Exemption allows lesbian pastor's ordination

[struggle4progress]

By JEFF STRICKLER, Star Tribune
Last update: January 18, 2008 - 5:21 PM

You only have a few more hours to call Jen Nagel Jen. After her ordination at 2 p.m. today, you have to start calling her the Rev. Nagel -- unless you're a member of the national board of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), in which case you probably don't want to call her at all.

Nagel is being ordained despite being committed to a same-sex relationship. The national ELCA doesn't approve of the ordination of gay ministers. But an exemption in the bylaws was passed at the national convention in August allowing local synods to not object to such ordinations, which is what is happening -- or not happening, depending on how you interpret all of this -- with Nagel.

"I still won't be listed on the national ELCA roster" of ministers, she said. "Officially, I will not be accepted as a pastor by the ELCA, but the people of the local ELCA are accepting me."

And why not? She's been serving as the pastor at Salem English Lutheran Church in south Minneapolis for nearly five years doing everything other ministers do except calling herself "the Rev." Technically, she's been a pastoral minister, which means that she has done all the things required to be a minister (she has a master of divinity degree) except have an ordination ceremony ...

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/faith/13895881.html

[davidinalameda]

1. I'm so tickled to see stories like this

it shows that change in the churches will be coming from the grassroots where it should be

you're going to have more and more churches thumbing their noses at their leadership and ordaining gays and lesbians as ministers

[Hardrada]

2. This is however inadmissible in churches that adhere

to the Apostolic Succession. Just saying.

[struggle4progress]

3. I've never heard much interest from Lutherans in apostolic succession, but not long ago

I had a interesting chat with an Episcopal priest: she took it seriously and considered that the Episcopal church maintained that tradition

[okasha]

4. Wrong.

Episcopal Church. Gene Robinson.