Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries

Last week the Huffington Post ran a series of photos from the New York Pride parade. One particular photo, taken by George Pejoves, brought a smile to many faces.   It captured the joy of Rev. Mark Erson and his partner, Scott Jordan, as they shared a kiss while bearing signs that read, “I do!”

On August 1, 2011, St. John’s Lutheran Church on Christopher Street will welcome the Rev. Mark Erson as its new pastor. This congregation has been in the center of the West Village since 1855.  They are housed in one of the Village’s most historic buildings–built for an Episcopalian congregation in 1821.  While Pastor Mark has been on the road to ordained ministry for many years, he was only recently ordained. This will be his second congregation, and his first as a publicly-identified gay man.  Pastor Mark is on the ELCA clergy roster and is a member of Proclaim, the professional community for publicly-identified LGBTQ Lutheran rostered leaders.

Pastor Mark and his long-term partner Scott Jordan have plans to marry on November 26, 2011. They have intentionally planned the wedding for Thanksgiving weekend so that family may be with them and to give thanks for what has been–35 years of friendship and partnership–and what will be in their new journey together.

Pastor Mark and I first met over breakfast on the Upper West Side earlier this year. I wanted others to learn more about Pastor Mark, his journey to ordained ministry in the Lutheran Church, and his upcoming new call, so we recently caught up over email and phone.

Let’s start with a bit about your journey and call to ministry.
Growing up in the church, I had a strong sense of call to ordained ministry from an early age.  As I grew in self-understanding and came to see myself as a Christian who is gay, I figured the church did not want me.  Thankfully, through the gift of faith, I knew that I had a place in God’s family and so I never strayed from the church (I worked as a lay professional at one point, but otherwise, always as an active member of some congregation.)  Finally, after moving back to New York City in 2000, rejoining Saint Peter’s and with the Holy Spirit and Pastor Amandus Derr not letting up, I realized I could not keep this call at arm’s length any longer.  I was also moving in hopeful anticipation of the ELCA changing it understanding of “people like me.”  I was ordained in 2009.

Tell me more about Pastor Derr’s role. How did he help encourage you?
He takes very seriously, more than any pastor I’ve known, the role of cultivating new leaders for the church. When he sees someone, not just me…when he sees people who show gifts for ministry, he doesn’t let up. He’s vocal about it and gives them opportunities to serve, so they can discern. You can see it. Second career people, young people …he serves as a mentor to interns.   I’ve been inspired to do this myself. There is a role for all of us, especially those who are LGBTQ and have been told you’re not wanted, fully.  ELM was great helping those when the church said no. Now the church says yes. And it’s important for me to be a voice encouraging other LGBTQ leaders.

You have a background in the arts…what impact will this have on your role as a Lutheran pastor?
After 4 years of working as a lay professional in the Philadelphia suburbs, I had the opportunity to move to New York & pursue theater as a career. And that was kind of the alternative of going to seminary.  I chose the theater path. From that point I had the opportunity to work professionally as an actor, director, and playwright. I got my masters in theater. And then I spent a good amount of time as a full-time teacher and a teaching artist.  There was a lot of mixing of theater and education together. I  fully intend to keep my feet in that area. I’m interested in some project bringing scripture from page to stage and seeking new ways to tell some of these wonderful stories. I have done some writing of my own on scripts that deal with theological issues. I also love taking script as is and presenting it on stage.

On August 1, you’ll start at St. John’s Christopher Street. Tell me about this congregation and your plans for ministry there–of course the neighborhood will be familiar to many LGBTQ people!
It is a congregation that has a history of not being connected to the immediate neighborhood.  Some of the programming that has been implemented within the last two years has effectively sought to reach out to the music community/tradition of Greenwich Village (there is now a weekly Jazz Mass on Sunday evenings and a Coffee House on Thursday evenings.)  I look forward to using my background (pre-ordination life) in the arts to connect with what is already happening and to hopefully grow this area of ministry.  But the congregation also wants to more effectively and intentionally reach out to the LGBTQ neighborhood that surrounds the church.  There are also some very rich possibilities for doing some LGBTQ youth/young adult outreach to folks who come down to the village on the weekends to “hang out” in a place where they can find acceptance and freedom.  (There is actually some tension in the neighborhood with this group, so perhaps playing the bridge will be a role that I find myself in.)

There are a number of bars along Christopher Street, so I am planning to employ the model of “bar ministry” that has been used in other settings with other communities.  LGBTQ folks have been told that they are not welcome for so long, and some churches are still sending that message.  We can’t expect folks to come in just because we have opened our doors wider in the last three years.  We definitely have to go outside and proclaim.  I also want to work with the merchants of the village, esp. if there is this tension between the youth and them.  While in seminary I read some of the writings of those who were creating a new urban ministry style back in the 60’s.  (in London and in New York City)  I will definitely be borrowing from them.  And I also want to expand the work with the artists of the village.  Not just musicians, but writers, poets, visual artists and theatre artists.  The church was such a patron of the arts centuries ago.  It is time to reclaim that heritage, especially in light of the decrease of arts support in education and from the government, and in the face of such commercialization that the emerging/unknown artist has nowhere to go.

