2 Gay Seminarians Vow to Refrain From Sex; 3rd Student ‘Unclear’

Two openly gay seminary students have pledged to refrain from homosexual activity but the situation of a third would-be pastor “remains unclear,” officials of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America said.

The three seminarians met with bishops and national church leaders in a private meeting on March 24, officials of the 5.3-million-member denomination said. But none of the participants would say which seminarian did not adequately respond to questions.

Equal Treatment

The three had told church leaders that they want to be treated the same as other students when it comes to finding a pulpit in the newly merged denomination.

But Bishop Herbert Chilstrom, head of the national denomination, said in a letter this week that the case “set off an avalanche of letters and phone calls to parish pastors, synodical bishops and our church-wide office here in Chicago.”

In the past, Chilstrom said, “persons of known homosexual orientation” were ordained by the three Lutheran bodies that merged to form the ELCA on Jan. 1, 1988, but they kept their sexual inclinations quiet.

While the American Lutheran Church, the Lutheran Church in American and the Assn. of Evangelical Lutheran Churches had no official policies on the issue, none of the three historical denominations ordained or retained known homosexuals as pastors, “unless they refrained from homosexual practice,” Chilstrom said.

“It is clear from reports I have read that none of the three seminary students is involved in homosexual practice,” he said. “It is also clear to me, however, that they were not asked at the time of their certification if they would refrain from such relationships in the future.”

If they refuse to make such a commitment, Chilstrom said, “it is my recommendation to the bishops of the area that they not recommend them for call to a congregation.”

The three seminarians--Jeff Johnson of Lancaster, Calif., Jim Lancaster of Westminster, Calif., and Joel Workin, of Walcott, N.D.,--were certified for the ministry late last year despite their publicly declared homosexuality. All three are students at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley.

But in the Lutheran Church, a seminarian is only fully ordained when hired for a pastoral post.

Church officials said “two did and one did not” respond satisfactorily to the requested pledge at the March 24 meeting.

Clarify Situation

“There is continued consultation going on,” said Carolyn Lewis, a spokeswoman for the ELCA. “One of the students needs to clarify his situation. It remains unclear.”

“The church expects all of its ordained pastors to live exemplary lives in every way in the church and community,” Chilstrom said. “This includes all aspects of moral living, including sexual behavior.”