Author: Sharei Green

Guest blog by Proclaim member and Proclaim Seminarian Team Convener, Kyle Severson

Since 2013 the number of seminarians in the Proclaim community has doubled, now totaling 48!  The Holy Spirit is fiercely moving, strengthening the calls of more and more LGBTQ persons to ministry.  In response to this growth, Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries discerned the need for a more substantial way to support and celebrate Proclaim seminarians, resulting in our new, faithful and fabulous Proclaim Seminarian Team.

The Proclaim Seminarian Team is made up of student representatives from each of the 8 ELCA Seminaries and 1 student rep for students at non-ELCA schools.  This team, of which I have the pleasure of convening once a month, is working to increase the visibility of Proclaim on campus, supporting and responding to the needs of LGBTQ seminarians, and offering insight and direction for ELM resources and programs from the seminarian perspective.

Already this fall team members have spoken at new student orientations introducing ELM and Proclaim and welcomed new LGBTQ students to campus.  Throughout the fall we’ll continue to connect with seminarians through social events, meet with students interested in learning more about ELM, and be an active presence on our campuses.

One of the greatest gifts that I have found within the Proclaim community is the particular way in which fellow LGBTQ rostered leaders and seminarians can help bear your burdens, rejoice with you in times of gladness, grieve with you in times of sorrow and in all things, hold each other in prayer.  In particular, as we seminarians walk the long, important journey through seminary and candidacy in preparation for public ministry in the ELCA, it has been profoundly helpful to have other LGBTQ persons who have walked a similar journey accompany us on our way.

It’s so great knowing that these colleagues and mentors are just a Facebook post, email, or call away.  And certainly the Proclaim Retreats have been some of the most nourishing, inspiring and worth-while professional development experiences I have ever had.  As we begin this new school year, I’m excited to share this community with more LGBTQ seminarians!

Check out our new webpage to learn more about the Proclaim Seminarian Team.

For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. Psalm 139: 13-14

This scripture passage is part of the Psalm that will be read at the ordination of Proclaim member, Emily E. Ewing.  Emily, a recent graduate of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, has been called to serve as pastor and mission developer of Christ the King Lutheran Church in South Jordan, Utah.

The ordination will take place this Saturday, August 23rd, at Emily’s home congregation, Mount of the Holy Cross Lutheran Church at the Vail Interfaith Chapel in Vail, CO at 11am MT.

Emily has been an active member of Proclaim since 2011 and has served in leadership with Proclaim seminarians, Proclaim retreat planning, and with our upcoming resource, Treasures in Clay Jars – sharing the stories and experiences of LGBTQ leaders in the Lutheran Church.  Emily was also ELM’s 2011 Joel R. Workin Scholar.

Here’s what Emily says about her new call:  “I am really excited for this new adventure.  I am looking forward to engaging in ministry with the people of Christ the King Lutheran Church and together discerning where God is calling us and what God might be calling us to.  I am also quite delighted to be back in the midst of mountains for this next step in my journey.“

We share our joy and prayers with Emily, Christ the King Lutheran Church, Mount of the Holy Cross Lutheran Church, and all who will gather this weekend to celebrate the works of God – that we know very well!

Thank you for your gift that affirms and supports gifted LGBTQ leaders in their calling to serve God’s church.

This past spring ELM conducted a survey of the Proclaim community.  In addition to stats, we asked for longer written responses to some questions. This info is being shared throughout our program teams to inform and shape our work. 

Here is a link to  Highlights of the Proclaim Member Survey 2014.

For a quick peek, here are a few Highlights of the Highlights:

+ We have a diversity of identities within our community.  Here are some of the ways Proclaim members identify:

Gender Identity – male, transgender, Q, female, Emale, Queer, a-gender, transgender guy, queer woman, male-identified – most days, transgender woman, masculine/gender neutral, MtF, woman, cisgender male/man

Sexual Orientation – gay, lesbian, bi, queer, pan/bi, queer woman, homosexual, straight, bisexual

+ 64% of Proclaim members who completed the survey were raised Lutheran.   And about 50% of current seminary/divinity students who completed the survey were raised Lutheran.

