Resolution 2009-10:

Memorial Rejecting Proposed Social Statement and Affirming Current Teaching Documents on Sexuality

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1 WHEREAS, the 2009 Evangelical
2 Lutheran Church in America
3 (ELCA) Churchwide Assembly
4 will consider the adoption of
5 Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust
6 as a possible Social Statement of
7 the Evangelical Lutheran Church
8 in America; and

9 WHEREAS, "Social statements and
10 other resources on social concerns
11 build on the rich legacy of the
12 church bodies that united to form
13 the Evangelical Lutheran Church
14 in America. As a confessional
15 church with an historical sense,
16 this church continues to look to the
17 social statements of The American
18 Lutheran Church and the Lutheran
19 Church in America for guidance,
20 while it develops its own social
21 statements and further deliberates
22 on social concerns" (Policies and
23 Procedures of the Evangelical
24 Lutheran Church in America for
25 Addressing Social Concerns); and

26 WHEREAS, the Lutheran
27 Confessions state: “We believe,
28 teach, and confess that the only
29 rule and guiding principle
30 according to which all teachings
31 and teachers are to be evaluated
32 and judged are the prophetic and
33 apostolic writings of the Old and
34 New Testaments alone” (Book of
35 Concord, Formula of Concord,
36 Epitome, Rule & Norm); and

37 WHEREAS, the Confession of Faith
38 of the Evangelical Lutheran
39 Church in America states: “This
40 church accepts the canonical
41 Scriptures of the Old and New
42 Testaments as the inspired Word of
43 God and the authoritative source
44 and norm of its proclamation,
45 faith, and life” (ELCA
46 Constitution, 2.03); and

47 WHEREAS, in addition to Scripture
48 and the Lutheran Confessions, the
49 current teaching of the ELCA on
50 human sexuality is guided by the
51 ELCA Messages Sexuality: Some
52 Common Convictions (1996) and
53 Commercial Sexual Exploitation
54 (2001); and by the social
55 statements of the ELCA’s
56 predecessor churches: Sex,
57 Marriage, and Family - A Social
58 Statement of the Lutheran Church
59 in America (1970); Human
60 Sexuality and Sexual Behavior - A
61 Social Statement of The American
62 Lutheran Church (1980); and
63 Teachings and Practice on
64 Marriage, Divorce, and
65 Remarriage - A Social Statement
66 of The American Lutheran Church
67 (1982); and

68 WHEREAS, the adoption of Human
69 Sexuality: Gift and Trust as a
70 Social Statement of the ELCA
71 would replace the ELCA Message
72 Sexuality: Some Common
73 Convictions and the predecessor
74 church statements with a document
75 that some consider less helpful
76 than its predecessor documents
77 and distances the ELCA from
78 Scripture and from the rich legacy
79 of the church bodies that united to
80 form the ELCA;

81 THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED,
82 that the Southeastern Minnesota
83 Synod Assembly thank the
84 members of Task Force for ELCA
85 Studies on Sexuality for their
86 work; and

87 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that
88 the Southeastern Minnesota Synod
89 Assembly memorialize the 2009
90 ELCA Churchwide Assembly to
91 reject Human Sexuality: Gift and
92 Trust as a proposed Social
93 Statement for the Evangelical
94 Lutheran Church in America; and

95 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that
96 the Southeastern Minnesota Synod
97 Assembly memorialize the 2009
98 ELCA Churchwide Assembly to
99 affirm the teaching of the ELCA
100 Messages Sexuality: Some
101 Common Convictions (1996) and
102 Commercial Sexual Exploitation
103 (2001); and

104 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that
105 the Southeastern Minnesota Synod
106 Assembly memorialize the 2009
107 ELCA Churchwide Assembly to
108 express the ELCA’s intention to
109 continue to rely on the social
110 statements of its predecessor
111 churches — Sex, Marriage, and
112 Family - A Social Statement of the
113 Lutheran Church in America
114 (1970); Human Sexuality and
115 Sexual Behavior - A Social
116 Statement of The American
117 Lutheran Church (1980); and
118 Teachings and Practice on
119 Marriage, Divorce, and
120 Remarriage - A Social Statement
121 of The American Lutheran Church
122 (1982) — as historical documents
123 expressing faithful Christian
124 teaching on human sexuality.

Submitted by Rev. Daniel D. Baker and the undersigned voting members of the 2009 Southeastern Minnesota Synod Assembly:

Rev. Daniel D. Baker, Rev. John F. Holt, Paul Overgaard, Jan Overgaard, Linda Kraushaar, Steven Kraushaar, Rev. Chris Fiske, Rev. Julie Fiske, Art Ludtke, Donna Ludtke, Rev. Richard Steffen, Rev. Jim Peterson

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