Author: Sharei Green

Pentecost is Sunday.  Divided tongues as of fire, the sound like a rush of violent wind, people speaking all kinds of different languages, but all speaking about God’s deeds of power.  And Peter recalling the prophet Joel, “In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young [ones] shall see visions, and your old [ones] shall dream dreams.” (Acts 2:17)

This weekend we join in celebrations of God’s Spirit pouring out upon two members of the Proclaim community:

Laura Kuntz will be ordained to the ministry of Word and Sacrament and installed Saturday June 7th at Calvary Lutheran Church in Lansing, Michigan.  Laura has been called to serve as Associate Pastor for Children, Youth, and Young Adults at Calvary Lutheran Church and St. Stephen Lutheran Church in Lansing, MI.  She will also serve as Assistant Pastor for Youth Ministries at All Saints Episcopal Church in East Lansing, MI.

++++

Rev. Dr. Dawn Roginski will be installed as the pastor of Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity in Vallejo, CA on Pentecost, Sunday June 8^th.

“When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.” Acts 4:31

We join in the bold witness and celebration of Laura, Dawn, and the communities of Calvary Lutheran, St. Stephen Lutheran, All Saints Episcopal and Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity!

As we celebrate, we continue lift up the 21 Proclaim members who are awaiting first call and pray the Spirit’s work in bringing together gifted and called LGBTQ leaders and bold communities of faith to prophesy, vision and dream together.

Your generous gifts keep pastors like Dawn and Laura surrounded by a supportive community of peers, congregations and allies.

A guest blog by Proclaim member Rev. Cindy Crane

Rev. Cindy Crane was a member of the historic Extraordinary Roster and was reinstated to the ELCA clergy roster following the 2009 changes in ministry policy.

“You are not only responsible for what you say but for what you don’t say.”   Martin Luther

I am inspired by our tradition’s many quotes and writings that direct us to love our neighbor. And it makes a difference to be doing advocacy work from a faith perspective with my ordination fully recognized. I realized just how much I valued doing advocacy work as a pastor within my first few weeks working as the director of the Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin (LOPPW) beginning in January 2014.

I was very attracted to the LOPPW position and thought I could draw on my background both in parish ministry and the work I’ve had in secular nonprofits. However, I didn’t expect to feel this – a sense of wholeness and of having returned from a sort of exile, an experience I only associated with going back into parish ministry if that would ever happen. But being part of the ELCA with a team of people around the country praying and grappling with scripture, social statements and current public policies when looking at injustice feels just right at this time in my life. I am thankful.

LOPPW is one of about 14 state public policy offices that receive funding from the ELCA. Four of those offices, including Wisconsin’s, have directors that are churchwide employees. ELCA World Hunger supports us to focus on hunger issues, which create a large umbrella. Some of the offices advocate for just policies related to the environment and taxes as well as for safety net programs and laws that can move in the direction of eradicating hunger. Right now LOPPW’s priorities are youth experiencing homelessness, human sex trafficking and Wisconsin’s plan for how to use its tax excess. In the case of youth who experience homelessness with their families we also support a higher minimum wage. Kudos to Bishop Eaton for writing a letter asking for a higher minimum wage to all of the U.S. senators.

LOPPW’s advocacy is on the level of public policy. We build relationships with political leaders and expand an advocacy network of ELCA members across the state. We also join with other faith-based groups and secular organizations to deepen our impact and support the efforts of others who act as instruments of God’s peace.

Needing to be open about who I am as a lesbian and having my ordination fully recognized before taking another position in the church were both a part of my activism. I don’t judge others who take different paths; I was completely to partially closeted for 10 years in the parish. I didn’t leave the ministry and not look back at the church but I didn’t look back at contradictions that wore at my spirit. I appreciate engaging with paradox, but not confusion.

Thanks to a grant from Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries a couple of years ago, I was able to start a part-time ministry 14 years after leaving the ministry. That ministry helped to crack the church door back open for me.    Now I feel graced to have returned this way to a full-time call with my activism in tact and in wonder of how God moves us to be advocates for others.

Check us out at www.loppw.org and like us on Facebook (look for LOPPW)!