Tell me how it feels to be doing ministry as publicly-identified gay man. What does this mean for you? What do you feel God is calling you to do through your ministry?
There is a great burden being lifted.  While my time at Redeemer has been great, there was always a piece missing.  I was called to preach truth, and yet I had to hide a part of myself, I also had to hide the fact that I am in a wonderful, loving relationship that not only makes me a better pastor, but it makes me a better person as well.  The fact that this is happening at the same time that New York is joining the states in which we have marriage equality just puts me over the edge.  The Pride march on Sunday was one of the happiest days of my life.  It was great that the march took us right down to St. John’s, what a huge symbol that was, walking, publicly, hand in hand with the man who I have known for 35 years and now have been committed to for five, processing to the place that we will now be working to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to EVERYONE.  Our picture even made it in the Huffington Post. I love the fact that Scott can worship at St. John’s with me, that we can identify ourselves as a family.  At Redeemer I have stuck to the “I” pronoun most of the time.  “I am going on vacation.”  But now, we get to be “We” all the time.  Thanks be to God.

I love the picture that ran in the Huffington Post! Tell me about your Pride experience.
You know during the New York Pride parade, we got a fair amount of attention–because of my pastor’s collar–and lots of people were snapping our photo when we kissed. But as we were coming to the end of the parade, I saw this young man looking at us, and I looked at his face, and he was just weeping. His face was just unbelievable. I think he looked at us and in us saw a profound reality of what this all meant. And that image will stay with me forever. It is important for me to be public for that young man, and for so many others who have been shut out of the church and their families. As Lutherans, we believe that faith is a gift, and my whole life has been about that. There are so many reasons I should have stayed away from the church, and pursued life as an out gay man instead. But I did stay in the church. I see now that God did not let go of me, because I had gifts to bring the church.  And now I am able to able to share this gift with others.

This week’s Windy City Times included a story about Rev. Pieter Oberholzer’s current North American tour. Read more about the event and view a few photos here.

On Saturday, June 25 Rev. Pieter Oberholzer spoke at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church of Logan Square.  Rev. Oberholzer is the founder of Inclusive and Affirming Ministries (IAM) in South Africa.

“IAM advocates that the South African religious communities should become more welcoming and affirming towards Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) people.

IAM works as a catalyst, interacting both with the religious faith communities and the gay community, building bridges through our programmes and projects.”

ELM is support IAM ministries this year through an ELM Grant. Though Oberholzer lives in South Africa has been active in the ELM community for many years. He is touring North America to build partnerships.

Rev. Jen Rude, ELM board of directors member and Proclaim member introduced Rev. Oberholzer and talked about ELM’s work. The event was held at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church of Logan Square. Rev. Erik Christensen,  ELM co-chair and Proclaim member is pastor at St. Luke’s. Additionally, St. Luke’s is a 2011 ELM Grant recipient–and home to the ELM office.

Pastor Virginia (Ginger) Georgulas died suddenly on Sunday, June 26, 2011.  She had previously been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.  Ginger was a long-time ally of LGBTQ people in the Lutheran Church.  Lutherans Concerned/North America honored Ginger in a message this morning, noting that she founded the North Texas Chapter of Lutherans Concerned and attended the first Reconciling in Christ training.

Pastor Jeff Johnson has posted a reflection on the University Chapel’s website. Ginger was a member of the Chapel in the 80’s.

Rev. Donn Rosenauer, member of the ELM Roster and Proclaim, shares this reflection about the role Ginger played in his life recently as he has sought to rejoin the clergy roster of the ELCA:

“When I knew I was moving to the Dallas area I thought I was moving to the “wilderness.”  I called friends and asked for advice. I was alerted to contact Virginia”Ginger”Georgulas.  I called from San Diego, and I knew from her first words I would have a new friend in the Dallas area. We were welcomed and extended an invitation for dinner our first week in Texas.

I would soon learned of Ginger’s fierce commitment to the LGBTQ community. For more that 20 years she worked on our behalf.  Active in LC/NA, she established a chapter in Dallas.  She was a friend to many in ELM.  She worked in a focused and direct way to advocate for us through her many positions and contacts within the ELCA. She willingly, with wise counsel and support became my strong ally and supporter. She set up meetings with the local ELCA synod office.  Ginger was a part of every conversation with the synod and opened every door to help establish conversations at every important level.

