Category: Uncategorized

Cocoon Days Well Spent

Lewis Eggleston April 23, 2020 1 Comment

by Pastor Mark Erson

Alleluia!  Christ is risen!

Upon opening my eyes and while still lying in bed on the morning of Monday, March 16, my mind started to race.  Isolating and Social distancing were becoming new words in our vocabulary.  Restrictions were just beginning to unfold.  And with that unfolding, lots of questions began to join that racing of my mind. How far would they go in changing our daily lives?  How long would they be in place? This is Lent, Holy Week/Easter are nearing, will this all be done so that we can celebrate “normally”? 

Obviously, I was not alone in my questions.  Perhaps, different sections of the country asked them on different days.  But we are definitely in this together.  We are all discerning and exploring how to be church, the body of Christ, at a time when the body of Christ cannot physically come together in worship, study, mutual support, consolation, and of course, those all-important meetings.

One of the needs that I saw in myself, and assumed for others, was a sense of structure to these days of upheaval that laid ahead.  Also, I anticipated a need to keep kindling the hope that is ours in God’s abiding presence.  So, I decided to start live streaming morning (9 AM) and evening (4:30 PM) prayer, Monday – Saturday.  I have engaged a variety of resources to give a little diversity.  It has certainly helped me to start and finish my day in this way.  And, from the comments of others, I see that it has been welcomed by others way beyond the members of our parish.  It has also reconnected me with folks from various chapters in life.  As one who struggled to enjoy online courses at seminary, I have been surprised how connected I feel when I see folks attending the live stream.  And then of course, there are many who view as they have time.

Something else that has been very heartening, comforting, and inspiring has been the collaboration that has been going on among colleagues.  And, no surprise, it is within our beloved Proclaim cohort that I have seen the most, the best, the most creative, and supportive expressions of collaboration in creating and sharing resources and spiritual support.  I am so thankful for this community.

One of my favorite Easter symbols is the butterfly.  This year, even while we are celebrating our butterfly-ness through the risen Christ, we also have the opportunity to benefit from gaining a deeper understanding of our cocoon days. I pray that we will hold onto the lessons learned, the collaboration bridges built, the new means of connecting engaged, for the sake of proclaiming the gospel and serving the world as the body of Christ.

Blessings, as you make the most of these cocoon days.

Mark Erson – (he/him/his) serves St. John’s Lutheran Church in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, NY, as pastor.  He is also a theatre artist and award-winning playwright.  He is most excited and looking forward to working with Reed Noel on their internship in the coming year.

An Easter Reflection

Lewis Eggleston April 16, 2020 1 Comment

By Rev. Carla Christopher Wilson

“When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus.” John 20:14 (NRSV)
 
I write thoughts on the joyful resurrection of Jesus Christ as a dispatch from the front, at the base of a cresting wave of pandemic viral infection, rapid-fire government regulations, and a hotbed of liturgical reinvention. I wish I could speak with singularly joyful affirmation on how our fellow comrades-of-the-keys (that’s pastor slang for well, pastors) are rising equally to the challenge with compassion and vigor. Instead, it’s more apt to say we are facing this uncertain new world like the earnest and imperfect apostles we are.
 
In John 20:1-18 we read the story of Easter that begins with Mary seeing something unfamiliar happening around the place where her Savior was laid. Neither Mary’s first, second, or even third reaction was to pray or otherwise reach out to God. Instead, in her uncertainly, she ‘run tell’ Simon and Peter, fellow followers of Jesus. Haven’t we done the same? Within the first week of COVID-19 the living room and boardroom warriors arose from their couches and desks with gusto. The interwebs abound with emails from every place we have shopped within the last 7 years letting us know how proactively they are facing the dastardly virus. Well-intentioned watchdogs of virtue are commenting on photos; “Are you standing 6 feet apart? You don’t look 6 feet apart.” The desire to do something, anything – to be in some sort of control – is as understandable as it is an illusion. 
 
