Lutheran denomination voted Friday to allow gay men and lesbians in committed relationships to serve as members of the clergy.
The vote made the denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the latest mainline Protestant church to permit such ordinations, contributing to a halting sense of momentum on the issue within liberal Protestantism.
By a vote of 559 to 451, delegates to the denomination’s national assembly in Minneapolis approved a resolution declaring that the church would find a way for people in “publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous same-gender relationships” to serve as official ministers. (The church already allows celibate gay men and lesbians to become members of the clergy.)
Just before the vote, the Rev. Mark Hanson, the church’s presiding bishop, led the packed convention center in prayer. When the two bar graphs signaling the vote’s outcome popped up on the hall’s big screens seconds later, there were only a few quiet gasps, as delegates had been asked to avoid making an audible scene. But around the convention hall, clusters of men and women hugged one other and wept.
“To be able to be a full member of the church is really a lifelong dream,” said the Rev. Megan Rohrer of San Francisco, who is in a committed same-sex relationship and serves in three Lutheran congregations but is not officially on the church’s roster of clergy members. “I don’t have to have an asterisk next to my name anymore.”
But the passage of the resolution now raises questions about the future of the denomination, which has 4.6 million members but has seen its ranks steadily dwindle, and whether it will see an exodus of its more conservative followers or experience some sort of schism.
“I think we have stepped beyond what the word of God allows,” said the Rev. Rebecca M. M. Heber of Heathrow, Fla., who said she was going to reconsider her membership.
Conservative dissenters said they saw various options, including leaving for another Lutheran denomination or creating their own unified body.
A contingent of 400 conservative congregations that make up a group that calls itself Lutheran Core is to meet in September. Leaders of the group said their plans were not to split from the Evangelical Lutheran Church but to try to protect its “true tenets” from within.
Among so-called “mainline” Protestant denominations, distinguishable theologically from their more conservative, evangelical Protestant counterparts, both the Episcopal Church and the United Church of Christ already allow gay clergy members.
The Episcopal Church has endured the most visible public flashpoints over homosexuality, grappling in particular in the last few years with the consecration of gay bishops. It affirmed last month, however, that “any ordained ministry” was open to gay men and lesbians.
Earlier this year the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) rejected a measure that would have opened the door for gay ordination, but the margin was narrower than in a similar vote in 2001. The United Methodist Church voted not to change its stance barring noncelibate homosexuals from ministry last year, after an emotional debate at its general conference.
But the Evangelical Lutheran Church’s heavily Midwestern membership and the fact that it is generally seen as falling squarely in the middle of the theological milieu of mainline Protestantism imbued Friday’s vote with added significance, religion scholars said.
Wendy Cadge, a sociology professor at Brandeis University who has studied Evangelical Lutheran churches grappling with the issue, said, “It does show, to the extent that any mainline denominations are moving, I think they’re moving slowly toward a more progressive direction.”
Describing the context of Friday’s vote, several religion experts likened it to the court decision last year in Iowa legalizing same-sex marriage.
“In the same sense that the Iowa court decision might have opened people’s eyes, causing them to say, ‘Iowa? What? Where?’” said Laura Olson, a professor of political science at Clemson University who has studied mainline Protestantism. “The E.L.C.A. isn’t necessarily quite as surprising in the religious sense, but the message it’s sending is, yes, not only are more Americans from a religious perspective getting behind gay rights, but these folks are not just quote unquote coastal liberals.”
The denomination has struggled with the issue almost since its founding in the late 1980s with the merger of three other Lutheran denominations.
In 2001, the church convened a committee to study the issue. It eventually recommended guidelines for a denominational vote. In 2005, however, delegates voted not to change its policies.
On Friday, delegates juggled raw emotion, fatigue and opposing interpretations of Scripture.
Before the vote but sensing its outcome, the Rev. Timothy Housholder of Cottage Grove, Minn., introduced himself as a rostered pastor in the church, “at least for a few more hours,” implying that he would leave the denomination and eliciting a gasp from some audience members.
“Here I stand, broken and mournful, because of this assembly and her actions,” Mr. Housholder said.
The Rev. Mark Lepper of Belle Plaine, Minn., called for the inclusion of gay clergy members, saying, “Let’s stop leaving people behind and let’s be the family God is calling us to be.”
Michael Luo reported from New York, and Christina Capecchi from Minneapolis.
» A version of this article appeared in print on August 22, 2009, on page A9 of the New York edition.
