Author: Sharei Green

Join us. Give in support of faithful & fabulous LGBTQ+ people whose public witness as pastors, deacons, and seminarians is enriching and transforming our church. 

“This is a story about a God who shows up to stand with them, with us.  This is a God who not only understands the depth of our joys and the immensity of our heartaches, but who also turns them into opportunities for us to touch one another, to be touched by God.  This is a God who is very queer indeed.” – Elizabeth Edman, Queer Virtue

by Christephor Gilbert
Communications and Development Coordinator

Do you wonder why you are seeing the word “queer” more these days? Do you wonder why it matters that we have pastors and deacons who are LGBTQ+?

My own, embodied identity tells me that there are beautiful gifts that LGBTQ+ persons bring to the theological table, gifts that make them perfect to serve God and church because of their LGBTQ+ identity, not in spite of that identity.  How do we talk about what we have to offer the church, those skills and ways of being that have been shaped in and through the reality of queer joy, pain, and transformation? 

It was with this question in the front of my mind that I discovered Elizabeth M. Edman’s 2016 book Queer Virtue:  What LGBTQ People Know About Life and Love and How it Can Revitalize Christianity.

Queer  ↔  Christian

Queer – 1.  An umbrella term for the LGBTQ+ community; 2. transgressive action through reclamation of a historically negative term for the LGBTQ+ community; 3. the process by which binary boundaries are erased, the work of the academic discipline known as queer theory.

—Rev. Patrick Cheng, PhD, Radical Love

Virtue – 1. Conformity to a standard of right:  morality; 2. a particular moral excellence; 3. a commendable quality.

—The Miriam Webster Dictionary

Recounting her own queer narrative as a lesbian, Episcopal, priest, Edman weaves together personal reflection, ecclesial experience, and queer theological reflection to make two ethical moves.  First, to “lift up the moral witness of queer life,” in order to show, once and for all, the queer people are justified in their place at the Christian table; and second, that progressive Christianity “will look to queerness as a lens for vivifying our expressions of faith, both personal and corporate, theological and liturgical” (p. 11). 

There are real lessons queers learn, in coming out, building community, and living authentic lives, that are moral lessons for all of the Christian community.

Dividing her text into two parts, Edman begins by considering just what it is that makes queer folk made for this work of the church, giving an overview of many of the authors and ideas in the history of both queer theory and queer theology.  The queer journey unfolds as a path on which we have some important stops to make:  identity, risk, touch, scandal, and adoption. 

We are built for this

Because we wrestle with our own identities, daring to be true to ourselves and move into that liminal space between human bodies in intimacy; because we face daily obstacles to our humanness that put us on the knife’s-edge between pride and shame; and because we ultimately live our lives in created communities that call us “not to respectability but to authenticity” (p. 100)—these are just some of the reasons why we are built for this work of God.  These are the underpinnings of our lives as Christians as well!

In part two, Edman turns the model upside down and shows how those things that queer folk get really good at—pride, coming out, authenticity, hospitality—are ways of being through which all Christians can live earnestly a life where we can “demand integrity within ourselves, require justice in our dealings with one another, and look to the margins to address individual/communal/global degradation and suffering” (p. 165). 

Ultimately, she does what she sets out to do with the work:  point to a faith tradition that is “inherently liminal, inherently queer;” show the congruence and “tremendous resonance between the paths of Queer and Christian virtue;” and lift up why it is that that “queer people are deeply motivated to do this work” (p. 28).

Queer Virtue is an accessible, yet comprehensive, look at queer theology in ethical practice, the theoretical laid at the foot of life itself!  There is a natural connection between queer experience and Christian living, a synergy of solidarity, transformation, and hope.

Go here for more information about Elizabeth Edman, the book, and to view five “micro sermons” on themes from the text.

Read these books for more information on queer theology.

Christephor Gilbert was made for this the moment he put on blue satin overalls!  Currently, he  is wondering if Moses’ face was shining or had horns when he came down from Mt. Sinai the second time, counting the days until the end of the fall semester at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, where he is an MDiv middler and a recently Endorsed candidate for Word and Sacrament Ministry in the ELCA.

Join us. Give in support of faithful & fabulous LGBTQ people whose public witness as pastors, deacons, and seminarians is enriching and transforming our church. 

“On this day, and on every day, we give thanks for you – those of you who believe in the extraordinary ministry of LGBTQ rostered leaders.”

by Amalia Vagts
Executive Director

In the poem, “Three Things,” singer-songwriter and poet Carrie Newcomer writes about her practice of saying out loud three things she is grateful for from her day – “. . . Fine rain, A good friend, Fresh basil . . . ”

It’s a practice my pastor preached a sermon about a couple months ago, and something my partner and I have attempted to keep going regularly in our own lives.

