What is the content of the first resolution about bearing one another’s burdens and “bound conscience?
The assembly’s first action was to vote by a 78 percent majority to require that, in the implementation of any resolutions on this matter, the ELCA would commit itself “to bear one another’s burdens, love the neighbor and respect the bound consciences” of all. This sets a distinctive commitment for how the ELCA will move forward together, as was exemplified by the discussion at the assembly. As Dr. Ishmael Noko, the general secretary of The Lutheran World Federation observed during his speech, the members of the assembly spoke about these controversial issues with dignity and respect for each other in “a way that brought honor” to the ELCA and its witness to the world.
