Fitchburg, Massachusetts. April 29, 2024
Grace and peace to you, Bishop Eaton, and mercy from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
This letter is intended to be received with all charity, although I understand that its contents may be difficult. At times, the inconvenient truth must be brought into the light so that something good potentially comes forth. I hope that such good might come about.
Pastors of the Evangelical Lutheran Church America under call are charged, obligated, and duty-bound by virtue of their letters of call, among other particulars, “to speak for justice on behalf of the poor and oppressed.” It hardly needs mentioning that individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual, aromantic, or agender—also known as LGBTQIA+—face discrimination, not only in our own communities, but around the world. They comprise an oppressed cohort, even if it is a disparate cohort. Pastors of the ELCA are, therefore, charged, obligated, and duty-bound by virtue of their letters of call to speak for justice on behalf of LGBTQIA+ people, both as individuals and as a societal cohort.
Relatedly, at its churchwide assembly in 2009, the ELCA adopted a social statement entitled Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust. Social statements are teaching documents of this church; they are meant to shape policy and guide action, not only for congregations, but also for the denomination as a whole—including the churchwide expression. In said social statement, the ELCA states that “it opposes all forms of verbal or physical harassment and assault based on sexual orientation. It supports legislation and policies to protect civil rights and to prohibit discrimination in housing, employment, and public services.”[1] Further, the ELCA states in this social statement that it “must be prepared to speak out where such forces cause harm. In particular, it will oppose all forms of sexual exploitation within and outside this church.”[2] And the ELCA states in this social statement that it “also will attend to the need for equal protection, equal opportunities, and equal responsibilities under the law, and just treatment for those with varied sexual orientation and gender identity. Such individuals are disproportionately and negatively affected by patterns of stigma, discrimination, and abuse. Likewise, it will attend to the particular needs of children and the families of those with actual or perceived differences in sexual orientation or gender identity because they are especially vulnerable to verbal, physical, emotional, spiritual, psychological, and sexual abuse.”[3]
To ask the quintessentially, catechetical Lutheran question—“What does this mean?” It means that the ELCA has committed itself to calling upon its leadership to advocate for justice and equality for LGBTQIA+ people by affirming their worth and dignity and by actively opposing discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. It means that the ELCA has committed itself to creating welcoming and inclusive communities where LGBTQIA+ people can fully participate and contribute. It means that the ELCA has committed itself to engaging in the public sphere around issues of human sexuality. Likewise, it means that the ELCA has committed itself to including the experiences and perspectives of LGBTQIA+ people in such reflection and engagement. By doing so, the ELCA can help foster understanding, acceptance, and support for LGBTQIA+ people within the church and society at large. Additionally, it means that the ELCA has committed itself to encouraging leadership—pastors, deacons, and other servants of the church of various rostered and leadership capacities—to support policies and initiatives that promote equality and non-discrimination for LGBTQIA+ people, both within the church and in broader social contexts. Overall, it means that the ELCA has committed itself to actively advocating for justice and equality for LGBTQIA+ people through our words, actions, and support for inclusive policies and practices.
It grieves me that the ELCA has largely failed in this commitment. As a gay man and pastor in the ELCA, my grief is especially poignant. No shortage of social ills face us as a human race, and the ELCA musters the courage to speak out in solidarity or in opposition where appropriate, but on the matter of human sexuality, particularly on matters of sexual orientation, the silence from the ELCA churchwide expression, in particular, is deafening. It is a failure and one that I hope and pray is faithfully addressed and rectified.
A concrete example of how the ELCA has failed, at a basically minimal level, to speak in solidarity with LGBTQIA+ people, both as individuals and as a societal cohort, is the simple, minimal acknowledgment of Pride Month in June or the annual LGBTQIA+ awareness day observed on October 11 known as “National Coming Out Day.” While some in this church and the wider Christian church wrongly and perhaps even maliciously attempt to associate Pride Month with the sin of pride, the church has a self-imposed obligation to correct this narrative. Similarly, this church has a self-imposed obligation to promote the affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of LGBTQIA+ voices and perspectives, given that these voices and perspectives arise from an oppressed and discriminated societal cohort. Pride Month and National Coming Out Day are two excellent opportunities for the ELCA to engage in the wider societal conversation around matters that come to bear on justice and equality, dignity, and visibility of LGBTQIA+ people, both as individuals and as a loosely associated societal cohort. Celebrating the affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of LGBTQIA+ voices and perspectives as good things is precisely what Pride Month and National Coming Out Day are about.
The ELCA has set this burden upon itself given its purported understanding of the gospel. I agree with the teachings found within the social statement Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust as it comes to bear on these issues, and I take my charge as a pastor within this church “to speak for justice on behalf of the poor and oppressed” seriously—hence this letter. I call upon this church to remember its self-imposed commitments, and I call upon all pastors, deacons, and other servants of the church within the ELCA—particularly those in visible synodical and churchwide expressions—also to remember and take these self-imposed commitments seriously. I particularly call upon those under letter of call to remember they are charged, obligated, and duty-bound by virtue of those letters to remember and take these self-imposed commitments seriously. The time has come—and frankly, passed—to do so.
May the Spirit of God who first coaxed forth creation out of nothing stir you from placidness into holy restlessness to listen with gentleness and speak as the prophets of old on behalf of the oppressed; may you be goaded to work for justice for those weighed down by the bondage of sorrow as they dream dreams of liberation; may you make bold new decisions based, not on fear, but in the hope that fills us all who have put on Christ; for the sake of the whole human family and to the greater glory of God. Amen.
Your brother in Christ,
The Rev’d Daniel W. Spigelmyer, Jr.
Emanuel Lutheran Church, Fitchburg, Massachusetts
cc: Angela Hollenbeck, Emanuel Lutheran Church council president; Jim Hazelwood, New England Synod bishop; Jayne Shimko, ELCA Director of Content Strategy; Allison Beebe, ELCA Manager for Community Engagement Strategy; Mycah McNett, Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries Board Co-Chair
[1] Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust, p. 19
[2] Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust, p. 32
[3] Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust, p. 32f
The Rev'd Daniel W. Spigelmyer, Jr. 