Beliefs of Grace Lutheran Church
The Blessing of Same-Sex Unions

The current teaching of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC)  on human sexuality, marriage, and family, is set forth in a document entitled  SEXUALITY AND FAMILY, A Statement on Sex, Marriage, and Family. Adopted by the Fifth Biennial Convention of the Lutheran Church in America Minneapolis, Minnesota, June 25-July 2, 1970 (the “Policy”), the Policy teaches the following concerning the whole topic of human sexuality, marriage and family in our changing world:

Sex, marriage and family are gifts of God in which to rejoice. Their essential goodness cannot be obscured by any crisis of our time. As traditional moral codes are being challenged, there is a profound struggle to formulate bases of ethical judgment which have meaning for contemporary men and women. Powerful forces of social change, joined with discoveries in the medical and life sciences, influence all aspects of human existence. The church is concerned not only with specific issues and controversies, but with the basic Christian understanding of human sexuality.

The Policy teaches the following concerning the institution of marriage:

Christian faith affirms marriage as a covenant of fidelity--a dynamic, lifelong commitment of one man and one woman in a personal and sexual union. …..Marriage is not simply a legal transaction which can be broken when the conditions under which it was entered no longer exist. It is an unconditional relationship, a total commitment based on faithful trust. This union embodies God's loving purpose to create and enrich life. As the needs of the partners change, the covenant of fidelity must be renewed by God's grace and continually reaffirmed by husband and wife.

Marriage is ordained by God as a structure of the created order. Thus the sanction of civil law and public recognition are important and beneficial in marriage, as checks against social injustice and personal sin. The marriage covenant, therefore, should be certified by a legal contract, and Christian participants should seek the blessings of the church.

The relationship between husband and wife is likened in Ephesians 5:21 23 to the relationship between Christ and the church. This depicts a communion of total persons, each of them living for the other. As with the covenant between Christ and the church, the promise of fidelity is fundamental. Therefore, Christians regard marriage as a primary setting in which to live out their calling from the Lord.

The Policy teaches the following about homosexuality and homosexual relationships:

Scientific research has not been able to provide conclusive evidence regarding the causes of homosexuality. Nevertheless, homosexuality is viewed biblically as a departure from the heterosexual structure of God's creation. Persons who engage in homosexual behavior are sinners only as are all other persons--alienated from God and neighbor. However, they are often the special and undeserving victims of prejudice and discrimination in law, law enforcement, cultural mores, and congregation life. In relation to this area of concern, the sexual behavior of freely consenting adults in private is not an appropriate subject for legislation or police action. It is essential to see such persons as entitled to understanding and justice in church and community.

The congregation at Grace Lutheran Church believes that the Policy, which is based on God's Word and supported by the Lutheran Confessions, teaches that it is the mission of the church to bless, in God’s place and stead, the union of one man and one woman as husband and wife in a lifelong committed relationship of love and fidelity, and thereafter to encourage and nurture that relationship through the couple's participation in the life of the church, and this congregation in particular. Participation in the life of the church, in hearing the Gospel proclaimed, and in receiving the sacraments, permits the couple to experience the sinful aspects of their marital relationships, confess their sinfulness, repent, seek God’s forgiveness  and ask God  for a new and willing heart to live together as husband and wife in a way that pleases God. We believe that God can transform married couples and make our marriages pleasing to God.  

We believe that neither God’s Word nor the Lutheran Confessions authorizes the church on earth to bless same gender unions. However, we believe that God calls us to welcome gays and lesbians in our midst for worship and participation in the life of our congregation. It is in the context of the hearing of the Gospel and the receipt of the sacraments that true repentance can occur and the lives of gays and lesbians can be transformed and conformed to God’s loving purpose for the expression of human sexuality.   

© Grace Lutheran Church Kelowna 2006
Grace Lutheran Church is a member congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada