ADVENT Spring 2001

Contents

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ELCA Explores Naming LC/NA an Independent Lutheran Body

Acting upon its commitment to hospitality for gay and lesbian persons, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Division for Outreach (DO) agreed to begin a process of seeking recognition for Lutherans Concerned/North America (LC/NA) as an independent Lutheran organization. The DO will ask the ELCA Church Council to prepare a statement to the "wider" church. They want it to build upon and "go farther" than the message in the 1996 Conference of Bishops letter, "A Word of Welcome to Gays and Lesbians."

The ELCA Constitution, Bylaws and Continuing Resolutions state that "This church, through the secretary of this church and action of the Church Council, shall establish the general policies to govern official relationships with independent Lutheran organizations that seek to relate with this church while maintaining their independence and autonomy."

The DO commended LC/NA for their mission of encouraging congregations to be caring communities for gay men, lesbians, and bisexual people who feel alienated from Christian churches, and acknowledged LC/NA's help in researching the division's 1999 report, "Congregational Hospitality to Gay and Lesbian People." They suggested that recognition as an independent Lutheran organization would invite Lutherans Concerned to "continue in a more significant way" in future dialog.

The full text of the ELCA 3/20/01 press release on the DO's actions may be viewed on the Internet at www.elca.org.

ELCA Women Offer RIC Workshop

Christ Lutheran Church in El Cerrito, CA will present a workshop on the Reconciling in Christ process at the Sierra Pacific Synod Women's Convention in Fresno, August 3-5, 2001. Entitled "Welcoming Gay and Lesbian People into Your Community of Faith," the workshop will be facilitated by

Pr. Sharon Lubkeman, Judy Streets, and a panel from Christ Lutheran. They will discuss how Christ Lutheran became an RIC parish and adopted the Lutherans Concerned welcoming statement. This will be a helpful resource for those who have questions about starting the process.

Members of Christ Lutheran participated in a similar workshop led by Corrine Chilstrom at the recent RIC2001 gathering in San Francisco. It was well-received, and resulted in this invitation from the ELCA Women. "The support of the ELCA Women is exciting and encouraging. This is a bold expansion of their relevancy," said Judy Streets, board member of LC/SFBA.

Emerging from an extensive organizational self-assessment, Women of the ELCA has named "Anti-sexism Strategy" as one of their focus areas for the next five to ten years. The national steering committee of the ELCA Commission for Women met in March and passed resolutions supporting the ELCA Division for Outreach in its request to the church for a message about homosexuality and for its move to recognize LC/NA as an "independent Lutheran organization" (see article on page 1). "We are committed to a thorough approach to address sexism in our church‹sexism in the broadest sense, including sexism against women and girls, against people who are gay or lesbian, and including the ways in which sexism distorts boys' and men's lives," said the Rev. Janet M. Corpus, steering committee chair.

Abiding Peace Remains in ELCA

Excerpted from ELCA press release of 4/5/01

The Rev. Charles H. Maahs, bishop of the Central States Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), censured and admonished Abiding Peace Lutheran Church, Kansas City, MO, but chose not to recommend removing the congregation from the ELCA for calling and ordaining The Rev. Donna Simon to serve as its pastor. Pr. Simon is not on the official clergy roster of the ELCA.

Referring to his stopping short of expulsion, Bishop Maahs reported to the synod council, "My primary reason for this is that the issue of homosexuality continues to be under discussion in the ELCA, and the Central States Synod can make a contribution to this discussion. I have met regularly with Pastor Simon and the leadership of Abiding Peace and have experienced them as people of good faith," Maahs continued. "While they steadfastly believe that the ELCA's official policy of excluding gays and lesbians from ordained ministry is wrong, they have demonstrated an ability for open and respectful dialogue without resorting to coercive and inflammatory tactics which all too often damage the church." The congregation has also said it is willing to have discussions with other congregations, Maahs reported.

The full text of the ELCA press release of 4/5/01 may be viewed on the Internet at www.elca.org.

Formication in Sacramento?

In the spirit of Stanley Fire

It may be that three of the "revs" at Good Shepherd in Sacramento are just itching from an infestation of FOCL folks, but recently, in the name of their entire flock, they tugged on the bishop's sleeve with a letter expressing dismay at what they called his "insipid response" toward University Lutheran Chapel for calling Jeff Johnson as their pastor.

Avoiding any reference to the Synod Assembly's action (SA00.05.12), the letter went on to ask the bishop, "Is anarchy to be tolerated in the church because you personally agree with the political agenda of University Lutheran Chapel?"