Published: August 21, 2009 in the New York Times
After an emotional debate over the authority of Scripture and the limits of biblical inclusiveness, leaders of the country’s largest Lutheran denomination voted Friday to allow gay men and lesbians in committed relationships to serve as members of the clergy.
The vote made the denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the latest mainline Protestant church to permit such ordinations, contributing to a halting sense of momentum on the issue within liberal Protestantism.
By a vote of 559 to 451, delegates to the denomination’s national assembly in Minneapolis approved a resolution declaring that the church would find a way for people in “publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous same-gender relationships” to serve as official ministers. (The church already allows celibate gay men and lesbians to become members of the clergy.)
Just before the vote, the Rev. Mark Hanson, the church’s presiding bishop, led the packed convention center in prayer. When the two bar graphs signaling the vote’s outcome popped up on the hall’s big screens seconds later, there were only a few quiet gasps, as delegates had been asked to avoid making an audible scene. But around the convention hall, clusters of men and women hugged one other and wept.
“To be able to be a full member of the church is really a lifelong dream,” said the Rev. Megan Rohrer of San Francisco, who is in a committed same-sex relationship and serves in three Lutheran congregations but is not officially on the church’s roster of clergy members. “I don’t have to have an asterisk next to my name anymore.”
But the passage of the resolution now raises questions about the future of the denomination, which has 4.6 million members but has seen its ranks steadily dwindle, and whether it will see an exodus of its more conservative followers or experience some sort of schism.
“I think we have stepped beyond what the word of God allows,” said the Rev. Rebecca M. M. Heber of Heathrow, Fla., who said she was going to reconsider her membership.
Conservative dissenters said they saw various options, including leaving for another Lutheran denomination or creating their own unified body.
A contingent of 400 conservative congregations that make up a group that calls itself Lutheran Core is to meet in September. Leaders of the group said their plans were not to split from the Evangelical Lutheran Church but to try to protect its “true tenets” from within.
Among so-called “mainline” Protestant denominations, distinguishable theologically from their more conservative, evangelical Protestant counterparts, both the Episcopal Church and the United Church of Christ already allow gay clergy members.
The Episcopal Church has endured the most visible public flashpoints over homosexuality, grappling in particular in the last few years with the consecration of gay bishops. It affirmed last month, however, that “any ordained ministry” was open to gay men and lesbians.
Earlier this year the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) rejected a measure that would have opened the door for gay ordination, but the margin was narrower than in a similar vote in 2001. The United Methodist Church voted not to change its stance barring noncelibate homosexuals from ministry last year, after an emotional debate at its general conference.
But the Evangelical Lutheran Church’s heavily Midwestern membership and the fact that it is generally seen as falling squarely in the middle of the theological milieu of mainline Protestantism imbued Friday’s vote with added significance, religion scholars said.
Wendy Cadge, a sociology professor at Brandeis University who has studied Evangelical Lutheran churches grappling with the issue, said, “It does show, to the extent that any mainline denominations are moving, I think they’re moving slowly toward a more progressive direction.”
Describing the context of Friday’s vote, several religion experts likened it to the court decision last year in Iowa legalizing same-sex marriage.
“In the same sense that the Iowa court decision might have opened people’s eyes, causing them to say, ‘Iowa? What? Where?’” said Laura Olson, a professor of political science at Clemson University who has studied mainline Protestantism. “The E.L.C.A. isn’t necessarily quite as surprising in the religious sense, but the message it’s sending is, yes, not only are more Americans from a religious perspective getting behind gay rights, but these folks are not just quote unquote coastal liberals.”
The denomination has struggled with the issue almost since its founding in the late 1980s with the merger of three other Lutheran denominations.
In 2001, the church convened a committee to study the issue. It eventually recommended guidelines for a denominational vote. In 2005, however, delegates voted not to change its policies.
On Friday, delegates juggled raw emotion, fatigue and opposing interpretations of Scripture.
Before the vote but sensing its outcome, the Rev. Timothy Housholder of Cottage Grove, Minn., introduced himself as a rostered pastor in the church, “at least for a few more hours,” implying that he would leave the denomination and eliciting a gasp from some audience members.
“Here I stand, broken and mournful, because of this assembly and her actions,” Mr. Housholder said.
The Rev. Mark Lepper of Belle Plaine, Minn., called for the inclusion of gay clergy members, saying, “Let’s stop leaving people behind and let’s be the family God is calling us to be.”
Michael Luo reported from New York, and Christina Capecchi from Minneapolis.
» A version of this article appeared in print on August 22, 2009, on page A9 of the New York edition.