In their own words, hear what some of the 80 Proclaim members and families who gathered last week for the 2014 Proclaim Retreat had to say after 4 days of Faith Rooted Organizing Training, worship at the lake, dynamic workshops, conversations with new and old friends and colleagues, laughter, and community with faithful and fabulous people of God.

“The 2014 Proclaim retreat was among the finest professional conferences I have attended as a pastor.” – Rev. Anita Hill

“More than any other group of clergy with whom I gather, this is the one that most reflects and shines with the new life of the Risen Christ.” – Rev. Mark Erson

“This was my first Proclaim Retreat and it was amazing!” – Becky Goche, Wartburg Seminary

“Our speakers reminded us that the spirit is calling us to work against remaining injustice both against us and others throughout out church.” Gretchen Rode, First Call Candidate

“The retreat affords me the the opportunity to uplift and be uplifted by others in this ministry that can be so isolating at times.” Paul Johnson, Wartburg Seminary

The retreat and connections “have had an invigorating effect on me.” Jay Berry, Lutheran School of Theology at Philadelphia

“Proclaim fills me with the patience, the vision, and the love to continue working for my place and for the places for all those who are still on an exile’s journey.” Tim Feiertag, First Call Candidate

“I have a new awareness of the gifts we have to offer the church to help heal that which is broken.” Diana Linden-Johnson

“I really feel named and proclaimed.” Gus Barnes, Jr. Wartburg Seminary

++++

Next Year’s Proclaim Gathering:  April 17-20, 2015, Stony Point, NY

by Jen Rude, ELM Program Director

Last Friday I had the privilege of attending a workshop on Creative Activism, hosted by Table to Action – a project of Auburn Seminary. Proclaim member Emily Ewing was also present.

It was a day filled with inspiration and affirmation about the important work we all do together.  When I saw my partner Deb at the end of the day she looked at my hand with a worried look before she realized it wasn’t blood – it was magic marker!  (You can see our group’s artistic imagination in the photo – moving from the world as it is to the world as it can be – a messy, colorful, faithful, creative, communal path).

One of the activities we did as part of our introductions was to each say what we were working on and what a “win” would look like for us – the passage of a bill, a more inclusive church, funding for a community center, etc.  Participants included pastors, community organizers, youth project leaders, professors and more.  After we all shared, our facilitators used one participant as an example.  “We’re from the future,” they said.  “Congratulations! You’ve won. Now, what’s next?” and the participant named another victory, to which they replied, “Now you’ve won that!  What does the world look like?  What’s next?” and back and forth they went until the participant finally (with more than a little exasperation) said, “Then the kingdom of God would be here in Chicago!”

Now each of us were invited individually to go through the same process for our own work – imagine we’ve won (gifted and called LGBTQ rostered leaders are actively serving churches and ministries throughout our church), what does it look like (dynamic ministry, witness to the Good News), what’s next (others feel inspired to follow their callings, to re-think what church is and could be, bold proclamation to the gospel in creative new ways), and on and on.

We start to notice along the way our separate particular issues started to look and sound similar (communities are inspired, different kinds of people are working together), and as we went further along, we began to see that we were all ending up in the same place – the kingdom of God.  You could feel the energy and joy in the room.  What we are working for is not just the passage of this bill, or the end to this particular form of discrimination, or a commitment from this funder. What we are working toward is nothing less than the kingdom of God.

It’s important to keep the big picture in mind.  And sometimes we need magic markers and laughter and each other to envision what it could look like – and to believe it is possible.

In our work at ELM, we work hard to support and affirm LGBTQ pastors, candidates and seminarians, and to engage allied congregations and ministries not just because we love LGBTQ people (which, we do) and not just because LGBTQ people need jobs (which, they do).  We work hard to engage people in this bold witness to our church because ultimately our work is not just to create a better church for LGBTQ children of God; it’s to help usher in the beautiful, diverse, creative, whole, joyful, fabulous, colorful kingdom of God.

Our vision together is that big.  And we’re going to need a lot of creative coloring to get there.

Thanks for being a part of this colorful work!

