Category: Blog

Rev. Dale Poland approved as Board Certified Chaplain, First for Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries

Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries announces that Rev. Dale Poland has been approved as a Board Certified Chaplain by the Association for Professional Chaplains.

In February of this year Poland received ecclesiastical endorsement from Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries (ELM) in his pursuit of becoming a Board Certified Chaplain with the Association for Professional Chaplains (APC), a multi-faith association established to certify and serve its membership and to promote professional chaplaincy. Poland was the first Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries- rostered clergy to receive ecclesiastical endorsement from ELM.

Rev. Dale Poland serves as a chaplain with HospiceCare of Boulder and Broom field Counties in Colorado. He also serves as a chaplain to the Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries Roster. “This has been a long process for me and a long process for Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries. I would like to personally thank Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries and those who worked so hard to make it possible. Since joining this roster in 2003 I have received nothing but support and encouragement for my sense of call to hospice chaplaincy and for that I give thanks to God. It is my hope now that other chaplains on the Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries roster will feel free to pursue board certification.” Rev. Dale Poland.

Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries credentials and rosters openly gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people for Lutheran ministry; supports these pastors by working with congregations that will call them and providing mission grants to support their ministry; and provides a network of support to the congregations and pastors.

Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries is recognized as a credentialing and endorsing body by the Association for Professional Chaplains, The Association for Clinical Pastoral Education and the American Association for Pastoral Counselors.

Halleluiah! What an amazing time to be a Lutheran!

Immediately following the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s historic votes to allow congregations to recognize same-sex relationships and to allow ordination of people in same-sex relationships, many people have asked: “What does this mean for Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries?”

We express our profound gratitude to Lutherans Concerned/North America and the Goodsoil coalition for their hard and successful work to organize within the church to enact policies that welcome and support people of all sexual orientations and gender identities in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. We joyfully celebrate together during this time of watershed change in the Lutheran church!

Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries is the result of a twenty year movement within the Lutheran church to affirm the calls of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. For a long time, we have been saying yes in the face of church policies that said no to the gifts and talents of gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual pastors. We express our deep appreciation to the members of the Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries Roster and the congregations that have opened their call process to our roster, and all those who have demonstrated for many years what it looks like to affirm the calls of lesbian, transgender, gay and bisexual people.

We remember and grieve the loss of those who resisted these policies as long as possible, but who left our denomination, or the Church, or did not live to see this day. We recognize that there are still pastors for whom the possibility of coming out is tempered by the reality that they may be serving in a congregation or synod that may not affirm their call based on sexual orientation or gender identity. We pray that someday all people may live and serve openly and authentically without fear of rejection from their church.
We will continue to keep you informed about further developments for ELM.

Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries (ELM) announces the 2009 Joel Raydon Workin Memorial Scholar. This year’s recipient is Julie Boleyn. Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries provides the $1,000 scholarship to an Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries seminary student who embodies a gospel-centered passion for justice and devotion to faith in Jesus Christ.

“Julie Boleyn exemplifies the academic and pastoral qualities and courage so characteristic of Joel Workin, and looks to be a strong future clergy leader in this church.” Greg Egertson, Joel R. Workin Memorial Scholarship chair.

Julie Boleyn is a third-year student at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Chicago. She recently completed an internship at Faith Lutheran Church in Chicago. Julie lives in Chicago with her partner, Jeanie Reardon, and their daughter Madelyn.

Twenty years ago when Joel Workin came out as a gay, Lutheran seminarian, he and several others helped spark the current movement supporting openly gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) persons in ordained ministry. Following Joel’s courageous and faithful act, his certification for ordination was vacated when Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) bishops refused to place his name on the roster of approved candidates waiting for call. The Joel R. Workin Memorial Scholarship was established in 1995 by the generosity of Joel’s family, colleagues and close friends. Boleyn is the third recipient of the scholarship.

“Twenty years and ten Churchwide assemblies later, the same policy of mandatory celibacy for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender clergy that excluded Joel Workin and so many others still stands. Yet, there can be no doubt that God is calling the gifts and graces of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities into the church’s life and mission – people like Julie Boleyn, an ELM candidate for ordained ministry who has shown tremendous gifts of intelligence and compassion.” Rev. Erik Christensen, Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries co-chair.

Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries will publicly award the scholarship to Boleyn at an awards dinner in Minneapolis on August 20.

“I am honored and humbled to receive this award. Joel Raydon Workin claimed his sexuality openly, honestly, and without apology. His courage and conviction has made it possible for me to follow my own calling with integrity. I am deeply grateful for his witness.” Julie Boleyn, 2009 Joel R. Workin Memorial Scholar.

The Joel R. Workin Memorial Scholarship supports seminarians who have been admitted into the Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries candidacy process; and encourages them to persevere in their preparation for ordained ministry. The recipients must be enrolled as an openly gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender student, have demonstrated gifts for Word and Sacrament ministry, and seeks to fulfill their vocations as publicly identified sexual minority persons. The recipients demonstrate academic excellence, integrity and courage in response to the ELCA’s discriminatory policies, a passion for social justice, faithfulness to Jesus Christ and potential to become an effective leader in church and society. The early witness of Joel Workin and several other gay seminarians led to a larger movement within the Lutheran Church. Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries, a result of this witness, credentials and rosters openly gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people for ministry; supports these pastors by working with congregations that will call them and providing mission grants to support their ministry; and provides a network of support to the congregations and pastors.

