Photo Journal: ELM Seminarian Reflects on the Roster Retreat

This was my first retreat. I was a bit nervous to go. I have met quite a few people on the roster at other events. I am fortunate to count two of the pastors as my mentors. A few months before the retreat I had been asked to help plan worship. It was a bit surprising to be asked, as I am just a seminarian and new. It was lovely to give the gift of a worship service to my new colleagues.

The service I worked on was the “Waters of Baptism.” I was delighted by the theme assigned to me. I like my church services interactive. I am afraid the roster got a taste of my love of congregational interaction! I hope you enjoy a few photos taken at the service.

The time at the retreat was spent learning about my new colleagues. I am stunned to have my name listed among these pastors. I have a deep amount of respect for the work that they do. I am fortunate to have been given such a community. I have come to realize that most seminarians do not have such a close knit community surrounding them.

I began learning how to move from parishioner and student to peer. My mentors in Minneapolis for the last four years have been Jay Wiesner and Jen Nagel (photo to the right). They have walked with me through the beginning of seminary.

It was strange to move from a parishioner/mentor relationship to a fledgling collegial relationship. It was also wonderful to feel like I was becoming their peer.

I don’t know what my status will be at the next retreat. I just received my paperwork for approval. We will find out what my home synod will do with the ELCA’s new policy. I also know that there are no guarantees in any candidacy process. I only hope and pray that at next year’s retreat I will be one of the newest names listed as approved and awaiting call. I am looking forward to joining folks on the roster as a fully credentialed colleague.

~Vicar Margaret Kelly

Margaret is a Seminarian at Luther Seminary and an intern in Washington, DC at Lutheran Church of the Reformation.

Photos (cc) Jay Wilson

Day Two: Ordination Day May 16th, 2008

What a wonderful day. Holy Cross Congregation (their church is to the right) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada ordained Lionel Ketola as their pastor. The first extraordinary ordination in Canada and the first extraordinary ordination of a legally married ELM rostered pastor.

Lionel's day began with talking to the media. In fact that's what's he's been doing for the last two weeks. He has appeared on most of the local news stations. You can watch the video of one of the local news stations here. I caught a picture of Lionel talking to the Finish press at a press availability held just before the ordination service.

Hopefully all of the attention will be wonderful evangelism for Holy Cross. We've heard that the press at several of the past ordinations has produced a number of new members and friends at the congregations of our newest ELM pastors.

At 7:30 the service began. And despite the letter from the bishop threatening discipline to any clergy that attend the service more than three dozen attended the service (and happily posed for a photo too). Those present noted that the Canadians have been working for this moment for more than 30 years. It has been 20 years since Lionel was first told that he could not be a pastor in the ELCIC because of his sexual orientation.

Today, Lionel's 20 years of faithful waiting and preparation ended. When all of these hands were laid upon him. In this moment, Lionel became the 14th person to be ordained extraordinarily.

Congratulations Lionel and the members of Holy Cross!

We hope to see you all in Houston in July for the ordination of Lura Groen.

-Rev. Megan Rohrer
Communications Chair

Photo Journal May 15th: Ordination of Lionel Ketola

Day One: Traveling to Newmarket Ontario

I left San Francisco on a red eye and headed to Ontario. There was a very beautiful sunset at the airport.

In the morning I arrived in Buffalo, NY where I hopped in the rental car and headed to Canada. The boarder guard seemed a little suspicious that I would enter Canada to attend an ordination. I guess he didn't read the story in the paper about the historic ordination that will happen tomorrow in Newmarket!

Then I drove for about a half hour to stop at Niagara Falls. While it may be a bit cheesy, the rainbow in the falls made me smile and wonder if my journey was being blessed.

Before becoming the sign of GLBTQ pride in the modern day, ancient Christians associated the rainbow with gender queerness. They believed anyone who walked under a rainbow would recieve a miraculous sex change from God(dess)*.

After visiting the falls I set off to Newmarket. And settled in for some rest before the all the ordination activities tomorrow.


*I use God(dess) not only because the 4 congregations that called me name God differently (some use male pronouns, some female and some androgynous). But also to have a gender queer understanding of God(dess) that more accurately matches the greek/hebrew. This is a way of describing God(dess) as both male/female.

-Rev. Megan Rohrer
Communications Chair

First Extraordinary Call in Canada

Canada Congregation Votes to Call ELM Roster Member
Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries (ELM) is proud to announce that the members of the Newmarket Ontario, Holy Cross Lutheran Church (ELCiC) voted to call Lionel Ketola, which will result in the first extraordinary ordination in Canada.

Lionel first served at Holy Cross Lutheran Church as an intern, with the support of a grant from ELM (who was Lutheran Lesbian and Gay Ministries at the time). Today the congregation voted to call Lionel as Associate Pastor, deployed as an Ambassador of Reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:16-21) in the ELCIC, to further the work of full inclusion in the ELCIC. Major funding for this position will come from a three year seed grant from Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries. Learn more about Lionel

In Memoriam

Krister Stendahl, 1921-2008

“Since I cannot be with you at your ordination which—it seems—must take place extra ordinem, I want to send you a greeting affirming my conviction that the steps that your congregations and you are taking stand well before God.” – Excerpt from Krister Stendahl’s letter to the first extraordinary ordinands in 1990.

Krister Stendahl, the Lutheran pastor and bishop emeritus who first used the words “extra ordinem” and “extraordinary” to describe the ordinations of openly gay and lesbian clergy, died on Tuesday, April 15, 2008, at the age of 86 after several years of illness.

