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NEW YORK, U.S.A.,May 13, 2003: A Lutheran pastor who was suspended by his church for praying publicly at Yankee Stadium with clergymen of other faiths, including a Hindu priest, after the September 2001 terrorist attacks has been reinstated by a church panel. In an order dated April 10 and released yesterday, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod’s dispute resolution panel cleared the Rev. David H. Benke, the New York leader for the conservative Protestant denomination. Pastor Benke holds a position that is the Lutheran equivalent of bishop, and his suspension followed his appearance at an interfaith service 12 days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks with a Muslim imam, a rabbi, Cardinal Edward M. Egan, and Sikh and Hindu holy men. After the televised event, 18 pastors and three congregations filed complaints. “To participate with pagans in an interfaith service and, additionally, to give the impression that there might be more than one God, is an extremely serious offense,” the Rev. Wallace Schulz, second vice president of the Missouri Synod, said when Pastor Benke was suspended last June.



In his appearance at Yankee Stadium, Pastor Benke and the other clergymen shared the stage with Oprah Winfrey, Bette Midler and several elected officials. Pastor Benke’s participation had been approved by the Rev. Gerald Kieschnick, national president of the 2.6 million member Missouri Synod, based in the St. Louis suburb of Kirkwood. During the service, Pastor Benke addressed his “brothers and sisters,” saying, “The strength we have is the power of love. Take the hand of the one next to you now and join me in prayer on this field of dreams turned into God’s house of prayer,” he said. To his credit, Pastor Benke has refused to apologize for his participation in the Yankee Stadium service.

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