A number of weeks ago she became ill and was told she could expect another 14 months or more to complete her journey. She was insistent that I continue to work for re-rostering. Last Friday was our most recent conversation about working to fulfill this expectation.

I am grateful for her leadership, support and her advocacy for us all. The people of God have a great example to follow in this ‘Saint for Justice.'”

Ginger is survived by her husband, the Rev. Fred Behrmann.  Upon her retirement in 2002, she and her husband relocated to Coppell, TX, and became members of Rejoice Lutheran Church, Coppell, TX.  A memorial service, giving God thanks for Pastor Georgulas and her ministry, will be held at the time and location noted below. Clergy are invited to vest (green) and process.  There will be a reception following the service.  Pastor Georgulas’ pastor, The Rev. Phil Geleske of Rejoice, Coppell, TX, will preside.

Condolences may be sent to Ginger’s husband, The Rev. Fred Behrmann, at his home address:  145 Cherrybark Dr., Coppell, TX 75019-3557, or email him at fred.behrmann@verizon.net. You are requested to not send flowers.

We are expanding our outreach on the web to new people via Facebook. We’ve created a new Welcome page that explains a little about our mission, allows you to sign up for our eNewsletter and read the latest issue by clicking on the image. Additionally there is contact info, upcoming events and a way to donate online. Please send this link widely:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Extraordinary-Lutheran-Ministries/114103225291589?sk=app_106878476015645

Please note: If you already “like” our page you will be automatically directed to the wall, but you can see our new welcome page by clicking on the “welcome” tab on the left.

In early April ELM launched Proclaim, the new professional community for publicly-identified LGBTQ Lutheran rostered leaders and seminarians.  Proclaim members are Lutheran rostered leaders who seek to renew and transform Lutheran congregations and ministries and serve God’s people through their ministry as publicly-identified lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people.  Proclaim is an Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries program.

Proclaim recently reached the 55 member mark and continues to grow. The group includes a diverse group of LGBTQ rostered leaders, ranging from those who’ve been in ministry for many years to others who are just starting out. The group includes leaders from places like the Midwest, Alaska, South Africa, the Bay Area, East Coast and even Texas! Visit www.elm.org/proclaim for a list of current members.

Proclaim offers its members professional development and support; participation in an annual leaders’ retreat; eligibility to apply for ELM grants and scholarships; and  access to year-round networking and  professional development resources.

Proclaim is open to any Lutheran clergy or rostered lay leader who publicly identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer. Proclaim also welcomes entranced seminarians to the community. You can learn more and download a membership form by visiting www.elm.org/proclaim.

Check the ELM news blog for updates about the work Proclaim members are doing.

As part Chicago’s LGBTQ Pride celebrations this month, St. Luke’s Lutheran Church of Logan Square is very proud to be hosting the Rev. Pieter Oberholzer. Oberholzer is the Founder and Chief Financial Officer of Inclusive and Affirming Ministries (IAM), the largest faith-based LGBTQ-rights organization on the continent of Africa. On Saturday, June 25th from 10:30am to 12pm at 2649 N. Francisco Ave in Chicago, IL Pieter will speak about his work.

Founded in 1995 in Cape Town, South Africa, IAM has gained national and international recognition for its work in the fight against discrimination towards LGBTQ people and is the only organization in Southern Africa with the explicit mission of working with religious leaders in the mainline Christian church – especially those still adhering to patriarchal and fundamentalist values.

Earlier this year, Rev. Oberholzer was featured as an advocate for LGBTQ rights in a televised debate with Ugandan MP David Bahati over proposed legislation that would have made some homosexual acts punishable by death. That debate was aired around the world on BBC World, and the bill was defeated just last month.

Rev. Oberholzer will be speaking at St. Luke’s as part of a tour of North America that includes stops in Canada and Mexico, with other points in the United States. St. Luke’s is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) that has been worshiping in the heart of the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago’s north side since 1900. Oberholzer is a member of the ELM Roster and Proclaim.

For more information, contact Pastor Erik Christensen at pastorerik@stlukesLS.org or (773)235-5420.

St. Francis Lutheran Church was one of the founding congregations of the movement that led to Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries. In the midst of the AIDS crisis, St. Francis was led by now retired ELCA pastor Rev. Jim DeLange, who was a pioneer in the movement to ordain publicly-identified lesbian and gay pastors.  In 1990, a lesbian couple, Rev. Ruth Frost and Rev. Phyllis Zillhart were extraordinarily ordained (along with Rev. Jeff Johnson), and served as pastors in St. Francis, providing a visible witness of St. Francis Lutheran’s commitment to the LGBT community.  Frost, Zillhart and Johnson, now pastors on the ELCA clergy roster,  were members of the historic ELM roster and are part of the new LGBTQ Lutheran rostered leaders community, Proclaim.