Mary, Simon, and Peter were just as clueless together as they were apart. We can hope though, they were perhaps a bit less frightened, more confident, braver, more resilient. That alone is enough to encourage them to at least enter deeper into the tomb of mystery, bringing them closer to the recognition of Jesus in an unfamiliar context. Speaking of context, there are some pretty strong clues here that, to an observer removed by a couple thousand years, scream “divine miracle”. The linen death shroud piled in an empty tomb, a headcover neatly folded and set apart as if removed by unhurried hands…a big glowy set of angels. Mary, of course, sees the face of God and thinks “Hmm..must be the gardener. Nothing to see here folks.” Blessedly, even without the recognition of heavenly handiwork in a situation, God is able to move with freedom, ever patiently creating opportunities for us to catch up.
 
It is not until Jesus uses his teacher voice on Mary (feel free to pause here and breathe a special prayer of blessing and gratitude for educators) that the blossom of truth flowers in Mary’s heart and she breathes the word “Teacher” to Jesus, and knows him. When Mary remembers that she is a student, and surrenders herself to a position of openness and learning, truth is revealed. Even then, Jesus tells her not to hold her absolutes too tightly. (Feel free to pause here and breathe a special prayer of blessing and gratitude for scientists, and researchers.) Today’s truth will be tomorrow’s journey.
 
We have seen many such moments of revelation that come only with surrender and humility in the church and the world. The revelation (and many since received gifts) of people of color as visionary leaders, women as dynamic teachers, and LGBTQIA+ siblings of faith as powerful preachers happened only when we stopped talking past each other in stubborn argument and became observers of the world around us with hearts willing to learn new ways. Until we surrendered our illusion of control and stopped forging boldly ahead on a narrow path, we were not able to conceive another way. There is always another way. (Feel free, and this one is highly encouraged, to pause here and breathe a special prayer of blessing and gratitude for faith leaders and pastoral caregivers who have learned in two weeks to Livestream, Zoom, and conference call the Holy Spirit to God’s faithful even in the midst of half-addled trauma-brain.)
 
Until Jesus completes his journey fully, Earthly adventures abound. Easter ends Lent, but it is not the end. We remain students, learning how to recognize Jesus in a shifting landscape of face coverings and curfews. We seek community, affirmation, and practice what self-care we can to empower our faltering nerves and exited stumblings. Through it all, the Savior is ever-present, known and unknown, leaving signs for when we are ready to receive them. Beginning with Easter, not ending, we go boldly into the new and unknown, as seekers and receivers. We know we will most certainly miss the face of Jesus when we are grieving or scared, confused or lonely. Jesus will still be there. We will still be loved. God will still, without fail, be working.
 
“God of all life, learning, and inspiration, be with us in the time of pandemic and of Easter. Help us be church together, with compassion and openness, patience and thoughtfulness. Inspire us to receive new understanding and to serve your timeless commands in ways that speak to our modern context with faithfulness and respect. Grant us grace and mercy when we fall short and help us to know you in all places and situations. In Jesus’ lovely name we pray. Amen.
 
The Rev. Carla Christopher Wilson (she /her/hers) is a redevelopment pastor serving a congregation in Lancaster, PA. Also the co-chair of Lower Susquehanna Synod’s Racial Justice Task Force, Carla is a queer femme Black (and a little Latinx) warrior for justice and equity. A former Poet Laureate of York, PA and a published writer, Carla is passing her quarantine time writing Triduum poetry and cuddling her puppies.

Triduum Lament

Lewis Eggleston April 9, 2020 No Comments
By Jon Rundquist

While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; with him was a large crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him.” At once he came up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him. Matthew 26:47-49 NRSV

I think I’m like most people these days, in that I really don’t know how to wrap my head around the words “global pandemic”. I cannot fathom either a world without the COVID-19 virus (it feels like it’s been so long) or a world with it. I just don’t really know what to do with it, except panic, and know that somehow, somewhere, God’s got this. 

When I feel out of control, and I need to get my thoughts out somehow, I like to write poetry. Usually, I write within my own confines of the rules of rhythm and metre. I count the syllables, make sure the words rhyme, and feel a slight peak of joy at knowing that I was able to squeeze a certain word into those rules. I hope the whole thing still makes sense. It gives me a sense of control in a world without it. 

However, this lament that I wrote one dark early morning last week, doesn’t follow those usual conventions. But neither does this virus. The following is my early Holy Week/Triduum lament. It just seems that this is what fits these times. 

