Proclaimers write thank you cards to ELM Friends during 2015 Gathering
I’m so thankful for the signs of Easter I see every day in the ministry leaders you support through your giving to Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries.
This year, the Proclaim Gathering falls in the season of Easter – and for many it is truly a new morning where they can step out from the time of Lent and into the transforming light of the risen Christ.
They experience the joy of hearing the word “gay” alongside words like “fabulous, beloved, joyous, and called.”
Right now, we’re raising funds to support our upcoming Proclaim Gathering – especially to provide scholarships to those who need them.
The critical need for these scholarships became very clear when I was reading a note from one scholarship applicant.
I stopped short at this sentence: “I grew up in a church where the word gay was not used.”
That comment caught my eye because for so long, many LGBT Christians experienced hurt because of the way gay and lesbian people were spoken about in church.
Now there is a new pain caused by silence. Many in the ELCA want to move quickly from a past of exclusion. Yet a growing number of people continue to experience the pain caused when the church doesn’t mention our identities or our families.
ELM is working to change that. You can join us. You can remind this future pastor that the darkness of silence during Lent leads to the bursting joyfulness of Easter. You can remind them they do not walk alone.
And I invite you this Easter Season to come out about your support for LGBTQ ministry leaders. Tell your own story of transformation and resurrection.
Thank you for all you do for LGBTQ ministry leaders.
Amalia Vagts
Amalia Vagts is thankful for the gift of being part of the National Proclaim Gathering to hear the stories of LGBTQ people called to rostered ministry so she can share them with all of you.
I heard myself say those words to a friend in a conversation in January of 2014 and couldn’t believe I was saying it out loud. All the shame, guilt, and repression from my childhood in a fundamentalist Baptist church and school came roaring up from the depths of my psyche and I collapsed into a weeping mess for the next few hours. My friend was amazing and simply held me and let me cry it out. When I got through the initial emotional meltdown, I knew I needed some help for the next part of the journey.
After finding the website for Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries (ELM) and an agonizing three hours of writing, deleting, and rewriting, I finally sent an email. The response was amazingly quick with a wonderful offer to talk on the phone.
I called and in our conversation ELM program director Jen Rude explained to me that ELM had recently started a project of offering conversation partners for rostered leaders and seminarians in the coming out process. She shared that Proclaim is made up of people who have had a variety of coming out experiences and that it can often help to talk with someone who has been there. (Here’s some more information about pastors and seminarians getting support while coming out). Jen offered to connect me to Donn Rosenauer, a retired Lutheran pastor and Proclaim member, who happened to live in the Dallas metro area where I live.
From our first meeting, Donn’s words of affirmation have continued to uphold me during this process: reminding me that I am a Child of God, created in God’s image, as I was intended to be from the very beginning; encouraging me to write about my experience and to spend time reviewing the journey to this point; but most importantly, helping me to see where God is at work in my life and in the life of the people around me.
Rev. Donn Rosenauer
Donn Rosenauer says this about ELM’s project to support those coming out: “The ministry in which I am engaged is a needed resource for many on this journey. I have accompanied several pastors coming out. I’ve been doing this ministry as a volunteer with ELM for a little more than two years. I have grown in this service to others and hope this ministry can be an ongoing gift to those we serve.”
Then began the process of coming out – to my wife of 28 years, my family, my friends, and my congregation. As each of these events occurred, Donn encouraged me to not give into my fear but to allow for the work of the Holy Spirit in the response of each person and group. My wife and I are determined to remain friends even as we proceed with a divorce. My family, though struggling deeply to accept the truth, has continued to remain connected and to profess their love for me. The congregation I was serving, though fairly conservative, was much more accepting than I could ever have imagined. I still felt the need to leave and find another call where I can better live into this part of my identity. I am currently serving as an interim pastor while looking for a new call.
In December I officially became a member of the Proclaim community and am looking forward to attending the Proclaim Gathering in April. Through it all, Donn has continued to point me back to God’s work within me and within this process. He has been an incredibly supportive mentor, spiritual director, and friend who understands, who encourages, and who even provides the needed joy and laughter when I get too anxious and self-absorbed.
