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Blog: Indigenous People’s Day

Suzannah Porter October 9, 2023 No Comments

On Indigenous People’s Day, ELM wanted to take a moment to highlight and uplift ways Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries can be in solidarity with our indigenous members and neighbors. ELM is committed to liberation of all marginalised communities, and to centering the voices of queer folx who experience multi-layered intersectional and systemic oppression 

We are particularly thankful for the intense labor that went into creating the Truth and Healing Movement in the ELCA, which provides opportunities to learn the true history and current realities of Indigenous people. It is these truths, truths that have been ignored by most for hundreds of years, that will bring healing for both Indigenous people and non-Indigenous people. There are some upcoming classes and seminars, and a wonderful calendar of events on the website. There are also several recorded sessions on youtube if you are unable to make the session times. Here is a list of further resources housed on the ELCA website.

The ELCIC has several resources as well, including this explainer about the Doctrine of Discovery, and the dangers of denying the existence of Residential Schools. 

We invite queer Indigenous people to share in the comments anything you would like ELM to know about what it means to you to be queer and Indigenous.

Below is a link to the TikTok account of a Two-Spirit Anishinaabe community leader from whom we have learned a great deal. Non-Indigenous folks, we invite you to share resources from the queer Indigenous people who are your greatest teachers.

We join in solidarity and prayer as we continue to work toward a future where all of God’s people are honored and treated with care.

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8raxAAu/

 

ELM Blog: Dance On, Beloveds by Rev Kelsey Brown

Mycah McNett August 10, 2023 No Comments
 
 

O’Shea Sibley loved to dance. It came out of his pores. Just even looking at the pictures and videos that have been shared since his life was cut short you can see it. He was made to move. He was created to share his gift – and boy did he share it. 

O’Shea was freedom, when the world had placed shackles on his feet. He was joy, in the face of horror and despair. He was love, and for him and his beloved community, Vogue was so much more than a Madonna song, or a jaded fad. For O’Shea and their siblings it was life. Renaissance and Beyonce’s nod to the Ballroom community made them (and me) feel seen and valued. It gave life. Heck… it still does because If I know anything about the vogue category… it doesn’t stop. If I know anything about the ballroom community – it doesn’t stop, no matter the forces of oppression that try to snatch away its crowns and dull its shine 

Ball culture and the houses which call its halls home are not just a commodity. They’re not some ancient relic from the 1980’s and 90’s, not a pastime, not wiped out by the AIDS epidemic only to be revived for tv profit. For the community, those houses and the families found within their doors are a beacon, a bright light in a mineshaft.  For our Black and Brown siblings in particular, they are a refuge, a welcome shelter from the storm.

When a hate crime is committed, especially towards a member of our own LGBTQ2SIA+ community it can be easy to hide away in fear. To be shamed and scared back into the closet… or into the shadows. That’s what they want – those who would try to hurt us.. those who sometimes succeed.

O’Shea never lived life in the shadows – even up until the moment he was taken from this world he was cutting up, he was oozing joy… he was caring for his community, he was putting his body, elegant lines, whirling motion, and all on the line. He stood up for his chosen family and was struck down for it. 

Today and every day forward we honor his life and the lives of all those Black and Brown bodies who didn’t make the headlines. We march for him, we cry out for him, and we DANCE FOR HIM.

O’Shea Sibley’s life mattered. It was complex and joyful. It was camp and extra.
it was worth all this life had to offer and we will not rest, we recommit ourselves to the work of making sure this doesn’t happen again. And we will push back against those who attempt to use his death as an excuse for Islamophobic hate. 

We gathered at that same Mobil station where on July 29th our sibling was struck down – a ball hosted by BlackTransLiberationKitchen– where we danced and shouted and gave thanks to God that O’Shea was with us and for us – and that we were with him. 

Each dip will be a blessing, each pose and chant a hallelujah, each fan clack an Amen. 

