The nation's largest Lutheran denomination lifted a ban on openly gay clergy more than two weeks ago. As congregations of all sizes have had time to consider the move, local reaction has been mixed.

Leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, at their national assembly in Minneapolis, voted to allow congregations to hire homosexuals as clergy as long as they are in committed relationships.

"There hasn't been a lot of reaction here," said the Rev. Merlin Schlichting, pastor of St. Peter Lutheran Church in Dubuque. "I think it's good for people to raise questions instead of raising a storm. There certainly will be more conversations to come."

Nationally, opponents of the change have warned that it could lead some congregations and individuals to split off from the ELCA.

That is one option open to the members of the Lutheran Church of Peace in Platteville, Wis., where the Rev. Jeff Pedersen said, "There are a lot of upset people in our congregation."

The pastor has heard from a number of his congregants who,

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while sensitive to gay and lesbian issues, "feel the ELCA decision goes contrary to what the Bible teaches about morality and marriage."

"I've been counseling people to let the dust settle and see what our options are then. One option is of course to leave the ELCA," he said.

At Bellevue, Iowa's Lutheran church, the Rev. Paul Gammelin and his flock will gather to study the national body's document this fall.

"We will figure out how the policy will affect us and how we should act. We want to be informed before we make any emotional decisions," said Gammelin, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church.

The Rev. Burton Everist, interim pastor of New Hope Lutheran Church in Farley, Iowa, said, "No congregation will be compelled to call a pastor whose gender relationship is not acceptable." The ELCA has "determined to welcome those who bring the diversity of their lives," a decision he admits is divisive. "There are always growing pains, and we need to bear with one another patiently."

The Rev. Duane Larson was on hand for the historic ELCA vote. As president of Wartburg Theological Seminary, he responded to the vote and its consequences.

Larson noted that different approaches to the Bible -- as either the unchanging, inerrant word of God or as a "living conversation" -- often lead to conflict and "differing interpretations about what it means to be the Church." This is such a time for the ELCA, he said, and "division about the decisions ... will not be overcome any time soon."

Wartburg will carefully study the issues to see how they may affect the school's mission, Larson said, so it can continue to produce church leaders who "will lead God's people through this current anxiety to, through and beyond anxieties yet to come."