The Atlanta pastor at the heart of the homosexual clergy debate in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the US has returned to the pulpit - and the Atlanta congregation is ecstatic.
A day after the nation's largest Lutheran denomination voted to encourage its bishops to practice "restraint" in disciplining gay ministers who are in “faithful” same-sex relationships, St John's Lutheran Church – Atlanta's oldest Lutheran church – celebrated Sunday the continuing pastorship of the Rev Bradley Schmeling.
Earlier this year, Schmeling, was ordered to be removed immediately from the clergy roster after announcing that he had found a lifelong gay companion.
The order by the Committee on Appeals overruled an earlier decision by a disciplinary committee which said Schmeling should be allowed to remain on the clergy roster until after ELCA's biennial churchwide assembly last week.
The committee also suggested that ELCA reinstate gay clergy who were removed or resigned because they were in a same-sex "lifelong partnership".
Despite the removal, Schmeling refused to leave St John's and said he planned to continue to follow his call in ministry there.
Furthermore, although the gay clergy debate was expected to come up in 2009, Schmeling was a major part of the push at this year's assembly to lift the ban on non-celibate homosexual clergy.
Although a vote last Friday fell short of approving a change to the current clergy policy, the assembly voted 538 to 431 the next day to pray for, urge, and encourage bishops to refrain from disciplining people and congregations who call qualified leaders in "chaste and faithful" same-gender relationships to ELCA’s professional rosters.