I say “Thank You!” to Donn, to ELM, to Proclaim and to all who have helped to provide this support and encouragement. I can’t imagine going through this without such amazing people. God is definitely at work within this community and its amazing members!
by Marvin Havard. Marvin (he/him/his) is serving as interim pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Carrollton, TX. After 15 years working as a church musician, he defected to the other side of the bench and was ordained in 2009 as a graduate of Wartburg Theological Seminary. Marvin is an avid reader and has been known to quote Tolkien, Asimov, and other sci-fi/fantasy writers in sermons.
by Rev. Emily E. Ewing, ELM board member and convener of the Proclaim program
One of the reasons I love being a part of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries (ELM) is that we as an organization believe that difference makes a difference. Because of this belief 6 years ago ELM formally committed to ongoing anti-oppression work. We dedicate 4-8 hours to training and/or education at one of our two in-person board meetings each year. We focus on a variety of areas of anti-oppression work.
Rev. Gordon Straw (right) leads board training.
This year the Rev. Gordon Straw, one of our ELM Board members and a member of the Brothertown Indian Nation, led our time together. Gordon provided information, led an experiential exercise, and guided conversation about American Indians and Alaska Natives both in the ELCA and the larger historical context of the land we now occupy.
As a church and theology nerd, I really appreciate how Gordon framed theology from both a modern Western Christian perspective and from a Native perspective. Modern Western Christian theology typically understands humanity’s relationship with God and creation as hierarchical in which God is at the top of the hierarchy, humans are just below, and living and then non-living beings below that.
From a Native perspective, the worldview is more circular as we are all related to each other, from humans and animals to plants, rocks, wind, and the four directions. Within Lakota tradition this is expressed in the term “Mitakuye O’yasin,” which translates as “all my relations.” Our existence as humans is not a separate thing from the existence of all of God’s creation; instead, we are interconnected.
Gordon leads the board in experiential learning around American Indians and land.
As board member Margaret Moreland pointed out, “We all are living on land that was home to indigenous people before Europeans came here. Gordon brought to life the consequences of the European take-over for Indians in the past and right now.” The land we are on is sacred land because it is part of God’s good creation. It is also sacred land because it gives life and nourishment to us. It is sacred, importantly, because people have lived on it in harmony with creation and in conflict with creation and each other not only since white people arrived, but since long before then as well.
Even those of us who knew some of the history of native peoples learned a lot. One of the things that I learned is that individuals will have an opportunity this year in the ELCA at our synod assemblies and hopefully at our Churchwide Assembly as well, to support Bp. R. Guy Erwin, the Southwest California Synod, and the American Indian/Alaska Native Lutheran Association in passing a resolution repudiating the doctrine of discovery.
The church has been complicit in much of the harm done to native peoples as white settlers moved across this land. One step that we can take as people working to be allies with Native communities is not only to learn our collective and their particular histories anew, but also to renounce the doctrine of discovery, which declared that European discoverers were Christian and “civilized” and the Native people were not, and therefore any lands discovered by Europeans were owned by Europeans. Native peoples were merely inhabitants on the land.
Gordon also shared with us two important news sources that I am looking forward to exploring in more depth: the National Congress of American Indians (ncai.org) and indianz.com. I was also encouraged to hear about the ELCA Native American Ministries Endowment Fund, to support the important ministry done by and in native communities throughout the ELCA. Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries made a gift to this fund in honor of Gordon’s ministry and in thanks for the work he did with us at our meeting.
Rev. Emily E. Ewing serves as pastor of Trinity Fellowship (ELCA) and First Presbyterian Church in Rushford, Minnesota. Emily comes from land originally inhabited by the Ute and the mountains they knew as the Shining Mountains.
