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United Methodists declared Monday a "banner day" as they approved a full communion agreement with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The new relationship between the two major Protestant denominations is not a merger but a recognition of each other's ministry and mission. Full communion recognizes that each church has "the one, holy, catholic and apostolic faith" expressed in the Scriptures and confessed in historic creeds and the core teachings of each denomination. The two churches also recognize the authenticity of each other's baptism and eucharist and the full interchangeability of all ordained ministers. "It's not merger," said Bishop Melvin...

Dear sexuality task force, First I must compliment you, the Human Sexuality Task Force of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, on a well-documented and thorough study of the sexuality issue. You have put much work into a very difficult subject, and at the present I’m not sure what more you could do given your stated assignment and the lay of the land. I felt that you tried to be open to all views, but I do have some critical comments that I hope will help bring this topic to light from a different perspective. First I have to comment...

Several U.S. mainline Protestant denominations are about to face their latest showdowns on one of the most vexing issues since slavery: whether to break from biblical morality as traditionally understood to allow clergy with homosexual partners and to sanction blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples. "Mainline" groups (predominantly white, with early American roots, and affiliated with the National Council of Churches) contain vocal, well-organized liberal and evangelical combatants. The resulting dispute "certainly has taken a big toll," says Jack Haberer of Presbyterian Outlook, an independent magazine that airs varied views. "For some, it's the total compromise of all things moral. For...

Divestment: Coming to a Denomination Near You   By Dr. Earl TilfordFrontPageMagazine.com | Thursday, April 03, 2008 For a generation after World War II, particularly given revelations of the Holocaust, most American Protestant denominations embraced a more tolerant attitude toward Jews. Since the 1980s, however, there has been a marked shift, evident in the anti-Israeli positions adopted by more liberal denominations like the United Methodist Church (UMC); the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA); the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA); and the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. (PCUSA).At its April meeting in Fort Worth, the National Conference of...

RIVERSIDE, OH (WIVB) - - Missing since Wednesday, Lyndonville pastor Craig Rhodenizer was found early Friday morning inside a strip club, KC Lounge, in Riverside, Ohio near Dayton. Officer Rhett close spoke with the pastor in the parking lot. Rhett Close, Riverside Police Officer, "He started to become a little bit emotionally stressed at that point. State he didn't know how he got there or why he was even ther." While the pastor may not remember how he got to the club, at least one dancer there claims to remember what he did while he was there. According to the...

A pastor whose disappearance from a small town in upstate New York triggered a search by police and the FBI was found earlier today — inside an Ohio strip club. Police said that when the Rev. Craig S. Rhodenizer, 46, was confronted by an officer, he began crying and said he couldn't remember anything about the 36 hours he was missing. But dancers at the club remembered Rhodenizer. They told investigators that Rhodenizer spent two hours drinking, soliciting dances and making threatening comments. He also said he wanted to take the dancers back to his motel, according to the police...

A task force drafting a statement on sexuality for the nation's largest Lutheran group said Thursday that the church should continue defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. However, the panel did not condemn same-gender relationships. The committee expressed regret that historic Lutheran teachings have been used to hurt gays and lesbians, and acknowledged that some congregations already accept same-sex couples. The report released by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is part of the denomination's yearslong effort to bridge internal differences over the Bible and homosexuality.

A task force drafting a statement on sexuality for the nation's largest Lutheran group said Thursday that the church should continue defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. However, the panel did not condemn same-gender relationships. The committee expressed regret that historic Lutheran teachings have been used to hurt gays and lesbians, and acknowledged that some congregations already accept same-sex couples. The report released by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is part of the denomination's yearslong effort to bridge internal differences over the Bible and homosexuality. The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, a separate, smaller group, is...

February 28, 2008 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, "Proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable ... do the work of an evangelist ... " (2 Timothy 4:2a, 5b) "Bishop Hanson, what is your number one priority for the ELCA?" The question was addressed to me recently with great clarity and a desire for specificity. My answer? That we be an evangelizing church. The questioner nodded with what I took to be a gesture of agreement and walked away. I am curious how my questioner would have responded to his own question. And I am...