Word back to the "revs" was that Bishop Mattheis and the synod council, in cooperation with the Synod Assembly, will maintain their position of avoiding an adversarial procedure. In its January 2001 meeting, the Sierra Pacific Synod Council prepared the following statement:

"Censure and admonition by the bishop of the synod" is the most appropriate disciplinary measure in response to University Lutheran Chapel's action in calling the Rev. Jeff Johnson as its pastor; and, given the recent action of the Synod Assembly (SA00.05.12) encouraging the bishop and Synod Council to do everything possible within church guidelines to avoid the expulsion of University Lutheran Chapel, and the recent action of the Tri Synod Campus Ministry Board to restore full funding to University Lutheran Chapel, Council declines to bring charges against University Lutheran Chapel.

The synod council's action may further dismay the FOCL fold at Good Shepherd, but perhaps after getting their wool shorn a bit, things will cool down. However, Reno can be warm in June, and hot sheep are not happy sheep, so we'll await further developments at the Synod Assembly.

[CARTOON]

The Rev. Michael Pozar, 1952-2001

[MICHAEL POZAR]

The board of directors and members of Lutherans Concerned/San Francisco Bay Area honor Michael with gratitude for his faithful support and for the many contributions he made to our mission.

Michael died at home on February 8 after a long battle with AIDS. Even during his illness, he worked steadily in his ministry with Lutheran AIDS Network (LANET), as Volunteer Coordinator for Shanti, and as a member and strong supporter of Lutherans Concerned.

Michael earned his Master of Divinity degree in 1987 from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, and was ordained in 1992 at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in San Francisco. He was pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Pacifica until 1995. He was a talented writer, delighting readers with his creativity and confronting them with his diverse and direct ideas. Many of his "Irregular Columns" appeared in this publication under the pen name "Stanley Fire." In his last column for ADVENT ("Is it Too Late To Repent?" Spring 2000) his humor shone in the opening paragraphs, when he wrote:

In remembrance of Michael, we have reprinted below a Stanley Fire article from ADVENT's Spring 1996 issue. In his rambling style, he uses the theme of discrimination throughout, and concludes with a barb directed at the gay and lesbian community, who might also be guilty.

Amendment 2, Gay Marriages, and Conference 9

by Stanley Fire (Reprinted from the Spring 1996 Advent)

The news reports said that the striking down of Colorado's Amendment 2 by the U. S. Supreme Court was the most important victory so far for gay rights. They were not exaggerating. In fact, they were understating the importance of the case.

Let me inject a little sobriety and a little history at this point. I can remember a time, not so very long ago, when the conversation in gay groups always included someone saying, "I can't imagine why any gay or lesbian person would want to be in the military, but they should have the right to join, just like anyone else." In fact, I still hear this from time to time.

Now for the sobriety: If you would go back just a little further in time (seems like only a couple of years to me) and you suggest that gay people should marry one another just as heterosexual people do, you would provoke more anger and disgust among some gay people than among the most rabid Falwellian fundamentalists.

"Why copy a failed institution?" someone would always ask, never really having any clear-cut alternative except for some sort of "living together" according to whatever arrangement each couple made up as they went, or else remaining single. Oddly enough, however, each gay couple seemed to do what each heterosexual couple did: they tried to form a relationship based primarily (either positively or negatively) on the relationships they knew best, i.e., that of their own parents. The age-old challenge was still there. Two people came together with conflicting ideas of what a relationship should be and they had to iron (or fight) out the differences. This may have been done consciously or unconsciously and probably produced the same number of good and bad effects whether the couple was gay or straight. Gay people copied straight relationships whether they wanted to or not. At least, much of the time they did.

Our attention is focused away from the military right now because of the slow way that the key cases are wending through the court system. Now we're looking at marriage again but we're looking at it and talking about it in very new ways. There are many reasons for this that could be debated at length. But, I think the overriding reason (which was mentioned in none of the news reports that I heard) is that the U. S. Supreme Court declared, in its rejection of Amendment 2, that we exist. So far as I know, no Supreme Court decision has ever said this before, even by implication. We exist! Imagine that.

The majority opinion by the supreme court was largely taken from an amicus curiae brief filed by Yale law Professor Lawrence Tribe. In his brief, he argued that the problem with Amendment 2 was that it said that, of all the people in the United States, only one particular group could not seek to have its constitutional rights specified by legislation. That was a compelling argument and the fact that the court voted to support it 6-3 rather than just 5_4 is a strong indication that it will become the standard stare decisis for future cases.

The whole thread of events is beautiful in its simplicity and in its correctness. Inadvertently, the authors of Amendment 2 had to at least imply that homosexuals exist as an identifiable group in order to write legislation placing limits on the communities wishing to protect them. The Supreme Court effectively ruled that, if such an identifiable group does exist, then no state can forbid them the opportunity to seek to have their rights specified just like any other group can. Whether they are successful in getting legislation passed is another thing, but the state cannot ban it ahead of time.

Andrew Sullivan, until recently the editor of The New Republic, published a book last year titled Virtually Normal. In my opinion, it is the most important book yet written dealing with these subjects. In it, Sullivan argues that the only obligation the state has vis-à-vis gay and lesbian people is not to discriminate against them. He evaluates a number of different points of view and concludes that all he can ask of the state is simple equality under the law; and that equality extends to the right to marry and the right to full participation in military service. That's all. The state has no obligation to try and make different groups like each other better... just not to discriminate.

Whatever the fine points of all that may be, we are unquestionably at a major watershed sociologically and historically. A sea of change is upon us. Gay and lesbian people exist! Amazing! Arguments about their ability to "change" their orientation are completely irrelevant here. Even if an Italian man could be so re-programmed and re- acculturated that he lost all his Italian-ness (whatever that is), it would not negate the fact that Italians exist and have the right to seek specific protection for themselves against discrimination under the law. In the long run, I suspect that we will find out that Lawrence Tribe and Andrew Sullivan have circumscribed the shape of things to come.

It is with a great deal of sadness that I make my last point. Some gay men and lesbians, now officially declared by the law to exist, can at times be among the throngs that try to deny other people their rights and even their existence. In my humble opinion, unspoken racism was one of the important factors at work during the May 23 meeting of the San Francisco Conference of the ELCA Sierra Pacific Synod. The fact that it was the two congregations with significant Chinese membership who announced that they would be petitioning to join the Peninsula Conference is telling.

No one doubts that Jeff Johnson was the most qualified candidate of those who allowed their names to stand to be elected dean. No one (or very few people in San Francisco) is opposed to having Jeff serve another term in that post. But, in the same way as many people have acted throughout history as though gay and lesbian people don't exist, some of the gay and lesbian people and their opportunistic supporters in San Francisco have treated Chinese church members (and others) the same way. Hence, the disgruntled congregations complained about the propriety of the process and not the result.

Martin Luther King used to say, in effect, "Justice is a seamless cloth. No one is free unless all are free." And, no one is truly "visible" unless all are "visible." Some people are stunned to learn that fully 33% of the population of San Francisco is Asian ... predominantly Chinese. (You do the math. There are more Asians than homosexuals.) The racism that keeps the Asians largely hidden from our view much of the time is the same bigotry that led to the writing of Amendment 2. It is a demon in our midst, not a festive Chinese dragon. Perhaps it is time we had the courage to name it.

RIC2001 Reflections

[SAINT MARK'S] I don't think I've ever been to a conference where each event "out did" the others.
[DANCERS] The keynote speakers, the tableaus, the liturgical dancers, the worship, the workshops, the meals -- all were first class.
[RAINBOW BANNER] Worship was spiritually wonderful. Beautifully spoken words from the Bible...tableaus and liturgical dance with plenty of breathing room for my imagination.
[SPEAKERS] ...three such diverse keynote messages, and they complemented each other so well.
[FLOWER ARRANGEMENT] ...such incredibly beautiful colors in our rainbow‹our skin, our hair, our clothes, our voices, our worship, the stained glass windows, and the flowers everywhere!
[STAINED GLASS] ...a big surprise was how much our mission and ministry has grown and developed as a Reconciling-in-Christ congregation.
[LUNCH CONVERSATION] I was so moved by the witness of you and your group telling the compassionate story of your congregation becoming RIC. What patience and fortitude and passion.
[DISCUSSION GROUP] A most delightful part was the opportunity to interact with people from all over this land who are in the same struggle and who have stories to share.
[PROCESSION] I came away truly uplifted, knowing that so many wonderful people were committed to welcoming those who have not been welcome in our churches.

Thank you... to the planning team and many, many volunteers who made RIC2001 a great experience for everyone. LC/SFBA is truly blessed with talent, generosity, and LOVE!

Events of Interest

June 14-16, 2001 Sierra Pacific Synod, Synod Assembly, Reno, NV
June 24, 2001 "Queerific"--The San Francisco Pride Parade and Celebration (watch LC/SFBA web site for details)
July 15, 2001 San Francisco AIDS Walk‹LC/SFBA is coordinating RIC contingents (watch LC/SFBA website for details)
Aug 3-5, 2001 Sierra Pacific Women's Convention, Fresno, CA (RIC Workshop being presented)
Aug 8-14, 2001 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, Indianapolis, IN

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ECP Ordinations/Installations

The Rev. Craig Michael Minich was ordained and installed as Youth Pastor of St. Paul's Lutheran, University Lutheran, and United Lutheran in the East Bay on February 18.

The Rev. Steve Sabin was installed at Christ Church Lutheran, San Francisco on May 6.

The Rev. Anita Hill was ordained and installed at St. Paul Reformation Lutheran in St. Paul, MN on April 28-29.

ADVENT is published quarterly by the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of Lutherans Concerned, a Christian ministry for lesbian and gay understanding. A subscription is included with your membership or is available to non-members for $20 per year.

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