By Ron Csillag
Religion News Service
Toronto – Despite stern warnings and threats of discipline, a Lutheran church north of Toronto on Friday (May 16) ordained an openly gay man who is legally married to another man.
Lionel Ketola, 45, will now serve as associate pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Newmarket, Ontario, and will also assume the non-official title of “ambassador of reconciliation.”
It was the first Lutheran ordination of a non-celibate gay pastor in Canada, following at least 14 such ordinations in the United States.
“It’s a privilege, but it’s about so much more than one individual,”
a beaming Ketola said just before the ordination ceremony, held before a packed church. “It’s about claiming justice within the church.”
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, to which Holy Cross Lutheran belongs, narrowly defeated an attempt last summer to allow churches to bless same-sex unions. It does not allow for the ordination of practicing gay or lesbian clergy.
In the lead-up to the ordination, the bishop for the church’s eastern synod, the Rev. Michael Pryse, warned that Holy Cross would face disciplinary action if the ordination and hiring of Ketola went ahead.
“I am fearful that your actions have the potential to do irreparable damage to the already fragile connecting fabric of our church,” Pryse wrote in one letter posted on the denomination’s Web site.
He also sent a separate letter to Lutheran ministers telling them they would be subject to disciplinary action if they took part in the ordination service in an official capacity.
Copyright 2008 Religion News Service. All rights reserved. No part of this transmission may be distributed or reproduced without written permission.
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posted May 21, 2008 at 7:05 am
Way to go Canadian Lutherans!
Peace!
posted May 21, 2008 at 9:12 am
“”I am fearful that your actions have the potential to do irreparable damage to the already fragile connecting fabric of our church,” Pryse wrote in one letter posted on the denomination’s Web site.”
Does anyone believe the continued scare-mongering from the ‘religious’ ‘right’ anymore?
If the Church is in such frail condition that it cannot withstand the truth of God’s love for all creation, then maybe it should fold.
posted May 21, 2008 at 10:49 am
It must be either the steely wind or the northern lights that so emboldens our canadian partner churches to take bold steps like this. I salute them. I suppose the balmy breezes and gentle seas lull us down here in the near tropics into thinking we can keep doing the same things the same ways and expect different results. I do not miss the steely wind (though I did love the northern lights), but I wish some of that resolve and nerve would make its way down here.
posted May 21, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Please! You don’t think the “steely wind” has made its way south? Its been eroding standards in this country for a while. If anything, the smog of moral relativism is starting to eat its way north.
posted May 21, 2008 at 4:25 pm
And another liberal church descends into irrelevancy. What a joke!
Christ did not come into the world to abolish the law, but rather to fulfill the law. What are sins have not changed, although liberal churches like to pretend they have, based on the standards of the day.
posted May 21, 2008 at 5:18 pm
” Its been eroding standards in this country for a while. If anything, the smog of moral relativism is starting to eat its way north.”
How so, jramone?
“And another liberal church descends into irrelevancy.”
Hmm, seems extremely relevant to me (and probably to the pastor and to the congregation). Care to explain why you feel that way, anonymous poster?
“What are sins have not changed”
Love is never a “sin”.
posted May 21, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Love is never a sin but homosexuality on the other hand is very clearly a sin. God blesses man and woman marriage but never is there any such blessings in the Bible of same sex.
posted May 22, 2008 at 11:39 pm
Gosh, ck, don’t you mean “according to the tenets of my faith, homosexual acts are clearly sin”? I mean, that’s the usual distinction people bother to make so they don’t get labelled homophobic.
Homosexuality is merely the state of being attracted to those of the same sex, whether or not one acts on the attraction. And the rrr are pretty specific that it is the act that they believe to be sinful. Meanwhile, of course, there are other people of other faiths that totally disagree with you, so it obviously ain’t so “clear”.
posted May 22, 2008 at 11:59 pm
recovering I don’t fear any labeling and the term homophobic is just silly I have absolutely no phobias can’t afford them where I come from.
Faith for some is what they believe so it is no more powerful the person themselves. My faith is in what is truth so its power is not determined by me or my strength. So even if I wanted to try to change the fact that homosexuality is a sin and an affront to God I couldn’t.
posted May 23, 2008 at 11:16 am
“the term homophobic is just silly”
Not to the victims of homophobia it isn’t.
“My faith is in what is truth”
Ditto. Now explain why your faith and its tenets trump mine?
posted May 23, 2008 at 11:27 am
When the term is used as a cover all it gets to be very silly I’ve been explaining all along my friend.
posted May 23, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Good for Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Ontario!
As to whether “GOD” would approve, apparently Holy Cross Lutheran thinks so, thus more credit to them. They worship a loving and accepting God and know that their Divine Being wants Her/His children to find love no matter the gender attraction. How can love be wrong? Why can’t a gay man, married or not, serve a church in the capacity of minister? Sexual orientation has nothing to do with the ability to lead a congregation. (any more than gender does)
Love most certainly isn’t a “sin”. That word just keeps popping up, doesn’t it? Sure glad some religious guy (or gal?) thought of it. Covers a multitude of actions that many religious folks disagree with.
posted May 28, 2008 at 1:42 am
Sin is hard at work in the world today and it would rather not be detected, too bad, its easily identifiable to the true children of God.
posted May 28, 2008 at 10:15 am
“Sin is hard at work in the world today and it would rather not be detected,too bad, its easily identifiable tothe true children of God.”
cknuck
We are to assume that you are one of those “true children”? Also we are to assume from your statement that those of us who aren’t,(true children of God) can’t identify people who made wrong, really wrong in some cases, decisions that affect many people (GW Bush for one). Is he “sinful” (or just a total incompetent). Gotta love that all purpose word, SIN!