ELCA mulls same-sex unions; Gaza evacuation compared to Sinai’s; New Orleans gay church is kic

Friday RNS continues its coverage of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America‘s biennial meeting in Orlando. Kevin Eckstrom reports that the nation’s largest Lutheran church, deeply divided over the issue of homosexuality, is scheduled to decide today whether to allow sexually active gay clergy and the blessing of same-sex unions. The ELCA will debate a […]

Friday RNS continues its coverage of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America‘s biennial meeting in Orlando. Kevin Eckstrom reports that the nation’s largest Lutheran church, deeply divided over the issue of homosexuality, is scheduled to decide today whether to allow sexually active gay clergy and the blessing of same-sex unions. The ELCA will debate a three-pronged recommendation from a task force that would keep intact prohibitions on both policies, but would allow local churches to break church rules without threat of discipline. But in discussions Thursday, church delegates seemed reluctant to make any major changes.

We also continue reporting on the upcoming evacuation of Israeli settlements from the Gaza Strip. Joshua Mitnick compares it with the events of two decades ago when settlers were removed from their homes in Sinai: In the spring of 1982, some 6,000 Yamit settlers watched as their homes were leveled in the name of peace. The landmark evacuation-ordered by Prime Minister Menachem Begin and carried out by his defense minister, Ariel Sharon-was the first time Israel destroyed settlements established in territories seized during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Television footage of Israeli soldiers dragging holdouts and protesters off a hotel rooftop remains the seminal chaotic image, fueling expectations this month’s evacuation of about 8,500 settlers from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank will be even more unruly.

Leslie Williams writes about recent challenges faced by the Metropolitan Community Church of Greater New Orleans, which was established decades ago to serve gay, bisexual and transgendered congregants. The church was kicked out of its temporary home in a Catholic AIDS facility three months into its one-year lease because it supports gay marriage.


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