Covenant News

Delegates Approve Human Sexuality Report

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (June 22, 2004) - Delegates to the 119th Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) overwhelmingly accepted a Board of the Ordered Ministry recommendation regarding Human Sexuality and Marriage Ethics as part of the Tuesday morning business session held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

After more than 90 minutes of discussion, the board's recommendation was approved by delegates by a margin of 529 to 46. The announcement was made during the opening moments of the afternoon session.

The approved motion states: The Board of the Ordered Ministry recommends to the 119th Annual Meeting that the Resolution on Human Sexuality adopted by the 1996 Annual Meeting serve the ECC as: 1) the guiding statement on human sexuality and the marriage ethic, and 2) the basis for ECC policy, practices and guidelines on these matters.

David Kersten, executive minister of the Ordered Ministry, and Board of the Ordered Ministry member Dwight Nelson, pastor of Libertyville Covenant Church in Illinois, led the discussion on the referral, presenting an informational report on the recommendation. The report is the culmination of a year-long study after last year's Annual Meeting referred to the board a delegate's proposed "Resolution on Sexual Morality."

The 1996 Resolution on Human Sexuality "upholds celibacy in singleness and faithfulness in heterosexual marriage as the Christian standard," among other things. The Board of the Ordered Ministry stated in its report that "it views celibacy in singleness and faithfulness in heterosexual marriage to be the standard for all Covenant clergy, reiterating that the Board does not credential people who are in violation of this standard." Nelson added that the Board of the Ordered Ministry does not permit credentialed Covenant clergy to officiate at same-sex unions, blessings or marriages.

Covenant Ministerium delegates endorsed the Board of the Ordered Ministry's recommendation during its annual meeting Monday afternoon. The ECC's Executive Board, Council of Administrators and Council of Superintendents also endorsed the report.

Two amendments were proposed from the floor, but both were rejected. The first, proposed by Jeremy Males of the Evangelical Covenant Church in Evanston, Illinois, would have added a third element to the main motion, worded as follows: "The annual meeting urges clergy and churches to neither seek or nor maintain standing within the Covenant unless they affirm this position both privately and publicly." Delegates debated the proposed amendment for 20 minutes before rejecting it.

Covenant pastors who spoke against the proposed amendment argued that the amendment would keep Covenant pastors and congregations from a grace-filled dialogue with those who disagreed with the Covenant's views on human sexuality and the marriage ethic. The difference between homosexuality and other sins is not a matter of degree, said one delegate. It is a matter of one sinning and calling that sin good. "We cannot allow those people in our congregations who call this sin good to remain in our congregation."

Another pastor described the amendment as a way to further establish a boundary on the manner in which the issue of homosexuality should be handled. "We can only deal in grace when we have law," said the pastor. "We have standards and guidelines in our community and we have to hold to them. I think we have to take a stand on this issue."

A second proposed amendment was presented by Lenore Johnson of North Park Covenant Church in Chicago, Illinois. She asked that a task force be assembled through the auspices of the Board of the Ordered Ministry. The task force would include people of differing opinions to extend the dialogue and consider the implication of doing pastoral care in Covenant churches in light of the many issues surrounding human sexuality and the marriage ethic. The amendment was ruled "out of order" by the moderator.

There were 830 total registered conference attendees, including 566 delegates from 309 conference and region churches, participating in Tuesday's morning session. Delegates heard a report on Covenant Ministries of Benevolence (CMB) given by CMB President David Dwight. They also approved a list of Covenant pastors, staff ministers and administrators who were being recommended for ordination and commissioning. The names of those people and their educational credentials will be found in a separate story as part of the online Covenant news coverage.

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