Lutheran Congregation breaks new ground with call to transgender pastor

Sharei Green December 8, 2008

Saturday, Dec 6, 2008, San Francisco – First United Lutheran Church, a congregation with a vibrant past is once again in the news after ordaining a transgender pastor. On Saturday, First United Lutheran Church celebrated the ordination of Pastor Jay Wilson, a transgender pastor who is the assistant director at the Welcome Ministry in San Francisco.

Wilson was removed from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) candidacy process due to his status as a transgender person even though there is no official policy against transgender clergy.

The ELCA bans gay pastors serving in the denomination unless they commit to a vow of celibacy. First United Lutheran became an independent Lutheran church in the 1990’s when the congregation ordained Jeff Johnson, an openly gay Lutheran pastor. The congregation prides itself on being a frontier church founded in 1886 that is still on the frontier of welcoming ministries.

Jay Wilson said, “Ordination means that I will be called by a congregation to serve as a pastor to the Welcome Ministry community. My interfaith pastoral care, teaching, and empowerment with the ministry guests will include the joy of Holy Communion, forgiveness, baptisms, and serving the church communities in new ways.”

Wilson is endorsed by Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries (ELM), a Lutheran credentialing body that is open to people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. This is ELM’s seventeenth ordination of openly gay or transgender persons since 1990.

Wilson said, “Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries is being the church where church is needed today, creating justice and accountability rather than waiting for it.”

ELM’s seventeen ordinations are part of the changes shaping the ELCA. The denomination voted in 2007 for a “refrain and restrain” policy for bishops in the denomination when considering disciplining gay clergy in relationships. A recent draft sexuality statement to be considered at the 2009 meeting of the ELCA is ambiguous about the official direction for policies on gender identity.

“Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries recognizes Jay’s gifts for ministry,” said Lois Voss, co-chair of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries. “While we believe the Lutheran church will change its unfair policies and someday recognize the diverse talents of people called to ministry, until then, we will model faithfulness to the Gospel and a just way to serve the world and each other.”

“We called and ordained Jay to the Welcome Ministry both in our congregation and on the streets as pastor to people living in our neighborhood who experience poverty and oppression,” said Rev. Susan Strouse, pastor at First United Lutheran Church. “As Assistant Director at the Welcome Ministry in San Francisco, Pastor Jay will be part of providing a faithful response to homeless people by providing hospitality and food, as well as referrals for housing, health care and drug and alcohol treatment.”

Wilson’s degrees include a Masters in Social Work from the College of St. Catherine/St. Thomas University and a Masters in Divinity from Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. Previously employed at the Metropolitan Center for Independent Living in St. Paul, MN, as a disability rights advocate, Wilson also worked with religious communities and diverse organizations on cross-movement anti-oppression, sexuality and gender identity, the self-advocacy movement and community access.

Sharei Green November 25, 2008

We are on the move!
New ELM office address as of January 1st, 2009:

2649 N. Francisco Ave
Chicago, IL
60647

Stop by and visit us in Chicago!
The Operations Coordinator, Rachael Johnson is in the office Tuesdays and Wednesdays!
Email her to arrange a visit at operations@elm.org

Article on the Suspension of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Ontario, Canada.

Sharei Green November 18, 2008

Congregation punished for gay pastor
November 18, 2008
Mirko Petricevic, Record staff

A Lutheran congregation in Newmarket has been suspended for employing a married gay man as a pastor.

In a letter and telephone call on Saturday, Rev. Michael Pryse, bishop of the Kitchener-based Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, informed Holy Cross Lutheran Church it had been suspended by the Synod Council.

The suspension prevents the congregation from sending voting delegates to national and synod conventions. It also bars clergy and lay people from serving on church governing bodies.

In May, more 300 people attended the ordination of Lionel Ketola at Holy Cross. Ketola is openly gay and legally married to another man.

His ordination is not recognized by the national church. The denomination will ordain gay people, but they must remain celibate. The national church doesn’t perform marriages for homosexual couples.

Holy Cross employs Ketola as an associate pastor and “ambassador of reconciliation.” He advocates for more inclusive regulations in the church. He spoke at St. Mark’s Lutheran in Kitchener this month.

The ruling upset Ketola.

“I mourn the reality that our church is disciplining congregations which have the courage to minister in a relevant way,” he said in a brief telephone interview yesterday.

“I’m very proud of Holy Cross. One of the difficult things for me, one of the painful things, is to see a church paying the price for this.”

Rev. Dawn Hutchings, pastor of Holy Cross’s 220-member congregation, said her church is allowed one voting delegate to national conventions.