+ We recognize relationships in a variety of ways.  65% of Proclaim members who completed the survey currently have a partner/spouse.  Some are legally married, some have had religious ceremonies, some have domestic partnerships or civil unions, and some recognize their relationship in other ways (details in survey highlights).

+ Of Proclaim members who completed the survey, only 2 out of 81 people knew an openly LGBTQ pastor growing up.  Thanks to the witness of Proclaim members and supporters of ELM, we are actively working to change this statistic!

Proclaim is an active community of 164 publicly identified LGBTQ Lutheran rostered leaders, candidates, and seminarians.  23 new members have joined so far in 2014.  We have Proclaim members in 48 of the 65 synods in the ELCA.   Want to meet some of these leaders? Check out Proclaim Profiles.

Want to see more results of the survey?  Highlights of the Proclaim Member Survey 2014

If you have trouble reading the document, here is the Proclaim Survey – black and white version

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.   Romans 12:2

The Ministry Engagement Team of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries (ELM) has been working on a new resource to be released this fall.  This guide, Enrich and Transform: Welcoming LGBTQ Candidates into the Call Process, is for congregational call committees.

This guide is being developed in response to congregations and synods who have asked for resources to help open their doors more widely to live into this new day of welcome and celebration of the gifts of LGBTQ leaders in our church.  The synod will provide guidance on the call process in general and we don’t want to duplicate that. This guide will serve as an additional resource for call committees during this process of discernment and exploration and an encouragement to be open to the full diversity of gifted and called candidates in our church, including LGBTQ candidates.

In addition to Ministry Engagement Team members working on this, we’ve collected wisdom and insights from members of call committees that have recently called an LGBTQ pastor.  Lynn Kriser served on a call committee at St Stephen Evangelical Lutheran Church in Michigan where Proclaim member Rev. Laura Kuntz was recently called.  

It was exciting that God provided and called a wonderfully gifted, strong Lutheran pastor to minister to our children, youth and young adults.  Just 5 years ago, this call wouldn’t have been possible.  We all (congregations as well as Pastor Laura) would have lost out on so much.  Now, as the mother of daughters, I’m excited that they have Pastor Laura as an example and a spiritual leader. – Lynn Kriser

Transformation is happening, and we are excited to be a part of it.  We hope many more congregations will open their doors to the gifts of LGBTQ leaders.  As Claire Hoyum, call committee member at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in St Paul, MN where Rev. Bradley Schmeling was called in 2012 says:

Many gifted LGBTQ candidates have been waiting far too long for their gospel gifts to be recognized and invited into ministry.  Congregations should not constrain their access to those gifts by artificially limiting the pool of candidates they are willing to consider.

Thanks for your partnership and support as we seek to enrich and transform the whole church through the rich diversity of gospel gifts God has given us.

If you are currently serving on a call committee and would like to be considered to be part of our review team, please contact  Jen (programdirector (at) elm.org).

by Jen Rude.  Jen is the program director of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries and is honored to work with such fine, faithful, fabulous, and fun ELM volunteers and supporters.  Read more.

Guest blog by Proclaim member, Amy Hanson.

As I write this post I am just a few short weeks away from finishing my internship at First Lutheran Church, in St Peter, MN. I am the first intern for this congregation. When the congregation began discerning the possibility of having an intern long before my arrival, they compiled a profile that said, “We believe that our conviction of welcome and designation as a Reconciling in Christ congregation makes us makes us an ideal site for an LGBTQ intern.”  My interview went very well, and as I walked home, I thought, “I have found my internship site.”  On that very same day, Pastor Alan stated to the congregational council, “I have found our intern.”

One of my fears prior to internship was that I would be known only as “the gay pastor.”  I was afraid that all of my work and my pastoral formation would be filtered through that part of my identity.  In a world that so often forces LGBTQ people to apologize for who they are, before they can even begin to live into their vocation, I have seen, heard, and experienced something exciting at First Lutheran Church.  This congregation’s convictions about hospitality and welcome are real, and they are living out the Gospel. In this place, I am Pastor Amy first, and a gay pastor second.