I love sharing updates with all of you about the work of the ELM Board of Directors because Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries is incredibly lucky to have such a marvelous and committed group of visionary leaders. We gathered last weekend (again at the wonderful Pendle Hill near Philadelphia). Some highlights:
We began our meeting with a conversation led by Marvin Ellison about the current landscape regarding LGBTQ people and faith movements. Marvin currently is the Director of Alumni Relations at Union Seminary – he is also an ordained Presbyterian minister and taught at Bangor Theological Seminary (U.C.C.) for thirty years. We wanted to hear the perspective of someone working outside the Lutheran church to help us gain broader perspective. Marvin laid some groundwork about the current state of LGBTQ people of faith from several perspectives (PC-USA, UCC, Catholic, Episcopalian, Jewish…). Marvin framed these conversation with the following questions: use one word to describe the current state of LGBTQ people and the church; what is the next work for LGBTQ people of faith and our allies and partners in ministry; and why stay in the struggle. This conversation helped frame our whole weekend together.
Every year, the board does 4-8 hours of anti-oppression board learning together. This year, ELM Board Member Gordon Straw offered to lead asession about American Indian/Native Alaskan Lutheran ministries and broader legal/societal conversation about American Indians. This was a moving and informative conversation and brought up some possible connections/collaborations.
We gave thanks for leaders! We celebrated and gave thanks for the wonderful leadership of Michael Wilker, who was ending three years as co-chair. Mike has been a faithful and deeply committed leader and we are incredibly thankful for him. We gave thanks for several other board members and leaders who had finished their terms in the fall of 2015 – Jim Kowalski (who had served as co-chair), Jeremy Posadas (who served as Secretary for the last three years), and Angel Marrero-Roe. We had a service of thanks and Godspeed for Randy Nelson, who has finished serving for 5 years in the role of Accompaniment Convener.Randy has worked with program director Jen Rude and key volunteers to create and implement this important work.
We elected new board members and new leaders! We are thrilled to welcome the following new leaders – Nicole Johnson (Minneapolis, MN); Rev. Barbara Lundblad (Minneapolis, MN), Rev. Brad Froslee (Minneapolis, MN); and Rev. Jeff Johnson (Berkeley, CA). We’re excited! The Board chose new coordinating officers – Rev. Elise Brown and Rev. Brad Froslee as co-chairs and Mike Wilker as secretary. Charlie Horn continues as treasurer.
We had a good conversation about work ELM has been doing to value, invite, and sustain racial diversity on the board and our struggles with achieving the diversity we seek.Three years ago, 5 of 12 board members were people of color. One year ago, 3 of 12 were. Currently, 1 of 12 are people of color. After good conversation, and by consensus, we passed a statement affirming our belief that difference makes a difference and our recognition that our current board is mostly white. We committed to making several changes, including agreeing that the next two leaders we seek will be people with skills and passion for leadership with ELM and who are people of color.
Throughout the weekend, we had rich, generative conversation about where we have been, where we are, and where we intend to go in the coming year and beyond in our work to live out our belief that LGBTQ people have extraordinary gifts for ministry. These conversations will turn to plans in the coming months.
I’ll end by sharing how we began our meeting – by reading the names of the Proclaim community and their ministry sites aloud, while singing the Iona chant “Kindle a flame.” This was a powerful experience – and the notion of kindling the flame was a touch point throughout our meeting.
Always, in our work in these meetings, we are thankful for all those who know about, care about, and support the work of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries.
And, we find great joy in our work – see the photo below of board members playing a prototype of an ELM-related board game…details on that to come!
ELM board members playing an ELM-themed board game.
Amalia Vagts, wrote this blog on her parents’ laptop on the eve of some time off with them in Florida. She thinks she might get them a new one for Christmas.
I’ve had some wonderful new opportunities recently to share the stories of LGBTQ people in ministry.
A number of faith leaders have been in Chicago this week for ALDE Ignite. ALDE is the Association of Lutheran Development Executives. Ignite is the annual conference. Over the course of the conference, I’ve had a number of very meaningful conversations that have left me deeply encouraged about those working to gather resources in support of significant work to make the world a better place.
The week began with the great news that Clyde Andrew Walter had been named ALDE Chapter Leader of the Year. Clyde is the development committee convener for ELM. Yay, Clyde!
Amalia Vagts (left) and Aubrey Thonvold (right).