Draft of Proposed ELCA Social Statement on Sexuality Available March 13 08-008-MRC CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The draft of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) proposed social statement on human sexuality will be available March 13. The Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality met here Jan. 25-26 to complete its work on the draft and give final instructions to its writing team. The task force received a final report on responses for "Free in Christ to Serve the Neighbor: Lutherans Talk about Human Sexuality" -- part three of the "Journey Together Faithfully" study materials for members of the ELCA...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The presiding bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Episcopal Church called for members of their churches "to advocate for just national policies on resettlement and migration." The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, and the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, made the comment in joint statement released Jan. 30 at a gathering here with refugees, staff and friends of Interfaith Refugee and Immigration Ministries (IRIM). The gathering was at the Episcopal Church of the Atonement. Jefferts Schori is here in advance of the Feb. 2...

You only have a few more hours to call Jen Nagel Jen. After her ordination at 2 p.m. today, you have to start calling her the Rev. Nagel -- unless you're a member of the national board of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), in which case you probably don't want to call her at all. Nagel is being ordained despite being committed to a same-sex relationship. The national ELCA doesn't approve of the ordination of gay ministers. But an exemption in the bylaws was passed at the national convention in August allowing local synods to not object to...

Friday, December 14, 2007 Lutheran CORE News 1.6 A blessed Christmas to you and yours from Lutheran CORE, the coalition for reform! Most of us have other things on our mind than the struggles of our church body during this season, as we should. For the hope we claim is that the God who sent His Son to redeem our fallen humanity is the Lord of the whole Church, including that part of the Body of Christ in which we find ourselves. And we believe that just as the Holy Child was saved from the machinations of Herod and all...

ELCA NEWS SERVICE December 13, 2007 ELCA Advocacy Offices Purchase Carbon Offset Credits 07-205-AL WASHINGTON (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Washington Office, ELCA Corporate Social Responsibility, Pittsburgh, and Lutheran Office for World Community, New York, have purchased carbon offset credits to mitigate their carbon emissions accumulated through air travel. "Our offices have been working to reduce our carbon footprints by turning off lights and power strips when we're not in our offices, for example. But short of turning off all electricity and ceasing to travel, it's very difficult to eliminate your carbon emissions entirely," said Mary...

LWF Publication Develops Theological Insights to Resist the Domination of Empire Today SAN DIEGO, California, USA/GENEVA, 5 December 2007 (LWI) - The venue and host of their meeting was strategic—a downtown congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) surrounded by corporate high-rise buildings that symbolize *empire, but gathering, around a meal prepared by a formerly homeless person who currently feeds the poor, elderly and those without shelter. The group comprising seven authors of a recently published book of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) gathered on 16 November at the First Lutheran Church in San Diego, California’s second largest...

Title: ELCA Bishop Mark Hanson Featured in CBS's 'In God's Name' Dec. 23 ELCA NEWS SERVICE December 4, 2007 ELCA Bishop Mark Hanson Featured in CBS's 'In God's Name' Dec. 23 07-201-MRC CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and president of the Lutheran World Federation, is featured in the two-hour primetime television special "In God's Name," airing Dec. 23 at 9:00 p.m. EST on CBS. Produced by French filmmakers Jules and Gedeon Naudet, the special explores "complex questions of our time through the intimate thoughts and beliefs of...

Sitting in sight of her father and grandfather, both Lutheran ministers, Jen Rude on Saturday became the first ordained lesbian pastor since the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America urged bishops to not penalize congregations who violate the celibacy requirement for gay clergy. Several of the more than 100 congregants present wept as the 27-year-old stood before them, a beaming smile drawn across her face. Under church policy, homosexual ministers are required to make a vow of celibacy before they can be ordained. But heterosexual ministers are not, and Rude, who is not in a relationship, refused to make that vow...

