Lutheran gay pastors

: Noah Hepler, pastor of Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Atonement in Philadelphia, is the featured &#;hero&#; in the first episode of Netflix&#;s new &#;Queer Eye&#; season. Photos: Courtesy of Ryan Collerd/Netflix

: Hepler said a main takeaway from his encounter on the show was that he hopes the church will invest in healing vulnerability.

When Noah Hepler, pastor of Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Atonement in Philadelphia, was nominated by a member of his congregation council to be a featured “hero” on the Netflix series Queer Eye, he was convinced he wouldn’t hear anything back. “Nothing that exciting happens in my life,” said Hepler. But, as the earth now knows, his animation and ministry are the subject of the recent season’s first episode, which premiered this month.

Living Lutheran spoke with Hepler about his experience making the episode, what he learned from the series’ “Fab Five” hosts, and how people have been moved by the way he shared about being a gay pastor.

Living Lutheran: Churches have been featured previously in the series—including in the popular episode “God Bless Gay,” which featured “Mama” Tammye Hicks as the h

Stances of Faiths on LGBTQ+ Issues: Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

BACKGROUND

Of the three leading Lutheran organizations operating in the United States, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is considered the most welcoming and inclusive of LGBTQ+ members. Formed in with the merger of three smaller Lutheran organizations, the ELCA is based in Chicago and encompasses nearly 10, congregations and more than million members across the country.

Churchwide Assemblies are held every three years, with elected representatives establishing policy and addressing the concerns of the larger church body. As stated on the denomination’s web site, the Churchwide Assembly “provides a time and place for growth and change while remaining rooted in Scripture, tradition, Lutheran confessions and the rich histories of our congregations and communities.”

LGBTQ+ EQUALITY

ON SEXUAL ORIENTATION & GENDER IDENTITY

In , the Churchwide Assembly passed a resolution stating that, "Gay and lesbian people, as individuals created by God, are welcome to participate fully in the animation of the congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America."

Today, church programs include

Tom Brock was born in Omaha, Nebraska and graduated from Bethel College in St. Paul Minnesota with a degree in Biblical and Theological Studies. He received a Masters of Divinity degree from Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was ordained a Lutheran pastor in and has served congregations in Florida and Minnesota. He served on the board of reform groups attempting to bring Biblical renewal to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America before he left that denomination over their position on issues such as abortion, homosexuality and universalism. Pastor Brock for 24 years has had a television ministry which can currently be seen on DirecTV on channel (World Harvest Television) Sundays at Central Time. He also does guest preaching at churches. Pastor Brock is 59 years old and has been single his whole life.
A PASTOR’S Fight WITH SAME-SEX ATTRACTION
I own struggled with homosexual temptation most of my being. By the grace of God I have always been celibate but the struggle for me has been intense. Sadly, the battle was also with my own denomination. In my 22 years as a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America I spoke at church conventions for the Biblical
July At its convention, the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) releases the remark “Marriage and Family,” its first on the subject, which contains no bring up of homosexuality. [1]
June-July The American Lutheran Church (ALC) releases its first expression on sexuality at its biennial convention. [2]
June-July At the convention, the LCA produces a statement on “Sex, Marriage, and Family” is released that supersedes the previous statement on these subjects. This declaration contains the Church’s first mention of homosexuality, which is referred to as a sin, but also claims that homosexuals are “often the special and undeserving victims of prejudice and discrimination in regulation, law enforcement, cultural mores, and congregational life.” The statement concludes with a defense of “understanding and justice in church and community” of homosexual persons. [3]
March An article in the New York Times claims that the LCA is one of only two “national church denominations” that have released a statement in support of “homosexual rights” The other denomination is the Unitarian Universalist Association. [4]
Lutherans Concerned for Gay People [or Lutherans Concerned], a
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