Congregation Uncensured: In the February Newsletter from the Central States Synod, Bishop Gerald Mansholt (pictured. left) announced that he has lifted the censure that was placed on Abiding Peace Lutheran Church, Kansas City, Missouri.
Abiding Peace was censured in March, 2001 by Bishop Charles Maahs for the congregation's role in calling and ordaining Pr. Donna Simon (pictured, right) in October, 2000. Pr. Simon is rostered with Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries (ELM).
In lifting the censure, Bishop Mansholt praised both Pr. Simon and the congregation:
Donna Simon, a lesbian, is not on the roster of the ELCA, but she has served as the pastor of the congregation for nearly nine years. In my letter to the congregation, I write that "…though ordained outside the established processes of the Church, Pastor Simon has been a gracious witness among us in this synod as well as in the larger Church. She has spoken the truth in love, and shared her witness and struggle as a baptized child of God, even as she has prayed for a day of wider understanding and acceptance in the Church."...
As the Church studied, prayed and conversed with one another over the matters of gay and lesbian people in the Church, Abiding Peace Church might have walked away. But they remained in the Church and stayed in dialog with brothers and sisters who were trying to make sense of these issues in the light of the Gospel. They kept on praying for a better day, a time of wider awareness and acceptance.
In our experience, ELCA bishops do not take the action of lifting censure without first obtaining the churchwide organization's approval. Consequently it is not unreasonable to wonder what Bishop Mansholt's action might signify for the other congregations that are still under censure for calling pastors rostered with ELM. University Lutheran Chapel in Berkeley, California was censured by Bishop Robert Mattheis in April, 2000 for calling Pr. Jeff Johnson. In 2001, Bishop Mark Hanson (then bishop of the St. Paul Area Synod) censured St. Paul Reformation in St. Paul, Minnesota for calling and ordaining Pr. Anita Hill. Both congregations remain under censure (though the sanctions against St. Paul Reformation were lifted in 2002 by action of the Synod Assembly). University Lutheran Chapel has requested that its censure be lifted.
We also have to wonder if Bishop Mansholt's action represents a shift in ELCA thinking on the question of reordaining the eighteen pastors who were ordained extra ordinem between 1990 and 2009. As the ELCA drafts new ministry policies to implement the decisions of the 2009 Churchwide Assembly, it has been persistently been rumored that reordination is "still on the table" even though no one has argued that the extraordinary ordinations are invalid.

Your Valentine and Sexual Health: Just in time for Valentine's Day, the Council on Contemporary Families (CCF) has released a Valentine's Day Fact Sheet on Sexual Health compiled by Dr. Adina Nack (pictured) of California Lutheran University (CLU).
The focus of the Sexual Health Fact Sheet is sexually transmitted infections (STIs):
It may seem unromantic to raise the issue of STIs on a day that celebrates love and romance. But let's be realistic: love and romance tend to lead to sex in U.S. society today. And STIs have reached epidemic proportions in America, with 19 million new cases occurring each year. So what are the odds of becoming infected? A 2000 report estimated that a third of Americans had contracted a STI by age 24.
Our favorite entry in the fact sheet is the answer in response to the myth Virgins do not have to worry about STIs. The response reads in part:
Recent studies of college students reveal that less than 50% consider oral sex to be "sex," and 24% considered anal intercourse to be an "abstinent behavior." A longitudinal study released in 2005 found that teens who took a 'virginity pledge' were almost as likely to contract a STI as those who did not pledge - partly because 13% of those who pledged to protect their 'technical' virginity ended up engaging in oral and anal sex as opposed to only 2% of those who had not pledged.'
Later this year Dr. Nack will participate in the CCF conference Families As They Really Are: How Do We Use What We Know? (April 16-17 at Augustana College Rock Island, Illinois).She is the author of Damaged Goods? Women Living with Incurable Sexually Transmitted Diseases, and she was voted Best Person to Talk to About Sex in Ventura County.

ELM Roster Grows: In its February 7 issue, the St. Francis Times (SF) reports that the Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries clergy roster has added three new members. The ELM Blog confirmed the report on Monday February 8.

Seminarians Julie Boleyn (Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago (LSTC)) and Matt James (Lutheran Theololgical Seminary at Philadephia (LTSP) were approved for ordination and Pr. Vince Lavieri transferred to the ELM roster from the United Church of Christ (UCC). Pr. Lavieri had previously been rostered with the Lutheran Church in America (LCA), but Lutheran church policy excluded LGBT clergy, he pursued a career in ministry with the UCC.

Post No Bills: And in Malawi, where Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga remain imprisoned while their case is heard, Peter Sawali was arrested on February 2 for distributing posters declaring GAY RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS. He was found guilty of conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace and sentenced to 60 days of community service. For the next two months, he will be responsible for cleaning the Magistrates Court in Blantyre where Monjeza and Chimbalanga are being tried.
Police have intensified the search for a man who is allegedly behind a campaign to promote gay rights. According to reports, police believe he is recruiting "loafers" to distribute pro-gay literature, including leaflets and posters. According to police spokesperson Dave Chingwalu:
Mr. Sawali mentioned a name of a man in Blantyre working for a theatre company but authorities there say they do not know the man and have never heard of him. We suspect he could be a link for international gay rights groups.
In other developments, deputy government spokesman Kingsley Namankhwa called gay rights advocates to come out in the open, noting that it is against the law to distribute leaflets anonymously. He issued this challenge:
As far as the Malawi government is concerned we only have two gays in Malawi - Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga. If there are others let them come out in the open.
Namankhwa, who is also Deputy Minister of Information and Civic Education, re-iterated the government's stand that homosexuality is illegal in Malawi and those practising or promoting it should be prosecuted under relevant laws.

Church of Uganda Calls for Amendments to Anti-Homosexuality Bill: The House of Bishops of the Church of Uganda adopted a position on the Anti Homosexuality Bill 2009 that is before Ugandan Parliament:
This position was adopted by the House of Bishops and seeks to provide guidance as debate on this proposed piece of legislation takes place in the hope that it will reflect the love of God for all people, the authority of Holy Scripture, the value of our heritage and the need to adopt Christ like principles as we seek to rid our society of vices that we feel are detrimental to the institution of the family.
Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi published the 4-page document which calls for amendments to the proposed legislation. Among the points emphasized are:
1.Ensure that the law protects the confidentiality of medical, pastoral and counseling relationships, including those that disclose homosexual practice in accordance with the relevant professional codes of ethics.
2. Language that strengthens the existing Penal Code to protect the boy child, especially from homosexual exploitation; to prohibit lesbianism, bestiality, and other sexual perversions; and to prohibit procurement of material and promotion of homosexuality as normal or as an alternative lifestyle, be adopted.
3. Ensure that homosexual practice or the promotion of homosexual relations is not adopted as a human right.

Back in the U.S.: At the National Prayer Breakfast on February 4, both President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke against Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality proposal.
Shortly thereafter, as reported by Tobin Grant writing for Christianity Today, spokespeople for the Family Research Council (FRC) and the American Family Association (AFA) called for a reconsideration of anti-sodomy laws in the United States.
Grant quotes Bryan Fischer of the AFA:
It's a simple matter of common sense, sound public policy, and a concern for public health. … Whatever we think we should do to curtail injection drug use are the same sorts of things we should pursue to curtail homosexual conduct.
We asked Pr. Sophie to comment, but she was too busy reading Sinclair Lewis and listening to the Mothers of Invention Freak Out! album.

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