Triduum Lament

The Last Supper

The feet were washed

The food was served

The people were gathered

The bread was broken

The wine was poured

We were just talking

About the need for unity

We didn’t mean to betray that

We didn’t mean to betray Jesus

We didn’t mean for this to happen

We didn’t need this to happen

 

Most suppers aren’t the last one, but this one could be. 

Most coughs aren’t life-threatening, 

but this one could be. 

It was just a kiss, Jesus

I don’t want to die, Jesus

I don’t want to kill, Jesus

I don’t want 

to kill 

Jesus

 

Pilate Washes His Hands

What uncertain times we live in. 

What an uncertain time you lived in. 

People watching everything

People worrying about everything

What if this isn’t the Messiah we wanted

What if this isn’t the change we needed

What about all the other diseases to worry about

What about all the saviors we’d prayed about

There’s too many people dying, Jesus

There’s too many people killing, Jesus

There’s too many people dying

There’s too many people 

Killing Jesus

 

We’re not supposed to be on that cross

That’s you. That’s all you. 

Money is supposed to be on that cross

All our shame. All our sin. 

But someone got it backward. 

Pilate washes his hands daily

While Caiaphas pleads for us to stay home

Where’s God to set it right

Where’s our Messiah, if not on the cross

Where are you

Jesus

 

In Between

What happened to the food

What happened to the friends

Where’s the parties

Where’s the friendship

We’re caught in the middle

And yet

Still alone

Still very much alone

In between life and death

Certainty and uncertainty

Isolation and safety

Community apart

Togetherness within

 

We anxiously await the end of this Jesus

We need this to end Jesus

When will it end

When will life begin

Again

Loving and Gracious God, we long for a respite from this global pandemic. We see the hope found in other countries returning to a semblance of life as usual. We see our own neighborhoods reeling in fear and anxiety. We remember your journey to the cross, and the pain and suffering of your death. Be with us as we long for what comes next. Guide us through this pain, hold the hands for those lamenting loss. We hold onto your hope, Loving God. Be with us now, and in your kin-dom. In your Loving and Gracious name, we pray, Amen

 

 

 

Jon Rundquist (he/her/theirs) is a lover of Holy Week, a parent and a spouse, and 2017 MDiv. graduate of Luther Seminary. She’s worked at Target on and off since the end of internship, awaiting her own “what comes next”. 
 
For a little longer, he lives an “essential” worker life, while enjoying the added time home with his children and wife. They’ve loved being able to see their friends preach during the pandemic, and will celebrate the Triduum virtually. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Palm Sunday

Lewis Eggleston April 2, 2020 No Comments

Matthew 21:2-3
Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.

This Sunday is Palm Sunday on our liturgical calendars.  This is the day where we commemorate the protest march against the Empire that Jesus coordinated in Jerusalem just before he was executed. Much like the history of Pride, Palm Sunday has become tragically de-politicized. What began in both cases as radical resistance against unjust authority is now painted as something of a politely permitted parade. But without keeping in mind these revolutionary roots, we lose context for Palm Sunday and for our own LGBTQIA+ history.

“Screaming Queens”. Photo courtesy of Timeline.com. Taken after the Compton Cafeteria Riot in 1966 in the San Francisco Tenderloin district.

There is a lot that goes into planning an action like Palm Sunday, a lot of roles to play, a lot of materials to gather.  Jesus relied on the community to provide for the things that he would need. He trusted that the movement that was being built was wider and bigger than the people in his close personal circle. He knew that outside of the people he regularly interacted with, like his disciples and benefactors, there were people in the midst of their ordinary lives who were sympathetic and supportive of the cause in their own way.  Jesus – who had a target on his back – would have had every reason to be skeptical about who he let be a part of his work. But instead of being suspicious of outsiders or acting as a gatekeeper, Jesus reached outside the scope of his normal relationships to invite people in.