Stendahl was Bishop of Stockholm when St. Francis Lutheran Church and First United Lutheran Church called and ordained Ruth Frost, Phyllis Zillhart and Jeff Johnson. At a time when most church leaders were criticizing the action and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America was placing the congregations on trial, Stendahl wrote to commend the congregations for their courage and leadership in supporting openly gay and lesbian pastors. Stendahl also participated in the Extraordinary Ordination of Anita Hill on April 28, 2001. In Stockholm, Stendahl was a noted reformer on issues such as women's ordination, gay and lesbian rights, and the relationship of church and state.

Stendahl’s words have been used throughout the history of the movement for ordination of people of all sexual orientation and gender identity in the Lutheran church and are central in the identity and name of the group leading this movement, Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries.

Stendahl chose the words because St. Francis and First United were acting “out of the ordinary” practice of the church. The founding documents of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries embrace his sentiment with these words:

If “ordinary” has come to mean “discriminatory,” we have chosen the adjective “extraordinary” deliberately to emphasize the “out-of-the-ordinary” nature of our community. In response to the urgent message of the reconciling and hopeful Gospel of Jesus Christ, we take seriously our responsibility to convey the message of reconciliation, unconditional regard and everlasting love to all people, especially those who have been left out of, or abandoned by the church that bears the name of Christ.

Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries remembers and celebrates the life of Rev. Krister Stendahl, remembers his family in our prayers, and honors the legacy his words and actions leave to those seeking justice for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities in the Lutheran Church.

A memorial service is planned for Friday, May 16, at 3 p.m. in Harvard's Memorial Church.

For a full obituary, please visit the Harvard Divinity School’s website.

"I was there. I saw it."

“You have been revealed, I was there – I saw it – you are children of God, bearers of the message that we are all children of God. I will tell the truth about that wherever I go, and you will tell the truth about what you saw and heard.”
---Rev. Erik Christensen's sermon on 1/20/08

“I was there. I saw it.”

These words were a sort of refrain in Rev. Erik Christensen's sermon at Salem English Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota on January 20, 2008, the day after they called and ordained Pastor Jen Nagel.

The gospel reading for that day (John 1:29-42) began “The next day….” But before we could really listen to what would come next, we had to ask what just happened.

We had all witnessed an extraordinary ordination, attended by hundreds of people from across the Twin Cities and around the nation. Jen Nagel was the 13th pastor since 1990 to be called and ordained by a Lutheran congregation that was standing up to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's policy against ordaining pastors in same-sex partnerships (or those in principled noncompliance to that policy). We gathered to be reminded of our baptism and to set apart for public ministry Pastor Jen Nagel. Pastor Jen was the 13th since 1990, but she was the 5th since October of 2007, showing the momentum among churches opening their pulpits to pastors of all sexual orientation and gender identity.

Even those who weren't there are witness to the powerful work that is happening because of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries.

Gifts to Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries mean so much. We cannot operate with your support--ELM is funded entirely by individuals and congregations. We need your support now because this year we hope to do more than ever before.

Your gift to Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries does the following:

• Provides direct support to Mission Partners--openly gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Lutheran pastors serving congregations and specialized ministries.
  
• Helps us reach out to new congregations, seminary students, and pastors not yet on our roster
• Provides emergency response to pastors being discriminated against because of their sexual orientation or gender identity
• Raise awareness that God calls people of all sexual orientations and gender identities to ordained ministry in the Lutheran church.

Thank you for your support and for considering a gift!

Congregations, Communications & Hearts On Fire

New Ways for Congregation to Get Involved with Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries:
The biggest NEW part of the Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries community is the role of congregations. In this new organization, congregations are critical to the movement. Congregations have an opportunity to affiliate with ELM as a way to actively live out their commitment to full inclusion in life and ministry of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities in the Lutheran church. Here are a few ways your congregation can get involved:

• Visit the Congregational Resources section of our website
• Become a Congregational Affiliate of ELM
• Include Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries in your congregation's benevolence giving (directly to ELM or earmarked in your synodical giving)
• Decide now to include members of the ELM Roster in your next call process
• Email the Congregations Ellipse Chair, Rev. Susan Strouse to talk about how your congregation can get involved or to invite ELM to share its mission with your congregation at at worship service, educational forum, council meeting or other event.

Creative Communications- We Need Your Help
We believe that if more Lutherans knew about the exciting work of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries that they would want to become a part of our movment. Help us reach out to Lutherans in all the ways we communicate by:

• Joining us on your favorite social networking online: Facebook, Myspace and Tribe
• Writing about our work and events on your blog
• Forwarding our emails and inviting others to join us online
• Sending us an email to join us in creating, writing and/or editing our newsletters, press releases, our website and other online materials

Join Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries at Hearts on Fire!
Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries is proud to help underwrite Hearts on Fire. The Biennial Assembly and Reconciling in Christ Convention hosted by our coalition partner Lutherans Concerned/North America, Hearts on Fire is July 3-6 at San Francisco State University. Early registration closes March 15, so we encourage you to register today. Prices will rise after March 15 to the standard rate.

Many members of the Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries community attend these gatherings each year and look forward to connecting with old and new friends. If you have recently become involved with Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries, we hope you will join us at Hearts on Fire for a great opportunity to connect in person with others seeking the full inclusion and participation of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities in Lutheran life and ministry. Learn more and register.

Keynote speakers:

• Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson
• Rev. Kelly Fryer
• Bishop John Selders of the Church of God
• Rev. Gladys Moore.

The assembly also includes:

• Training to use story telling to advance the movement to full inclusion
• Sharing of best practices with others committed to full inclusion
• Vacation Bible School
• Child care
• Bible study
• Uplifting worship services
• Spiritual counseling
• Prayer
• Fellowship

Pre-assembly events:

• an event for couples
• an event for rostered leaders
• in-depth anti-racism training "Finding the I in the Middle of Racism."