All those who can affirm our vows, and who can accept all others who affirm these vows as their brothers and sisters, are welcome in the Order of Saint Luke.
It is the practice of the Order to receive the full ministry of both female and male presbyters and deacons, and for men and women to participate fully in all liturgies of the Order as allowed by their faith tradition.
(Resolved by the General Council, May 2011.)
Commentary on the Statement
The Order of Saint Luke® is an ecumenical order. Our roots are in the United Methodist tradition, but we welcome all those who are willing to take the vows of the order, pray the liturgies of our order, and live in covenant community with all those in the order.
We are not a caucus group for church politics. We do encourage all churches to celebrate their liturgy well. We do magnify the sacraments and desire all to have access to frequent communion. We do not participate in intra-denominational issues.
As a group, our theology skews towards the Wesleyan variety of English protestantism. Sharing in this perspective is not a requirement for membership in the order. There are Catholics, Baptists, Lutherans, Congregationalists, Mennonites, and Presbyterians in our membership and leadership. We almost never rehash the old theological battles, we know where each other stands and we love each other in our differences. Diversity of thought is an asset not a hinderance to our community.
Women do preside at the celebration of eucharist in the Order of Saint Luke’s shared worship. Women are in the highest leadership positions. If you cannot accept each member’s ordination status as fully valid we are not the community for you.
We do have lesbian, gay, transgender and intersex members of the order, some in leadership positions. This is our community and anyone who can profess the vows and is willing to be in community with everyone else who professes the vows are welcome. If you are unwilling to be in community with LGBTQIA+ folks we are not the community for you.
Our community is international. We have members all around the world who speak many different languages. Our members come from many peoples and cultures. We believe that all people are created in the image of God, are loved by God, and are worthy of respect and dignity. If you hold that certain “races” are above others we are not the community for you.