One night, I was sitting in my Lutheran church’s sanctuary pondering a very small but significant fact: Several members of the church staff were gay.

I could have cared less about this. All the men are fantastic at what they do and are excellent role models. However, it occurred to me the possibility for persecution was very real. It was bothersome that men I knew and respected had to dawn a façade when they woke up every morning.

However, the days of a pointless charade are now over.

Last week, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America voted to remove a ban that barred gays and lesbians in committed relationships from serving in clergy positions. The new act allows ELCA congregations to hire homosexuals in monogamous relationships as ministers. It passed with 55 percent of the delegates support.

Regardless of what the media has to say, the moments of equality in this society are no longer fleeting; they are here to stay. This bold and calculated move by the ELCA hints at a brighter future for everyone involved in the Lutheran church.

“In mainstream Protestant denominations, there has been a shift over the past decade or so toward recognizing the rights of gays and lesbians,” said Dr. Linell Cady, a religious studies professor at ASU. “The clergy themselves are, on the whole, supportive of ordaining gay clergy.”

The acceptance of homosexuals will bring a diverse atmosphere to the Lutheran church. Such an environment is important because our world is constantly changing.

This diversity will bring new talents and ideas to the table, as well.

Not everyone is enthralled about these new ideas though. According to an Aug. 21 article in The New York Times by Michael Luo and Christina Capecchi, 400 conservative Lutheran congregations, who call themselves the Lutheran Core, will be meeting in September.

“Some [congregations] will probably leave. They will say this is too liberal and leave to a more conservative faction [of the church],” Cady said.

A divide will form over this, but sometimes the things that mean the most are what we have to fight hardest for. This generation, more so than any one before it, is being raised blind. We are closer to living in a society that judges people by their actions rather than their sexual orientation, ethnicity or gender, among other things.

As we graduate from college and go into the real world, we must take these lessons of tolerance with us. If we walk off this campus with nothing less than a respect for people who are different than us, the professors at ASU will still have done their job.

Reach Andrew at andrew.hedlund@asu.edu.