He radiated enthusiasm and confidence as one of the six candidates who spoke twice to the assembly and met with small groups of voting members.

Assembly addresses
In his first assembly message, Pr. Mullen emphasized his concern and passion for the church.

Early in his second address Pr. Mullen quoted from the hymn “Have no fear, little flock.” Recalling this hymn’s promise, he affirmed the importance of the bishop and the people trusting the church that God has provided. He illustrated this idea further using the Sufi poet Rumi’s image of the soul as “an empty beggar’s bowl, uplifted to God, who then fills it to overflowing with goodness and mercy.” He likened this image to God’s Church “overflowing with the living waters, the baptismal waters, energy for the world.”

Informal meetings
The small group meeting can be very intense for candidates, but very informative for voters. It is a place where what you have said in the past can come back to haunt you, and if you haven’t said much in the past, you’d better get started. The voting members’ questions tend to be specific. They are uneasy with candidates who appear to be in transition or sitting on the fence.

Pr. Mullen flourished in the small group meeting, answering questions succinctly and confidently, conveying his compassion, understanding, and hope. His skills were rewarded in the fifth and ultimately the sixth ballot, which elected him.

We became a Reconciling in Christ congregation for only one reason: It was the right thing to do. The public declaration fit within our congregational understanding of what it means to be fully inclusive and hospitable. It had to do with how we perceive of ourselves as God’s people, how we (corporately and individually) live out our calling to be a blessing to our fractured world and with the fact that it truly was the right thing to do.

As a matter of fact, as a pastor I do not know how a congregation could do anything else. To do anything less is to align yourself with ostracism and bigotry and prejudice, and to subvert all that our Lord did in his ministry and self-giving. Christ’s coming among us, and subsequent announcement of God’s Economy and Reign being fulfilled NOW, can only lead to full acceptance and total inclusion of everyone.

The Early Process
Our process, although lengthy, was quite simple. We began about six or seven years ago with several sermons on inclusion and what it means to be open, accepting, and hospitable of all people, and with a variety of classes that all contained a component of inclusion. This topic, over a period of time, was discussed in a variety of places, both intentionally and by happenstance. And, we began to function as a Reconciling in Christ congregation even though we had taken no formal action.

During this time we put together a group to rewrite our Constitution and Bylaws. When we got to the section on membership (c8.01 in most ELCA Congregation Constitutions) we changed the wording concerning membership restrictions from “race, color or sex” to “age, race, culture, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status or physical attribute.” In other words, we broadened our understanding of who we were not going to exclude and tried to be as specific and expansive as possible.

Having done this, we continued to discuss gay, lesbian, transgendered and bisexual issues. This was helped through my presidency of the Council of Churches of Santa Clara County and their open support of that part of our community, which is gay, lesbian, transgendered and bisexual. Pastorally, I became known within our community as someone who was open and affirming, and this personal stance was accepted by members of Holy Redeemer. Over time some of our members began to participate in the San Jose Gay Pride Parade, and to report back to the congregation what they had done. Other members began to openly share their feelings, in a positive manner, about the direction in which we were slowly moving (sometimes it seemed as if glaciers moved faster—but time was needed to bring everyone along together).

Education through Adult Forums
In the Year of Jubilee (A.D. 2000) Holy Redeemer held a series of Adult Forums on Sunday morning, as part of a new endeavor called “Early Sundays.” These forums were designed to focus upon what some called “hot button” topics—the banning of landmines, an exploration of the School of the Americas, the Knight Initiative, Child Abuse, the Death Penalty, and being a Reconciling in Christ congregation. It was the intent that every forum would have an educational component and an action component (learn about landmines and call for removal; learn about the Knight Initiative and work for its defeat; find out about the School of the Americas and ask congress to vote to close it, etc.).

A Decision is Reached
On the Sunday that Lutherans Concerned made its presentation, all of the elected leadership of the congregation was in attendance. Following the presentation they decided to put the item on the agenda of their next meeting, which was in a week and a half. The actual motion was “to affirm the openness and inclusion which our Constitution already contains” and to declare ourselves a Reconciling in Christ congregation. The vote was unanimous and the following Sunday our new status was announced to the congregation during the normal welcoming at the beginning of the service.

The president said: “It’s about time we did this officially!” Most of the congregation members said: “You mean we didn’t do this long ago?”

And, we knew that it was indeed the right thing to do. ‚
_______________________

What’s going on about Sexuality?

