Split on Gay Ordination Threatens Lutheran Charity Network

A division over gay rights among America’s Lutherans could cause a shakeup in one of the country’s largest networks of social-service providers, according to the Associated Press.

The conservative Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod this week said doctrinal divisions have made cooperation with the larger, more liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America “difficult if not impossible.”

The synod issued 15 pages of guidelines for its members to determine if they should continue working with the Evangelical Church, which approved ordination of gays and lesbians in 2009.

The two groups jointly provide services such as adoption and humanitarian relief through networks such as Lutheran Services in America, which includes more than 300 organizations with a combined income exceeding $16-billion.

“We recognize that this is a difficult issue. It’s complicated,” said the Rev. Herb Mueller, first vice president of the St. Louis synod. “We’re trying to take a nuanced and caring approach to all of these situations that’s also faithful to what the Bible teaches on these issues.”