Lord, have mercy

The congregation at St. John's in Atlanta near-unanimously chose to call Brad Schmeling as their pastor in 2000. He told the congregation he was gay; he told the bishop he was gay. That was cool. Gay people are welcome to serve in the ELCA.

He also told everybody that if he met a special someone, he'd tell them about that, too. When he did, he did.

His congregation, which adores him, celebrated his commitment to his partner with a big ol' party. Then he told the bishop. And the bishop did his job and filed charges, because they violated the rules.

Gay pastors are allowed to serve, as long as they remain celibate. Because pastors have to remain celibate outside marriage, and gay people can't get married. See the beauty?

No, neither do I.

It's a sucky rule, but rules in the ELCA are voted on in General Assembly by clergy and laity alike. Last time around, rules that would have covered Pr. Brad and his partner passed a simple majority, but they needed a super-majority. It'll happen eventually, thanks to the brave witness of people like Pr. Brad and the congregation of St. John's.

Their actions are civil disobedience in its purest sense: I will openly violate this rule, and I will happily suffer the consequences, just to point out how stupid the rule is.

They're all taking a heeeeuuuuge risk. Pr. Brad could be turned out of ELCA and lose his rostered status as well as his pension, and St. John's could be cast out of ELCA and lose support from the synod. St. John's is like my church, the oldest Lutheran congregation in the city. Their current location is itself a rebuke to hatred and oppression.

If you're a prayin' wo/man, sign up for their prayer vigil.