Monday, January 1, 1996
SF Chronicle: Lutherans Expel Two S.F. Groups
Lutherans Expel Two S.F. Groups
Congregations refused to defrock 3 gays
Monday, January 1, 1996 · Page A13
©1996 San Francisco Chronicle
Dan Levy, Chronicle Staff Writer
Two small San Francisco congregations that defied the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America by ordaining sexually active lesbians and a gay man worshiped for the last time yesterday as members of the national denomination.
St. Francis Lutheran Church on Church Street and First United Lutheran Church on Geary Boulevard were packed for the Eucharist and morning service, the last to be held as part of the 5.3 million- member denomination.
In 1990, an Evangelical Lutheran Church of America disciplinary committee suspended the churches for ordaining the Revs. Ruth Frost, Phyllis Zillhart and Jeff Johnson, who are all graduates of official Lutheran seminaries but are not accepted as pastors because they refuse to take vows of sexual abstinence.
The committee ruled that the San Francisco churches would be expelled if the ordinations were not rescinded by yesterday. Under church policy, gays and lesbians can be ordained but are not allowed to be in same-sex relationships. There are no restrictions for heterosexual pastors.
Johnson, pastor at First United, was upbeat but a bit sardonic yesterday. He said the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, the other main Lutheran denomination, is more conservative than the one that will not accept him.
``They don't even recognize gay and lesbian'' as a normal orientation, Johnson said. ``At least in this one, we're not sick, just excluded.''
Bishop praises church
Despite the expulsion, congregants said they are proud that the churches have stood by their gay pastors. Bishop Robert Mattheis of the Sierra Pacific Synod, which represents 220 congregations in Northern California and Northern Nevada, presided over the service at St. Francis and praised the church for being a pioneer.
``I grieve (the expulsion), but I remain hopeful that God is a God of the future,'' Mattheis said after the service.
James DeLange, senior pastor at St. Francis, where Zillhart and Frost serve, said no congregants have left his church as a result of the expulsion. Other Lutheran congregations in San Francisco have invited members of the two dissident churches to join if they want to remain a part of the national denomination.
St. Francis was founded over 100 years ago by Scandinavian immigrants, and since 1905 has been located on Church Street in the Castro district. First United was established in 1888 as San Francisco's first English-speaking Lutheran church.
After the morning service at St. Francis yesterday, congregants enjoyed refreshments and socialized as if it was just another Sunday.
``We're pretty well established in the community, and we're a strong and vital congregation,'' DeLange said. ``And I know there is a lot of support for us outside this church.''
But there were more visitors than usual, including Kris Johnson, an Upper Market resident who came to the service as a show of support for a gay friend.
``I came because I know about the work of this church,'' she said. ``I can't bear the thought of anybody being cut off for something they want or need.''
Congregations refused to defrock 3 gays
Monday, January 1, 1996 · Page A13
©1996 San Francisco Chronicle
Dan Levy, Chronicle Staff Writer
Two small San Francisco congregations that defied the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America by ordaining sexually active lesbians and a gay man worshiped for the last time yesterday as members of the national denomination.
St. Francis Lutheran Church on Church Street and First United Lutheran Church on Geary Boulevard were packed for the Eucharist and morning service, the last to be held as part of the 5.3 million- member denomination.
In 1990, an Evangelical Lutheran Church of America disciplinary committee suspended the churches for ordaining the Revs. Ruth Frost, Phyllis Zillhart and Jeff Johnson, who are all graduates of official Lutheran seminaries but are not accepted as pastors because they refuse to take vows of sexual abstinence.
The committee ruled that the San Francisco churches would be expelled if the ordinations were not rescinded by yesterday. Under church policy, gays and lesbians can be ordained but are not allowed to be in same-sex relationships. There are no restrictions for heterosexual pastors.
Johnson, pastor at First United, was upbeat but a bit sardonic yesterday. He said the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, the other main Lutheran denomination, is more conservative than the one that will not accept him.
``They don't even recognize gay and lesbian'' as a normal orientation, Johnson said. ``At least in this one, we're not sick, just excluded.''
Bishop praises church
Despite the expulsion, congregants said they are proud that the churches have stood by their gay pastors. Bishop Robert Mattheis of the Sierra Pacific Synod, which represents 220 congregations in Northern California and Northern Nevada, presided over the service at St. Francis and praised the church for being a pioneer.
``I grieve (the expulsion), but I remain hopeful that God is a God of the future,'' Mattheis said after the service.
James DeLange, senior pastor at St. Francis, where Zillhart and Frost serve, said no congregants have left his church as a result of the expulsion. Other Lutheran congregations in San Francisco have invited members of the two dissident churches to join if they want to remain a part of the national denomination.
