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The 2011 Moses Lectures: Instructions for Body & Soul
Letters to the Editor To the editor: Margaret Leinbach’s article in the fall edition has opened up for the church an avenue for discussing fairly the thorny issue regarding the possible ordination of gay and lesbian persons into the Moravian ministry. I appreciate the article and I offer two observations that may help to enlighten the issue. First, when considering either heterosexual or homosexual acts, we are dealing with an awkward, messy subject. The same was true, I imagine, when the church council, described in Acts, dealt with circumcision. Granted, in that case the issue was theological, not sexual. Yet, in both cases, sex organs are involved, and who wishes to talk about that?! We attempt to honor privacy and respect when it comes to the intimate relationships of others. With this in mind, shouldn’t we expect the church not to legislate in this area, as has already been the case with the remarriage of divorced persons? Let the PEC propose candidates for ordination on the evidence of their professional, intellectual, and spiritual preparation. And let the congregations decide whom they feel led to call. Let the church not meddle in personal affairs unless the person in question has given evidence of acting irresponsibly or disrespectfully of others. Second, lest we forget, we are an episcopal church—we have bishops. The matter of ordination is entrusted to our bishops, who take the recommendations of the PEC and then decide whether or not to ordain. It would seem ill advised for a synod to proceed with any proposal regarding ordination without first hearing from the bishops in whose hands ordination lies. It is high time that we hear from our bishops on the matter of the possible ordination of gays and lesbians. After hearing from them, it should be our hope that we will then make decisions that are reasonable, biblical, faithful, and wise in concert with those whom we have already chosen as our spiritual overseers. —Rev. Dr. Willard R. Harstine Dear Editor: The Rev. Margaret Leinbach’s presentation on a model for discerning the matter of same-sex marriage and the ordination of homosexual individuals has been well studied and is helpful. Her purpose was to help members of the Moravian Church study these matters with a biblical example in hand. Dean Crouch, in his response to Rev. Leinbach, seems to build a defense for those who use experience as a basis for their decision. It can be noted that neither Sister Leinbach nor Brother Crouch referred to the fact that if God wants the church to change major issues, God will direct the church to do so. In the case of accepting Gentiles into the church, God spoke to Cornelius and Peter by visions, indicating that God wanted Gentiles included in the church. In the same way, when Christ spoke to Saul on the road to Damascus, Christ said to him that he was to