Rev. Kelsey Brown (she/her) describes herself as sometimes funny, frequently anxious, and completely committed to the liberation of all marginalized persons. Hailing from Suffolk County, Long Island, New York – she comes equipped with the accent & attitude to back it up. In her free time Pastor Kelsey can be found at the beach with a book of spoken word poetry, breaking it down on the dance floor, and exploring with Christian ritual creation. She believes with her full heart that God’s delight in diversity is call for us all to embrace the fullness of humanity.

ELM Statement regarding denial of Megan Rohrer’s on-leave from call status

Mycah McNett July 7, 2023 No Comments
Dear ELM constituents and supporters,

You have likely heard about Interim Bishop Claire Burkat’s (she/her) announcement last week that she has decided to deny former Bishop Dr. Megan Rohrer’s (he/they) request for On Leave From Call status, effectively removing Dr. Rohrer from the roster of Ministers of Word and Sacrament in the ELCA. This announcement has evoked a wide variety of responses from LGBTQIA2S+ church members and leaders across the ELCA and beyond, many of whom have contacted ELM to ask questions and express their feelings and thoughts. 

First, we’d like to provide answers to some of the most frequently asked questions. Many are asking if the racist actions that led ELM to suspend Dr. Rohrer’s membership in Proclaim were included in Bishop Burkat’s decision. To our knowledge, they were not. Representatives from ELM were interviewed by the Listening Panel that conducted the first investigation into Dr. Rohrer’s racist actions against Rev. Nelson Rabell-González and Iglesia Luterana Santa María Peregrina (formerly Misión Latina Luterana). However, we were not interviewed for subsequent investigations. In addition, ELM is an independent non-profit organization that serves queer rostered leaders and candidates in the ELCA and ELCIC. As such, Dr. Rohrer’s actions in this organization are not within the purview of the synod or the Churchwide organization. However, it is understandable that the similar timelines of ELM’s announcement of Dr. Rohrer’s suspension of membership in Proclaim – or persistent and unrepentant racism towards fellow Proclaim members, board members, and ELM staff in December 2021 – and the public outcry regarding Dr. Rohrer’s racist actions toward Rev. Dr. Rabell-González and Iglesia Luterana Santa María Peregrina in December 2021, could lead outside observers to assume the events were connected. They were not, except in the sense that racism is an evil that infiltrates every aspect of our lives and that when racists are permitted to mistreat people of color in one organization, they become increasingly likely to do so in others.

Another common question is whether or not Dr. Rohrer is pursuing legal action against ELM. To our knowledge, he is not. Should this change, you will be notified. It is our understanding that Dr. Rohrer is pursuing legal action against the ELCA and the Sierra Pacific Synod for discriminatory practices. 

The third question we have encountered frequently this past week is if we regret our decision to suspend Dr. Rohrer’s membership in Proclaim in light of Bishop Burkat’s recent decision, and in light of the significant decrease in financial support that followed our decision. We do not. But we do regret not taking action sooner. Dr. Rohrer engaged in severe and persistent racism within ELM that was allowed to continue unchecked for years. When leadership finally began to take the reports from BIPOC members seriously, we tried to “fix” the problem by repeatedly engaging in unfruitful conversations with Dr. Rohrer and expecting that the behavior would magically change. When, in 2021, we finally listened to the alarm bells being raised by people of color and invited Dr. Rohrer into an intentional process of reconciliation, it was too little, too late. Dr. Rohrer declined our request and we made the difficult, but necessary decision to suspend them from their role in Proclaim and ELM, preventing them fromcontinuing to put BIPOC queer people at risk. If we had acted earlier, perhaps Dr. Rohrer would not have been able to go on to cause harm to BIPOC people (some of them also LGBTQIA2+) in his bishopric. This is something we continue to repent. We likewise repent not sharing our decision with the trans people in our constituency in a way that truly acknowledged how their own traumas around exclusion and expulsion from church spaces might be activated anew.

