During this holiday season remember to check out the ELM store, all proceeds support GLBT ministry. Featuring mugs, stickers and shirts with the ELM logo.
A Place for All: Faith and Community for Persons with Disabilities explores the courageous stories of persons with disabilities as they succeed in making their faith communities truly inclusive.
ELCA Disabilities Ministry, through the Vocation and Education
program unit, contributed a grant to help fund the program.
ABC stations nationwide will begin airing the program December 6, 2009, as part of ABC’s Vision and Values series, a presentation of the Interfaith Broadcasting Commission.
Check your local stations for time, or visit www.interfaithbroadcasting.com/onair.aspx.
Watch the trailer here
Each year ELM gives grants to fund ministry by LGBT pastors. ELM is proud to support the following through the Mission Grant program. The 2010 grants are:
Eco Faith Project- Portland, OR:
$20,000 continuation of Concept grant for up to 6 months, then Mission grant for Pastor Robyn Hartwig.
$11,500 continuation of Empowerment grant for Pastor Jay Wilson.
$9,000 continuation of Empowerment grant for Pastor Erik Christensen.Grace Lutheran Church – Houston, TX:
$15,000 continuation of Empowerment grant for Pastor Lura Groen.
Total for 2010: $61,500
We were delighted to be able to fund all grant requests this year!
“For former clergy and other professional leaders who were removed from the church’s official rosters for disciplinary reasons or resigned in lieu of discipline — solely because they were in a lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationship.”
This action by the Church Council is the first official enactment of the church council pursuant to actions at the August 2009 Churchwide Assembly in Minneapolis that ordered the elimination of the policy that precluded service in the church by ministers in committed, same-gender relationships.
ELM was represented and present for the meeting which took place over the weekend of November 13-15 in Chicago, IL.
The change, adopted Nov. 15, applies to former ELCA associates in
ministry, deaconesses, diaconal ministers and ordained ministers.
Even under the new reinstatement policy, a final decision on an applicant’s reinstatement request cannot be made until other policy documents are revised and approved. But this is still a step in the right direction!
Just two weeks after the Swedish Lutheran Church announced its decision to perform same-sex marriages, the denomination elected the Lutheran church’s first openly lesbian bishop. Bishop Eva Brunne was ordained as the bishop of the Stockholm diocese this past Sunday. Bishop Brunne and her partner have one child.
The Swedish Lutheran Church has a history of expansive welcome to gay and lesbian people. In 1990, then Bishop emeritus of the Stockholm diocese Krister Stendahl wrote a letter of support to the members of St. Francis Lutheran Church and First United Lutheran Church as they celebrated the ordinations of openly gay candidates Ruth Frost, Jeff Johnson and Phyllis Zillhart. These ordinations sparked the beginning of the movement leading to the formation of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries.
Stendahl wrote, “Since I can’t be with you at your ordination which, it seems, must take place extra ordinem, I want to send you a greeting affirming my conviction that the steps that your congregations and you are taking stand well before God.”
The Philadelphia Gay News has published an article highlighting ELM roster members Rev. Steve Keiser (left) & Rev. Jay Wiesner (right) thoughts and feelings on the ELCA decision and their paths to ministry.
“It was the most liberating, amazing day of my life,” he said. “The idea that I could finally be recognized as a pastor by the ELCA — after I’ve already been a pastor for so many years — was really exciting.” -Wiesner
“Justice had finally been served.”-Keiser
The article also touches on the future of GLBT pastors and the difficulties still ahead. Read the full article here
Sara Thomsen will be playing in Chicago on Saturday Oct 24 at Wellington Avenue United Church of Christ located at 615 W Wellington Chicago, IL.
Proceeds will benefit Voices for Creative Nonviolence and Wellington Avenue United Church of Christ.
Sara’s song ‘By Breath’ is on the ELM benefit CD- Out of the Extraordinary. The CD is still available for purchase and it makes a great holiday gift! Click here to read more about the album, find out what artists are on it and order. There is a button on the right-side of the page that says “order online” that takes you to the purchase page. All proceeds go to ELM!
ELM Rostered Rev. Jen Rude works for the Night Ministry in Chicago, IL and they are taking part in Citgo’s Fueling Good Project. Winning the prize of a years worth of gasoline would make a huge difference to them.
Today is the last day to vote! Follow this link to vote, all it takes is entering your email address. Thanks!
Representatives from Goodsoil, ELM, and Lutherans Concerned/North America attended the ELCA Conference of Bishops on Oct 1-6, 2009 in Chicago, IL. The Conference discussed implementation of the changes in ministry policies passed at the ELCA Churchwide Assembly.
Click here to read a press release about the weekend from Lutherans Concerned/North America (LC/NA).
One important result of the meeting was commitment from ELCA Churchwide staff to talk directly with Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries pastors throughout this process. For many years, the ELCA has made policy about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people without those affected in the conversations. We celebrate this development!
A recent news release by the ELCA focused on two Lutheran congregations in San Francisco and their reactions to the ECLA decision. St. Francis Lutheran Church and First United Lutheran Church were profiled as well as ELM rostered pastors Rev. Susan Strouse, Rev. Robert Goldstein, Rev. Ruth Frost, Rev. Phyllis Zillhart, Rev. Jeff Johnson are quoted giving their reactions in the article.
“What does this mean?” was a question asked at council meetings for both San Francisco congregations. “At this point there really were just more questions than anything else,” said the Rev. Susan M. Strouse”
Read the full news release here.