IAM advocates that South African religious communities become more welcoming and affirming towards LGBTQ people. IAM works as a catalyst, interacting both with the religious faith communities and the gay community, building bridges through its programming and projects. IAM was an Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries grant recipient for a number of years and has strong ties to the Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries community as an ally in the United States.

The evening will include a status update of the movement for inclusion and affirmation of LGBTQ people in Christian churches and general society in South Africa and elsewhere in southern Africa. The video “Created In the Image of God” will also be shown. For more information contact: office(at)stlukesLS.org.

2012 Proclaim Retreat

By Amalia Vagts, ELM Executive Director

I am bursting to tell you about the Proclaim gathering last week.  Wow. A flood of images and words are coming to me as I try to convey to you the experience of being with these 70 LGBTQ rostered leaders, seminarians and their families for four days of reflection, learning, worship and community-building.

It was marvelous.

There will be more stories and photos in the coming days. For now, I want to share that the Proclaim community is filled with gifted and committed leaders who are ready to take risks for the Gospel–to boldly proclaim God’s unwavering message of fearless welcome to all.

Pastor Aaron Decker shared these words when reflecting on the retreat: “Gathering into this community is like a second coming out.  Many years ago, I began the process of accepting and loving myself for who I am.  In that, I knew, mentally, that God loved me.  But at the Proclaim retreat, I really felt for the first time that God’s love was for me, all of me, every part of my being.  The Spirit is truly active in this community, and She is transforming lives!”

Aaron and others shared their experience of a deepened sense of call and a commitment to more boldly proclaim God’s word to all people.

You support this work through your contributions to Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries. Every dollar makes experiences like the Proclaim retreat a reality–and in turn you  are affecting ministry throughout the church.  Thank you to our wonderful supporters for making this happen! We give thanks especially to the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation for their generous support of the Proclaim program. Learn more about Proclaim by visiting www.elm.org/proclaim.

Mike has been a long time supporter and leadership volunteer for ELM and its predecessor bodies. The Board and staff enthusiastically welcome him to this new role.

Mike writes, “Since 1990, my spouse Judy and I have actively supported ELM’s mission and work.  By our personal experience, prayer and study we are convinced that the ministers and ministries of ELM proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ compassionately and courageously.” He previously served as a board member and co-chair of Lutheran Lesbian & Gay Ministries and Call Process Coordinator for ELM. Mike was elected to a three-year term on the board and will share the Co-Chair role with the Rev. Jen Nagel.

Mike currently serves as senior pastor at Lutheran Church of the Reformation on Capitol Hill and resides in Washington, D.C. with his family.  Prior to his current call, Mike served as president of Lutheran Volunteer Corps for over six years. Ordained in 1995, he also served congregations in New York and California.

I have had the privilege of working with and for youth and young adults in the church for most of my professional career. It was my ministry and devotion to caring and advocating for youth that kept me from being more fully engaged in working with organizations that were focused on justice issues related to the welcome and inclusion of LGBTQ people in the church, the ELCA specifically. My call to youth ministry kept me too busy, so I felt.  I worked very hard to stay focused on the youth groups and young leaders that I had the privilege of journeying with in ministry.

Of course, I knew there were organizations like Lutheran Lesbian & Gay Ministries and the Extraordinary Candidacy Project who were working on behalf of the excluded, myself included, and who were making it possible for LGBTQ voices to be represented at the table.  It was not long after the merger and creation of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries that I began to realize that some of the LGBTQ youth that I had journeyed with into their adulthood and who were now discerning vocational calls as adults, might be called to ordained ministry and wouldn’t be able to be fully themselves, as God intended, and be a pastor in the ELCA at the same time.

While I am not called to ordained ministry, I had come to realize that my passion for youth justice meant that I needed to offer myself to the work that would help open the door for their journey to ordained ministry and for a greater welcome in the ELCA. I was invited soon after this epiphany to serve on the board of directors for Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries, and have been blessed to be a part of a ministry and movement that has changed the Church and has changed me, for the better.

“It is a privilege to serve with all of the folks who have been doing this work for many, many years.  I do this work and support  ELM to honor them and to prepare for those who will come after us.  Wado (Thank you).

Vance Blackfox serves on the Board of Directors for ELM and is the Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee.  Vance, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, lives in Chicago and is a student at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

Joel Workin (left) and Paul Jenkins

The 2012 application for the Joel Workin Scholarship is now available. This award comes with a scholarship for LGBTQ seminarians who embody Joel’s passion for justice and faith in their lives and ministry. In addition, the Scholar may be invited throughout the year to be involved with various ELM activities. This award is open to all LGBTQ seminarians who are members of Proclaim.  Click here for a Proclaim membership form.  It comes with a $1,000 scholarship which may be used for tuition, educational costs, spiritual and professional development, and candidacy expenses.