“You have to weigh that against the value of Pastor Lionel’s ministry,” she said.

The congregation is suspended from voting at conventions and serving on governing bodies and committees, but it hasn’t been expelled from the denomination, Hutchings noted.

Hutchings was encouraged Pryse’s letter indicated the Synod Council will work toward changing the policies that prevent everyone from “full participation” in church life. She said her congregation is deciding whether to appeal the suspension.

mpetricevic@threcord.com

ELM Response to the suspension of Holy Cross Lutheran Church

Sharei Green November 18, 2008


An Open Letter to the Members of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Pastor Dawn Hutchins, Pastor Lionel Ketola and the Church from Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries
“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” John 12:32. Grace and peace to you, our brothers and sisters in Christ. We write to express our solidarity with you at this time.

We are profoundly grateful for your witness and moved to remind you at this time of what you already know: that the authority by which Pastor Lionel was ordained came from you – the gathered people of God at Holy Cross Lutheran Church. We remind you that Pastor Lionel has been examined by and is credentialed through Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries, a community of mutual support and accountability. And we remind you that the ministry to which Pastor Lionel has been called is one of reconciliation. The pain of this day is a mark of the cross you have all been called to bear. God be praised for your ministry.

You have learned that Bishop Michael has chosen to suspend you. A suspension is the space between one place and another. In this sense, it is not Holy Cross that is suspended; rather it the Synod Council of the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada which is suspended between the church as it is and the church as it should be. Holy Cross Lutheran Church has stepped out of suspension and into the ministry of reconciliation to which God has called you.
In the coming days you may feel more than ever the weight of the name you carry as a congregation. This Holy Cross you bear may feel particularly heavy today. But the good news of the gospel is that you do not have to bear this cross alone. The members of the community of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries and many others are beside you, and we lift this cross with you as we walk along this road together. You have been suspended, but you have not been made invisible. The Holy Cross you carry will draw people from all walks of life and show others your ministry of reconciliation and your love of the gospel.

Bishop Michael and the members of the Synod Council indicate that they want their policies of exclusion to change. We celebrate the good news in this. The severity of their response reflects the reality of the current policy in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. This is a policy that the church still has to live with. We join with Bishop Michael and the Eastern Synod Council members in their “expressed desire to responsibly work toward changing policies that preclude the full participation of all God’s people in our ecclesial life.”Pastors Lionel and Dawn and Members of Holy Cross Lutheran, we hold you in our thoughts and prayers. We walk with you on this road to reconciliation. We offer the shared experiences of those who have gone before you in facing discipline from the church as a result of their decision to follow Jesus’ call to stand with those the world passes by. We honor and applaud your commitment to being the church now as we continue to grow more fully into the reign of God.

In Christ,
Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries

Suspension of Holy Cross Lutheran Church:

Sharei Green November 18, 2008


Holy Cross Lutheran Church, a Reconciling in Christ congregation in Newmarket, Ontario has been suspended by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. This suspension is in response to Holy Cross’ decision to call and ordain Rev. Lionel Ketola. Pastor Lionel is a member of the Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries Roster. Holy Cross Lutheran Church is also a 2008 Mission Partner grant recipient. Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries has given $18,000 to Holy Cross this year to support Pastor Lionel’s call as an Ambassador of Reconciliation and has committed $20,250 to his ministry in 2009. Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries partners in this ministry with Lutherans Concerned/North America.

About Jodi Barry, no make that PASTOR Jodi Barry!

Amalia Vagts October 28, 2008

The Rev. Jodi Barry was ordained on Saturday, October 25, 2008. Jodi was called by Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries to ordained ministry as a hospital chaplain. The ordination was hosted by Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church,where Jodi serves as part-time youth director in addition to her call as a hospital chaplain.

Jodi was the 16th person to be extraordinarily ordained, since the first ordinations of Pastors Ruth Frost, Phyllis Zillhart and Jeff Johnson in 1990. Pastor Jodi is the 8th person to be extraordinarily ordained in the last two years. We called these ordinations “extraordinary” because they happen outside the “ordinary” process of the Lutheran church. Jodi identifies as lesbian and is in a committed partnership. The Evangelical Lutheran Church currently prohibits gay pastors from serving unless they abide by church policy requiring celibacy for gay pastors. The tradition of these ordinations stems from the early Reformation writings in the Book of Concord: “When the regular bishops become enemies of the Gospel or are unwilling to ordain, the churches retain their right to do so…”

You can read about the event in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune by clicking here.

The ordination was beautiful and moving, with over 200 people in attendance and several dozen clergy involved in the service. Pastors Mary Halvorson and Dan Garnaas from Grace and Pastor Anita Hill from St.Paul-Reformation Church (in St. Paul, MN) led the service.

The next day, I attended church at Grace. Many members of the congregation greeted me and thanked me for the work Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries has done to make Jodi’s ordination possible. Pastor Mary Halvorson’s sermon was about being “true,” in the sense of “faithful.” She referenced Saturday’s reforming act of ordination in her message and the first prayer of the day was for Pastor Jodi and her ministry. At the end of the service, members got up to make various announcements. Jodi stood to thank people for Saturday. She introduced herself as “Jodi Barry.” Several people called out, “no, PASTOR Jodi Barry!” and then there was rolling and sustained applause. Jodi talked about what the day meant to her. Another member, referencing the sermon, called out, “It was true!” And it was.



Pastor Jen Rude Honored

Sharei Green June 25, 2008


In 2000, Windy City Times established an award to acknowledge the young movers and shakers of the LGBT community: the 30 Under 30 Awards. Thirty young activists, journalists, students, HIV/AIDS volunteers and performers who were each under the age of 30 were honored for their achievements in moving the LGBT community forward. Each year since, another 30 get their day in the sun.Awards were presented at the Center on Halsted Tuesday, June 24, 2008. Please follow the links to read about this year’s honorees.

JEN RUDE “30 UNDER 30” HONOREE

Jen Rude is a 28-year-old Pisces. She knows all the 50 states in alphabetical order and has lived in six of them, having moved to Chicago three years ago. Although as a child she aspired to be the first woman president of the United States, she currently serves as associate pastor at Resurrection Lutheran Church in Lakeview and on the Youth Outreach Team at The Night Ministry ( working with young people who are experiencing homelessness and queer youth ) . Rude was the 12th “extraordinarily” ordained queer Lutheran pastor in November 2007. She graduated from Augustana College in South Dakota, and then thought she would try a more progressive and queer-friendly area of the country. In Berkeley, Cal., she earned her Master’s from Pacific School of Religion and learned why the city is affectionately nicknamed “Bezerkeley.” Her favorite things about Chicago include the lake, summer festivals, public transit and Midwestern friendliness.

DID YOU KNOW? A childhood gymnast, Rude has been sighted more than once doing cartwheels on the streets of Chicago. Her first job was at Dairy Queen and she continues to love ice cream and all things sugary. As for her childhood, although she doesn’t remember it, surely her subconscious is still working through the trauma of the time when she was two and a half years old and she slept through the whole night with a dead mouse in the foot of her pajamas. She is not a fan of animals to this day.

Reprinted from: http://www.wctimes.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=18731

Bells and cameras, pavilions of joy

Sharei Green June 18, 2008

June 17, 2008

I just returned from six hours in West Hollywood on the first official day of same-sex marriage. The news has been full of it, and will be even more this evening and tomorrow, but I need to think and react as an individual to what I have seen and heard and done.

I came late to the party, so to speak, since marriage-hopefuls began lining up last night as early as 6:00 p.m. in order to be at the front of the line. (Fortunately, because I promised to bring hand-bells to ring, Councilman Duran’s office got me preferred parking a few steps away.)

The newly-printed marriage licenses were being issued in the large community auditorium in West Hollywood Park, near the intersection where four years ago we reacted with anger when the Supreme Court voided our San Francisco weddings, and where so many other historic moments in our movement have been observed. These new forms now say Partner A and Partner B, rather than Bride and Groom.

The media literally swarmed Star Trek actor George Takei and his partner Brad Altman as they got their application, walked across the large hall to pay their $70.00 and get their license, and proceed to the park itself where they could be married.

The City of West Hollywood had gone all out, with several information and volunteer tents-one for officiants, one for the media, with plenty of food and beverages on this hot summer morning-one for www.marriageequality.org, and six stylish pavilions covered in white gauze with chandeliers, be-flowered and decorated arches and flowing draperies where individual ceremonies were being held.

The park was not being mobbed, apparently, because many of the excited applicants pulled their marriage licenses and then left, apparently planning to have ceremonies elsewhere or on another day. I fully understand, since my partner and I intend to be married in the fall in a church ceremony.

To add to the festive atmosphere, a pastoral colleague and I rang English handbells repeatedly, under the trees, as couples came through the lines, and exchanged their promises before deputized officiants, including West Hollywood officials. The day was peaceful, almost mundane, with neighborhood children play on the swing sets in the park only a few feet beyond this festival of love and commitment.