Lastly, many folks are asking how we feel about the announcement regarding the denial of Dr. Rohrer’s request for On Leave From Call status. That is a question that is harder to answer. There are people in and connected to our organization who are people of color, some of whom were directly harmed by Dr. Rohrer’s racism. There are transgender people in and connected to our organization, some of whom were removed from calls or churches because of their trans identity. There are QTBIPOC people in our organization who carry all of these painful experiences and more. There are QTBIPOC youth who have been watching a racist bishop being allowed to threaten and deride multiple BIPOC people and communities, while also watching that same bishop being threatened and derided because of their transness. It is for them that we continue endeavoring to do the crucial work of dismantling kyriarchy. This is a challenging goal indeed, but one for which we are uniquely suited. Queer Christians, especially queer Lutherans, and most especially QTBIPOC Lutherans, know how to hold multiple truths in tension. The first openly trans bishop in the ELCA has effectively been defrocked. That is something to mourn. And for the first time, an ELCA bishop faced real consequences for racist behavior and is not being permitted to continue to engage in that behavior in our denomination. That is something to celebrate. We can do both, and we know that God envelops us in loving care as we do so.

As for ELM’s plans for moving forward from this announcement, our goals are simple. We seek to listen closely and carefully to all people affected, especially QTBIPOC people, both simply to hear and honor their experiences and to better take action in the future. And we seek to pray for one another as we all navigate these complicated feelings, many of us doing so as our own traumas are being reactivated. This is incredibly difficult work, but we rejoice that we are not doing it alone. If you are in need of prayer, assistance in processing these events, or simply a listening ear, we are here. Please reach out to our Proclaim chaplains via the Proclaim Facebook group, or the ELM board at board@elm.org. 

As you go forward in this work, please know that we are praying for each of you in the name of the One who turns our mourning into dancing, who looses our sackcloth and clothes us with gladness, who promises eternal accompaniment.

God loves you and so do we,
ELM Board of Directors

ELM Blog: Remembering Marsha P. Johnson

Mycah McNett July 6, 2023 No Comments

ELM Blog: Remembering Marsha P. Johnson

As far as Queer saints go, Ms. Johnson is at the top of the list. She is joy, and light, and a constant companion in the search for God at work in this world. She worked tirelessly throughout her life to create a welcoming, loving community for LGBTQIA+ young folks through the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) which she started with Sylvia Rivera. Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera are often remembered as the first to throw a brick at the Stonewall Uprising which started in Greenwich Village in 1969. While they were not always welcome at Pride celebrations by cisgender members of the LGBTQIA+ community, they paved their way into the space through love and determination.
 
One of our favorite things about Marsha is the often-overlooked role she held as a spiritual leader in the community. This article touches on a bit on Marsha’s relationship with spirituality, and her life as a Saint of Welcome.
 
Here are a couple of our favorite videos of Marsha. Particularly on the day of her death (which, whatever way it went down, was likely terrifying), it is important for queer folks, esp. BIPOC queer folks, to see her happy.
 
Here she is singing Climb Every Mountain. Performed by the Hot Peaches at the Harvest Moon Cabaret at the Theater for the New City, NYC, 1990. Sung by Marsha P. Johnson with Ron Jones, Teri Paris, Jimmy Camicia, Tony Fish Nunziata, Michael Lynch, Mark Hannay. Steve Kauffman on the piano.
 
Here is an interview of Marsha talking about the importance of community care, and the importance of reaching a hand out to help each other in the LGBTQIA+ community.
 
This post was crafted by Board Members Jessica Davis (They/Them) and Mycah McNett (She/Her)

A Final Word from Associate Director of Generosity & Communications, Deacon Lewis

Lewis Eggleston June 30, 2023 No Comments

“You see the smile that’s on my mouth
It’s hiding the words that don’t come out
And all of our friends who think that I’m blessed
They don’t know my head is a mess”
 
Yesterday, it was announced that my position, and the Operations Support position, were eliminated at ELM. Amongst a backdrop of Pride celebrations at the same time as the Supreme Court wiped out the rights for persons of color and the queer community. In Brandi Carlile’s words, our collective “heads are a mess.” 
 