St. Francis was founded over 100 years ago by Scandinavian immigrants, and since 1905 has been located on Church Street in the Castro district. First United was established in 1888 as San Francisco's first English-speaking Lutheran church.
After the morning service at St. Francis yesterday, congregants enjoyed refreshments and socialized as if it was just another Sunday.
``We're pretty well established in the community, and we're a strong and vital congregation,'' DeLange said. ``And I know there is a lot of support for us outside this church.''
But there were more visitors than usual, including Kris Johnson, an Upper Market resident who came to the service as a show of support for a gay friend.
``I came because I know about the work of this church,'' she said. ``I can't bear the thought of anybody being cut off for something they want or need.''
Thursday, February 16, 1995
SF Examiner: Those People at That Church
Those People at That Church
San Francisco Examiner, 16 Feb 1995
ROB MORSE
OF THE EXAMINER STAFF
Thursday, Feb. 16, 1995
SOME jokers in the congregation call it Our Lady of Safeway, for its proximity to the supermarket across Church Street. Other folks don't notice the dark brick church at all as they get off the streetcar, even though it's in the middle of "the traffic of life," as parishioner Jack Lundin puts it.
Next time you jump off the J-Church at the Safeway take a look at St. Francis Lutheran Church. San Francisco's best is represented by "those people at that church," as the parishioners have called themselves in their new cookbook (The "Those People at That Church Cookbook").
The real San Francisco is a lot of things, but sometimes we are distracted from the real San Francisco by the antics of elected officials and unelected hate-mongers on the radio.
The spirit of San Francisco, in these plague years, is expressed by this scene of the extended Christian family at St. Francis Lutheran: Frail young men are escorted to the altar by strong older women, and in turn healthy young men escort frail older women to the altar.
Only in this city will you see such a communion.
Unlike most American churches, St. Francis Lutheran's young male parishioners are dying faster than older female parishioners. AIDS is a central issue in this church, as it is in all of San Francisco. "We don't have any choice but to stay here and keep slugging it out," said pastor James DeLange. "It's our calling."
The remarkable thing is that his church has continued to grow, drawing parishioners from all walks of life, ages and groups. Since the 1960s, the average Sunday attendance has gone from 20 to 100. In terms of giving (the monetary kind), St. Francis Lutheran is in the top 10 per capita in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), according to pastor Ruth Frost.
Unfortunately, the ELCA does not approve of St. Francis Lutheran having appointed as pastors Frost and Phyllis Zillhart, an openly lesbian couple, and Jeff Johnson, an openly gay man. At the end of this year, the Lutheran Church will expel St. Francis Lutheran.
The main effect so far has been that the number of parishioners has grown and contributions have doubled. Perhaps this is because, as DeLange puts it, "we try to be what someone has called 'the church that oughta be.' "
In the margins of the church's cookbook (and a very good cookbook it is) are parishioners' notes. Marti Lundin, a grandmother and retired educator, wrote: "We chose to join St. Francis Lutheran in order to be in a church where we can actually work on social issues rather than argue with people over whether we can even deal with the issues."
Those issues have included offering sanctuary to Salvadoran refugees during that country's civil war, as well as taking up the cause of gay and lesbian rights. When William Sloane Coffin delivered a sermon to San Francisco Lutherans three weeks ago, he titled it, "Liberty to the Captives and Good Tidings to the Afflicted."
In essence, that's the spirit of St. Francis Lutheran. It's also the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of this town, who said: "Where there is hatred, let me sow love."
Nowadays hatred is cultivated to reap ratings. That's in the unreal world of mass media, not in the real world of San Francisco spirituality.
Spirituality can be very real. That's one thing conservative Christians definitely have right.
It's as real as 37 little children, most from poor families, playing at the Friends of St. Francis Child Care Center. The church opened the center, which is now operated independently but with the church's spirit. The well-equipped playground lists a series of rules, first of which is "Play!" The second rule recognizes the realities of children's impulses: "Shovels are for digging."
The life of the spirit, of course, also is found in food. "Our congregation is growing in more than one way," says pastor DeLange, patting his stomach. His epilogue to the church's cookbook reminds us that that the Bible contains a lot of good food stories, starting with one in a garden.
At noon Wednesday, male parishioners had taken over St. Francis Lutheran's kitchen to cook ham for the weekly dinner for seniors. The seniors were doing before-dinner exercises with a 16-month-old child dancing in their midst. That child was Joy Noelle Hart, daughter of the church's lesbian pastors, Frost and Zillhart.
