Rev. Reed Lee Pedersen's
Some states have been passing harsher laws against abortion. This has been enacted through trying to officially say a fetus cannot be terminated once there is a heartbeat. In other states like Alabama the law is even stricter with proposed laws that ban abortion all together, no matter the reason and no matter how far along the mother is. All of this leads to the question I have and I feel every member of a church should have: What’s my church’s stance on abortion? The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) released a social statement on Abortion in 1991 which I feel is still current with today. So what does the ELCA have to say about the issue of abortion? For the sake of time I thought I’d go straight to the end of the social statement when it comes to what the ELCA supports in terms of laws. I would encourage you read the whole document, but I will try my best to tie in how the social statement supports its arguments. Here we go! “Laws should be enacted and enforced justly for the preservation and enhancement This church opposes the total lack of regulation on abortion and any legislation that would outlaw abortion in all circumstances The social statement affirms that life is a mysterious gift of God (II. 2 par.), and that the church mourns any loss of life which God created (III. 1 par.). At the same time, the social statement acknowledges, “A developing life in the womb does not have an absolute right to be born, nor does a pregnant woman have an absolute right to terminate a pregnancy.” (I.C.2 par.) An example used to exemplify this point is when a woman’s health is in danger due to pregnancy. The social statement believes it is morally responsible to have an abortion to preserve the life of the woman. (IV.B.2 par.) The social statement affirms that abortion raises significant moral issues at any stage of fetal development, but it also does not make an official stance opposing abortion legally or otherwise when the fetus has yet to reach viability outside of the womb. It is only at the moment when a child can survive outside of the womb (currently considered to be 22 weeks) that the social statement makes this stance: “This church opposes ending intrauterine life when a fetus is developed enough to live outside a uterus with the aid of reasonable and necessary technology. If a pregnancy needs to be interrupted after this point, every reasonable and necessary effort should be made to support this life, unless there are lethal fetal abnormalities indicating that the prospective newborn will die very soon.” (IV.B.5 par.) The viability clause would oppose the many states which have tried or succeeded in introducing measures to ban abortions as early as 6 weeks into the pregnancy (e.g. Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, South Caroline, Tennessee). The stance in the quote above definitely opposes Alabama’s current attempt to make all abortion illegal. This church opposes laws that prevent access to information about all options available to women faced with unintended pregnancies and laws that deny access to safe and affordable services for morally justifiable abortions; The social statement supports adoption over abortion (V.A.2 par.) at all stages of life, but it also believes that all individuals should be properly taught about all of their options. As a church we may push for adoption, but we are called as a people loved by God to love the people no matter their choice of whether or not to terminate a pregnancy (IV.3 par.). The social statement also pushes the government to aid and support women who seek to terminate pregnancies that occur when both parties did not participate willingly in sexual intercourse (e.g. rape, incest, oppressive cultural upbringing). Again, while there is always a push to minimize abortion and promote adoption, the social statement makes it clear that someone inability to afford an abortion should affect their ability to have one. This church opposes mandatory or coerced abortion or sterilization I think this speaks for itself. This church opposes laws that prevent couples from practicing contraception While the social statement affirms the appropriate context for sexual intercourse is marriage (III.6 par.), it also affirms the importance of sex education within the Christian faith. “Prevention of unintended pregnancies is crucial in lessening the number of abortions. In addition to efforts within church and home, this church supports appropriate forms of sex education in schools, community pregnancy prevention programs, and parenting preparation classes. We recognize the need for contraceptives to be available, for voluntary sterilization to be considered, and for research and development of new forms of contraception.” (V.A) (Please note: By promoting the teaching and use of contraception to reduce unintended pregnancies, this statement is indirectly opposing the use of abortion as contraception.) This church opposes laws that are primarily intended to harass those contemplating or deciding for an abortion I think this very clearly goes against the current law seeking to be passed in Alabama. I think it also goes against states that try to make it so hard for the woman to get an abortion and so they have to cross state lines just have an abortion. Conclusion When it comes to abortion and its debate please remember this: “This church encourages its members to participate in the public debate on abortion in a spirit of respect for those with whom they differ.” (V.D.3 par.) This issue is ongoing and very present in today. As we talk about it together please remember to be civil and loving. Please remember the hurt with which someone may feel when it comes to this issue. All life is sacred. This includes the lives of the people you differ with when it comes to abortion. Point to Ponder
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This past Sunday was Good Shepherd Sunday. Jesus equates us to sheep. “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10:27-28) This got me randomly wondering if that means our Christian spirit animal is a sheep. I am not too fond of sheep. In growing up with them I found them to be quite dumb and a pain in the rear end to show at the Greene County Fair. Inspired by my lackluster feeling towards sheep I sought out to find my spirit animal. Identifying a spirit animal is based off a religion called animism. This path I am going down is not asking people to turn away from our one and true Savior, Jesus Christ. I am not trying to turn us all into heretics. Instead, I want us to think about what animal represents our personality and life and how that affects the way we worship God and share God’s love with the world. Now there are a lot of websites like the one I visited which talk about spirit animals. They have a list of all the spiritual animals and they even have a fun quiz to help you figure out what your spirit animal might be. The questions range from social habits to personality traits. Upon completing my quiz I found out my spirit animal is a hummingbird. The website has this to say about what that means, “The hummingbird spirit animal symbolizes the enjoyment of life and lightness of being. Those who have the hummingbird as a totem are invited to enjoy the sweetness of life, lift up negativity wherever it creeps in and express love more fully in their daily endeavors. This fascinating bird is capable of the most amazing feats despite its small size, such as traveling great distances or being able to fly backwards. By affinity with the hummingbird, those who have this bird as totem may be encouraged to develop their adaptability and resiliency while keeping a playful and optimistic outlook.” Now you could read this as some sort of pseudo-paganism religion. I find it more interesting to think about this in light of my relationship with God. Perhaps, as a hummingbird I am called to share God’s love through lightening the mood of others. Maybe there are some great things God has in store for me to do for the world for God’s sake. Whatever it is, being a hummingbird could mean I have the ability to change into whatever the Holy Spirit needs me to be for God. Points to Ponder: Take a spirit animal quiz.
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AuthorPastor Reed is a first call pastor at Augustana Lutheran Church in Andover, Illinois. Archives
July 2019
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