You support extraordinary leaders like Kyle Severson. Kyle is heading up a new initiative at ELM – the Proclaim Seminarians Team. Read on…

Kyle Severson is a student at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, on internship this year at Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit in Lincolnshire, IL. He’s an ELCA Fund for Leaders in Mission Scholar, a Fund for Theological Education Fellow, and a Proclaim member.  Kyle and his partner Clyde live in Forest Park, IL.

Kyle joined Proclaim in 2011 to be “part of a network of mentors, colleagues, and friends who might have gone or are going through similar joys and challenges as a part of the journey through candidacy and ministry as an openly gay person.” We currently have 41 Proclaim seminarians, with members at each of the 8 ELCA seminaries and many divinity schools.

Starting this month, Kyle is taking the lead on one of our newest ways to affirm and highlight the gifts of LGBTQ seminarians: the Proclaim Seminarians Team.  In leading this team, Kyle hopes “we can be the eyes and ears of the seminary communities and both pastorally and professionally support our seminarian peers as they move through this formative time.”

The Proclaim Seminarians Team will include representatives from each of the 8 ELCA seminaries and some divinity schools.  These students will meet via video and conference call throughout the year to:

+  plan fall welcome activities for LGBTQ seminary students

+  make Proclaim and ELM more visible in ELCA seminaries both for LGBTQ students and others

+  provide support for students within the Lutheran candidacy process, and those getting ready for internship or first call

+  invite LGBTQ seminary students to attend the annual Proclaim Retreat, as a chance to connect with other LGBTQ seminarians and rostered leaders throughout the country

+ address the specific needs of LGBTQ seminarians in an effort to support their call to ministry and affirm the unique gift they are to our church

80 Proclaim members and family members have registered for the 2014 Proclaim Retreat, “Dreams & Visions.”  We will gather May 4-7 at the Heartwood Retreat Center in Trego, WI for 4 days of speakers, workshops, worship, small groups, late night chats, walks in the woods, Show Tunes kickball, conversation, renewal, and more.

Faith-Rooted Organizing + Mission Development +Anti-Oppression
Alexia Salvatierra will lead several sessions related to faith-rooted organizing – from leadership development and motivation to prophetic liturgy and street theater.  Jessica Vasquez Torres will lead a session titled “Exploring Queer Complicity in Cultural Dominance and How to Interrupt it.”   ELCA staff member Ruben Duran will lead workshops for those interested in (and doing) mission development and re-development.  Richard and Trish Bruxvoort-Colligan will be our musicians for the retreat – leading music in worship, hosting a workshop on a musical spiritual life, playing an evening concert and sharing a few special numbers in our Open Stage Variety Show. 2013 Joel Workin Scholar Gretchen Colby Rode will be leading a workshop on lament and the Psalms entitled “How Long, O Lord?”  Proclaim members Javen Swanson and Tim Feiertag will lead a workshop on Building an Inclusive Church.

Connection + Renewal
Being a publicly identified LGBTQ leader in the church has its blessings and challenges.  Simply being together is one of the most life-giving and ministry-sustaining parts of the retreat. One past participate remarked that the Proclaim retreat is one place where she can be herself “unapologetically and enthusiastically.” The diversity among participants makes it possible for us to create affinity groups for parish pastors; those in specialized ministry; those awaiting first call; seminarians; and other groups with specific interests and needs. Seasoned pastors and first year seminarians are able to connect and share ideas during this unique place of connection.

How Your Support Helps
ELM is committed to making the retreat affordable to all.  We are able to do this thanks to ELM supporters. This year we received special grants from the Philip N. Knutson Endowment , the St. Francis Lutheran Church Endowment and the Ebenezer Lutheran Church Endowment in support our speakers and outreach for the retreat. The bulk of support comes from friends of ELM. Attendees pay $385, which just covers the basic direct costs for the retreat. This year we have awarded 26 scholarships for seminarians and those without a call to attend this event. You can help us continue to provide these scholarships as we support and affirm these gifted and called leaders in our church.  We need the extraordinary leadership of these dreamers and visionaries!  You can sponsor a full scholarship for a seminarian or person awaiting call for $385.  Click here to give.  Please make a note that your gift is for retreat scholarships.  Thank you for your support! 