LGBTQIA+ people have often had to learn to reach outside of our normal, socially mandated circles – like our family of origin, like traditional churches – to build chosen families and gather support.  Many of us have been denied, betrayed, and wounded by our home churches or our families of origin. But out of this pain, new ways of being community have been formed. LGBTQIA+ people form networks of mutual aid to help one another in times of crisis or need, whether that is raising money for gender-affirming surgery or paying someone’s rent. When the ELCA did not ordain openly LGBTQIA+ leaders, we formed the extraordinary roster, outside of the normal, permissible way of doing things. And queer teenagers in isolated and queer-antagonistic regions reach out online to form friendships across the world that save lives.

Our status quo has been interrupted this year in the midst of a global pandemic.  Our normal ways of forming community, extending support, and sharing resources have been stretched. But the world and the church have much to learn from LGBTQIA+ people.  We have always been resilient and scrappy and creative in building unconventional relationships. We have often reached out, like Jesus, hoping that even if we didn’t quite know who it would be, that scattered amongst our neighborhoods and the internet, there are people there waiting and ready to provide for what we need.

Holy God, you sent your Begotten One, Jesus Christ to show us your radical way of Love and Liberation.  We praise you for giving us the gift of unconventional relationships and creative community building. Thank you for the unknown helpers embedded in our networks. Empower us too to be ready to provide for our neighbors’ needs in times of uncertainty. Amen.


Elle Dowd (she/her/hers) is a bi-furious seminarian at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and a candidate for ordained ministry in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America currently serving as the full-time pastoral intern at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Logan Square, Chicago. Elle has pieces of her heart in Sierra Leone, where her two children were born, and in St. Louis where she learned from the radical, queer, Black leadership during the Ferguson Uprising. She was formerly a co-conspirator with the movement to #decolonizeLutheranism and currently works as a community organizer with the Faith and Justice Collective and SOUL, writes regularly for the Disrupt Worship Project, and facilitates workshops on gender and sexuality and the Church in both secular conferences and Christian spaces. Elle has interests in queer and feminist Biblical interpretation and liberation and body theology. Elle loves spending time with the people she loves and on weekends, Elle tours the city of Chicago in search of the best brunch.


Elle’s Twitter and Instagram handles are @HowNowBrownDowd and her public Facebook page is Facebook.com/ElleDowdMinistry

ELM COVID-19 Reflection & Response

Lewis Eggleston March 26, 2020 No Comments
by ELM Executive Director
Amanda Gerken-Nelson

As a child, my grandparents introduced me to the great musician and comedian, Victor Borge.

In one of his shticks, Victor steps up to the grand piano on a stage with great formality and sits with the posture of a professional. He seems to fumble a bit not knowing which hand goes where before switching the order of the music sheets in front of him (getting a good laugh from the audience). 

He begins playing this vibrant pattern of descending notes with almost staccato-like punctuation. The tune isn’t familiar to the crowd. Without missing much of a beat, Victor flips the orientation of his music upside down and begins playing once again. This time, you can clearly tell that the piece in front of him is the “William Tell Overture.” 

The COVID-19 pandemic seems to have flipped and switched the orientation of the scores our hands – and bodies and voices – are used to playing.

 Adapting to, even fighting, an invisible enemy feels like being blindfolded and swinging the bat at a pinata just as it bends and weaves in a different direction – swooosh!

 And yet, coming into conflict with invisible enemies is not an unfamiliar situation for Christians. 

 This is not where I introduce some concept of evil in the form of a Devil – rather, it’s when I remind myself and others of the enemies of institutionalized racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, ableism, poverty, colonialism…

 Claiming these things as “invisible” enemies diminishes the real experiences of hurt, pain, damage, degradation, and death that is done in the name of those vile institutions. Just as COVID-19 is very real to those who have contracted the illness and those caring for the ill, so too are these injustices realities – and they do require us to behave differently.

 “The opposite of war isn’t peace, it’s creation” sings Mark in Jonathan Larson’s highly acclaimed Broadway musical “RENT” – a musical that engages many of these “invisible enemies” at a time that feels like the end of the world: the AIDS crisis and the end of the 20th century.

 The opposite of war isn’t peace, it’s creation. The opposite of racism isn’t a welcome statement, it’s radically seeking justice and reparations. The opposite of COVID-19 isn’t health, it’s life and livelihood.

 In response to COVID-19 we must social distance. We must shelter in place when directed. We must care for the under- and unemployed, the isolated, the multiply marginalized and all who are vulnerable to the adverse effects of capitalism, especially in these unprecedented times.

