A Chicago gathering of ELM supporters

ELM will host Dazzling Bouquet, an afternoon of socializing with Chicago-area ELM supporters, on Sunday, July 19 from 3:00pm to 4:30pm. The event is at the Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted, Chicago, IL (Chicago’s LGBT Center).

Socializing, dazzling appetizers, summer drinks & a festive live & silent auction!
•Hand made baby quilt
•Organic locally grown feast for four
•Two tickets to a live taping of 'Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me' & autographed items
•Unique pastoral services from some of Chicago's leading GLBT Lutheran pastors

Tickets are $35-$50 per person.

RSVP or Questions? Please contact Rachael Johnson 773-235-0610 or operations@elm.org

Conference Dean Updates

Earlier this month, Pastor Erik Christensen (ELM Co-Chair) was elected by members of the Central Conference of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod to serve as their dean. Pastor Erik serves as lead pastor of St. Luke's Lutheran Church of Logan Square.

According to the synod's constitution, deans serve to assist the conference with goalsetting, build and maintain collegial relationships between and among clergy in the conference, and act as a channel for communication between the synod and the local parish.

Pastor Erik shares that the sturggles of many parishes in the Central Conference mirror the struggles he faces at St. Luke's.

"Many of these congregations face declining membership, rapidly changing communities and the need to proclaim the good news of God's inclusive, justice-creating love in fresh ways to their neighbors," writes Christensen.

Pastor Erik is the first ELM-rostered clergy person called to serve in the Metropolitan Chicago Synod, and has been serving St. Luke's since October, 2006.

In May, we wrote that Pastor Jay Wiesner had been elected by members of the Central Philadelphia conference. At the request of his bishop, Pastor Jay has stepped down from that position, due to his status as an ELM-rostered pastor.

Interested congregations and ministries network call:

This Saturday there will be an Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries conference call for all interested congregations and ministries to network with each other and discover more information about the different ways of supporting ELM. Folks on the call will also be informed of the Covenant for Congregations Affiliating with ELM.

This call is geared toward lay people. This is not a decision-making call; it is an information sharing and relationship building call. It will provide an opportunity for those working in congregations or ministries that have ELM leadership or those who have opened their call process to ELM leadership to have sense of their partnership with one another across the nations.

Call:
Saturday, June 27
9:00 a.m. pacific; 11:00 central and 12:00 noon eastern.

If you would like to join the call, please send an email with your name and congregation or ministry to info@elm.org and we will send you the call-in information.

Thank you!

ELM celebrates the life of Arnold Tiemeyer

Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries was blessed by the involvement and commitment of Arnold Tiemeyer.

Arnold passed away Pentecost Sunday, May 31, 2009 from cancer. Arnold served most recently as chair of the East Coast Candidacy Panel and was a devoted supporter of the full inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people called to ordained ministry in the Lutheran church.

We celebrate Arnold's life and all he did to make the Church a truly welcoming place. We express our sadness and prayers to his partner, Betsy, and their family.

A full obituary can be found here.

-Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries Covenant Circle-

ELM Congregation & Pastors in News Following Prop 8 Ruling

The California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8, the ballot measure that banned same-sex marriages in the state, by a 6-1 vote Tuesday, May 26. But the seven justices unanimously ruled that the 18,000 marriages that took place during the five months before the ban went into effect last November are still valid under California law.

An article in the Bay Area Reporter by Matthew Bajko (link to the full article there) mentioned a faith service at ELM congregation St. Francis Lutheran Church and included quotes by ELM pastor Dawn Roginski:

Bajko writes: "This morning it was LGBT ministers who led a service at St. Francis Lutheran Church in the gay Castro District to pray for justice and to also offer a prayer of protection to those individuals planning to participate in the civil disobedience actions.

Following the service, a group of 125 people marched from the Church Street sanctuary to join those in the Civic Center. Wearing T-shirts that said "Separate is not Equal," they walked behind a rainbow-colored banner that said "Faith Demands Justice."

"We plan to occupy Van Ness at Grove until we get arrested," said Kip Williams, one of the organizers of the protest.

The Reverend Dawn Roginksi, the lesbian pastor at St. Francis, said she planned to join the demonstration in order to "stand on the side of equality and the side of love."

"We can not stand by and let well-funded conservative voices be the only voices hear din California," said Roginski."

Read the full article here: http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=3942

Read the Supreme Court ruling here: www.courtinfo.ca.gov/courts

ELM pastors protest Prop 8 Decision

California's Supreme Court has upheld a ban on same-sex marriage.


ELM pastors Rev. Dawn Roginski and Pastor Megan Rohrer are featured in many photographs protesting the decision.
Proposition 8 passed with 52% of the vote.

Memorial Day Weekend Reading

As you recover from Ascension Day activities and look forward to a long Memorial Day weekend, I wanted to point you towards a study released this week: Mainline Protestant Clergy Views on Theology and Gay and Lesbian Issues: Findings from the 2008 Clergy Voices Survey

You can read the study by clicking here.

Or if that doesn't work, copy and paste this URL into your browser:
http://tinyurl.com/os4ss8

Happy reading!