Title: SEX AND RELIGION
ELCA NEWS SERVICE NEWSBRIEFS

August 21, 1996

SEX AND RELIGION

Can American religious institutions talk about issues of human
sexuality without creating division within their communities?
That's the question hundreds of participants will ask during
"Finding Common Ground: A Colloquium on Human Sexuality and
American Religious Institutions," Sept. 5-7 on the campus of the
University of California at Davis.  The Lutheran-Episcopal campus
ministry, The Belfry, is host to the first conference funded by
the Philip N. Knutson Endowment with the direction that it
"address human sexuality and the church from a broad-based
perspective to encourage dialogue and promote respect, dignity
and courageous awareness among Christians."  The Rev. Donald T.
Ranstrom, UC-Davis campus pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America, said the conference is to create dialogue
where little currently exists.  "We know that not much can be
done to engage people in the polar positions on issues of human
sexuality in sensitive conversation with each other," he said.
"However, we are convinced that there is a broad middle group
that can be engaged in such conversation, and that a setting such
as we offer, where the church and the university overlap, is
ideal for such an effort."

For information contact: Ann Hafften, Dir., ELCA News Service,
(312) 380-2958; Frank Imhoff, Assoc. Dir., (312) 380-2955