Guest blog by Proclaim member Amanda Nelson, 4th year student at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Berkeley, CA

Bay Area members of Proclaim recently gathered for food and conversation at a local pizza joint in the Berkeley neighborhood known as “Holy Hill,” which is so named due to the nine seminaries in the area which make up the Graduate Theological Union (of which Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary is a member) and it was indeed a holy experience.

I’m not saying we were singing hymns or turning our pizza crusts into the host; but rather, for those of us who were able to gather, this time together was a great reminder of the powerful presence of God made manifest in the lives and ministries of our fellow Proclaim members. Holy indeed!

As seminarians, we had a chance to share where we were in our journeys and to receive wisdom and support from the ministers “in the field.” Around the table, stories were shared and we were able to lend support to those with new calls, those seeking calls, and those exploring new ways of making their ministries vibrant. It seemed to me that we, at this gathering, were able to experience a small taste, a sound bite, of what is experienced when we are gathered with our greater community at the annual Proclaim retreats – and it was awesome!

Pastor Jeff Johnson reminded all of us that “there is no greater professional association that you will be a part of than Proclaim.” I know this may seem like a strong bias at first, but Jeff is right: there is something invaluable to the association we share. The benefits of being a member of Proclaim are certainly the gifts of friendship and camaraderie, but there are also the gifts of advocacy, collective voice, prayerful support, empathy, innovation, education, and…I suppose I could keep going, but suffice it to say, the value runs deep.

It was great for us who live close by each other to get together and remind each other that this gift that is Proclaim is accessible all year – through the wonderful Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries staff and volunteers, but also through our fellow Proclaim members. I walked away feeling refreshed and reconnected. It makes me look forward to see everyone again in May at the Proclaim retreat!

This past weekend ELM was invited to participate in a panel at the Conference of Bishops to talk about placement of LGBTQ candidates for rostered ministry. The panel included Proclaim pastor, Rev. Jason Glombicki, ELM program director Rev. Jen Rude, Bishop Mark Holmerud, Bishop Ralph Jones and ReconcilingWorks Executive Director Emily Eastwood. The panel was organized and facilitated by Bishop Jon Anderson. Each panelist shared from a unique perspective to further the conversation.

Some of the things we shared from ELM’s perspective:

+ We have 150 members of Proclaim, publicly identified lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Lutheran rostered leaders, seminarians and candidates
+ 45 synods are represented in Proclaim
+ 39 of our members are seminarians
+ Our community has tripled in size in the past 3 years and we are continuing to grow
+ 2 weeks ago, 8 of our members received assignments. These 8 join 13 other members of our community who are still awaiting first call, some after years of waiting.
+ 15 members of Proclaim are on internship this year and will be looking toward assignment next year.
+ God has indeed blessed our church with an abundance of gifts in these leaders!

Things are shifting – the Spirit is moving in our church. During Q & A, bishops asked thoughtful and honest questions about how to best work with LGBTQ candidates. They shared stories of creative ministry, accompanying congregations becoming open to the gifts of LGBTQ leaders, and some bishops even shared parts of their own journey toward becoming more open.

Leading up the panel we shared the topic and collected thoughts from members of Proclaim, asking, “What would you like to say to a room full of bishops?”

Here are some of those thoughts we shared with the bishops:

