ELCA’s 11th social statement, on genetics, wins approval
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Christina Jackson-Skelton receives the Servus Dei Medal for her nearly 10 years as ELCA treasurer. She moves on to executive director of the Mission Advancement unit (see page 8).
he Churchwide Assembly adopted “Genetics, Faith and Responsibil-
ity,” the ELCA’s 11th social state- ment, with a 942-34 vote. It offers scientists, theologians and ELCA members an ethical framework for dialogue (www.elca. org/genetics). Among other things, the statement calls for genetic tech- nologies and economic enterprises that enable the community of life to flourish. It rejects human reproduc- tive cloning, as well as using genetic information to discriminate in employment or insurance coverage. “We live in a world where genetics
affects us when we go to the store, to our doctors … and in many ways we can’t predict,” voting member Joel Sauerwein, a pastor in the Western North Dakota Synod, said during debate. Leah McDowell, a pastor in the Southeastern Minnesota Synod, shared her struggle with stage 4 cancer caused by a genetic disorder. “Our church has the opportunity to lead, take a stand, affirm the work of those working in genetic sciences and continue to provide people like me with hope,” she said.
Adrianne Heskin, a pastor in the Grand Canyon Synod, said she wrapped a member who had a double mastectomy in a prayer shawl. “This [genetics statement] is a gift that will allow me to accompany her. … I endorse it not only as a teaching statement but as a pastoral resource,” she said. An amendment endorsing evolu-
tion failed, as did one condemning research that endangers non-human life forms.
The statement’s implementing resolutions, adopted as a whole (929- 40), include advocacy consistent with the social statement; genetic resource lists for clergy, counselors and indi- viduals in synods or conferences; a churchwide database of ELCA members with genetic expertise; and a report from the Office of the Presid- ing Bishop for the November 2013 Church Council meeting on the fea- sibility of a social message on regen- erative medicine, including stem cell technology.
Two wheels to Orlando Matt Riegel, chaplain of the Lutheran Campus Ministry at West Virginia
University, Morgantown, made the 1,676-mile trip to the Churchwide Assembly on a vintage motorcycle purchased for $1,200 at a garage sale. He wanted to raise funds for and draw attention to Lutheran Campus Ministry, which has un- dergone cuts. Riegel, an ELCA pastor, interviewed WVU alumni along his route, asking about the long-term influence of campus ministry on their lives. More than 50 people pledged between one cent to $1 per mile with a 1,000-mile cap. Riegel said he raised $8,000.
24 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
The assembly amended these to include annual reports (until Novem- ber 2015) to the council on the imple- mentation, as well as progress reports posted at
www.elca.org.
For a longer version of this story, see
www.thelutheran.org/feature/ september.
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