ELCA NEWS SERVICE March 22, 2004 ELCA Bishops Learn of Communication Plans for Sexuality Studies 04-044-JB WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. (ELCA) -- Leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) Studies on Sexuality want church members and clergy "to be secure in their information level" as the study process moves toward development of recommendations for consideration by the 2005 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, said the Rev. Rebecca S. Larson, executive director, ELCA Division for Church in Society (DCS). The leaders want plenty of communication with the church so that there will be "no surprises" and "maximum transparency," by sharing as much information as is possible, Larson said in a report to the Conference of Bishops, which met here March 4-10. The ELCA is organized into 65 synods, each headed by a bishop. The ELCA Conference of Bishops is an advisory body of the church, consisting of the church's synod bishops, presiding bishop and secretary. The 2001 ELCA Churchwide Assembly mandated the study process in preparation for decisions the 2005 assembly is to make on whether or not people in committed homosexual relationships should be ordained and whether or not the ELCA should have an official policy on blessing of committed same-gender relationships. In addition, the study is to develop a proposed social statement on human sexuality for the assembly to consider in 2007. Current ELCA policy expects ministers to refrain from all sexual relations outside marriage. The church has no official policy on blessing same-gender relationships. In 1993 the ELCA Conference of Bishops stated it does not approve of such ceremonies. Churchwide assemblies are held every other year; the 2005 assembly will be Aug. 8-14, 2005, in Orlando, Fla. Both DCS and the ELCA Division for Ministry are working together as the churchwide units directly responsible for directing the studies, Larson said. She said the bishops play "a very critical role ... in the next 16 months in communicating" information about the studies. She urged the bishops widely distribute a series of upcoming e-mail updates on the studies to other professional leaders in the church. "We know there is much anxiety, and we promise we will work to relieve the anxiety," Larson pledged. The Rev. Margaret G. Payne, bishop of the ELCA New England Synod and chair of the task force for the ELCA Studies on Sexuality, said study materials intended to help congregations participate in the sexuality studies have been reprinted twice and many more have been downloaded from the Web. The materials are also being used by congregations of the Episcopal Church, Payne said. Last summer, that denomination confirmed the election of a bishop who is in a committed homosexual relationship, creating controversy within the Episcopal Church. On April 15 leaders of the ELCA Studies on Sexuality will meet with ecumenical representatives in Chicago about the progress of the ELCA's work, she said. Some hearings on the studies are being planned throughout the ELCA, Payne said. The first hearings are March 27 at Faith Lutheran Church, Castro Valley, Calif., and at King of Kings Lutheran Church, Fairfax, Va. Payne said the task force's October 2004 meeting is "pivotal" because at that meeting the task force will begin considering proposals for resolutions to be considered at the 2005 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. Payne said she hoped people in the church could be "transformed" by the sexuality studies process -- not to change their opinions but to be more open to listening to one another with a new respect. "People are finding new hope, and we could be transformed in this," Payne said. Following their regular meeting, the Conference of Bishops adjourned to a one-day retreat -- closed to media and the public -- to discuss the sexuality issues within the church. The conference issued a brief public statement following the retreat. "We affirm the process of deliberation and the ongoing work of the task force for the ELCA Studies on Sexuality," the statement said. "We have participated in the study, Journey Together Faithfully, Part II. We are colleagues with varying convictions, and our study, prayer and deliberations added depth and insight to our continuing reflection and discernment. We have been enriched by our conversations and time together. We encourage the leaders and congregations of this church in their study and conversation." "We are committed to the unity Christ gives this church," the statement continued. "We believe our differences do not prevent us from a common commitment to the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the upbuilding of this church, now and in the years ahead." -- -- -- Information about the ELCA Studies on Sexuality -- including confirmed dates for hearings -- is at http://www.elca.org/faithfuljourney/ on the ELCA Web site. For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask] http://www.elca.org/news