CHICAGO — The nation’s largest Lutheran denomination has named a respected seminary professor to lead the denomination through a four-year study on homosexuality that could shape the church’s positions on same-sex unions and gay clergy.
James M. Childs Jr. will direct the study for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Childs will be on leave from his position as a professor of theology and ethics at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio.
When the ELCA met last August in Indianapolis, delegates authorized the four-year study and asked for a social statement on human sexuality.
Delegates opted for the study after rejecting a proposal to remove the church’s ban on noncelibate gay clergy. A progress report will be given to the church when it meets again next year, and a final report and recommendations will be given in 2005.
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