I have to admit I'm not at my best so this will be very short (I have bronchitis). 

There's a new Lutheran Bishop in town..  And he is neither friend nor foe to the homosexual community, so he says.

Bishop-elect Kurt Kusserow of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America plans to honor a request from the denomination's national assembly to refrain from removing gay ministers who have partners, at least until the church issues a new policy on sexual ethics in 2009.

"I think that already reflects the hearts of most of our bishops," said Bishop-elect Kusserow, who attended part of last week's assembly in Chicago.

"There are pastors and members of our churches who are involved across the board in all sorts of things that are questionable in terms of church practice. What it means to be a pastor is to work with people in their difficulties. ... It is not a wise pastor who goes looking for other people's faults to weed them out."

Essentially, they are in a holding pattern until 2009 which does allow the church to continue to dialogue without current pastors living under the fear of being evicted.

Well, it is nice to see a religious leader acknowledge that there are worse things a Lutheran could do, than go with a boy or two, even if the parish-hood, thinks their trashy and no good ... but there are worse things they could do!