ELCA Discipline Hearing Committee Rules in Atlanta Case

From the ELCA News Service:

A discipline hearing committee of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) ruled Feb. 7 that the Rev. Bradley E. Schmeling be removed from the ELCA clergy roster effective Aug. 15, 2007. Schmeling, who reported to his bishop that he is in a committed relationship with another man, is pastor of St. John Lutheran Church, Atlanta.

In case you are thinking, "Finally, someone is standing up for traditional values and enforcing the will of the 2005 Churchwide Assembly," read on:

The text of the decision indicated that the committee was nearly unanimous in its concern that "Definitions and Guidelines for Discipline" and "Vision and Expectations: Ordained Ministers in the ELCA" "are at least bad policy, and may very well violate the constitution and bylaws of this church." The committee said it was specifically concerned with a sentence in "Definitions and Guidelines" that states: "Practicing homosexual persons are precluded from the ordained ministry of this church."

The committee said that if it was relieved of that requirement, it would find "almost unanimously that Pastor Schmeling is not engaged in conduct that is incompatible with the ministerial office, and would find with near unanimity that no discipline of any sort should be imposed against him."

The committee "respectfully" suggested that, through normal legislative processes, the ELCA Churchwide Assembly initiate a process to:

+ reconsider and revise "Definitions and Guidelines," removing language that specifically precludes practicing homosexuals from the ordained ministry

+ reconsider and revise "Vision and Expectations," removing specific prohibitions against homosexual sexual relationships

+ reconsider and revise the policy on reinstatement to the ELCA clergy and professional lay rosters to permit immediate reinstatement of persons who have resigned or have been removed from the rosters of the ELCA solely because they entered into a loving, lifelong partnership with another person of the same sex that is mutual, chaste and faithful. Normally people who seek reinstatement to the official rosters must wait at least five years.

And, further, note that this year's Churchwide Assembly will end August 11, four days before Schmeling's termination date of August 15.

As my husband said when I read this info to him last night, this is a set up.

Sigh. And I am a voting member this year. And I hoped that the issue of ordaining practicing homosexuals would not be the focus of yet another assembly.

Click on the title!

---Katie

Reading at Risk?

Did you see the movie Holes? How about Because of Winn Dixie? The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe?

My family has enjoyed all of these. What I did not know was how they came to appear on the big screen.

Michael Flaherty is a man on a mission - a mission to stop the decline in reading that, in his words, that will cause literary reading to disappear as a leisure activity in a half a century.

Here is an excerpt about his mission:

Walden Media was started several years ago by myself, Cary Granat, and Phil Anschutz. We wanted to create a company dedicated to recapturing imagination, rekindling curiosity, and demonstrating the rewards of knowledge and virtue. All of our films would be based on great books, great people, and great historical events. They would be made by the best talent in entertainment and they would all be linked to educational materials developed by some of the best talent in education. We were taking Henry David Thoreau’s famous advice—to march to the beat of a different drummer—to Hollywood, which is why we decided to name our company after Thoreau’s most famous book, Walden.

-------

Click on the title to read more about Walden Media and the two films they have coming out this month. I guess we will have to make a couple of trips to the movies this month.

----Katie