 “for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me.” – Matthew 25:35-37

 The voices, leadership, and ministries of the marginalized are to be lifted up in this moment of crisis for we have something to offer in these times.

 At ELM, we strive to center the most marginalized in our community and base our work and efforts and responses around those needs.

 In study, discernment and collaboration, the ELM Staff and Board of Directors have taken the following actions:

 2020 Proclaim Gathering Canceled –  The Gathering has been a space for Proclaim members to come together and replenish themselves for the work ahead. The very real fears and concerns raised by the COVID19 pandemic interrupt and even threaten our ability to gather with our usual sense of joy and delight. Without knowing when the need for social distancing and sheltering in place will end, we would like to focus on what we can do now rather than postpone and hope for the best.

 Assistance Grants for Proclaim Members in Need – The ELM Board of Directors has decided to redirect the money raised for scholarships to attend the 2020 Gathering to instead be used to support the immediate needs of our Proclaim community through an emergency assistance micro-grant program. Grants are available only to Proclaim members and may be used for personal or professional costs. (Click here if you are interested in donating to this fund).

 Making Space to Connect – ELM has long used web conferencing tools to do our national work remotely. During this time of crisis, we will be opening up a specific Zoom line to be made available to Proclaim members for any need. Whether it be connecting with family members who live far away or hosting online worship services, Proclaim members can work with the ELM staff to schedule events on this line without having to purchase a license personally.

 It is true that we do not know how long the physical and social isolation and concern over COVID-19 will last; and, while it persists we must be prepared for the overwhelming grief at the loss it will bring. Our marginalized siblings will have wisdom and guidance to offer in these areas as well. 

 Just as when you look into the wrong end of a telescope things that are far off can seem even further away, a crisis like COVID-19 can make us feel farther from our community, or even our God, than ever before. But, if you turn the telescope around, things that were once far off are brought near. 

 Let’s turn the telescope around and see the community and the wisdom that surrounds us.

Amanda Gerken-Nelson, (she/her/hers) is social distancing and working from her home in Portland, ME with her wife and their dog. Amanda finds herself turning to the wisdom of prophets like Joel Workin in this time of heightened anxiety and is finding comfort in daily walks, lighting candles in prayer, and demolition projects in her new home (see bio photo).

A prayer for the times by Alfi

Lewis Eggleston March 19, 2020 No Comments
 
Let us pray.
 
O Holy, Most Gracious God, You are the Great Healer. Be with those who are effected by COVID-19. Be with them as they seek to find healing for their sickness. Open their ears and hearts to listen to medical professionals as they seek to control the virus as much as possible. Lord in Your mercy, receive our prayer.
 
O Holy, Most Gracious God, You are the Great Physician. Be with medical professionals that seek to treat people. Use them for the good of your creation and give them strength and peace in these troubling times. Lord in Your mercy, receive our prayer.
 
O Holy, Most Gracious God, You are the Great Innovator. Be with those who seek to find a vaccine for this virus and push science forward for the world that You so love. Lord in Your mercy, receive our prayer.
 
O Holy, Most Gracious God, You are the Great Comforter. Be with all who lose someone due to this virus. Encircle them in your everlasting presence. Lord in Your mercy, receive our prayer.
 
O Holy, Most Gracious God, You are the Giver of Life. Be with those who are isolating themselves for the sake of their neighbor. Allow them to feel your community while they are alone. Lord in Your mercy, receive our prayer.
 
O Holy, Most Gracious God, You are the One who draws children near. Be with the children in unsafe situations due to the isolation measures that have been taken.  Protect them. Love them. Provide Your presence. Lord in Your mercy, receive our prayer.
 
O Holy, Most Gracious God, You are our Ever-loving Creator. Be with transgender, non-binary, gender non-conforming, agender, and queer identifying people who are in unsafe situations due to isolation measures. Remind them that they are beloved by you and that you see them for who they are, their names and pronouns included. Lord in Your mercy, receive our prayer.
 
O Holy, Most Gracious God, You are the Great Leader. Be with the leaders of our world as they seek to navigate the unknown and the fears that go along with it. Lord in Your mercy, receive our prayer.
 