I spent the last 4.5 years on a journey, building up a movement, with my 400+ fellow queer seminarian & rostered ministry leaders- along with the thousands more queer & ally supporters from church pews to church councils to Churchwide. What an absolute joy & blessing. 
 
“All of these lines across my face
Tell you the story of who I am
So many stories of where I’ve been
And how I got to where I am”
 
It’s been the best & hardest ministry- overflowing in stories of a movement’s journey. When Amanda left ELM to begin her ministry with her congregation in Maine, at her goodbye reception I told her the Executive Director for ELM really serves as an unofficial Queer Lutheran Bishop. This persons serves as a leader of movement that advocates & offers support for 400+ vulnerable ministry leaders while partnering with other marginalized Lutheran communities in an effort to move the church towards liberation, using our collective bargaining power to lift up & raise awareness to things on a more macro level than what most individual pastors can give time & energy towards. I have been a humble participant & witness to this. 
 
However, this past year has been hard. The ELM staff has been overtasked trying to maintain and keep the ship afloat in lieu of having this unofficial Queer Bishop. As we’re all now aware, the new ED search happened at the same time when a major drop in giving occurred. ELM’s statement regarding Bishop Rohrer’s racist’s actions towards ELM staff & board members- remains the prime reason ELM is struggling and why Sharei and I are no longer able to do ministry at ELM. 
 
The irony is and what is ultimately so infinity hard about this ministry and every ministry, is that if ELM said nothing about the harm caused, we would be fine. But the new executive director would probably just now, be deep in the process of pulling Proclaim membership of the former Bishop and apologizing to the community for waiting so long to do so- years after the harmful actions happened, adding another apology in a litany of apologies to communities of color for once again ignoring harmful actions. It’s unfortunate that ELM broke the cycle of this harmful Lutheran pattern and had to pay a heavy price for living into its mission and values. 
 
And yet, I close my ministry with ELM with a deep heartfelt belief that queer ministry leaders will continue to change the church for the better. 
 
We still need Lutheran organizations that advocate for queer seminarian and ministry leaders. Ask any rural queer pastor seeking a call or who is currently in a call- there is still much more work to be done!
 
I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as I did with ELM. I look forward to partnering with you, and ELM, in the movement forward.  
 
“I climbed across the mountaintops
Swam all across the ocean blue
I crossed all the lines and I broke all the rules
But baby, I broke them all for you”
 
Blessings Beloved, 
Deacon Lewis
 

Deacon Lewis Eggleston (he/him) lives in Alexandria, VA with his husband and their pup, Carla. In his spare time (which I guess now is all the time), Lewis sings, a lot. He loves community theater, walks with the pup & husband, terrible tv, and great food with friends. 

Important Update From ELM Regarding Staff

Mycah McNett June 29, 2023 No Comments

Dear Community,

The ELM Board comes to you with hard news today. We regret to inform our community that due to our current financial situation, we have had to take immediate measures to ensure the continuation of our organization. 

Giving has significantly reduced from 2021 to 2023. ELM also saw a significant decline in donations after ELM’s call to anti-racist commitments following the actions of former Bishop Megan Rohrer towards Proclaim members, including board members and staff. The Board also takes accountability that donor connectivity with ELM decreased in the vacancy of an Executive Director since December 2021.

The measures we are taking to ensure the continuation of ELM include suspending the positions of Operations Coordinator and the Associate Director of Development & Communications at this time. The Board is in the process of issuing separation agreements with ELM staff members Sharei Green (she/her) and Deacon Lewis Eggleston (he/him), whose staff roles will end this month. 

We understand these measures have taken place at an unfortunate time while we honor Juneteenth and Pride Month. We regret the timing of this action, but found it necessary as the fiscal caretakers of the organization. 

