June 17th is RencilgWorks' 42nd Anniversary! To celebrate this rich history and remember our roots, RencilgWorks is makg publicly available onle, "Lutherans Concerned for Gay People: The Begng." This history was piled by Jeanne Janson, former Board Co-Chair June 2008, orr to prerve and archive the anizatn's historil documents and tell the begng of our story. "Amen…
Contents:
- LUTHERANS CONCERNED FOR GAY PEOPLE: THE BEGNG
- LUTHERANS TO ALLOW PASTORS GAY RELATNSHIPS
- ELCA ASSEMBLY OPENS MISTRY TO PARTNERED GAY AND LBIAN LUTHERANS
- VOTNS OF GAY AND LBIAN LUTHERANS
- LUTHERANS OFFER WARM WELE TO GAY PASTORS
- GAY UNSELOR'S FIRG BY INDIANAPOLIS CATHOLIC SCHOOL PERMTED BY FERAL APPEALS URT
LUTHERANS CONCERNED FOR GAY PEOPLE: THE BEGNG
The Evangelil Lutheran Church Ameri, wh approximately 5 ln members, has passed repeated rolutns to wele gay and lbian people sce 1991. * gay lutherans *
In 1991, the Churchwi Assembly passed a rolutn statg that, "Gay and lbian people, as dividuals created by God, are wele to participate fully the life of the ngregatns of the Evangelil Lutheran Church Ameri. This statement ntas the Church’s first mentn of homosexualy, which is referred to as a s, but also claims that homosexuals are “often the special and unservg victims of prejudice and discrimatn law, law enforcement, cultural mor, and ngregatnal life.
1971 March An article the New York Tim claims that the LCA is one of only two “natnal church nomatns” that have released a statement support of “homosexual rights” The other nomatn is the Unarian Universalist Associatn.
1974 Lutherans Concerned for Gay People [or Lutherans Concerned], a group prised of laypeople, pastors and ngregatns, forms orr to promote tolerance and acceptance among members of the Lutheran church.
LUTHERANS TO ALLOW PASTORS GAY RELATNSHIPS
* gay lutherans *
1975 October Lutherans Concerned is given $2, 000 by the ALC’s Divisn for Service and Missn Ameri, markg the first time a gay group has been given direct fancial support om s parent nomatn. 1979 June The ALC’s Standg Commtee for the Office of Rearch and Analysis approv a paper “Human Sexualy and Sexual Behavr, ” which stat that is acceptable to be homosexual providg there is no “erotic behavr. 1986 Undated The LCA releas a study statg that the church n “neher absolutely nmn nor praise and affirm homosexualy, ” and also suggts that more of the Church’s ngregatns should wele gay and lbian persons.
ELCA ASSEMBLY OPENS MISTRY TO PARTNERED GAY AND LBIAN LUTHERANS
Lutheran Introductn to Sexual Orientatn, Genr Inty, & Genr Exprsn (The prt versn of this rource is available for purchase om our eStore.) Sce 1974, RencilgWorks: Lutherans for Full Participatn has advoted for the full wele, cln, and equy of lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer, tersex, and asexual/aromantic (LGBTQIA+) Lutherans all aspects of… * gay lutherans *
Undated The ELCA’s Church Council drafts a document lled “Visns and Expectatns: Ordaed Misters the ELCA” that, among other thgs, stat that homosexual ordaed misters are “expected to absta om homosexual sexual relatns.
Undated Lutheran Lbian & Gay Mistri (LLGM), a “natnal missn society that supports openly intified sexual mory pastors, semarians, and lay misters who have been discrimated agast bee of their sexual orientatn, ” is found at the two San Francis church who were punished for ordag gay misters ntradictn to the Church’s official policy. 1991 Undated The Churchwi Assembly acts to wele gays and lbians as members of ELCA ngregatns, but do not “bls their mted relatnships, nor do allow gays and lbians mted relatnships to be ordaed or to rema as clergy.
