Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries (ELM), founded on October 31, 2007, is an organization committed to the full participation of persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities in the life and ministry of the Lutheran church.

History and background

Lutheran Lesbian and Gay Ministries was founded in 1990. The Extraordinary Candidacy Project was founded in 1993. ECP credentialed openly LGBT seminarians, candidates, ordained and commissioned ministers that were preparing for professional vocations in independent Lutheran parishes and congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The ELM roster currently has 34 ministers, 2 individuals approved for call and 3 seminarians. Discipline for congregations that call pastors from the ELM roster has varied throughout the ELCA. Members of the ELM Roster are/were members of the ELCA and Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. On January 1, 2009, ELM opened the official international office in Chicago, Illinois.

Extraordinary Ordinations

Rooted in the extraordinary ordinations that were performed by Martin Luther and the reformers as recorded in the Lutheran Confessions, 18 Extraordinary Ordinations have taken place to date. These ordinations were later validated by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America when the extraordinarily ordained pastors were brought into the church through a "Rite of Reconciliation." The first rite was held in San Francisco with the "SPS7," when the Revs. Jeff Johnson, Paul Brenner, Megan Rohrer, Dawn Roginski, Ross Merkel, Craig Minich and Sharron Stalkfleet were received into the ELCA. Currently all the extraordinarily ordained pastors have been received into the ELCA except for Jay Wilson.

Passing of the stole

Each ordination since the Rev. Anita Hill has received a traveling stole: The red stole was presented to Pastor Anita Hill by the Rev. Lynne Lorenzen at Hill's ordination on April 28, 2001. Lorenzen had received it from the Rev. Rebecca Hostetler, a member of St. Paul-Reformation Lutheran Church and a lesbian who left the ELCA roster at her bishop's request when he learned she was in a committed relationship. Lynne passed the stole to Hill with the request that she pass it to the next ordained from the Extraordinary Candidacy Project (now, Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries) roster. The stole passed through numerous ministers throughout the years. The Rev. Dr. Megan Rohrer wore the stole in an “l am Beautiful” video for Cosmo magazine, then passed it on the Rev. Noah Hepler on the Netflix show Queer Eye (Season 5, Episode 1).