Like most LGBTQ people I have struggled with belonging.  Belonging in our families, churches, communities, and workplaces. The church is a particularly painful place for many of us. In representing my congregation as a Reconciling in Christ site at the Southwest Minnesota Synod Assembly, I had the opportunity to talk with many people about what it means to be a safe place of welcome for all people. As many lamented that their congregations might never openly welcome LGBTQ folks, and tears were shared for family members and friends who left these congregations, I was able to share some hope that there is a new day dawning in the church.

Part of my sense of call is to unceasingly proclaim to all the beautiful, broken, and beloved people of God who feel pushed aside by our culture or the church itself, “You already belong.  You may feel like you are on the margins, but you are part of the Body of Christ.”  My call is also to baptize and serve Holy Communion to equip this Body for their own work for justice, peace, and mercy in the world.

My experience as an intern this year, as well as my participation in Proclaim, has given me the confidence to live boldly into my calling to ministry.  I no longer apologize for being who God created me to be, but instead give thanks that I am who I am, that I have this call and have this sacred task before me.

Amy Hanson is a graduate of the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, CO.  After she completes her internship, she will be embarking upon an adventure as a chaplain at St Anthony Trauma Center, also in Denver.  Her future hope is to be a Mission Redeveloper in the ELCA and she is an active blogger at: www.amychanson.blogspot.com

But just as we have the same spirit of faith that is in accordance with scripture—‘I believed, and so I spoke’—we also believe, and so we speak…                                               2 Corinthians 4:13

This is a teaser blog. An experience of both instant and delayed gratification. Or, to put it in more spiritual terms – both now and not yet.

A small group of Proclaim members has been working on collecting stories of LGBTQ leaders within the Lutheran church – rostered leaders, seminarians, and those awaiting call. We were inspired by a similar resource from the United Church of Christ that came out (!) about 20 years ago. We received permission from those who created the UCC resource, And So We Speak, to create a Lutheran version.

But like any good story, putting together a collection of amazing stories takes time. So…. we’re still working on it. It’s “not yet.” But it will be worth the wait.

This resource will include interwoven stories about being called to ministry and coming out, the joy of queer faith, gender identity and images of God, and more.  But, it’s just too good not to share parts of it with you now. Much of the final collection will be longer stories about individuals in our community, but here are a few short nuggets:

What do you think God thinks about you being LGBTQ?

In giving me, a gay man, a call to ministry, God affirms my sexuality as a gift given and not a defect to hide. I know at the very core of my being, that God loves me, that God has gifted me, and that God wants to make use of me.
– Austin Newberry, First Call Candidate, Columbus, IN

How and why do you publicly identify as LGBTQ?

For me it’s about wholeness. It’s about living with integrity–as in the word “integral” meaning “necessary to make the whole complete”. My gender identity and sexuality cannot be separated from who I am in the world. When ministry is done well, people are inspired to live as the people that God has created them to be. I can’t do this kind of ministry if I myself am not living into the fullness of life that God has called me to.
– Asher O’Callaghan, Seminarian

I don’t know that it’s a conscious choice for me – I use all of who I am in my ministry, and being Queer is one part of how God created me, one piece of what I naturally use. But I’m glad for being Queer- it’s how God liberated me from a rules-based religion, and taught me grace. It’s how I learned about discrimination, and can now work for justice for all kinds of other people. And it helps me connect with folks who are scared of the church for all kinds of reasons- showing them that I can be my full self in church invites them to think that maybe then can be too.
– Rev. Lura Groen

How did you come out to the congregation?

In a meet and greet with the congregation, I was asked to share my story, and so in
sharing my call story, I chose to leave in my coming out rather than editing it out of the story. This not only gave me an easy way to come out, but it also couched it in the context of God’s call in my life, which I think was accurate and beneficial.
– Emily Ewing, First Call Candiate

How have you experienced being “The First”?

