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On the day of the vote, CCM opponents Kathleen Anderson and Robert Lewis, pastors of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Rockville Center, New York, said they "hold this vote as not binding upon ourselves, our consciences, and our ministry," and invited other pastors to join them in the statement.

The assembly also voted on full communion with the 49,000-member Moravian Church in America. Full communion with the Moravian Church sailed through the assembly, after minimal discussion, on a vote of 1,007 to 11. Moravians accept the historic creeds but, unlike Lutherans, place no strong emphasis on creeds or confessions.

CRITICIZING CELIBACY: As Lutherans debated homosexuality, liberals criticized the church's expectation that clergy with a homosexual orientation abstain from sexual relations. "It is the equivalent of saying that overweight people may be ordained, but may not eat," said Betsy Liljeberg.

Jay McDivitt, vice president of ELCA's Lutheran Youth Organization, said he has felt a longtime call to be a Lutheran pastor.

"If I perhaps fall in love with a man, which is a definite possibility, I would be prevented from serving the church I love," McDivitt said. "This hurts me deeply, be cause it is wrong."

The assembly overwhelmingly accepted a resolution, 820 to 159, that up holds ELCA's current policies on noncelibate homosexual clergy, but encourages continued discussion. The resolution says there is no "arbitrarily set timetable for concluding the discussion" and that ELCA must "await a time of clearer understanding provided by the Lord of the Church."

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October 4 1999, Vol. 43, No. 11