Holy Cow

There's an interesting phenomenon going on in the Lutheran world in the Philadelphia vicinity.  The parent body of most of the Lutheran churches in the area, the ELCA, adopted -- after considerable struggle and soul searching -- a policy wherein individual congregations would have the option -- the right and privilege -- to call a gay or lesbian pastor to serve them.  No congregation would be required to even interview or consider a candidate who self-identifies as lesbian or gay.  For many of us, this ruling was met with a great, collective sigh of relief.

For one congregation that I know of, however, the reaction was quite the opposite.  This particular congregation has decided that they cannot live with this decision, and they have decided to withdraw from their association with the ELCA and join with other congregations of similar mind in a newly formed denominational body, the NALC (North American Lutheran Church).  This church is within a very few miles of my own church home.

The pastors of the church near us have been preaching what I perceive to be a homophobic agenda for at least ten years.  They have reportedly behaved in a domineering way at Synod conventions. 

I find myself in an interesting place over this situation.  While I deplore what these pastors preach, and their relentless hammering of a position so vastly different from my own, at the same time I am impressed by their tireless, stalwart delivery of their message.  One of the important things that I learned in seminary was the importance of acknowledging when another person is acting according to his or her conscience.  I'm choosing to believe that their mission comes from their consciences rather than a desperate need for self aggrandizement.

Meanwhile, my church has had an influx of visitors lately.  Hmmmmm . . . .