Newcomer’s poem begins this way:

Three Gratitudes

Every night before I go to sleep
I say out loud
Three things that I’m grateful for,
All the significant, insignificant
Extraordinary, ordinary stuff of my life.
It’s a small practice and humble,
And yet, I find I sleep better
Holding what lightens and softens my life
Ever so briefly at the end of the day.

On a day when we often take time to say out loud the things for which we are grateful, it’s good to remember there’s no reason to keep this practice to one day.

I thought about this again this past week as we received donations that included little notes of thanks with the gift. These notes are so meaningful. I even have a file folder labeled “Sweet Correspondence” where I keep them. I wanted to share this one with you today:

It’s about time I signed up for monthly giving to an organization that supports me as a gay seminarian and candidate for ordination in the ELCA. Thanks for all you do for me and all Proclaimers.

And this one too:

Great to meet Asher at #decolonize16. As a result of our conversations in Chicago with Asher and ELM members, I became aware of this wonderful ministry in the Lutheran church. I am sharing your resources via FB and with anyone looking for an accompaniment ministry of this kind. Thank you for your good work. In these difficult times we need to support one another more fully as the body of Christ.

On this day, and on every day, we give thanks for you – those of you who believe in the extraordinary ministry of LGBTQ rostered leaders. Thank you for your wonderful support throughout the year and for many years. Thank you for the way you share our work with your friends and colleagues. Thank you for encouragement you give directly to LGBTQ people pursuing or considering rostered ministry.

May today and your coming days be full and sweet.

Amalia Vagts has been sleeping much better since the last words she speaks at the end of the day are ones of gratitude rather than the last outrageous thing she read online.

“Tension is a sign of life, and the end of tension is a sign of death.” – Parker Palmer

by Amalia Vagts
Executive Director

It is hard to know what to say these days. This week, we had intended to share a guest post about the community gathered in support of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. That will come. In the meantime, you may want to read Bishop Eaton’s statement here, where she shares why “we are called as a church to support the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.”

Instead of the guest post, I first decided to write about my visit to Pacific School of Religion last Friday with Greg Egertson, as we made the first donation of our organizational documents to the Center for LGBTQ & Gender Studies in Religion Archives Project. That is a story I will share with you soon.

But as I tried to write, two phrases kept coming back to me. First, from last week’s Gospel reading from Luke, “This will give you an opportunity to testify.”

Second, from political commentator/comedian John Oliver on a recent segment of his show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, “This is not normal.”

What to do?

While our country has long prided itself on the peaceful transfer of power, many are cautioning against normalizing the current state of affairs.

For example, the Southern Poverty Law Center is currently reporting 437 incidents of hateful speech and harassment since the election. The most common setting for these incidents was in our K-12 schools.

Some in our church are speaking out and acting up against hate and fear and racism, sexism, misogyny, classism, and homophobia in our communities and in our denomination. Some are inviting members of their congregations and community together for reflection and conversation. Some are laying out more specific plans. Some are amping up their engagement with social media. Some are taking a “Facebook break.”

Spirit of Wisdom, Spirit of Counsel

Last week’s reading from Thessalonians included these words: “Do not be weary in doing what is right.”

But which of these is right? It seems to me that all of them are.

Parker Palmer writes in his book, Healing the Heart of Democracy, that “tension is a sign of life, and the end of tension is a sign of death.”

We have much to learn and teach one another in the days ahead.

Because you believe in our ministry, we were here last week to host two video gatherings for members of Proclaim who as LGBTQ+ rostered leaders had to sort through their own reactions to the election while preparing sermons and services for their congregations. And in the days, weeks, and months ahead, you will help us continue supporting LGBTQ+ pastors, deacons, and seminarians. We will also be here to initiate healing conversation and to speak out against intolerance and hatred. Thanks to you, we will be here to bring good news to those who need to hear it.

At the end of the Proclaim calls last week, those on the call were offered this blessing adapted from the baptismal liturgy:

Loving God, stir up once again in your child the gift of your Holy Spirit: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in your presence, both now and forevermore. Amen.

In a week that seems filled with many more uncertainties than certainties, I look to reminders like these words that we will share in worship this coming Sunday, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

Or to summarize my neighbor Megan’s approach: resist normalcy while living fully.

May each of us be strengthened in doing what is right in troubling times.