Also this week, Aubrey Thonvold (of ReconcilingWorks) and I met with Rev. Stephen Bouman, Executive Director of the Congregational and Synodical Mission Unit of the ELCA. We met with Pastor Bouman to update him on the present work of our ministries and to talk about ways we can deepen conversations about LGBTQ people in the church.
Last night, I had a conversation with someone who wants to engage more deeply with the work of ELM. His passion was evident, but I wanted to hear his story. I asked him why he cared about this work.
He told me about dear friends of his, a lesbian couple, and how important they are to him.
“I just think it’s so unfair what they’ve had to go through,” he said. “And it’s completely wrong that our church is doing this and I want to be part of making it change.”
As we share these stories with each other, we become part of creating a new one.
Amalia Vagts, executive director of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries, is thankful for people who take time to share their story. Also, she is almost as tall as some of the doors at the Palmer Hotel.
by Larell Fineren, Ministry Engagement Team, ELM Synod Assembly Coordinator
Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries’ Ministry Engagement Program needs fun loving, enthusiastic volunteers to host display tables at Synod Assemblies this year. Might this be you?! We put our toes in the water last year and had displays at four Synod Assemblies. We were impressed with the number of connections that came out of this first effort – and so this year, we are hoping to expand to 10 synod assemblies.
ELM’s Display Table at Metro Chicago Synod Assembly in 2015
Synod Assemblies are some of the best places for us to connect with lay people and spread the word about ELM’s vision, purpose and work. Lay people are really important in this work since they are the ones who call pastors and other rostered leaders.
The job description for a display table host is available here – ELM Synod Assembly Host Job Description 2016. The host should be a person who does not need to be in the assembly sessions. The host does not need a deep knowledge of ELM, but should be familiar with and supportive of our work – and excited to tell others about it!
We are looking for hosts that will be local to the assembly location, so that there will be no housing costs. Registration and all the materials for the display will be provided through our Ministry Engagement program budget for 2016.
I’ve stepped up to coordinate all the logistics for registration and display space, and will be sure that all the materials for the display get to the hosts.
If you’d like to help ELM come to a synod near you by hosting a table at your synod assembly, please contact us at info@elm.org.
by Larell Fineren, (she/her/hers). Larell is a retired Nurse Anesthetist, member of Elim Lutheran Church, Petaluma CA and a Sierra-Pacific Synod Council member. She writes: “As I get comfortable in my wisdom years, a profound sense of gratitude buoys my spirit and keeps me involved in the justice work that God calls me to. I’m a bisexual San Francisco native who’s been involved in LGBTQ inclusion politics for over 40 years. My initial involvement with ELM was in 2003 when I served on the West Coast Candidacy Panel of the Extraordinary Candidacy Project. Now I live in Petaluma CA and my joy these days comes from helping new immigrants in my community.”
Stepping Forward
by Amalia Vagts, Executive Director
As you may have heard me say a time or two lately – Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries is growing. I’m thrilled to announce that we have hired Christephor Gilbert to be the new Operations Coordinator for Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries.
Christephor (he/him/his) is a member of Proclaim, a student in the Master of Divinity program at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, and is in Candidacy with the ELCA toward Word and Sacrament ministry. Prior to seminary, Christephor worked as the Program Manager for the Kentucky Center Governor’s School for the Arts in Louisville, KY, which was a natural move from his first career as a dancer, dance educator, and choreographer (MFA Dance, University of Hawaii, 1993). Christephor lives in Hyde Park with his partner Donald and their three cats. He is a member of Third Lutheran Church in Louisville, KY (where fellow Proclaim member, Rev. Steven Renner, is pastor).
Christephor Gilbert. Photo by Jason McGovern, LSTC.
Christephor will be working 8 hours a week for ELM, processing our mail and contributions and providing additional support for our communications work.
Christephor says,
“It was a dream come true when, as a life-long seeker, I fell into the loving arms of an ELCA congregation that was not only radically inclusive, but also had at its helm an out member of the LGBTQ community. Now, as a gay Lutheran, part of my call to work in the church is to continue to support, encourage, and advocate for LGBTQ people in the ELCA. I’m excited and grateful to work with ELM and play a small role in the organization’s mission to support rostered leaders and seminarians, paving the way for a future where all God’s children, inclusive of their diversity, are welcomed and celebrated.”