We are grateful for the ministry of Sharei and Lewis and we lift up the years of service and the impact that each had on ELM. While Sharei and Lewis are no longer staff members at ELM, Sharei and Lewis will remain members of the Proclaim community.
 
You might wonder how we plan to fill those gaps in the meantime. The ELM board will continue to work tirelessly in support of ELM’s ministry and programs. The ELM board will continue to support the work of ELM’s Program Director, Olivia LaFlamme-Washington (they/them) and all LGTQ2IAS+ Lutheran ministry leaders and queer Lutheran movements. 

In the short-term, members of the Board of Directors are taking on all essential tasks in communications, development, and operations. The Board of Directors will be outlining additional volunteer roles to support the ongoing work of ELM and seeking faithful partners in those roles. 

ELM, in its predecessor organizations, began as a completely volunteer-led movement, and then operated for several years with a smaller staff. We have a rich history of faithful volunteers contributing to this critical ministry.  The visioning work that began with the conversations with Rozella and Chris through the LOVE report, and will continue with the Proclaim gathering, is just the beginning of what we trust will renew ELM through this season of ministry.

Financial support will be critical to sustaining and strengthening ELM for the future. The Board of Directors is reaching out to current and historic donors but also seeks to mobilize new donors and resources with interest in this powerful mission and work. We seek partnership in increasing financial investment in ELM’s ministry through all avenues. Please reach out to the ELM Board with any ideas on people and places to seek financial support.

Any specific questions at this time can be directed to board@elm.org.
 
Peace,
Clyde Walter and Mycah McNett, ELM Board Co-Chairs,
in cooperation with the entire ELM Board of Directors

LOVE Report from RHW Consulting

Mycah McNett June 23, 2023 2 Comments
Results of the LOVE Report from
Rozella Haydee White

ELM friends,

In Summer / Fall 2022, ELM contracted with Rozella Haydee White, The #LoveBigCoach, to conduct a survey and analysis to better understand ELM’s current state as an organization and also discern what ELM’s next chapter in ministry might hold. The survey process included 1-1 conversations with staff and Board members, group listening sessions with diverse stakeholder groups, and a broad-reaching survey sent to all ELM constituents. Over 120 people participated in this process. 

This winter Rozella delivered the following report and this spring Rozella met to review the report with the Board.
 

Highlights from the report include:

  • A key theme emerged throughout the surveying: there is significant grief that is present throughout the organization at-large. This grief is due to multiple factors outlined in the report.
  • There are differing thoughts about the vision, mission, and values of ELM. 
  • Many respondents had positive things to say about Olivia’s leadership as the Program Director. There is also confusion about the programs that ELM officially provides. Proclaim seems to be the only program that has an infrastructure and some clarity about purpose.  
  • There is confusion about what the work of the Board is and what is the responsibility of the staff. 
  • Many respondents believe that ELM’s commitment to anti-racism is critically important, however, there was not consensus in what this means for the organization writ large. 
  • Constituents at all levels are seeking stronger communication and connectivity.


From this research, numerous opportunities are named, numerous vulnerabilities are named, and Rozella offers considerations for ELM looking forward.

We hope you will take time to read the report and join us in continuing conversation and discernment about ELM’s future in ministry.

Sincerely, 
Mycah McNett and Clyde Walter
ELM Board Co-Chairs

LOVE Report – ELM

ELM Pride Blog Series: By Bishop Brenda Bos

Lewis Eggleston June 22, 2023 1 Comment

We are Family!
By Bishop Brenda Bos

“We are Family! I got all my sistahs with me!” 

“We Are Family” was and is a beloved Pride anthem and a monster hit, rising up in the middle of my teenage years. Yes, children, I am THAT old. The age of disco may not have had cell phones, but we did have running water and cars, and on a Saturday night I might have taken a hot shower and gotten into my Ford Capri and gone dancing with my friends, many of whom, surprise, surprise, were gay men. 