The Roman Catholic Church has continuously and steadfastly opposed the legalization of abortion and has supported virtually all meaningful pro-life legislation and public policies. The bishops have testified before Congress on numerous occasions pleading for restoration of respect for all human life. The National Conference of Catholic Bishops has prepared several pastoral letters clearly defining the Catholic Church’s pro-life position. Most dioceses have active respect life offices and parish pro-life committees. Many dioceses are beginning to establish Project Rachel programs to assist women (and men) who are recovering from postabortion syndrome. And a large number of dioceses also maintain hotlines...

Bishop Wayne Miller said Wednesday he won't discipline a congregation that's challenging the celibacy requirement for gay clergy in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Resurrection Lutheran Church in Lake View plans to ordain a lesbian as associate pastor. Jen Rude says she won't pledge lifelong celibacy because she considers the rule discriminatory. In the ELCA, heterosexual pastors can marry. Miller, head of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod, said he wants to "stay in conversation" with the congregation rather than censure or drive it out of the denomination.

LUTHERAN ORDINATION | She's becoming a minister at Lake View church but won't take vow - The new bishop in the Chicago Metropolitan Synod faces his first test case on the celibacy requirement for gay clergy in the nation's largest Lutheran denomination.Resurrection Lutheran Church in Lake View plans to ordain Jen Rude as its associate pastor in a 2 p.m. public ceremony Nov. 17. She's a lesbian who won't vow a lifetime of celibacy because she considers the rule discriminatory.Heterosexual pastors can marry in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Rude said she isn't in a committed relationship now, but...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In his final report to the Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the Rev. Lowell G. Almen, ELCA secretary, shared some reflections about the strengths of the ELCA and specific concerns for its future. Almen also commented on how he has changed his mind about the size and role of the ELCA Church Council, the church's board of directors. Almen made the comments Oct. 6 to the Conference, an advisory body of the ELCA consisting of the 65 synod bishops, presiding bishop and secretary. The conference met here Oct. 4-9. Almen, 66,...

Racial Justice Statement from Bishop Hanson November 1, 2007 Dear sisters and brothers in Christ: On this All Saints Day we remember the saints who have gone before us and give thanks for their lives of faith and commitment. I particularly ask you to join me in giving thanks for all whose faith has led them to take a stand on civil rights, including Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., and the thousands of others, including many clergy and lay leaders in this church, who risked and sacrificed because of their belief that all people are made in God's image....

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and president of the Lutheran World Federation, Geneva, responded today to an Oct. 11 letter sent to him and several global Christian leaders by 138 Muslim leaders from throughout the world. The 29-page open letter, "A Common Word Between You and Us," calls for Muslims and Christians to work more closely together for peace. Muslims and Christians together make up well over half of the world’s population," the Muslim leaders wrote. "Without peace and justice between these two religious communities, there can be...

US Conference of Catholic Bishops Appoints Woman with Pro-Abortion Group Ties as Policy Director By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman WASHINGTON, September 17, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Kathy Saile, who once gave a speech on promoting liberalism at a conference held by a pro-abortion group, has been named Director of Domestic Policy for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Previous to the appointment, Saile was Associate Director of Public Policy for Lutheran Services in America (USA), an organization that serves the extremely liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), which recently declared that their "clergy" were free to participate in homosexual...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Leaders of the U.S. Episcopal Church face a wrenching decision in the next few days on whether to issue a clear-cut ban on allowing people in gay relationships to be bishops and on blessing same-sex unions. The issues have already fractured the global Anglican church and its liberal-leaning U.S. Episcopal branch, and threaten both with outright schism. The bishops of the U.S. church meet in New Orleans for six days beginning Thursday, including two days with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, leader of the 77-million-member Worldwide Anglican Communion, as the global church is called. At the top...