Next week, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will hold its biennial Churchwide Assembly. Among many other items, the Assembly will discuss the proposed Social Statement on Sexuality and accompanying Ministry Recommendations. Our partner organization, Lutherans Concerned/North America has been organizing for months with several other groups as the coalition Goodsoil. Learn more about their work–or volunteer–at goodsoil.org. While we strongly support the work of Goodsoil, ELM is not actively involved in the coalition. It is our calling to live out the fully inclusive future we all imagine for the church.

ELM Executive Director Amalia Vagts will be at the Assembly all week to attend sessions, meet with supporters, and bear witness to this part of the ELCA’s journey. Many members of the ELM Roster will also be there to participate in Goodsoil worship activities and as Goodsoil volunteers. ELM Roster member Rev. Megan Rohrer will be on street retreat throughout the Assembly, living on the streets and blogging about her experience. You can follow along at mystreetreatreat.blogspot.com.

We invite all Twin Cities area friends to attend the Goodsoil worship service on Wednesday, Aug 19 at Central Lutheran Church.

ELM will be sending updates via Twitter about Assembly actions and ELM-related news throughout Churchwide! Follow us @ELM2649. You can search all ELM/Churchwide related tweets by searching “#ELM #CWA09”. If you have never used Twitter, here’s a reason to check it out–if you are a person who sends and receives text messages on your phone, within minutes you can be set up on Twitter and receive our updates via text message.

“See” you there!

On Sunday, July 19, supporters of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries gathered at the LGBT Center on Halsted in Chicago to celebrate the opening of the ELM Headquarters in Chicago, learn more about ELM’s work and raise funds for the organization. Five area congregations (Ebenezer Lutheran, Grace Evanston Lutheran, Holy Trinity, Resurrection and St. Luke Lutheran of Logan Square) and individual supporters gathered for appetizers, beverages and conversation. Dazzling Bouquet committee members (pictured) included chair Timothy Schannep, Tony Garcia, Rev. Jen Rude, Dale Hoiberg, David Foster, Amalia Vagts, Luigi Aguilar, Drew Knobloch, Dick Tribble, Rachael Johnson, and Rev. Erik Christensen.

ELM will host Dazzling Bouquet, an afternoon of socializing with Chicago-area ELM supporters, on Sunday, July 19 from 3:00pm to 4:30pm. The event is at the Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted, Chicago, IL (Chicago’s LGBT Center).

Socializing, dazzling appetizers, summer drinks & a festive live & silent auction!
•Hand made baby quilt
•Organic locally grown feast for four
•Two tickets to a live taping of ‘Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me’ & autographed items
•Unique pastoral services from some of Chicago’s leading GLBT Lutheran pastors

Tickets are $35-$50 per person.

RSVP or Questions? Please contact Rachael Johnson 773-235-0610 or operations@elm.org

Earlier this month, Pastor Erik Christensen (ELM Co-Chair) was elected by members of the Central Conference of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod to serve as their dean. Pastor Erik serves as lead pastor of St. Luke’s Lutheran Church of Logan Square.

According to the synod’s constitution, deans serve to assist the conference with goalsetting, build and maintain collegial relationships between and among clergy in the conference, and act as a channel for communication between the synod and the local parish.

Pastor Erik shares that the sturggles of many parishes in the Central Conference mirror the struggles he faces at St. Luke’s.

“Many of these congregations face declining membership, rapidly changing communities and the need to proclaim the good news of God’s inclusive, justice-creating love in fresh ways to their neighbors,” writes Christensen.

Pastor Erik is the first ELM-rostered clergy person called to serve in the Metropolitan Chicago Synod, and has been serving St. Luke’s since October, 2006.

In May, we wrote that Pastor Jay Wiesner had been elected by members of the Central Philadelphia conference. At the request of his bishop, Pastor Jay has stepped down from that position, due to his status as an ELM-rostered pastor.

Interested congregations and ministries network call:

This Saturday there will be an Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries conference call for all interested congregations and ministries to network with each other and discover more information about the different ways of supporting ELM. Folks on the call will also be informed of the Covenant for Congregations Affiliating with ELM.

This call is geared toward lay people. This is not a decision-making call; it is an information sharing and relationship building call. It will provide an opportunity for those working in congregations or ministries that have ELM leadership or those who have opened their call process to ELM leadership to have sense of their partnership with one another across the nations.

Call:

Saturday, June 27

9:00 a.m. pacific; 11:00 central and 12:00 noon eastern.

If you would like to join the call, please send an email with your name and congregation or ministry to info@elm.org and we will send you the call-in information.

Thank you!

Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries was blessed by the involvement and commitment of Arnold Tiemeyer.

Arnold passed away Pentecost Sunday, May 31, 2009 from cancer. Arnold served most recently as chair of the East Coast Candidacy Panel and was a devoted supporter of the full inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people called to ordained ministry in the Lutheran church.

We celebrate Arnold’s life and all he did to make the Church a truly welcoming place. We express our sadness and prayers to his partner, Betsy, and their family.

A full obituary can be found here.

-Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries Covenant Circle-