In a recent Bay Area Reporter article, writer Matthew Bajko tells the story of Rev. DeLange’s and St. Francis’ early involvement in ministry to people affected by HIV and AIDS. Read the full article here.

In the following excerpt from that article, we hear the story of Grant Burger, a long-term member of St. Francis and supporter of ELM. Bajko writes:

“Even as St. Francis fought to change the national Lutheran Church’s policies, it continued to care for those living with HIV. Grant Burger found himself walking through its doors in September 1993 two years after learning he was positive.

“I was born and raised Lutheran. My relationship with God is very important to me independent of what the church told you,” said Burger, who had been referred to the church by the Lutheran Gay and Lesbian Ministry. “They recommended I come to St. Francis and check it out, so I did and never left.”

What he found, Burger said, was a support network that helped him through his darkest moments, especially prior to the introduction of protease inhibitors in 1996 when he was close to dying.

“I found a family, not just people sitting in some pew,” he said. “It was just huge to know St. Francis welcomed me unconditionally and loved me with no shame at all. It speaks to just what love is all about.”

Mark Allred, a member of Proclaim, has received a call  from the Alaska Synod as Interim Dir. of Evangelical Mission (DEM).  Allred will also be exploring a possible Mat-Su Native Outreach (SAWC) in Palmer and Wasilla, Alaska.

Allred’s ordination will be on July 10th at Alaska Native Lutheran Church  in Anchorage, Alaska at 7:00 p.m. All are welcome!

This scholarship is available for publicly-identified lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer Lutheran seminarians.

The deadline for applications is  Wednesday June 1. Electronic submissions should be sent to 0perations@elm.org by Midnight Central Time on June 1st.

For more information read this article.

The scholarship application is available here.

From guest blogger Rev. Megan Rohrer…

Yesterday hundreds of clergy and faith leaders, including about fifteen Lutherans, went to Capitol Hill as a part of the Human Right’s Campaign’s (HRC) Clergy Call.  Their goal was to remind their elected leaders that progressive faith leaders who preach and teach that equality is a right for all people stand with the majority of Americans.  In fact, a new poll from HRC shows that 86% of Americans of faith reported that their faith leads them to believe that all people, including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals, deserve equal protections under the law.

These faith leaders represented millions of parishioners, members of denominations and individuals whom they’d prayed with and for.  Some of the most moving pleas at the press conference were calls to end the funerals that pastors had been doing for gay youth who falsely believed they had no other options.  Leaders urged congress to pass the Safe Schools and Anti-bullying Acts that could provide nationwide support for these youth.

Leaders also told stories of the many marriages they had performed that were not supported by civil laws and urged the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).   If passed faith leaders would not be forced to perform marriage ceremonies, but as the law stands many argued that their freedom of faith was infringed because they are prevented from legally marrying couples.

But, as a pastor to the homeless I always remember that life, dignity and equality don’t simply come from the ability to get married.  I also know that if we are going to be a community that seeks family values as our platform, we need to care about housing, health care and jobs that support and keep safe people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities.  And though leaders have been lobbying for it for years, we must still encourage our political leaders to support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).

I think this bill is particularly important given the startling fact that only 12% of transgender individuals in my home town of San Francisco are employed.  This statistic comes from one of the most open and supportive cities in the country.  The low employment rate of trans individuals, along with the discriminatory way trans bodies are hypersexualized, leaves few options for many members of the San Francisco trans community besides sex work.

Just as Jesus ate with and advocated for the sex workers, who because of unjust laws pertaining to the status of women and widows, we must advocate mightily for equal employment opportunities for all types of bodies and cultures.

The laws and acts outlined here are the legislative priorities that HRC lifted up today.  Please read my previous blog post to learn more about legislation pertaining to Homeless LGBT youth.

You may be wondering, what does all this political stuff have to do with me?  Well, if we are to be biblical people, we must be political people.  Why?  The title of the Bible is “good news” which in Greek (the language the parts about Jesus are written in) is the title of the political newspaper put out by the Caesar (fancy name for a presidential guy).  Thus, when the gospels say “the good news of Jesus Christ,” it really means “the politics of Jesus Christ.”

So whether you lobby political leaders, write letters, talk with your friends or just read the paper asking yourself how it jives or conflicts with the gospel, follow Jesus’ political lead.  But, be warned Easter people that, like Christ, being political can get you into trouble.  But I guess that’s what the Lutheran commandment, “sin boldly,” really calls us to do.

Rev. Megan M. Rohrer is a nationally recognized leader on issues of homelessness, gender, sexuality and faith. Executive Director of WELCOME – a communal response to poverty in San Francisco, CA, Pastor Rohrer is an activist, advocate and educator who speaks and preaches nationally. Megan is a member of Proclaim, was on the historic ELM roster, and is on the clergy roster of the ELCA.