Vicki Curtis has been a member of St. Benjamin's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Westminster since 1981, but when her denomination appeared to be softening its stance on homosexuality, she didn't hesitate to act. She left her church. Now she's doing what she calls "search the church Sundays" by visiting congregations with convictions closer to her own."The Bible says in Leviticus 18:22 that homosexuality is a sin and its penalty is death. My faith is built on what the Bible teaches, and I will not go where it isn't being followed," she wrote in an e-mail. She was responding to the...

HAVE WATCHED my church – the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America – debate sexuality for 20 years. A key concern has been the role of gays and lesbians in the pastoral ministry. We allow gays and lesbians in our pulpits, but have expected them to abstain from sexual relationships, even if in a committed relationship comparable to marriage. Earlier this month, by a vote of 538 to 431, the highest decision-making body of our denomination urged bishops to exercise "restraint" in disciplining clergy who violate that policy. The action by our churchwide assembly did not change the policy, but clearly...

Gay clergy OK'd by Evangelical Lutheran Church in America August 11, 2007 BY SUSAN HOGAN/ALBACH Religion Reporter For the first time, clergy in same-sex committed relationships can serve the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America without threat of discipline to them, their congregations or their bishops. The historic decision, made today at a national assembly at Navy Pier, was spearheaded by Bishop Paul Landahl of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod. A day earlier, attendees voted down a measure that would have ended a ban on non-celibate gay clergy. But Saturday’s vote calls on church leaders to “refrain from or demonstrate restraint” in...

A former KELOLAND pastor is accused of molesting children in the 1970s and 80s. Rev. Floyd Bacon died in 1997. The South Dakota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America has recently received a number of complaints from alleged victims of innappropriate sexual contact.  The Synod will not release any information involving the number of victims, what they claim, or for how long the alleged molestation happened. In a written statement, the Synod writes in part: "We have been in contact with victims and have been disclosing information as we can to several congregations. This disclosure is part of...

The 4.8 million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America passed a resolution last weekend at its biennial assembly in Chicago calling for 'restraint' in disciplining gay and lesbian ministers in a committed relationship. The vote, 538 to 431, was close compared with the results of other resolutions and showed that the issue of homosexuality in the church continues to cause tension within the ranks of the denomination. 'It's an indication of the variety of opinion and, I think, the divisiveness that exists in the church,' said the Rev. Steve Plunk, pastor of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Mount Pleasant. The resolution...

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has thought about homosexuality for much of its 20-year history. Since the early 1990s, the church has welcomed gay and lesbian people but hasn’t allowed ordination of people in same-sex relationships. While those policies didn’t change at the 2007 Churchwide Assembly, which ended last weekend in Chicago, the assembly did encourage restraint in enforcing those policies for the time being. A motion, passed by a 538-431 vote, “prays, urges, and encourages” restraint “in disciplining those congregations and persons who call into the rostered ministry otherwise-qualified candidates who are in a mutual, chaste, and faithful...

How do they do it? I mean, how can the leadership of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) tell their kids with a straight face not to be sexually active outside of marriage when they’ve just voted last Saturday to no longer enforce the celibacy requirement for their unmarried staff—both straight and gay? The ELCA and other pro-gay denominations have been ordaining gays for decades. That’s nothing new. What’s new is that now staff can openly have lovers while on the job and there will be no disciplinary action for violating the celibacy requirement. The message to the kids...

The problem of the ELCA, and of all mainline Protestant denominations, is the problem of any large, wealthy, traditional organization that has lost track of its mission. The ELCA is like Phillip Morris, which now calls itself Altria. It was built on a product of which it is now heartily ashamed. For Altria, of course, the product was tobacco. For the ELCA, it's the Cross of Christ.

Reflections on the Churchwide Assembly Rev. Sara “Sally” Gausmann One of the slogans of the ELCA over the last couple of years has been “unity in the midst of diversity.” This unity has been so important that it even made it into the proposal of the task force presentation in 2005 when we discussed the blessing of same sex unions and the rostering of non-celibate clergy. The resolution was, that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America—its members, congregations, synods, churchwide organization, and agencies and institutions—be urged to concentrate on finding ways to live together faithfully in the midst of disagreements,...