O Holy, Most Gracious God, You are the Great Controller. Be with us as we attempt to release the need for control to You when we struggle with our own fears and the unknown. Lord in Your mercy, receive our prayer.
 
Into Your hands, O Holy, Most Gracious God, we place all our concerns in this turbulent time knowing that You see us, love us, seek us, and will always be present through Your Son, Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit we commend these prayers to You.
 
Amen. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Alfi (they/them/theirs) is currently a final year seminary student at Wartburg Theological Seminary and has been approved for ordination. They currently await a call to serve the church and they are a member of Proclaim.

an untitled poem in response to Psalm 81

Lewis Eggleston March 12, 2020 No Comments

morning light presses against the window pane and

     slips through the slats of the blinds
     promises of more to come
          joy
          love
          laughter
     muted tones now
     greys hint at the color of things in actuality 
but
     the morning is slow
 
soon I’ll rise
 
I’ll fling wide those blinds
     draw them up
so they impede no longer
     the technicolor world
     the rush and noise of life
          a world of possibility
          of wonder
          of hope
 
I’ll fling wide those blinds to see all things 
     becoming new
          whole
          sweet
          holy
          
God at work
     ever creating
and we
     the continual work 
         of God’s hands
 

Pastor Anna Gordy (she/ her/ hers) is a resident of San Antonio who grew up in the Deep South and who moved regularly across the continental United States as an adult.  She is grateful after a lifetime of searching to finally be able to call Texas “home”.  Mother, grandmother(!), artist, spouse, lover, pastor, and friend are her callings, and she believes the call we share is to be neighbor to all the world.

Second Sunday in Lent: A Reflection by Sergio Rodriguez

Lewis Eggleston March 5, 2020 No Comments

Second Sunday in Lent: A Reflection by Sergio Rodriguez

Creator, Keep us

From Familias torn up

Deja y Vete. 

Sera. 

The words of promise from God to Abram lessen not the sting of having to leave home for a new home. This movement from Familia to better pastures is triune for person@s who make this journey during this Lenten season; away from tierra(country), hogar (home) y Dioscito. The pain is a triune mystery; pass the loaves around, tears abound. Creator, May the Forces that Defy you and tear apart our familias be kept away from us.

 

O Slumbering Shade, 

Keep our Swiping left or right

Ahora, Siempre. 

Amen. 

And so, where does help come for those on this three-fold journey? It is a camino towards encountering life and love in the digital age. Our Shade slumbers, our profiles move left and right, and we are kept not in everlasting serenity but in an uneasy tension; in love and community. Our identity and place in our communities dubiously go in and out of sync; out going out and coming in predicated on human caprice and prejudice. Wake up, slumbering Shade, and rise up for rest and life stand ever so on the ever-moving ground of evil. Amen. 

 

Heaven and Earth keep

Record of so-called progress

Humans born in bits. 

Fragments

The cosmos itself stands as a witness against the very working of principalities and powers in nulling our common life and existence as we race towards the point of no return. No longer shall our communities vacillate between the law and gospel, promise and wrath but between singularity and humanity. Our bodies, our Queer progeny, the very promise of land, all these realities continue to be fragmented by the principalities and powers with the promise of a new age of conformity. Not with a particular land, creed, identity and familia but in the white-washed promise that we shall call into existence the silicone things that do not exist. God of our ancestors, may your creation reveal to us the principalities and powers that struggle against our life in the cosmos that you may give life to we who are dead in the winding turns of this camino.

 

Hills and Paris Burn, 

Love blows, fluids gush out, 

…“From or where it goes”

See. 

Hear. 

The Pain of leaving behind, of love lost, of the struggle against principalities and powers, burns deep in our communal life. Yet amid this pain, the breath of life, the gift of love from above, comes into us. New life trickles down into the very communities that burn in the fires of the forces that defy God and births a radically different way of being. No fragments, no torn Familias, no false promises but the tender whispers of our teacher gushing out into our hearts. Words of love, Word of life. 

Sergio Rodriguez (he/him/his) is the Pastoral Intern/Campus Minister-(Rice University) at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Houston, TX. He is a final year student at Wartburg Theological Seminary. He is originally from McAllen, TX.