This was the age of cocaine, which I did not use; I wasn’t even a drinker, but hyped up on Diet Coke and friendship, I danced and sang this anthem at the top of my lungs. 

“All the people around us they say 
‘Can they be that close?’
Just let me state for the record
We’ve giving love in a family dose.”

Yes, siblings in Christ, my fabulous rainbow clan, we are family. You may not know “She’s family” used to be code for “She’s queer too.” It came right after the lousy euphemism “My uncle has a friend” and before my least favorite, when we referred to partners as “lovers.” I mean, the term “lover” is a positive one, but always felt a little more illicit than I preferred. 

“No we don’t get depressed
Here’s what we call our golden rule
Have faith in you and the things you do
You won’t go wrong
This is our family jewel.”

OK, so this is a great gay anthem, always brings down the house. But WOW doesn’t have a compelling theological call? We are always trying to preach and teach we are the family of God, beloved children of our Heavenly Parent, Jesus is a brother and friend…. But most of us have experienced the true pain of not being family – either literally among our flesh and blood, or figuratively as we are not welcome in congregations, schools, peer groups, etc. To be honest, I never understand how people in the Lutheran church, steeped in the confessions of grace, can ever say I am not welcome among them. Am I not a beloved child of God? Are we not joined together as the Body of Christ? In Christ Jesus are we not all one? 

“We are family
Get up everybody and sing
We are family
I got all my sisters with me
We are family”

So the LGBTQ community embraced this song for all the right reasons (and the fact its always fun to say “Sister Sledge”!) and I pray someday the church will embrace this song fully too. Sing it loud and proud, beloveds: Because of God’s grace in your life, because of the power of the Holy Spirit:

“Have faith in you and the things you do
You won’t go wrong
This is our family jewel.” 
Adopted by God, beloved by our Creator. You are the jewel. You are the prize. You are family. 

Brenda Bos (she/her) is the first openly lesbian bishop elected in the ELCA. She serves the Southwest California Synod, whose territory sits on the homeland of eleven indigenous peoples and includes the Hollywood sign, “The Valley”, coastal cities, farmland and urban deserts. She and her wife Janis spend their free time hiking with their dogs and making their house more fun for their young granddaughter. 

ELM Pride Blog! By Kelsey Brown

Lewis Eggleston June 15, 2023 No Comments

A Higher Love!
By Rev. Kelsey Brown

Maybe it’s the fact that we share a birthday?

Two proud August Leos with sass and chaotic energy to prove it. 
Or that we’re both former East Coast/Black Church choir singers
Maybe It’s her troubled past or her love affair with her long-time best friend. 
But I have always felt incredibly connected to Whitney Houston 
Brought to my knees by her death and to standing ovation by her voice.
 
When I think about Pride, of the thump of techno beats and the freeness of shared space I feel fully myself. I can’t help but think about how much more free her life would have been if she was able to move and exist as her true self. What her future would have been if she was called beloved and not given over to the fame game to be chewed up and spit out. If she, like some of us would have listened to her heart and not the harshness of her family, of their church…. of societies expectations. 
 
The first time I heard “higher love” by Kygo and Whitney Houston I was in awe! The words were moving of course but coupled with the dance beat – something just settled in my spirit. I was equal parts ready to find my rightful place in the middle of a gay bar dance floor to belt my face off and to burst into tears. 
 
“Think about it.
There must be a higher love.
Down in the heart or hidden in the stars above.
Without it, life is wasted time.
Look inside your heart, and I’ll look inside mine
 
Things look so bad everywhere.
In the whole world, what is fair?
We walk the line and try to see.
Failing behind in what could be, oh.
 
Bring me a higher love!
Bring me a higher love, oh! 
Bring me a higher love! 
Where’s that higher love I keep thinking of?”
 
 
Isn’t that what we want friends? In the middle of this dumpster fire of a world – a higher love. A love that transcends any barriers, that transports us to the stars above. 
Don’t we want a world filled with more fairness – a full life and not a wasted one. 
 