Amalia Vagts is getting out of bed and getting a hammer and a nail. When she is not helping steer the ship of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries and needs a moment of grounding and refueling these days, you can find her writing, walking, reading, or hanging with Shannon, Feathers, Cadillac, and Tom Cruise on Planet Unicorn. She also suggests a daily dose of this. (the dance, not the green juice)

“I’m thinking about getting carried away.”

by Christephor Gilbert
Communications and Development Coordinator

A little over a year ago, on the drive home from work, I stopped a block from my house and, looking up and out the passenger window, noticed a little boy with what appeared to be his parents.  He was overjoyed and so surprised seeing a butterfly in some grass.  He stumbled while he dizzily watched the colorful fluttering, then looked back to the adults in amazement.  They encouraged him to move into the green, to see the diaphanous object.  There was no hesitation on their part—he was free to investigate.

The traffic light turned green and I was off and running again, caught up in the momentum of life on the brink of change.  That was just a few months before my partner and I sold our house, quit our jobs, and moved to Chicago so that I could pursue a calling toward ordained ministry with the ELCA.

It can be so easy to get caught up in the momentum—the surge and the rush!  We are surrounded by it, in the world and in our church, and it has real, embodied implications—like being picked up and carried along by the enormous crowds at Wrigley right after the Cubs won.

When the velocity of life takes ahold of me it is unbelievably exciting.  Hurtling forward—peripheral vision turning to so much blurry light.  In an instant, the future we see on the horizon becomes the now—and then it is gone before the next big thing sneaks up on us.

It feels good—but sometimes I find it is important to acknowledge that I am caught. I try to turn my head or move my arms; I can’t shift my weight back.

In light of what has happened with the recent election in the United States, I’m thinking about that boy with the butterfly. I’m thinking about getting carried away.

And I’m also thinking about stillness.

And power.

And responsibility.

And I’m wondering what it means to be called and chosen by God.

This question makes me think of a well-known line from the movie Spider Man.  Upon the death of his beloved Uncle Ben, Peter Parker remembers something his uncle said to him earlier in the film:  “With great power comes great responsibility.”  In Luke 12:48 Jesus says almost the same thing:  “For everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required.”  I talk about being called by God to serve the church.  Our forebears in the nation of Israel were called and chosen by God.

What did that mean?  God is clear that the continuance of the covenant with Israel is based on a commitment to the ancestors, and more importantly because of God’s Love (Deut. 8).  Israel was not the biggest, nor the most powerful—in fact God is quick to point out that they “were the fewest of all peoples” (Deut. 7:7).  So why?  Being chosen has nothing to do with anything they have done—it has to do with what God has done.

God has decided to call us, to liberate us from the death-dealing ways of the law and the finality of death.  And we get this gift because we have faith.

Sometimes you have to let the momentum take you until you see the clearing up ahead—the end of the roller coaster, that small space between two people at the edge of the crowd where you can use a little muscle and make your move.

Released, you step back and watch the sheer force of it all move past.

Now I have the space to wander, child-like, into the arms of the other—into the arms of God—and see a different way that is off the beaten path, floating quietly in the wind.

I realize that I am that boy with the butterfly, mystified with hope, encouraged by the dangerous grace that is the church of today.  With new realizations about what a community of faith can embody, girded with truth and standing beside my siblings, I can imagine doing what is required.

No matter where you stand today or tomorrow you are called by God to be in and with the world.

You have great power.  And great responsibility.

Together, we can be the church for children who like to chase butterflies, and for kids, like all of us, whose hearts are stirred by wonder.

Christephor Gilbert is the 2016 Joel Workin Scholar, and when he isn’t in the library or in front of a computer, you might see him—a blur in your peripheral vision–somewhere on US HWY 30, between Chicago where he is in seminary at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, and Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he, his, partner, and three cats now call home.  Wave if you get a chance!

“The day was filled with new and renewed connections, learning, sharing, dreaming, disillusionment, honesty, and hope for what’s to come.”

by Amalia Vagts
Executive Director

In his essay, “Oh, you should have been there!” Joel Workin wrote about a question which had been haunting him, “What does it mean to proclaim that “death is swallowed up in victory” to a community that is swallowed up in death?”

Joel was writing in the middle of the AIDS crisis in the late 1980’s. He had just returned from the 1987 March on Washington. A friend wanted to hear the stories – not about the numbers of the crowd or the speeches or the liberation that comes with such an event. She wanted to hear about the  Names Project – AIDS Memorial Quilt.

Joel went on to write, “The God of the march is the God of the quilt. The God of the resurrection is the God of the cross.”