Christephor will be working from Resurrection Lutheran Church in the Lake View neighborhood of Chicago. This is an exciting new partnership between Resurrection and Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries – although our connections run deep. Program director, Jen Rude was called by and extraordinarily ordained at Resurrection in 2007.
We’ve received a generous and wonderful reception from Pastor Kelly Faulstich and the people of Resurrection. Pastor Kelly writes,
“At Resurrection, we’re excited to continue our support of and ministry with ELM! Our members often share fond memories of ELM Program Director Pastor Jen Rude’s ministry when she served here. And, we have always been sharing space in a figurative sense, when it comes to supporting, equipping, and encouraging LGBTQ leaders in the church. Now we get to share physical space too! We’re looking forward to having Christephor among us.”
Christephor starts February 29. As we welcome Christephor we say a very thankful and fond farewell to Marie O’Brien, who was our “bridge” operations coordinator (and spiritual guide) in 2015. Marie is the parish administrator at Grace Lutheran Church in Evanston – another wonderful partner with ELM. Marie provided much needed support for 4 hours a week and has been a wonderful, energizing, and caring part of our team.
Our system this past year was temporary and was not ideal – as many of you experienced. In addition to Marie’s support, I’m grateful to Jen Rude for her extra work these last months – picking up our mail and then sending it via package delivery to Marie. This resulted in a week’s delay in our responding to your giving – and none of us here felt good about that. I am thankful that your contributions and letters will have a more direct route now – from our P.O. Box into Christephor’s caring hands as he takes the mail just up the road to Resurrection to open, record, and deposit your gifts.
And I am thankful for YOUR giving, which helps us grow our organization as needed to support the growing number of LGBTQ people called to ministry. Thanks to you, we are able to give Christephor this paid employment and connection with ELM while he is in seminary and are able to more efficiently and consistently stay in communication with you.
Please join me in welcoming Christephor!
by Amalia Vagts, (she/her/hers). Amalia loves being part of a team and is so thankful for Rachael, River, Marie, and now Christephor,for their work to receive and help with the wonderful contributions you send to support LGBTQ leaders and share with you the ways your support is making a real difference.
LGBTQ people have extraordinary gifts for ministry. Our church needs these leaders. The process toward rostered ministry can be confusing and frustrating, especially for LGBTQ people. Within our Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries community we have a wealth of experience, knowledge, and support to share. There’s no need to go it alone.
Rev. Brenda Bos (left) visits with seminarian Fred Demien. Photo by Emily Ann Garcia.
The Mysteries of the Ages is a 60 page resource (yeah – 60 pages!) that serves as a conversation partner for LGBTQ individuals from initial discernment, through the stages of candidacy, Clinical Pastoral Education, internship, and first call. Through narrative, stories, humor, tips, prayers, charts and the sharing of experiences, we hope this resource will be a welcome companion for for LGBTQ people considering or pursuing rostered ministry. And in the review process, we’ve heard from a few non-LGBTQ folks that they’ve found it helpful too!
It’s hard work to walk the road alone. Part of the gift of ELM is that we are building community between experienced LGBTQ leaders and those newer to the process. We hope that you will take a look at The Mysteries of the Ages and and share it with someone you know who might be considering ministry or who is already on the path to rostered ministry in the Lutheran Church.
++++ by Jen Rude. Jen is deeply grateful for the many people, too numerous to name, who contributed to this resource by filling out surveys, writing, editing, researching, asking questions, offering feedback, and keeping the whole process fantastically fun.
The college years are often a time when young people start discerning a call for ministry. This can be a challenging journey for anyone – but it can be especially difficult if you are LGBTQ. And it can be particularly isolating if you don’t know any LGBTQ seminarians or rostered leaders.
This month we are reaching out to Lutheran Campus Ministries at colleges and universities all around the country to try to connect with LGBTQ students who are in this time of discernment for rostered ministry. We designed this colorful flyer for campus ministries (see picture) to post for students and we’re letting campus pastors know about our resources and how to connect students with ELM.
