The Metropolitan New York Synod (MNYS) held its annual assembly may 15-16. Resolutions regarding Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust, and Report and Recommendations for Ministry, recently completed by the Taskforce for ELCA Studies on Sexuality, were considered.

The assembly voted by a comfortable plurality to ask this summer’s Churchwide Assembly of the ELCA to “find ways to allow congregations and synods that choose to do so to recognize, support, and hold publicly accountable lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships as a necessary first step toward [clergy] rostering;” “find a way for people in publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships to serve as rostered leaders of this church;” and create “structured flexibility in decision making to allow, in appropriate situations, people in publicly accountable, monogamous, lifelong, same-gender relationships to be approved for the rosters of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.”

This is a very positive step forward for our Synod. Moreover, the MNYS assembly managed to discuss the resolutions with a degree of civility and mutual compassion that was heartening. I pray that the same will hold true this summer in Minneapolis.