I know in this community, of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries and its programmatic branch, Proclaim I have been able to find this “higher love”. This love that uplifts and supports. This love that stretches and pulls towards. Full belly laughter coupled with the dark humor of “I’ve been through that before, here’s how to make it out the other side.”  I have loved our comradery, the both/and, the joy and the sorrow.
 
I have loved you. Each of you. For the gifts you bring to our community and for the hope you bring to our Church. 
 
Yet sadly, the Church continues to have debates about us without us. The world has perverted Christ’ message of welcome and care for the other to mean just some, or only people who look, think, and act like we want them to. Well… today instead of wishing them a few choice words I wish them a higher love – a more expansive view. I wish them what we have found to be true, that queerness and transness are gifts given by God – that our belovedness is not despite of our identities but because God created us to be so and in turn calls us beloved. I wish them that kind of love – the love we’ve been dreaming of. 
 

Rev. Kelsey Brown (she/her) describes herself as sometimes funny, frequently anxious, and completely committed to the liberation of all marginalized persons. Hailing from Suffolk County, Long Island, New York – she comes equipped with the accent & attitude to back it up. In her free time Pastor Kelsey can be found at the beach with a book of spoken word poetry, breaking it down on the dance floor, and exploring with Christian ritual creation. She believes with her full heart that God’s delight in diversity is call for us all to embrace the fullness of humanity.

ELM Pride Series Blog: Kyle Hanson

Lewis Eggleston June 8, 2023 No Comments

Feeling Mighty REAL!
By Kyle Hanson

Coming out in the 1980’s in South Dakota was not an easy task. I vividly remember sneaking over to the one gay bar in town, parking my car blocks away, and going through the double security doors that revealed what seemed like Oz at the time.

I remember fondly the joy of dancing and the freedom that came with the beats of music. It felt safe, it felt like I had found my people, and we danced for hours on end. One song in particular stands out to me, the Jimmy Sommerville version of an old Sylvester song “You make me feel (Mighty Real)”.

The lyrics sing out “You make me feel mighty real” and at the end of the song it repeats “I feel real, I feel real, I feel real.”  And I did feel real, for the first time in my life.

As I have grown older, I am discovering that I miss the freedom of dancing, the ability to let it all go and be part of a rhythm that is communal, larger than us.

This week the Human Rights Campaign issued a State of Emergency for the LGBTQIA2S+ Community. Alongside the warning they issued a guidebook to help people navigate the laws and dangers as people live and travel within the United States. My fear is that these places of safety are disappearing and people’s ability to be REAL, to be fully themselves is under attack and in many places being real is dangerous.

My faith calls us to action for those around us who are in real danger, who just for being authentically themselves, created in God’s image, are literally and figuratively under attack. I am proud to live in Minnesota, a state that has taken a stand to become a refuge for people seeking gender affirming care. 

As we enter Pride month and our celebrations and our dancing, let us not forget that our freedom to be real is not guaranteed. Feeling mighty real, and loved by our creator, is not something that everyone experiences. I know first hand what it feels like to not be able to be your authentic self, to feel judged by the church, and to have to hide who you are. I also know the great joy in discovering that we are loved as we are, that we are celebrated unconditionally, and that in turn we can turn that love and acceptance outward to the world. The end of Sylvesters Song whips into a bit of a frenzy, and I remember spinning and singing and dancing- Make me feel – mighty real, You make me feel mighty real, I feel Real- I feel real- I feel Real. My prayers today are that YOU feel real, and that you can know the joy of fully accepting yourself for who you are. 

Happy Pride!

Pastor Kyle Hanson (He/Him/His) was ordained in 2020 and is currently serving St James Lutheran Church in Crystal as an associate Pastor. Kyle is also the Executive Director of Agate Housing and Services, an organization that shelters, feeds and supports people experiencing homelessness. https://agatemn.org

Kyle and his husband John are celebrating 20 years together this summer and live in Minneapolis with their children Jace and Henry.