Freedom to Marry 101:
What’s it all about?
Adult Study for Oregon Synod
Congregations
Guidelines for Respectful
Communication
R: Take RESPONSIBILITY for what you say and feel
without blaming others
E: Use EMPATHETIC listening
S: Be SENSITIVE to differences in communication styles
P: PONDER what you hear and feel before you speak
E: EXAMINE your own assumptions and perceptions
C: Keep CONFIDENTIALITY
T: TRUST ambiguity because we are not here to
debate who is right or wrong
Rev. Eric Law
Freedom to Marry and
Religious Protection Initiative
• Will amend the Oregon State Constitution to allow
all loving committed couples to participate in civil
marriage
• Continues to protect the right of religious institutions
and clergy to refuse to perform marriages
• Headed for the November 2014 Oregon ballot
Cultural and Political
Context
• Public opinion now increasingly favors allowing civil
marriage for all loving committed couples
• 14 states and District of Columbia now recognize
same-gender civil marriages
• Defense of Marriage Act provisions struck down by
U.S. Supreme Court in June 2013
o Federal government now recognizes same-gender marriages performed
in a state or country where legal
The current law in
Oregon
• 2004 – Oregon voters amended State Constitution
to restrict marriage to “one man/one woman”
• A vote of the people is required to change the
restrictive amendment to include all committed
couples
• Broad coalition has come together to create the
Freedom to Marry and Religious Protection Initiative
for the November 2014 ballot
o Oregon United for Marriage
o Now in process of collecting 116,00+ signatures
What about
domestic partnerships?
• Created in Oregon in 2007 to provide state
“privileges, rights, responsibilities, and benefits”
equivalent to marriage
• Not recognized by federal government, so federal
marriage benefits disallowed
• Not recognized by other states
• Created by signing a contract – no solemnization
ceremony with blessings of family and friends
• Is not marriage, with all the societal understanding
and support that comes with marriage
Why are we talking
about this at church?
• Most opposition to marriage for same-gender
couples is presented in religious terms by people of
faith
• Society – even the non-religious – looks to people
of faith for moral guidance on social issues
• What do we, as Lutheran people of faith, have to
say about the freedom to marry?
Coming Out as a
Person of Faith
Video created by Basic Rights Oregon Educational
Fund
How do Lutherans
understand the Bible?
• Lutherans read and understand the Bible through
the lens of the good news of Jesus Christ.
• Jesus invites us to “love the Lord your God with all
your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your
mind” and “love your neighbor as yourself” – “on
these two commandments hang all the law and
the prophets.” Matthew 22:36-40.
• Over-arching Biblical theme of the love and
acceptance of God, favoring those on the margins
How do Lutherans
understand the Bible?
• Lutherans bring all of our knowledge, learning, and
reasoning to the reading of Scripture.
• “We believe that God provides insights to us
through reason, imagination, the social and
physical sciences, cultural understanding, and the
creative arts.”
• “One reason Lutherans . . . engage so deeply in
education and research is that we believe God
works through such means to guide us in reading
Scripture and in understanding how we will live in a
world of continuing complexity and change.”
Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust
How do Lutherans think
about marriage?
• 2009 - ELCA’s social statement:
“Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust”
o the product of years of study, discernment, and engagement
o includes a lengthy discussion of marriage, including how it relates to
same-gender couples
• Marriage defined as “a covenant of mutual
promises, commitment, and hope authorized legally
by the state and blessed by God.”
How do Lutherans think
about marriage?
• “Lutherans have long affirmed that the public
accountability of marriage, as expressed through a
legal contract, provides the necessary social
support and social trust for relationships that are
intended to be sustained throughout life and within
changing and often challenging life situations.”
• “In this country, pastors carry both legal and
religious responsibility for marriage.” Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust
For Discussion
• This statement expresses the important support
marriage offers to couples in creating lifelong loving
relationships and weathering difficult challenges.
Does the church have an interest in applying this
"relationship glue" to families in same-gender
relationships as well as those in opposite-gender
relationships?
Does society?
How might children in families with same-gender
parents benefit if their parents were married?
For Discussion
• The Lutheran understanding of marriage sees a role
for the church and a role for the state.
What is the role of the state in authorizing and
sustaining a marriage?
What is the role of the church in blessing and
sustaining a marriage?
How do Lutherans think
about marriage?
• ELCA hold range of conscience-bound beliefs
about whether the church should bless the unions
of same-gender couples
o Some congregations and pastors perform blessing/wedding services for
same-gender couples.
o Some congregations and synods call pastors who are in lifelong
monogamous same-gender relationships.
o Other congregations, pastors and synods decline to do so.