We hope to connect with LGBTQ college students who are in discernment. We also want to provide resources to campus pastors who help students explore their vocation. ELM has resources, support, and lots of great connections to share.
For over 25 years Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries has been supporting LGBTQ pastors and seminarians. Over 215 Lutheran LGBTQ rostered leaders and seminarians are part of Proclaim. A program of ELM, Proclaim is the professional community for publicly identified LGBTQ Lutheran rostered leaders and those preparing for rostered ministry. We’d like to meet potential seminarians as early in their process as possible, to provide guidance, mentors, support and community.
Do you know a college or high school student who identifies as LGBTQ and is considering the ministry? Let them know about ELM! We’d love to walk with them as they listen for their call.
Jen is thankful for her campus pastor who walked alongside her as she considered a call to rostered ministry, long before being LGBTQ and a pastor even seemed like a real possibility. And, one of Jen’s favorite books on discernment is Parker Palmer’s Let Your Life Speak, which she reads almost yearly and highly recommends.
Each year, Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries selects one member of Proclaim who is studying to be a rostered leader in the church to be the Joel Workin Scholar. This award recognizes a person who embodies Joel’s passion for justice and faith in their lives and ministry. The award includes $2,500 to be used for academic or spiritual study. In addition, the scholar is invited throughout the year to be involved with various ELM activities.
The 2016 application process is now open, and as I do each year in connection with the Workin Scholarship, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on Joel and the way his voice continues to guide our work.
Ray and Betty Workin with the first Workin Scholar, Rev. Jen Rude.
Last summer, Rev. Jen Rude (ELM Program Director), Jim Kowalski (former ELM Board Co-Chair), and I drove to Fargo, North Dakota*. We were there to visit Ray and Betty Workin. Ray and Betty are the parents of Joel Workin. By the end of a marvelous and heart-filling visit we had heard stories we never knew about Joel and looked through the many scrapbooks that Betty has kept over the years.
Front page article from The Forum (regional daily newspaper) in 1988.
Joel was one of the first openly gay seminarians in the Lutheran Church. When he and his classmates came out to their candidacy committees, it pushed the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America into a conversation about something that had been a long reality – people of all sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions are called to serve as pastors and rostered lay leaders. Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people were already serving as pastors in the Lutheran church. It was just not widely being talked about. Many know the history (and if you don’t, here’s a nice overview). Joel stepped into the story when he came out. While the American Lutheran Church initially approved Joel’s candidacy, it was later rejected by the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Despite the church’s lack of recognition, Joel continued to follow a call to ministry and launched a hospice ministry to those dying from AIDS in Los Angeles. He passed away from AIDS himself in November of 1995. In the last weeks before his death, Joel gave his family and friends permission to create a scholarship in his name. Joel’s bright and prophetic voice lives on through the Joel Raydon Workin Memorial Scholarship and through a book, Dear God, I am Gay – Thank You! (the preserved essays and sermons that Joel wrote as a seminarian and candidate for ministry).
The 2015 Workin Scholar was Justin Ferko, who shared recently in a letter to the Workins that he plans to use the remainder of his award for a course series on public church, prophetic communications and organizing. Through this scholarship and with the encouragement many of us find in Joel’s writing, LGBTQ leaders like Justin are not only free to serve, but are doing so in extraordinary ways.
To learn more about the Joel R. Workin Memorial Scholar Fund or to submit an application, please visit the ELM website.
Amalia Vagts, ELM Executive Director, considers the evening she spent with the Workins to be one of the most memorable and life-giving experiences she’s had in this role. And she was quite happy the evening ended with a game of cards, which she’s since dubbed (with their blessing), “Workin Poker.” She’s become a bit of a fanatic, having taught it to most of her family and friends. This picture is of Pepe Sanchez and his husband, the Rev. Jeff R. Johnson (also one of the first openly gay Lutheran seminarians) after a rousing game of Workin Poker at the home of ELM Board member Margaret Moreland and Bennett Falk.
*Edited from a previous version to correct the author’s geographical error. 🙂