Questions Then, Questions Now

This essay came back to me as I have been reflecting on the inaugural #decolonizeLutheranism gathering just over a week ago in Chicago. I’ve been thinking about what it means to “be there.” Death, suffering, liberation, resurrection. How do we find liberation in the middle of all this pain? I heard stories of suffering and shared some of my own. I experienced the unsettling feelings that come with being in a boat in turbulent water – better to lay down in the boat? Better to take over the rudder? Better to stand up and dive in the water? Better to reposition myself and others for better balance?

Throughout the day, we dwelled in the uncertainty of these questions. The day was filled with new and renewed connections, learning, sharing, dreaming, disillusionment, honesty, and hope for what’s to come.

Together We are the Church

I was happy and not at all surprised that there was a strong showing of Proclaim folks present on the planning team and as participants. Fabulous! We managed to get most Proclaim folks together for the photo above.

Last month, we invited the Rev. Tita Valeriano to share some thoughts in advance of the gathering. Tita was on the #decolonize Lutheranism organizing team and part of Proclaim. If you missed her post, you can read it here. I also invite you to read more about the movement here and check out reflections from two of the organizers of the event. Both are reposted below with permission from the authors – Francisco Herrera and Lenny Duncan (who, by the way, is the vicar at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church where Proclaim member Bryan Penman is pastor – and the featured congregation in our Enrich & Transform video!)

What It’s All About
by Franciso Herrera – Ph.D. student, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago

Dear Church:  #DECOLONIZE16 Happened 
by Lenny Duncan – Vicar, St. Marks Lutheran Church

We’re all in this boat together. Or in the water. Or somewhere in between.

Amalia Vagts, executive director of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries, is into protesting, reforming, and Mutual Invitation.

“ELM has always had very committed, active board members. We’re ready to ride the waves of change!”

by Rev. Michael Wilker
ELM Secretary and Senior Pastor, Lutheran Church of the Reformation, Washington, D.C.

What do we talk about at an ELM board meeting? Loops and waves. Hegelian sublation and de-colonizing Lutheranism. Healthy sexuality and church leadership.

 

Those things—and generous donors, dedicated staff, creative volunteers, and gospel-proclaiming ministers.

 

The Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries Board of Directors and staff met October 16-18 in downtown Chicago, a short walk from the waves of Lake Michigan. The waves, dazzling under the autumn sun, became a metaphor of sparkling ministries and leaders that bear God’s creative, dynamic grace.

 

Lisa Negstad, a long-time ELM friend and now a consultant, helped us see the waves of change in healthy, living systems—and the various roles leaders can play. We mapped ourselves on—or between—two looping waves that represented the current church and the future that is emerging. Negstad’s workshop was inspired by a TedX video from Deborah Frieze, Boston activist and entrepreneur. Where do you see yourself on the waves of change? Where do you see your ministry?

 

Some other highlights from the board meeting include:

 

•We thanked Rose Beeson for their six years of board service.

•We commissioned Asher O’Callaghan as program director, and Christephor Gilbert as communications and development coordinator

•Amalia Vagts, executive director, and Charlie Horn, treasurer, reported that ELM is financially healthy and continues to receive strong support from donors. Online and monthly giving to ELM are the two fastest growing segments of ELM’s income.

•We rejoiced that 10% of ELCA seminarians are members of ELM’s Proclaim community.

•We organized to address the “failure of imagination” as well as the lack of information in many parts of the church when it comes to raising up and calling LGBTQ ministers.

•Board members Barbara Lundblad and Jeff Johnson led us in courageous prayer and blessed us on our ways.

•We read aloud and prayed for the 239 people in the Proclaim community, giving thanks for these faithful and fabulous rostered leaders and candidates for ministry.

 

ELM has always had very committed, active board members—and we had 100% attendance at this in-person meeting. In prayer, we remembered our families, friends, and congregations that support our work on the board. I’m also grateful to each member of our board. Their compassion, wisdom, and courage is inspiring. Please take a look at the board photo and names. Join me in thanking them—and God—for their leadership and service. We’re ready to ride the waves of change!

 

 

 

Michael Wilker grew up on a hog farm in Southern Minnesota and was the 1982 MN State 4-H Reserve Champion Swine Showman. Now he lives in Washington, DC, with his spouse Judy, and children Maija and Karl—where they and 675,000 other DC resident have no voting representation in Congress. He wrangles worms in the backyard compost and shepherds the flock as senior pastor at Lutheran Church of the Reformation.

 

 

“Share the good news of the ground that ELM is breaking in congregations like yours!”