I am the first intern at my congregation (and also the first LGBTQ intern). Our congregation is also the first (and only) RIC congregation in our Synod. My experience has been wonderful and positive, as the congregation really lives into what it means to be welcoming. It has taught them that their convictions about welcome and hospitality are real and that they are living out the Gospel. I am Pastor Amy first, and a gay pastor second.
– Amy Hanson, seminarian

Your gift to ELM not only helps shape these stories of LGBTQ leaders in the Lutheran church, but also helps support the collection, publication, and distribution of this resource as a gift and resource for the whole church. Thank you!

Guest blog by Proclaim member, the Rev. Erik Christensen.

This past weekend was Pride weekend here in Chicago and in many other cities around the country. In recent years I’ve heard, and eagerly jumped into, plenty of conversations questioning the value of these large-scale gatherings filled with giant floats with corporate sponsors conveying scantily clad dancers from a host of bars and other venues. “Is this what we spent the last half century fighting for?” I’d wearily ask.

This year I’m less inclined to diminish or dismiss the gains our movements have made, or the celebrations that mark them. That is due, in no small part, to a recent visit by representatives of South Africa’s Inclusive and Affirming Ministries (IAM) to Chicago June 12-16, 2014.

The congregation I serve, St. Luke’s Lutheran Church of Logan Square, has hosted folks from IAM (including Proclaim member Pieter Oberholzer) many times over the last eight years, each visit deepening our commitment to walking together toward liberation for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities around the globe. This year St. Luke’s partnered with a blend of ecumenical and secular communities and organizations to present a weekend of activities for people of faith and activists from across Chicago as an expression of solidarity with LGBTI people across the continent of Africa suffering under increasingly violent conditions (learn more here).

Conscious that these trips create a significant financial burden for IAM, and knowing that they have to work hard every year to raise the necessary funds to carry out their work, I was concerned that their trip might not have been worth the effort on purely economic terms. IAM’s Executive Director, the Rev. Judith Kotzé, allayed my fears as we met the morning of her flight home to evaluate this year’s slate of events.  She said,

“You cannot know what it means for me, for us, to be able to worship with you here in Chicago. To see an openly gay pastor and his partner so warmly accepted by their congregation. To see that it is a non-issue, that your leadership is accepted and trusted. To be able to share our story with you, and to receive the gift of your prayers and your songs. To be able to carry that story home with us to share with people and congregations who can barely imagine that such a thing is possible.”

As I listened to Judith, all I could think is how it wasn’t that long ago that we, here in the United States, were saying the same thing. I can remember a time when I could count on one hand the number of publicly identified LGBTQ clergy in the ELCA that I knew, and they were almost all members of what has grown to become the Proclaim community.

Our work, yours and mine, is a witness to people of faith around the world. Each time we simply show up, put on the collar, step into the pulpit, consecrate the elements, pray for the ill and the dying, visit those in prison, we are proclaiming a future for the whole church that has already broken in, but is not yet complete. That is something to be proud of, something to celebrate, loudly and publicly and shamelessly.

To learn more about the work of IAM, and to make a gift to their courageous and life-saving work, visit http://www.iam.org.za

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!“   Romans 10:11-15

We celebrate the beautiful, good-news-bringing feet of Brenda Bos and Julie Recher, two Proclaim members who received first calls this weekend.

Brenda Bos has been called to serve as pastor of Christ Lutheran Church in San Clemente, CA.

Julie Recher has been called to serve as associate pastor at Atonement Lutheran Church in Wyomissing, PA.

And how are they to preach unless they are sent?  Many more gifted and called LGBTQ candidates are ready to be sent.  We celebrate their gifts and pray both for candidates who continue to seek a first call and for the congregations and ministries who need their beautiful good-news-bringing feet.

Your support enables ELM to accompany, affirm, and support LGBTQ seminarians, candidates, and rostered leaders as they are called and sent to serve God’s church and world!  

Guest blog by Proclaim member Rachel Anderson.  Rachel is a student at the Lutheran School of Theology at Philadelphia, finishing her internship year at Lord of Mercy Lutheran Church in Sparks, Nevada.