Some ELCA Actions and Resources

ELCA website adds “Journey Together Faithfully”
Information about the two ELCA studies grouped under the heading “Journey Together Faithfully,” is available at www.elca.org/faithfuljourney on the ELCA’s website. The studies and their focuses are:

The “Journey” web pages also provide FAQs, a timeline for the studies, a list of the director’s and the task force’s activities, a calendar of events, and suggested resources. Visitor comments are welcome. It’s worth an online visit and will probably be helpful to clergy and lay persons.


LutherLink on Ecunet hosts online ELCA Sexuality Discussion
LutherLink’s Human Sexuality “meeting” is a fascinating online exchange among lay and clergy. Anyone can participate in the dialog, or you can be a “fly on the wall” and just read what others are writing. Some of it can be rather exegetic, but even the more humble input from folks draws polite and informative responses from the in-depth writers.

Anyone can join the group for free as a LutherLink Lite Member. As a Lite Member you may also join a limited number of LutherLink’s other groups. Check it out at www.lutherlink.org.


ELCA Sexuality Task Force is Appointed
A task force of thirteen members has been appointed to work with Rev. James M. Childs, director of the ELCA studies on homosexuality. Their work will feed into the church’s statement on human sexuality. This task force, selected by board members of the Division for Ministry and the Division for Church and Society, is described by Childs as “persons who represent a variety of important voices in the church and who have the necessary blend of maturity and competence to listen, study, and prayerfully and intelligently process the myriad of concerns, convictions, and theological, ethical, and scientific opinions that come before it. Even so, Childs recognized that “it is not possible for a workable-sized task force to be a microcosm of the church in all its various viewpoints and constituencies,” therefore “consultations with people of various viewpoints and with particular expertise and experience," will be valuable “most important of all will be the feedback from dialogues carried on in congregations, synods, and schools throughout the church.”

Members of the Task Force
The Rev. Margaret G. Payne, bishop of the ELCA New England Synod, Worcester, Mass (task force chair)

Erin Clark, student at Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, member of Grace Lutheran Church, Knoxville, Ill.

The Rev. Terence E. Fretheim, professor at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn., member of Messiah Lutheran Church, Park Ridge, Ill.

Dr. Julio A. Fonseca, psychologist, member of Iglesia Luterana Getsemani, Dorado, Puerto Rico

Louis M. Hesse, farmer, member of Immanuel Lutheran Church, Moses Lake, Wash.

The Rev. Lucy A. Kolin, Resurrection Lutheran Church, Oakland, Calif. She taught the workshop “Creating Programs of Support for Diverse Families” at RIC2001.

The Rev. Gary J. Liedtke, Calvary Lutheran Church, Brookfield, Wis.

The Rev. Kevin R. Maly, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Denver, Colo.

Dr. John Prabhakar, surgeon, member of Faith Lutheran Church, Rochelle, Ill.

The Rev. E. Peter Strommen, bishop of the ELCA Northeastern Minnesota Synod, member of First Lutheran Church, Duluth, Minn.

Dr. Nancy W. Walker, psychologist, member of St. Luke Lutheran Church, Charlotte, N.C.

The Rev. Timothy J. Wengert, professor at Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, member of St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church, Glenside, Penn.

Dr. Diane Yaeger, professor at Georgetown University, Washington,
D.C., member of Resurrection Lutheran Church, Arlington, Va.

First Meeting of the Task Force
The task force held its first meeting May 3-5 in Chicago. “This is a group that wants to listen to the church, not to go about its own agenda,” said study director Childs. The Rev. Joseph M. Wagner, executive director of the ELCA Division for Ministry, said the task force “will need to listen hard for the church's conservative voices” . . . many people in the ELCA “don't want to be embarrassed or feel they must defend themselves” in the open forums the church normally sponsors in a study process to gain the perspectives of Lutherans.

The Rev. Terence E. Fretheim, professor at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn., and task force member, described a meeting he had with about thirty-five ordained and lay ministers of the ELCA Montana Synod. He reported to the task force several points they wanted him to raise about the studies' process and the waysthe ELCA deals with possibly contentious issues.

Some of the funds approved for the ELCA Sexuality studies will make it possible to hold about thirty-two hearings across the United States and Caribbean. Many task force members volunteered “to be present for events in synods in the church, wherever possible, simply to listen, record and bring back what the concerns and convictions are out there in the church,” said Childs.

Some members agreed to review books on related subjects for the task force. The task force also began to make individual assignments. When it meets again in September, each member is to identify “the strongest arguments both for and against change” of current church policies regarding homosexuality. That exercise will help the task force begin “to envision and produce what will become a study document for the church,” said Childs.