ELCA NEWS SERVICE
July 5, 2007
ELCA Committee on Appeals Rules in Atlanta Discipline Case
07-123-JB
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Committee on Appeals of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) ruled July 2 in
favor of an appeal by the Rev. Ronald B. Warren, bishop of the
ELCA Southeastern Synod, Atlanta, who sought removal of Bradley
E. Schmeling, Atlanta, from the official clergy roster of the
ELCA. The appeals committee ruled that Schmeling was to be
removed immediately from the roster, upholding the determination
by a disciplinary hearing committee that Schmeling was in
violation of the ELCA policy regarding the sexual conduct of its
pastors.
Decisions of the Committee on Appeals are not made public by
the ELCA churchwide organization. According to the ELCA
Constitution, Bylaws and Continuing Resolutions, summaries of
decisions are to be reported to the next ELCA Churchwide
Assembly, the church's highest legislative authority, which will
be here at Navy Pier Aug. 6-11. In this case, the decision of
the Committee on Appeals was released July 5 by Warren and posted
on the synod's Web site, and it was released at a July 5 news
conference at St. John Lutheran Church, Atlanta, the congregation
Schmeling has served since 2000.
In the ELCA policy document "Vision and Expectations:
Ordained Ministers in the ELCA," it states: "Single ordained
ministers are expected to live a chaste life. Married ordained
ministers are expected to live in fidelity to their spouses,
giving expression to sexual intimacy within a marriage
relationship that is mutual, chaste, and faithful. Ordained
ministers who are homosexual in their self-understanding are
expected to abstain from homosexual sexual relationships."
Warren filed formal charges in 2006 against Schmeling after
Schmeling reported to Warren that he was in a committed
relationship with another man, a violation of the ELCA's clergy
standards. Seven members of the 12-member discipline hearing
committee, which met Jan. 18-24 in Atlanta, voted to remove
Schmeling from the ELCA clergy roster and stayed the effective
date of his removal until Aug. 15. That committee issued its
opinion Feb. 7.
In separate filings in March, Warren and Schmeling both
appealed the decision of the discipline hearing committee.
The 12-member Committee on Appeals met here June 9-10 to
consider the appeals. That committee voted 10-1, with one
abstention, to remove Schmeling from the clergy roster. It voted
10-2 to reverse the discipline hearing committee's decision to
stay the effective date of Schmeling's removal from the roster
until Aug. 15, and it voted 10-2 to remove Schmeling from the
clergy roster on July 2.
The Committee on Appeals noted that the ELCA Constitution
states that "the decision of the discipline hearing committee
shall be final on the day it is issued by the committee," and
that "nowhere in ELCA Constitution, Bylaws and Continuing
Resolutions is a discipline hearing committee authorized to stay
its own decision."
"In this regard, the Committee on Appeals determines that
the effective date of Pastor Schmeling's removal from the clergy
roster of the ELCA ... should have been Feb. 7, 2007," the
Committee on Appeals said.
The discipline hearing committee's written opinion said most
of its members were concerned about certain language in ELCA
clergy policy documents, and it made some specific suggestions
for change. That opinion suggested synod assemblies ask the ELCA
Churchwide Assembly to consider proposals for change.
The Committee on Appeals said its role, as well as that of a
discipline hearing committee, is to serve as a judicial body, and
that legislative authority to change policies is the
responsibility of the ELCA Churchwide Assembly and the ELCA
Church Council, which serves as the church's board of directors.
"Nothing in the ELCA Constitution, Bylaws and Continuing
Resolutions allows a discipline hearing committee to make any
particular recommendations to the legislative bodies of this
church, urging them to take a specific policy action. By doing
so in this case, the discipline hearing committee exceeded the
authority granted to it by the ELCA Constitution," the Committee
on Appeals said.
Responses to the Appeals Committee decision
In response to the decision, Warren posted a pastoral letter
July 5 on the ELCA Southeastern Synod Web site. "My decision to
seek Pastor Schmeling's removal from the ministry of this church
was difficult because of my deep respect for the pastor and the
congregation at St. John's, but the policy of this church is
clear," he wrote. "It was my responsibility as bishop of this
synod to enforce the established standards of this church,
particularly after the 2005 Churchwide Assembly decided that the
church would not create a process for possible exceptions to
existing behavior expectations for pastors. As this church
continues prayerfully to consider the issue of clergy who are gay
or lesbian and in committed relationships, both the synod and I
will continue to work on finding ways to live together faithfully
in the midst of our disagreements."
Schmeling and the St. John Lutheran Church congregation
shared the news of the Committee on Appeals on July 3, Warren
wrote. Warren said he and Schmeling talked by phone July 5.
They agreed that Warren and synod staff will meet with the
congregation council's executive committee and the St. John
congregation in the coming weeks.
"Please remember all of us who are involved in this
difficult and challenging process in your intercessory prayers,"
Warren's statement concluded.
"I'm deeply disappointed by the decision, although I'm not
surprised," Schmeling said in a July 5 news release in response
to the appeals committee decision. "Change has always proven
difficult for the church. I continue to hope that the church
will be centered in God's message of love, compassion, and
justice, rather than in the enforcement of discriminatory
policies. The church can only resist the Holy Spirit for so
long. In the meantime, I plan to continue to follow my call in
ministry at St. John's and to pray for the day when all God's
children are equally welcomed into the Lutheran church," he said.
John Ballew, president of St. John Lutheran Church, said in
the congregation's news release: "We are going to go to (the)
Churchwide Assembly in August, to witness to our ELCA the costs
of this decision, based on an absurd policy. This is not just
about us and our wonderful pastor; this is about all those called
to minister to God's people, who lead exemplary lives, who
provide a model for faithful, loving companionship with each
other and with Christ."
---
The written decision of the ELCA Committee on Appeals is
available from the ELCA Southeastern Synod at http://www.ELCA-
ses.org/Hearing.htm on the Web.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog
