ELM’s New Vision Overview

ELM’s vision is the full inclusion of all people of all sexual orientations and gender identities in the life of the Lutheran Church.  We share this vision with our movement partners.  ELM’s mission is to expand ministry opportunities for publicly-identified lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people who are called to ordained and lay rostered leadership in the Lutheran Church. ELM’s core belief is that the ministry of publicly-identified LGBTQ clergy and rostered lay leaders will change the culture of the church,  and thereby transform society.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

ELM will continue to provide grants for ministry by publicly-identified Lutheran rostered leaders.

The Grants program team and the Joel R. Workin Scholarship Fund Committee will select specific criteria for these funds.  Minimum criteria will be participation in the network of publicly-identified LGBTQ person serving or seeking to serve as rostered leaders in the Lutheran church.

ELM will support Proclaim, the new professional community of rostered leaders and seminarians from multiple Lutheran rosters committed to changing church culture and thereby transforming society through their ministry as publicly-identified LGBTQ rostered leaders.

We will continue to support a professional network for publicly-identified LGBTQ rostered leaders from multiple Lutheran rosters committed to raising the visibility of LGBTQ rostered leaders and ending discrimination towards people for reasons of sexual orientation and gender identity. Such a group is uniquely positioned to help the Lutheran church, and thereby society, become more welcoming and inclusive of church leaders of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. Proclaim is open to rostered leaders from multiple Lutheran rosters (for example, ELCA, ELCIC, LCMS, ELM).

ELM will develop and support a candidacy accompaniment program for LGBTQ people following a call to rostered ministry in the ELCA.

This volunteer-based program will provide resources to LGBTQ candidates for ordained and rostered lay ministry.  Examples are practice teams, chaplain support, feedback on candidacy forms, and advocacy as needed when candidates are experiencing barriers to candidacy based on sexual orientation or gender identity.  As a result of the change in ELCA policy and in order to focus on developing this new program, ELM will suspend extraordinary candidacy for up to five years. We will support the ELCA and assess the progress as needed over the next 5 years.  This time period was chosen so that ELM can assess as the first class of post-policy change seminarians completes their education, internship and enters assignment.  The assessment will be of institutional systems–for example, a change in Churchwide policy or actions at a synodical level that result in policy which discriminates against LGBTQ people could necessitate beginning extraordinary candidacy again. Individual situations will be pursued through accompaniment, referral and advocacy.