 

 

by Deacon Lauren Morse-Wendt
Proclaim Member and Mission and Ministry Developer, Edina Community Lutheran Church, MN

 

It’s no secret that Lutherans are passionate about caring for our neighbors, both local and global.  Whether your congregation is engaged in ending hunger, disaster response, sheltering families, or combatting malaria, the story is likely told, as it should be, from the pulpit, in the newsletter, and during coffee time banter.  At our congregation, Edina Community Lutheran Church, we’re sharing another powerful story: the life-giving ministry of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries.

 

In 2016, there are:

 

♦  239 Proclaim members

♦  139 Proclaim members serving congregations and faith settings across nearly every synod

♦  68 Proclaims being accompanied as they go through Candidacy and await first call

 

Expanding the Party

 

We have so much to celebrate as LGBTQ ministry continues to grow in our Church — it’s time to invite all members of all ELCA congregations to the party!  As friends and supporters of ELM, I’d like us to commit together to unleashing what I’m calling the ELCA’s Best Kept Secret . . . and share the good news of the ground that ELM is breaking in congregations just like yours.   How can we expand the party? Here’s a few ideas:

 

♦  Invite a Proclaim member or ELM staffer to share their story during a worship temple talk, adult forum, or with a high school youth group

♦  Meet with your Outreach Committee or Church Council to discuss annual congregational financial support for ELM

♦  Share why you are passionate about ELM & LGBTQ ministry during a worship temple talk or congregational meeting

♦  Write an article or share an ELM blog post in your congregation’s newsletter or community bulletin board

 

Celebrate the Blessing of LGBTQ Rostered Leadership

 

We in the ELCA have so much to celebrate as more and more congregations are blessed by the ministry of LGBTQ rostered leaders — and I’d love to see each one of our congregations touched by the ministry of ELM celebrating that ministry during worship or education time and making a financial gift.  Join me in 2016 and invite your entire congregation to join in the party.  Because, really, we all know ELM knows how to throw a good party . . . and, there’s always room for more!

 

 

Lauren Morse-Wendt is a Diaconal Minister who serves Edina Community Lutheran Church. She’s excited for Halloween, when her wife will take their 4 year old Spiderman trick-or-treating because Lauren feels too guilty to leave trick-or-treaters at their house empty handed!

“I heard God in the words of people who did not look like me and were not from my denomination and whose stories were very different from mine. I need their stories to understand my own.”

by Asher O’Callaghan
ELM Program Director

Asher is a Christian because of you all. Your faithful fabulousness inspires his. He was a speaker at Why Christian? and while in Chicago also got to do lots of other fun things like: Hang out with Proclaim member and Director for Worship Formation and Liturgical Resources at Churchwide, Rev. Kevin Strickland; Meet Christephor Gilbert (ELM’s Communications & Development Coordinator) in-person for the first time ever; And attend his first ever ELCA Conference of Bishops. Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton complimented his shoes! Twice!

by Amalia Vagts
ELM Executive Director

I saw a Facebook post last week related to what some are calling a “clergy gap.”

The post was in response to a recent article in the Living Lutheran magazine examining a growing number of open ELCA calls. 

I couldn’t help but comment, “What clergy gap? What decreasing seminary enrollment?”

It is true that overall, far fewer people are entering the ministry than in the past.

But from the viewpoint of the LGBTQ community, it’s a much different story.

There are currently 68 members of the Proclaim community who are enrolled in seminary, preparing to be Lutheran pastors and deacons.

Overall, there are about 735 people enrolled in ELCA seminarians, according to the most recent statistics.

That means at least 9% of all current ELCA seminarians publicly identify as LGBTQ.

There are 16 Proclaim members seeking a call. I couldn’t locate statistics about how many people overall are seeking calls right now – or how many calls are open. But I do know too many stories about congregations who have said no to talented candidates, simply because they are LGBTQ.

This isn’t just about diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. The report also shows that since 2012, enrollment of persons of color and those whose language is other than English is about 7%. These candidates and pastors face similar challenges (and even more so for those who are LGBTQ persons of color). 

We have an “imagination gap.”

Since 2009, Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries has been urging ELCA bishops, synod staff, candidacy committees, and congregations to open their imaginations to consider who God might be calling to serve as ministry leaders. After a few years of accepting that some “just aren’t ready” for LGBTQ leaders, we’ve realized it’s time to say, “Let us help you get ready.”

Amalia Vagts spent parts of the past five days with a former Lutheran who kinda wants to take his kids to church, an atheist who likes how Nadia Bolz-Weber thinks, a bunch of Evanston, IL Lutherans who performed cabaret songs for each other to raise money for homeless youth, the ELCA Conference of Bishops, and the fabulously queer and brilliant “full-time friends” (i.e. staff) of ELM. Incidentally, she has many scenes from the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory memorized, and had a pretty big crush on Gene Wilder during high school.