I suppose as a result of the attention we received by being dressed in clerical garb and ringing the bells in repeated peals, I was interviewed, I think about eight times: by CBS, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Human Rights Campaign, Lambda Legal, some others I don’t remember or didn’t ask, and by an independent lesbian film maker. Even my hands were videotaped as I rang the bells! I realized it made good visuals and interesting sounds for TV and radio.

Repeatedly I was asked why I was there and what the day meant for me. “Two things,” I repeatedly explained. This is a historic day for the community, and for the legal progress that has been made in securing legal rights and public respect for lesbian and gay people, who want nothing more from society than the chance to accept responsibility for one another and to live their lives with dignity. “But secondly,” I said, “My partner of 32 years and I fully intend to be married also.” No one looked particularly shocked by that, even though I appeared to be your typical neighborhood Roman Catholic priest.

A few reporters were interested enough to ask more of my personal background, which is not particularly unusual. We have been a part of this movement, I said, for decades. We have marched and demonstrated. We fought the Briggs initiative, and then the Knight initiative. We had a private religious ceremony in our living room many years ago, then filed papers for the California Domestic Partnership registry in 2002. Two years later, we were part of that lesbian/gay wave of humanity that rolled into San Francisco to be married in February 2004 in City Hall’s grand rotunda. This is a historic day in California, but it is also a deeply personal historic day in our own lives.

More than a year after the California Supreme Court nullified our San Francisco marriage certificates, we were able to get an autograph on ours by Mayor Gavin Newsom himself during Outfest in Los Angeles.

Kerry Chaplin, the talented (and eligible) young interfaith organizer for California Faith for Equality, had all manner of talking points available for speaking to the media, and by the end of the day I realized that I had never had a chance to read through them in advance. As it turns out, I think, every single lesbian or gay couple who forms a legal marriage becomes a “talking point” against the pernicious proposed amendment headed for the November ballot which would end this summer of love.

Many of the couples participating were long-time couples, seeking to protect their families and their legal rights. But at the end of the day, I was approached by two young women, together as a couple only one year. They were both raised Catholic, they said, but wanted to have at least a Christian ministry preside over their ceremony. I was delighted to be asked, and touched by their depth and their excitement about this new day dawning.

If the excitement of it all, and concern for the legal maneuvers of the religious right, made me nervous, in the end it was the genuineness of these young women and their optimism about their new life together, which gave me a sense of deep peace. God bless them. God bless all of them!!

– Pastor Dan Hooper, Los Angeles

Fun Facebook Application Created

Sharei Green June 2, 2008

Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries rosters qualified candidates
for extraordinary ministry and connects them with extraordinary congregations and ministries who are committed to the full participation of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities in Lutheran life and ministry.

We just created a fun facebook application that enables you to send your favorite Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries pastors to your facebook friends:
http://apps.facebook.com/extraordinary-djbic/

Not only are all of these pastors “out” about their sexual orientations and gender identities, we are “out” about who they are and how our candidacy process works.

Learn about the faces and names on our roster.

Learn about the high standards of our candidacy process.

Photo Journal: ELM Seminarian Reflects on the Roster Retreat

Sharei Green May 22, 2008

This was my first retreat. I was a bit nervous to go. I have met quite a few people on the roster at other events. I am fortunate to count two of the pastors as my mentors. A few months before the retreat I had been asked to help plan worship. It was a bit surprising to be asked, as I am just a seminarian and new. It was lovely to give the gift of a worship service to my new colleagues.

The service I worked on was the “Waters of Baptism.” I was delighted by the theme assigned to me. I like my church services interactive. I am afraid the roster got a taste of my love of congregational interaction! I hope you enjoy a few photos taken at the service.

The time at the retreat was spent learning about my new colleagues. I am stunned to have my name listed among these pastors. I have a deep amount of respect for the work that they do. I am fortunate to have been given such a community. I have come to realize that most seminarians do not have such a close knit community surrounding them.

I began learning how to move from parishioner and student to peer. My mentors in Minneapolis for the last four years have been Jay Wiesner and Jen Nagel (photo to the right). They have walked with me through the beginning of seminary.

It was strange to move from a parishioner/mentor relationship to a fledgling collegial relationship. It was also wonderful to feel like I was becoming their peer.

I don’t know what my status will be at the next retreat. I just received my paperwork for approval. We will find out what my home synod will do with the ELCA’s new policy. I also know that there are no guarantees in any candidacy process. I only hope and pray that at next year’s retreat I will be one of the newest names listed as approved and awaiting call. I am looking forward to joining folks on the roster as a fully credentialed colleague.

~Vicar Margaret Kelly

Margaret is a Seminarian at Luther Seminary and an intern in Washington, DC at Lutheran Church of the Reformation.

Photos (cc) Jay Wilson

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