Among other thgs, the document exam homosexualy and affirms that “sexualy is God’s good gift…to all people, ” and stat that “Many gay men and lbian women are well-adjted and live out fahful, mted sexual relatnships, but whout the social approval and support that heterosexual upl take for granted. November After a four-year effort, the first draft of a statement on human sexualy by a mtee of the ELCA, which claims that the Bible do not nmn homosexualy and that both homosexualy and masturbatn are scribed as a “healthy part of human life, ” is leaked by the media and provok a firtorm of ntroversy among Church members. 1996 March The bishops of the ELCA release an open letter to Church members rponse to the ll for ma at the 1995 Assembly, which they reerate the Church’s prev statements welg gays and lbians to ELCA ngregatns and supportg civil rights for homosexuals.
VOTNS OF GAY AND LBIAN LUTHERANS
Lutherans are spl on learship rol for women, and on gay clergy and the blsg of same-sex unns. European church tend to be liberal. In North Ameri, the largt Lutheran nomatns are fairly liberal (though divid), while the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod is nservative. * gay lutherans *
The report barely mentns homosexualy at all, but do not clu a list of “some mis of sexualy” that the church oppos cludg adultery, promiscuy, prostutn, “practic that spread sexually-transmted diseas, ” and pornography.
LUTHERANS OFFER WARM WELE TO GAY PASTORS
Views about homosexualy18-2930-4950-6465+Sample sizeShould be accepted16%37%26%21%229Should be disuraged2%22%33%43%183Sample siz and margs of error vary om subgroup to subgroup, om year to year and om state to state. Views about homosexualyYounger MillennialOlr MillennialGeneratn XBaby BoomerSilentGreattSample sizeShould be accepted12%9%32%33%12%2%229Should be disuraged< 1%3%21%38%34%3%183Sample siz and margs of error vary om subgroup to subgroup, om year to year and om state to state.
Views about homosexualyMenWomenSample sizeShould be accepted41%59%231Should be disuraged55%45%190Sample siz and margs of error vary om subgroup to subgroup, om year to year and om state to state. Views about homosexualyWheBlackAsianLatoOther/MixedSample sizeShould be accepted95%1%< 1%1%3%230Should be disuraged95%3%< 1%1%1%188Sample siz and margs of error vary om subgroup to subgroup, om year to year and om state to state.
Views about homosexualyImmigrantsSend generatnThird generatn or higherSample sizeShould be accepted2%3%94%231Should be disuraged3%9%88%188Sample siz and margs of error vary om subgroup to subgroup, om year to year and om state to state. Views about homosexualyLs than $30, 000$30, 000-$49, 999$50, 000-$99, 999$100, 000 or moreSample sizeShould be accepted18%22%37%23%202Should be disuraged29%19%31%20%162Sample siz and margs of error vary om subgroup to subgroup, om year to year and om state to state.
GAY UNSELOR'S FIRG BY INDIANAPOLIS CATHOLIC SCHOOL PERMTED BY FERAL APPEALS URT
Views about homosexualyHigh school or lsSome llegeCollegePost-graduate greeSample sizeShould be accepted34%35%17%14%231Should be disuraged40%30%21%10%188Sample siz and margs of error vary om subgroup to subgroup, om year to year and om state to state.
Views about homosexualyMarriedLivg wh a partnerDivorced/separatedWidowedNever marriedSample sizeShould be accepted56%4%11%8%21%230Should be disuraged66%5%7%16%6%189Sample siz and margs of error vary om subgroup to subgroup, om year to year and om state to state. Views about homosexualyParentsNon-parentsSample sizeShould be accepted24%76%231Should be disuraged20%80%188Sample siz and margs of error vary om subgroup to subgroup, om year to year and om state to state. Views about homosexualyBelieve God; absolutely certaBelieve God; fairly certaBelieve God; not too/not at all certaBelieve God; don't knowDo not believe GodOther/don't know if they believe GodSample sizeShould be accepted74%24%2%< 1%< 1%< 1%231Should be disuraged88%11%< 1%< 1%< 1%< 1%190Sample siz and margs of error vary om subgroup to subgroup, om year to year and om state to state.