Some reflections on Chicago 2007 by Paull Spring (Lutheran CORE chair) Now that I'm back home from the Chicago churchwide assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, I've had some time to reflect a bit on what occurred during those six steamy days. I attended a non-assembly service that was sponsored by the Lutherans Concerned/North America and Goodsoil folks, two groups calling for approval of homosexual behavior. To call it a service would be a disservice. It was really more of a rally in celebration of a lifestyle that runs counter to the Biblical paradigm for marriage and the...

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), which has almost five million members in the US, took a step toward a partial boycott of Israeli goods at its 2007 Churchwide Assembly in Chicago last week. On Saturday, the assembly, the church's top legislative authority, passed a resolution calling to work toward a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and urging investment in the Palestinian Authority. The assembly then urged "consideration of refusing to buy goods or invest in activities taking place in Israeli settlements, and a review of other economic options," according to Bishop Christopher Epting, the presiding bishop's deputy...

Largest US Lutheran Church Votes to Uphold but Not Enforce Gay Clergy Ban By Peter J. Smith CHICAGO, August 13, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The largest denomination of Lutherans in the United States has decided that it will no longer discipline or enforce a ban against sexually active homosexual clergy. Delegates at the national assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in Chicago passed a resolution Saturday by a vote of 538-431 urging bishops to "refrain from or demonstrate restraint" in disciplining homosexual clergy in "faithful committed same-gender relationships." Chicago's Bishop Paul Landahl offered the resolution on the final day...

ATLANTA -- The message was clear as congregants filed out of St. John's Lutheran Church sanctuary on Sunday: The Rev. Bradley Schmeling isn't going anywhere. With hugs and cheers, members of Atlanta's oldest Lutheran church celebrated Schmeling, the pastor who has been at the center of a denomination-wide battle over the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's treatment of gay clergy. The show of support came a day after the national assembly of the ELCA in Chicago urged bishops to refrain from defrocking gay and lesbian ministers who violate a celibacy rule, but fell short of permitting ordained gays churchwide. Schmeling...

While the churchwide assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America shut the front door for now on allowing ministers in same-sex relationships to serve the denomination, they essentially told them to go to the back door and come in. The assembly, meeting in Chicago this week, voted to refer most resolutions on homosexual behavior and ordination standards to a task force on human sexuality that is preparing a social statement for the 2009 churchwide assembly, thus taking the resolutions out of consideration at this assembly. More significantly, the assembly closed the front door when it defeated a resolution that...

(AP) A national assembly of Evangelical Lutherans urged its bishops Saturday to refrain from defrocking gay and lesbian ministers who violate a celibacy rule, but rejected measures that would have permitted ordaining gays churchwide. Still, advocates for full inclusion of gays were encouraged, calling the resolution a powerful statement in support of clergy with same-gender partners. The conservative group Lutheran CORE, however, said bishops will now feel more secure in ignoring denomination policy. The 538-431 vote came on the final day of a weeklong meeting in Chicago _ and after emotional debate over how the denomination should interpret what the...

Outrage as US Lutherans Ease Rules on Pastors in Gay Relationships The largest Lutheran body in the US has caused outrage in the wider Christian community as it controversially decided not to punish homosexual clergy who are in sexual relationships, according to an announcement made on Saturday. by Daniel Blake Posted: Saturday, August 11, 2007, 19:50 (BST) The largest Lutheran body in the US has caused outrage in the wider Christian community as it controversially decided not to punish homosexual clergy who are in sexual relationships, according to an announcement made on Saturday. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)...

Homosexual Lutheran clergy who are in sexual relationships will be able to serve as pastors, the largest U.S. Lutheran body said on Saturday. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) passed a resolution at its annual assembly urging bishops to refrain from disciplining pastors who are in "faithful committed same-gender relationships." The resolution passed by a vote of 538-431. "The Church ... has just said 'Do not do punishments'," said Phil Soucy, spokesman for Lutherans Concerned, a gay-lesbian rights group within the church. "That is huge." The ELCA, which has 4.8 million members, had previously allowed gays to serve as...

