As anticipated as a possible outcome of the passage of the
'welcome' motion at the 2004 Eastern Synod Convention (for
example, see "8
Reasons to Say No to Synod Council's Substitute Motions"),
Lutherans Concerned/North America, barely a week after the
convention closed, unilaterally
declared the ELCIC's Eastern Synod to be a 'Reconciling
in Christ' (RIC) synod and thus a part of Lutherans Concerned's
RIC program.
As pointed out in the article, "Implications
of Adopting the 'Affirmation of Welcome' of the RIC Program",
having our synod added to Lutherans Concerned's RIC roster
implies much more than a "simple" message of welcome and simply
being added to a list. Let's not forget that we are talking
about a program here - the RIC program. Therefore,
listing the Eastern Synod as an RIC synod strongly implies
that the Eastern Synod supports and embraces the RIC program
and the objectives of that program. So what are the goals
for Lutherans Concerned's RIC program? Some indication of
the expectations for the participants in the RIC program are
described in a Lutherans Concerned document entitled "Your
Church is Reconciling in Christ: Now What?" which lists
"34 Action Steps for congregations to consider who wish to
become even more effective advocates for inclusive ministry".
Two examples of such action steps that an organization should
consider in order to be "more effective advocates for inclusive
ministry" are: i) "Celebrate ceremonies of blessing for couples
of all sexual orientations" and ii) "Sponsor a resolution
at your Synodical Assembly calling for change in the policy
which excludes otherwise qualified gays and lesbians in long
term committed relationships from the ordained ministry of
the Lutheran church".
No doubt, in part because of a general discomfort among members
of the Eastern Synod with being associated with Lutherans
Concerned's RIC program, the Eastern Synod Council's recommended
substitute "welcome" motion, unlike the original motion, lacked
any reference to Lutherans Concerned and its RIC program (see
news item: "Lutheran
Eastern Synod Takes Steps Towards Endorsing Same-Sex Blessings").
Accordingly, being unilaterally designated as an RIC synod
would have beeen contrary to the understanding of the Eastern
Synod convention delegates.
In a previous news item, "Lutherans
Concerned Admits to Unilaterally Declaring Eastern Synod of
ELCIC as RIC", Solid Ground pointed out that, "Now the
question is whether our Eastern Synod will show leadership
by sending Lutherans Concerned a written request to have our
synod removed from its RIC roster?" In an effort to try to
get an answer to such a question, a member of the Eastern
Synod sent a letter (see below) requesting that Synod Council,
at its November 2004 meeting, vote on a motion stating, "That
a letter be sent to Lutherans Concerned requesting that our
synod's name be immediately removed from their RIC roster".
At its meeting on November 11-13, 2004, the Eastern Synod
Council, according to correspondence received from the Synod
Council's secretary, chose not to vote on the submitted motion,
but, instead, chose to write a letter to Lutherans Concerned/North
America expressing "concern over their rostering process"
- a process where synods or congregations are listed on Lutherans
Concerned's RIC roster without having requested such designation.
A request for a copy of the letter sent by the Eastern Synod
Council to Lutherans Concerned was denied.
If the Eastern Synod Council genuinely wanted the Eastern
Synod to be removed from Lutherans Concerned's web site, then
it should have taken decisive action to bring this about by
writing a firm letter to Lutherans Concerned to request removal
from their RIC roster. As well, if the Eastern Synod Council
thought that such a designation for the Eastern Synod was
inappropriate, it could have sent letters to the constituency
of the Eastern Synod explaining the issue and/or posted a
disclaimer on the Eastern Synod website stating that Lutherans
Concerned/North America unilaterally declared the Eastern
Synod as an RIC synod and that the synod did not seek, nor
does it accept the RIC designation.
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To: Eastern Synod Council
From: Ron Voss, Member, Christ the Redeemer Lutheran
Church, Dollard des Ormeaux, QC Date: September 21,
2004
Subject: A Motion Requesting Lutherans Concerned/North
America to Remove the Eastern Synod of the ELCIC from Their
"Reconciling in Christ" (RIC) Roster
At the next meeting of Synod Council scheduled for November
11th-13th, 2004, I request that the following motion be put
to the Synod Council for vote:
Relating to: Request to Lutherans Concerned/North
America to Remove the Eastern Synod of the ELCIC from Their
"Reconciling in Christ" (RIC) Roster
Motion: That a letter be sent to Lutherans Concerned
requesting that our synod's name be immediately removed from
their RIC roster.
Rationale:
Whereas, the Eastern Synod Council's recommended substitute
"welcome" motion offered a broader "principle" of welcome,
unlike the 2002 "RIC" motion which focused on gays and lesbians
and was linked to an outside organization (Lutherans Concerned);
and
Whereas, it was never the understanding when the Synod Council's
substitute "welcome" motion was put before the 2004 Synod
Convention that approval of such a motion would lead to our
synod being added to Lutherans Concerned's RIC roster when,
in fact, the delegates were given to understand the opposite
with the removal of reference to "Reconciling in Christ" and
Lutherans Concerned in the Synod Council's substitute motion;
and
Whereas, there was no request from the Eastern Synod nor
a mandate from the 2004 Eastern Synod Convention delegates
to have our synod designated as an RIC synod; and
Whereas, Lutherans Concerned unilaterally declared our Eastern
Synod to be an RIC synod, that is, without our synod specifically
requesting Lutherans Concerned to take such action; and, finally,
Whereas, the addition of the Eastern Synod to the RIC synod
roster implies that our synod supports and endorses Lutherans
Concerned's RIC program and the objectives of that program
and thus entails more than "simply" being on a list.
