dition—and how to replace conflict with what I call “collaboration over creed.”
Laurie Jungling Assistant professor of religion, Augustana College, Sioux Falls, S.D.
I’m interested in
the Lutheran concept of vocation as a positive framework for engaging difficult moral issues, particularly issues surrounding sexuality. I think people don’t always have a sense of how to discuss difficult issues honestly and fairly, with critical awareness, without screaming at each other.
The young people who take my class on sexual ethics are searching for ways to bring their sexual life into their life with God. After we review the tools of ethics, we talk about how the church has under- stood gender and sexuality through the ages.
Then we move into contemporary questions. What does it mean to date today? Should I “hook up” or not? Live together before marriage? How do I break up with someone? What role does my faith have in my sex life? Who should I be? What shall I do?
The whole church—not just the ELCA—has a hard time talking about spirituality and sexuality with- out turning it into a giant no. When I ask students whether sexuality or sexual ethics were ever discussed in confirmation or a church youth group, they say they were only told: “Don’t have sex outside marriage.” The lack of training and ability to talk about these things in direct, honest ways that allow people to not be ashamed or scared but to speak thoughtfully and with integrity—this is part of the reason why the sexual-
ity discussions were so difficult.
Shauna K. Hannan Assistant professor of homiletics, Lutheran Theological Southern Semi- nary, Columbia, S.C.
Someone asked me, “Why do we sit and listen to a sermon for 15 minutes each week? Why don’t we just tweet a little message instead?” Questions like this motivate me to educate the whole church about why we preach. I teach seminarians how to preach collaboratively and I pres- ent workshops to laypeople on under- standing preaching as a ministry of the whole congregation. I urge my students to stop being lone rangers and start participating in text studies and talking about Sun- day’s text when they visit people. I want them to ask people: “What do you think about the text?” In general graduate students are independent thinkers who don’t like group work. But everything we do in the church is completely corporate and collaborative. Sitting alone in an office banging out a sermon gets the job done, but if the whole congrega- tion participates in a conversation around the sermon and the biblical text, very likely the sermons will be more effective and faithful. I like to remind congregations that as hearers they have a responsibil- ity to participate too. Next time you think the preaching is dull, ask your- self what you can do to give energy to the situation.
Leila Ortiz Doctoral candidate, Lutheran Theo- logical Seminary at Philadelphia; adjunct professor, Palmer Theological
Seminary, Esperanza College of East- ern University, Philadelphia;
coordinator, ELCA Latino/a Lay School
My specialty is systematic theol-
ogy. I use ethnographic methods to observe the social, biblical and eccle- sial hermeneutic of Puerto Rican women I call “Luthercostals” because they have come from a Pentecostal background. Because I, too, was born and raised Pentecostal, I’m interested in how they filter this new Lutheran theology through a Pentecostal lens. When you come to the Lutheran church from another tradition, you tend to “appropriate” it—attempt to make it your own, to feel a sense of belonging within the tradition, theol- ogy and liturgy. This doesn’t erase your own formation. Instead, faith traditions merge, bringing about something fresh, new and exciting, which gives a different flavor to the tradition already in place.
Someone asked me, at what point do we limit the change and say no, this is the tradition? I believe limiting faith experiences is not our task. We have to let God be God. To say wait a minute, you can’t do this, is also oppressive.
Because Latinas have been con- sistently marginalized in society, church is the place where we are free. Luthercostals see God working in fascinating ways, especially through the Holy Spirit. The Spirit makes many Lutherans uncomfortable. How do you control her? We don’t. If service is two hours, it’s two hours. This freedom in the Spirit is a gift that Luthercostals bring to the Lutheran church.
Katherine Shaner Assistant professor of New Testament General Theological Seminary of the Epis- copal Church, New York
February 2013 23
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