After morning prayer, a voting member immediately came to the microphone and moved that the text of any further am endments that might be offered on Category E be printed and distributed (so that the Assembly would have wording ahead of time). Chair spoke about the difficulty of this, since persons who may be contemplating such a substitute and may have handed it in, may in fact ultimately decide not to introduce it. He consulted with the Parliamentarian, who said it was appropriate, but still logistically difficult. As this was being discussed, there was a problem with the p.a. system...

(Chicago) By late Tuesday afternoon, the Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, meeting in Chicago this week, photo of Betsy Carlson re-elected Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson and adopted a five-year initiative to encourage and support ELCA members, clergy and institutions to hear, read and study "God's Word" more than they have been. Hanson, who needed a 75 percent majority vote for re-election, received 88 percent on the second ballot on Tuesday morning. This will be his second and final six-year term because of ELCA term limits. The Bible reading and study initiative, "Book of Faith: Lutherans Read...

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America delayed further talks on whether to ordain non-celibate homosexual clergy after two days of emotional debate. While supporters of gay and lesbian clergy in committed relationships are calling for a decision now during ELCA's Churchwide Assembly, particularly to lift the current ban that's in place, opponents say a sudden decision could be risky. "Throughout 18 years, this church has chosen not to make decisions on separate and particular elements of sexuality," said Bishop Gregory Pile of the Allegheny Synod, according to The Chicago Tribune. "It has continued to call for a broad and thorough...

Evangelical Lutherans announced plans to revolutionize the way they communicate their identity to the public as a denomination. In an effort to turn the tide on shrinking membership, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) – the nation's largest Lutheran denomination – is slated to unveil next month a branding campaign that will run ads in newspapers, billboards, bus shelters and websites with the tagline "God's Work. Our Hands." "We've seen a decline in membership and in average worship attendance. We, together, intend to reverse these trends not by becoming something we are not but by revolutionizing the way we...

Arlo Peterson receives two regular checks from the pension board of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. The checks dating from the period when he was still officially a Lutheran minister are addressed to "Rev. Peterson." But checks from the time period after he was defrocked in 2000 are addressed to "Mr. Peterson." Peterson, 60, is one of two Florida ministers who left their posts because they are openly homosexual ministers, which is prohibited by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. To him, the two checks represent his ambivalent status as a gay man and a minister. Peterson and William...

We worshiped. A glorious worship service. See the Order of Service on lcna.org or goodsoil.org. My words are not adequate to describe it. First, we were in a very large dining room in the hotel. The color of the day was red, Vigil of Pentecost texts. Banners of red, paraments too. Soloists with crystalline voices. Flute, piano, organ (a wonderfully full throated organ – did not know that something that powerful could be portable, … well, moveable). A choir put together from amongst us – clearly knew what it was doing. There were 650 people for the service. There were...

Speaker: Process is in its sixth year now, needs to be continued until it's finished. To change things now would rush the process. Speaker: In favor of full inclusion; God calls and we now preclude gifted people from service. (Time-keeping problems corrected so time appears on screen and speakers can tell how much time they have.) Speaker: Respect the bishops' recommendation for the process and the memorials committee's decision to refer. Speaker: In favor of memorials originally passed by a number of synods. Wants to open a window and create a little space to see where the Spirit is leading....

The Rev. Robert Kriesat, 68, never hid his relationship with his male partner from his congregants, even though his denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, mandates celibacy for gay ministers. The bishops in New Jersey have never punished him; in fact, he said, they have been supportive. Still, he said he has lived with the anxiety someone would mount a case to remove him from the ministry. "You kind of live with this like a cloud that's over you, and you don't know whether it's going to rain or not," said Kriesat, of Convent Station, yesterday. "I've had some...