Words of the day:

"pastoral"
"conscience"
"may"
"but"

The scariest part of this report is Recommendation One, which reads as follows:

Because the God-given mission and communion we share is at least as important as
the issues about which faithful conscience-bound Lutherans find themselves so
decisively at odds, the Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality recommends that
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America concentrate on finding ways to live
together faithfully in the midst of our disagreements.

By approving it, the Churchwide Assembly would, in the words of the commentary, be "declaring that this issue does not have to be church dividing." This would be an absolute and clear victory for a revisionist position, making gay and lesbian rostered ministers and same-sex blessings just one of many ways of "living faithfully." Once a Churchwide Assembly decides that the issue does not have to be church-dividing, the "unity" of the church trumps right doctrine and practice any day.

More on this, I'm sure.