Lutheran Bishop Ordains Lesbian

Declaring he could no longer stand on the sidelines, a Los Angeles Lutheran bishop has defied his church’s constitution and joined in ordaining a lesbian as a minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

The Rev. Paul W. Egertson, bishop of the church’s Southern California West Synod, headquartered in Los Angeles, joined other ministers in St. Paul, Minn., last week in ordaining Anita Hill.

Egertson, who has a gay son, has long been supportive of full inclusion of gay men and lesbians in the life of his church. But he has refrained from ordaining any of them because of his role as a bishop.

In a letter to the presiding bishop of his church, Egertson said he had sought to make the church more inclusive by working within its institutions and laws. But he said he could do so no longer.

“I can no longer advocate this cause with credibility from a position of personal safety,” he wrote Presiding Bishop H. George Anderson, a Los Angeles native.

Egertson said he does not know what disciplinary action might be taken against him, but has been in touch with Anderson since the ordination at St. Paul Reformation Lutheran Church. Penalties against the local congregation could range from censure to expulsion from the denomination.

John Brooks, a spokesman for Anderson, said Anderson had asked Egertson to reconsider his decision before the ordination. Brooks said Anderson is investigating the matter and plans to speak to Egertson again. He said no deadline has been set for addressing the issue.