Noelle is the church's child, too. A 7-year-old in the congregation once asked Zillhart if she was Noelle's mom. "Yes, and so is Ruth," she said. The 7-year-old said that couldn't be. Then the girl caught on. "Oh, you're lesbians," she said, and went on to something else.
Too bad adults aren't always as sensible.
©Thursday, Feb. 16, 1995 San Francisco Examiner, All Rights Reserved
San Francisco Examiner, 16 Feb 1995
ROB MORSE
OF THE EXAMINER STAFF
Thursday, Feb. 16, 1995
SOME jokers in the congregation call it Our Lady of Safeway, for its proximity to the supermarket across Church Street. Other folks don't notice the dark brick church at all as they get off the streetcar, even though it's in the middle of "the traffic of life," as parishioner Jack Lundin puts it.
Next time you jump off the J-Church at the Safeway take a look at St. Francis Lutheran Church. San Francisco's best is represented by "those people at that church," as the parishioners have called themselves in their new cookbook (The "Those People at That Church Cookbook").
The real San Francisco is a lot of things, but sometimes we are distracted from the real San Francisco by the antics of elected officials and unelected hate-mongers on the radio.
The spirit of San Francisco, in these plague years, is expressed by this scene of the extended Christian family at St. Francis Lutheran: Frail young men are escorted to the altar by strong older women, and in turn healthy young men escort frail older women to the altar.
Only in this city will you see such a communion.
Unlike most American churches, St. Francis Lutheran's young male parishioners are dying faster than older female parishioners. AIDS is a central issue in this church, as it is in all of San Francisco. "We don't have any choice but to stay here and keep slugging it out," said pastor James DeLange. "It's our calling."
The remarkable thing is that his church has continued to grow, drawing parishioners from all walks of life, ages and groups. Since the 1960s, the average Sunday attendance has gone from 20 to 100. In terms of giving (the monetary kind), St. Francis Lutheran is in the top 10 per capita in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), according to pastor Ruth Frost.
Unfortunately, the ELCA does not approve of St. Francis Lutheran having appointed as pastors Frost and Phyllis Zillhart, an openly lesbian couple, and Jeff Johnson, an openly gay man. At the end of this year, the Lutheran Church will expel St. Francis Lutheran.
The main effect so far has been that the number of parishioners has grown and contributions have doubled. Perhaps this is because, as DeLange puts it, "we try to be what someone has called 'the church that oughta be.' "
In the margins of the church's cookbook (and a very good cookbook it is) are parishioners' notes. Marti Lundin, a grandmother and retired educator, wrote: "We chose to join St. Francis Lutheran in order to be in a church where we can actually work on social issues rather than argue with people over whether we can even deal with the issues."
Those issues have included offering sanctuary to Salvadoran refugees during that country's civil war, as well as taking up the cause of gay and lesbian rights. When William Sloane Coffin delivered a sermon to San Francisco Lutherans three weeks ago, he titled it, "Liberty to the Captives and Good Tidings to the Afflicted."
In essence, that's the spirit of St. Francis Lutheran. It's also the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of this town, who said: "Where there is hatred, let me sow love."
Nowadays hatred is cultivated to reap ratings. That's in the unreal world of mass media, not in the real world of San Francisco spirituality.
Spirituality can be very real. That's one thing conservative Christians definitely have right.
It's as real as 37 little children, most from poor families, playing at the Friends of St. Francis Child Care Center. The church opened the center, which is now operated independently but with the church's spirit. The well-equipped playground lists a series of rules, first of which is "Play!" The second rule recognizes the realities of children's impulses: "Shovels are for digging."
The life of the spirit, of course, also is found in food. "Our congregation is growing in more than one way," says pastor DeLange, patting his stomach. His epilogue to the church's cookbook reminds us that that the Bible contains a lot of good food stories, starting with one in a garden.
At noon Wednesday, male parishioners had taken over St. Francis Lutheran's kitchen to cook ham for the weekly dinner for seniors. The seniors were doing before-dinner exercises with a 16-month-old child dancing in their midst. That child was Joy Noelle Hart, daughter of the church's lesbian pastors, Frost and Zillhart.
Noelle is the church's child, too. A 7-year-old in the congregation once asked Zillhart if she was Noelle's mom. "Yes, and so is Ruth," she said. The 7-year-old said that couldn't be. Then the girl caught on. "Oh, you're lesbians," she said, and went on to something else.
Too bad adults aren't always as sensible.
©Thursday, Feb. 16, 1995 San Francisco Examiner, All Rights Reserved
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