Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries

ELM stands in solidarity with our siblings of color

This year’s Pride is not a time of joy — it is a time of anger, mourning, and remembering that our community’s journey toward justice was ignited at the hands of our black LGBTQIA+ siblings who are, once again, rioting, rebelling, confronting, and destroying property to declare their lives matter. (to read Executive Director, the Rev. Amanda Gerken-Nelson’s full blog post, click here.)

The staff and Board of ELM are working to build our awareness of and interrupt the systems of oppression that kill the spirits of our siblings of color.

Not acknowledging racism harms our community in an infinite number of ways and working for queer inclusion alone is racist. It is ableist. It assumes there are no other differences or identities of our people which might be harmed by the systems at play in the church or our communities, and we know this is not the case. Kimberle Crenshaw gave voice to the reality that our lives are lived at the intersections of identities that interact, overlay, complicate, and exacerbate one another. 

If we do not do our part to liberate all of the identities our society systematically marginalizes, then there is no true justice.

This Pride Month, join ELM in declaring “Black Lives Matter!“