1. Affirm our whole selves. During the assignment process, candidates want you to be talking about them as whole people, including, but not only, their sexual orientation and gender identity. In call processes, be in communication with candidates about how and when they want to come out to congregations.
2. We are qualified candidates. You are not being asked to take inferior candidates. LGBTQ candidates have fulfilled their requirements and have heard a call as strongly as their straight counterparts and have often endured a different kind of scrutiny in answering that call. LGBTQ candidates are a gift in our church, not a problem to be solved.
3. Help open possibilities. Be open and attentive to the gifts of your congregations, especially the gifts they may not have noticed themselves. We have experienced that some congregations may not have self-identified as being open to an LGBTQ candidate, but with thoughtful and open conversation with a bishop, they realized possibilities they had not imagined before.
4. Help provide access. Be sensitive to the reality that there are more limited call opportunities for LGBTQ people, and, unless there is some clear reason not to, allow a candidate’s paperwork to be seen by congregations, especially if the pastor or candidate has taken the time to review the congregation’s published info and contacted the synod office regarding that specific call.
5. Be aware of the legal landscape. State laws regarding marriage equality and protection for adopted children of gay and lesbian parents may be a factor for a candidate and their mobility. One candidate was assigned a synod where she would have no legal protection as the adoptive mother of her and her wife’s small child. They have since moved to a state that recognizes her family, but she is still awaiting first call after 3 years.
6. Help us do ministry in the waiting. Encourage your candidates to supply preach so they can be better known in the synod and so the church can receive their gifts. One member who was awaiting first call in the New England synod teamed up with a retired pastor – he offered to preside anytime she was invited to preach (and he let her keep the check!).
7. Our prayers are with you. One of our pastors who recently received a first call and will be ordained later this month shared these words for you: “Do not be afraid, but continue to walk with your clergy and candidates as the pastor to the pastors you are called to be, trusting also your call and the Spirit’s presence to guide you.”

The conversation continues. ELM continues to be a resource for synods, candidates, rostered leaders, and congregations working to celebrate the gift of LGBTQ people called to rostered ministry in the Lutheran church. Thanks for your partnership in this Spirit-filled work!

Proclaim pastor and convener of the Proclaim Leadership Team, Rev. Caleb Crainer, and the congregation of St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in West Los Angeles recently celebrated their Solar addition and steps towards greater environmental care at a Solar Sunday celebration.  The celebration included a blessing from fellow Proclaim member and the local Lutheran bishop, R. Guy Erwin, remarks from local leaders, information from their solar provider and various environmental groups, tours of the church’s environment-friendly features, food and family fun…it was a bright day for the community!

This is just one example of the creative and innovative ministry happening in congregations led by Proclaim pastors.  We give thanks for St Andrew’s and their stewardship of God’s creation and their witness to the church.

*Blog readers who don’t live in sunny Los Angeles – in the midst of winter, we thought it would be nice to share a story that involved the warm sun – soak it up!

The first class of LGBTQ seminarians to enter candidacy since the 2009 Churchwide decision to ordain openly gay pastors enters assignment this week.  “Assignment” is the process where candidates for ministry in the ELCA are assigned to a specific region of the country. The country is divided into nine geographic regions.  Candidates submit their geographic preferences, along with a large packet of paperwork about themselves, their gifts, and their visions for ministry.  A small group of bishops and representatives from each region then gather to place each candidate.  After regional placement, candidates begin the process of meeting churches and ministry sites to find the best match.  We have been praying hard for all involved  in this process:  Holy Spirit, do your work!

Needless to say this is a time of extreme anxiety and anticipation for candidates who are wondering where they are going to live and what kind of ministry they might share.  For LGBTQ candidates, there is the additional anxiety of wondering which congregations will be open to receiving the gifts of an LGBTQ candidate.

Eight members of Proclaim are in assignment this week and eleven additional Proclaim members await first call, some for several years.  These candidates entered candidacy before the 2009 decision.

Proclaim offers support and accompaniment for those awaiting call. This accompaniment includes:

1) Tonight, we’ll gather via phone lines and computer screens to do a check in about how this process went for our Proclaim members.

2) We are also proud of our resource Candidacy and LGBTQ Individuals, which we hope is helpful to candidacy committees working with LGBTQ candidates.

3) Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries has recently been invited to the March Conference of Bishops meeting (all of the bishops from each of the 65 synods gathered) to be part of a panel to discuss placement of LGBTQ candidates and rostered leaders.  We look forward to sharing insights and stories from our community and to partner more closely with the larger church.  Pastor Jason Glombicki (who is being ordained THIS Sunday!) will also be on the panel. Additional panel members include representatives from ReconcilingWorks and two bishops.

We are delighted to be part of this important discussion, which addresses ELM’s mission to create a more welcoming church and to proclaim God’s love and seek justice for all.

Blessings to those who are receiving assignments this week.  We are grateful for your witness.