The Joel R. Working Memorial Scholarship Endowment Committee includes Joel’s friends and former classmates, the Rev. Jeff R. Johnson and Greg Egertson; friend and former co-worker, Michael Nelson;  first Workin recipient, the Rev. Jen Rude; and ELM Executive Director, Amalia Vagts.  We warmly invite you to apply or encourage eligible persons to do so.  Go here for the application.

The application deadline is Friday, May 4 and all materials must be submitted electronically this year to Director@elm.org. We will announce the recipients May 29th (on Joel’s birthday).

For more information about Joel go here.

If you would like to make a gift designated for the Joel R. Workin Endowment Fund, please contact Amalia  Vagts, ELM Executive Director at director@elm.org or 563-382-6277.  Please consider making a planned gift from your estate to this fund.

Anita Hill currently serves as a pastor to St. Paul-Reformation Lutheran church in Minnesota. Anita was extraordinarily ordained in 2001 and was a member of the historic Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries roster. Her final Sunday at St. Paul-Reformation Lutheran Church will be April 29th.

The Rev. Dr.  Robyn Provis has been called as pastor at Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church in north Minneapolis, MN. Robyn served at All God’s Children Metropolitan Community Church in Minneapolis and completed a one-year appointment as Interim Senior Pastor for MCC Austin in Austin, Texas. Robyn was received on to the ELCA roster in 2011. She lives in Richfield with her partner, Kathy Luebbe. Robyn is a member of Proclaim, the professional community for publicly-identified LGBTQ Lutheran rostered leaders and seminarians.

“I am forever grateful to the public ministries and activism of so many. To go from a fear that I would never see full inclusion in my lifetime, to being called to a heritage church that isn’t yet RIC, I am reminded that God has a vast capacity for joyful surprise!”

Darin & Bradley

Proclaim member the Rev. Bradley Schmeling has accepted a call to lead St. Paul’s largest ELCA congregation. On March 25th, the congregation of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church has voted overwhelmingly to call Pastor Bradley Schmeling as its new senior pastor. He will join the Gloria Dei pastoral staff in mid June. Bradley made national headlines for being put on trial by the Lutheran Church for being in a relationship with his partner Darin Easler, also a Lutheran minister. Bradley and Darin are both members of Proclaim.

Bradley shared these words about his new call,  ”I always knew that God would lead the church to change the policy and open ministry to everyone with a heart to serve.  I’m just not sure I imagined that a move to Minnesota would be part of God’s plan, too.  While I’m very sad about leaving St. John’s, I’m excited about ministry at Gloria Dei.  It’s a great church with a love of tradition and a heart for social justice. ”

Gloria Dei Lutheran Church has about 2,300 members, making it the largest ELCA congregation in St. Paul. Raja David, Gloria Dei’s call committee chair said that, “The people of Gloria Dei told the committee what type of pastor we needed, and Pastor Bradley aligns with those needs in every way. We are honored by his acceptance of our congregation’s call.” The press release Gloria Dei wrote can be found here.

(L-R): Tony Garcia, Rev. Daniel Ruen, Rev. Jen Rude, Rev. Deb Derylak, Tim Schannep

On Sunday, March 18, the Rev. Jen Rude was received onto the ELCA Clergy Roster in a service held at Grace Lutheran Church in Evanston, IL.   Rev. Rude was ordained extraordinarily on November 17, 2007 at Resurrection Lutheran Church in Chicago. She has received a call from the Metropolitan Chicago Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America as pastor at the Night Ministry.  Bp. Wayne Miller presided at the service.

Like the 18 other people who were extraordinarily ordained, Jen was barred from serving in the ELCA for many years because of her sexual orientation. Thanks to supporters of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries and the members and leadership of Resurrection Lutheran, Jen was able to follow her call to ministry and continue on the path that led to her current ministry with homeless LGBTQ youth on the streets of Chicago. Read more about the historic ELM roster here. 

The Sunday afternoon service included a rousing sermon from the Rev. Dan Ruen, Pastor at Grace. You can listen to it here.   Lutheran blogger Obie Holmen attended the service and you can read his reflections on the service here. 

Many parts of the service were organized by Micah 6:8, a group at Grace that makes clear the congregation’s welcome to all people, especially the LGBTQ community.  This included a beautiful reception hosted by members Tony Garcia and Tim Schannep.

Cary Bass, Brenda Bos & Edwin Weber

Christ Church Lutheran, San Francisco, CA: Cary Bass Internship

This grant provides support for Cary Bass’ internship at Christ Church Lutheran in San Francisco, CA. Cary is a student at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley. The Rev. Steve Sabin is his internship supervisor.

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Santa Monica, CA: Brenda Bos Internship

This grant provides support for Brenda Bos’ seminary internship at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Santa Monica. Brenda is a student at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley. The Rev. Jim Boline is her internship supervisor.

St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church, Florida: Edwin Weber Internship

This grant provides support for Charles Edwin Weber ‘s seminary internship at St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church in Tallahassee, Florida.