• Historic Christian tradition and the Lutheran
Confessions have recognized marriage as a
covenant between a man and a woman.
o Many believe this is the beginning, rather than the end, of the church’s
understanding of marriage.
How do Lutherans think
about marriage?
• Contemporary understanding of marriage may
include similar same-gender relationships:
“Within the last decades, this church has begun to
understand and experience in new ways the need of
same-gender-oriented individuals to seek relationships
of lifelong companionship and commitment as well as
public accountability and legal support for those
commitments. At the same time, public debates and
deliberations have continued regarding
understandings of human sexuality in medicine, social
science, and corresponding public policy about
same-gender relationships.” Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust
How do Lutherans think
about marriage?
“Recognizing that this conclusion differs from the
historic Christian tradition and the Lutheran
Confessions, some people, though not all, in this
church and within the larger Christian community,
conclude that marriage is also the appropriate term
to use in describing similar benefits, protection, and
support for same-gender couples entering into
lifelong, monogamous relationships. They believe that
such accountable relationships also provide the
necessary foundation that supports trust and familial
and community thriving.” Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust
For Discussion
• How has your thinking on marriage changed or not
changed over time?
• How have your personal experiences affected your
thinking about marriage?
• What’s in a name? How does society (and how do
you) view ‘marriage’ differently from some other
legal arrangement?
For Discussion
• The initiative protects the right of congregations and
clergy to refuse to perform marriages.
How does this impact your thinking about legalizing
civil marriage while allowing congregations and
clergy the freedom to allow or not allow
blessing/wedding of same-gender couples?
What consensus do Lutherans hold
concerning same-gender
relationships?
ELCA stands united on critical issues:
• opposes all forms of verbal or physical harassment
and assault based on sexual orientation;
• supports legislation and policies to protect civil
rights and to prohibit discrimination in housing,
employment, and public services;
• calls upon congregations and members to
welcome, care for, and support same-gender
couples and their families and to advocate for their
legal protection. Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust
What consensus do Lutherans hold
concerning same-gender
relationships?
ELCA will
• support familial relationships as central to nurturing
and sustaining trust and security in human
relationships;
• advocate for public policies that support and
protect families;
• commit itself to continued attention to and
discernment about changing family configurations
and the ways they serve to shelter and protect
relationships of mutual trust. Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust
What consensus do Lutherans hold
concerning same-gender
relationships?
2013 Churchwide Assembly Resolution :
“Ministering to Same-Gender Couples
and Their Families”
• invites and encourages conversations and resource
sharing among congregations and church leaders
“on changing family configurations and their
impact on society and the ministry of the church”
• calls for additional work on “appropriate steps in
carrying out these commitments to pastoral care for
same-gender couples and their families”
For Discussion
• How are we welcoming, caring for and supporting
same-gender couples and their families?
• How are we advocating for the legal protection and
support of same-gender couples and their families?
For Discussion
• Following the 2008 passage of California’s
Proposition 8 to restrict marriage to one man/one
woman (later overturned by the courts), polling
showed that 40% of members of “welcoming” and
“affirming” congregations voted to prohibit samegender couples from marrying. Why do you think
this happened?
What is the role of the church in discussing
and advocating for changing civil laws?
ELCA Constitution:
“To participate in God’s mission, this church shall: . . . Serve in
response to God’s love to meet human needs, caring for the sick
and the aged, advocating dignity and justice for all people,
working for peace and reconciliation among the nations, and
standing with the poor and powerless and committing itself to
their needs.”
“To fulfill these purposes, this church shall: . . . Study social issues
and trends, work to discover the causes of oppression and
injustice, and develop programs of ministry and advocacy to
further human dignity, freedom, justice, and peace in the world.”
How does the state view church
advocacy on issues of public policy?
Maintaining tax-exempt status in advocacy:
• churches may engage in educational activities
about issues of public policy
• churches may also engage in lobbying efforts in an
effort to influence the vote on legislation or a ballot
issue, provided the lobbying activity does not rise to
a “substantial part” of its overall activities.
For Discussion
• Does your church discuss issues of public policy?
How has the discussion or lack or discussion shaped
the character of your congregation?
• Does your church engage in any advocacy on
issues of public policy? How has this shaped the
character of your congregation?
Where do we go
from here?
• Do we want/need more time to study this issue?
• What do we need more information about?
• Should we invite voices of people who are gay and
lesbian into our discussion?
• Are we ready for congregational advocacy on this
issue? What might that advocacy look like?