On June 29, 2013 my wife, Carrie, and I committed our lives to each other in the presence of God, our families, and our friends. It was almost a year earlier, and with much trepidation, that I came out to my wonderful candidacy liaison. We were on a weekend long retreat on the Connecticut shoreline and I was about to return to Philadelphia for my second year of seminary in just a few days. I had not kept my sexuality a secret from my candidacy committee, or the seminary, or anyone really. But I knew I had to share this part of my life with these people, out of a responsibility to Carrie, my church, and the many people who still struggle to find acceptance among God’s people. I kind of laugh when I think about the conversation we had. “I’m getting married,” I said, very matter-of-factly. “That’s great!” He said. “But I’m getting married to a woman,” and I was sure his smile was about to fade. “Even better!” he said, and gave me a great big hug.

Experiences like that confirm for me, over and over again, that the church is moving forward. They are also confirmation that ministries like Proclaim and ELM continue to be vitally important for the body of Christ. No one should have to doubt their place at the table. No one should ever be afraid that their gifts for leadership are not welcome in the church for something as inconsequential as how they were born or whom they were born to love.

But in the year 2014, for many, many… many people and organizations, one’s sexual orientation or gender identity is not inconsequential. Coming from a loving and accepting family that never batted an eye when I came out, dealing with the slow-moving church has been heart wrenching at times. During my junior year of seminary I was turned down by three potential internship sites because I am openly gay, and Carrie and I took this rejection pretty hard. Maybe I would never go on internship; maybe I would never get a chance to be a leader within the church. Maybe we were racking up all this debt just to find out that the church would never have a place for us at the table (or in the pulpit). The feeling is akin to, I’m guessing, being the last puppy in the litter to get adopted. I watched all of my seminary friends accept internships at various churches while I waited, and waited.

Looking back on that time, I am so glad for those experiences. Just over a month after we were married, Carrie and I left our friends and family in the northeast and drove across the country to Sparks, Nevada for my internship at Lord of Mercy Lutheran Church. I never could have predicted moving to the west coast for anything, much less internship. We have quickly fallen in love with northern Nevada, but mostly we have fallen in love with this absolutely fantastic congregation. These are people who have taken their calling to be the body of Christ seriously. They love to serve their neighbor, they have a deep faith, and they take their commitment to raise up new leaders in the church very seriously. If only every church were like Lord of Mercy, only so happy to not only accept, but to welcome an LGBTQ leader!

My time at Lord of Mercy will always be one of the most profound blessings in my life, and it would not be possible without the generous assistance of ELM. Were it not for ELM, Carrie and I would likely still be wondering if there is a place for us in the church. Were it not for ELM, I wouldn’t be able to preach the Good News to people who not only love to hear it, but need to hear it, especially from a person who knows just how good the news really is. In many ways serving Lord of Mercy has been a spiritual resurrection for me, and it has certainly resurrected my faith in the progress the ELCA is making to be sure that all people can claim their place at the table without fear. All leaders can preach the Good News and know it is for them too, and they are in a place of safety and love.

If it were not for ELM, I never would have met a sixteen year old girl in Reno, Nevada a few months back. We got connected one way or another through the church, though she had never been to Lord of Mercy. In our first conversation she was convinced that being gay was the ultimate sin, and that God could not possibly love her the way she is. If not for ELM, and my internship in Sparks, she might still be convinced that there is something wrong with her. But because she came to a church leader who has been where she was, and who could show her a God and a community that accepts her unconditionally, she can smile again, and she can be herself, proudly. ELM and Proclaim touch more lives than probably any of us are aware. I thank God for this truly extraordinary ministry, and live in hope that the day is soon coming when no person will live in fear and all will truly be welcome in this place.

 You support leaders like Rachel with your gift to ELM. Rachel and other seminarians receive pastoral care and support through Proclaim and Accompaniment. Lord of Mercy Lutheran Church received a small grant from ELM to support Rachel’s internship. Learn more or give to support leaders like Rachel at www.elm.org.