I Missed You on Sunday

April 28, 2009

I wish you all could have been at Peace Lutheran with D and I this last Sunday. It wasn’t the first time I ever thought that but this Sunday was special and here’s a little background as to why.

If the California Supreme Court ultimately decides to overturn Prop 8 (doubtful) and the 18,000 existing marriages remain valid (hopeful) a celebration from one corner of this state to the other will be heard all the way to the state of Wyoming, the Midwest, the East Coast, the moon, but if Prop 8 is upheld (likely) and/or the existing marriages are subject to state enforced divorces (unthinkable), there’s going to be a tide of emotions that will sweep among our state and beyond.

Whatever the final decision, individual lives, couples, and families will be impacted at a very personal level and my biggest concern is that welcoming churches and pastors be ready to respond to the spiritual and emotional needs of the GLBTQ members of their congregations and of their communities.

I’ve had several conversations about this with Steve Harms, the pastor of our church and being a long-time ally and advocate for GLBTQ people and for justice and equality in general, he was more than open and supportive of our congregation and the clergy in our church being actively involved, and so when I asked him if Rev. Roland Stringfellow from the Bay Area Coalition of Welcoming Congregations could be a guest preacher and speak to these concerns, he didn’t hesitate to give an enthusiastic yes!

And that’s what this Sunday was all about and why I wish you could have been there. Prior to Roland’s message, Pr. Steve asked that I bring several of your stories to the congregation to serve as the morning’s Living Word. I read Coming Out Letter and Once An Abomination, Now a Gift in their entirety. The children’s sermon followed that focused on being living water to any and all who thirst for love and acceptance and then Roland preached and honey, did he ever. Roland shared his personal story of being a Baptist pastor in Indiana; of coming out as a gay man and the struggle to reconcile his faith and sexuality. He told of leaving Indiana and his life there behind for California and  how he recently returned for the purpose of hosting a celebration for his 40th birthday that brought together people from both periods of his life, prior to and since coming out. He used the occasion of his birthday to create an opportunity for reconciliation and understanding and throughout his story he wove in the message that as people of faith we have been given the chance to be “wellsprings of life” (Proverbs 4:23) in our world, among people of differing ideas and beliefs.

As the worship service continued and the words gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, sexuality, and homosexuality continued to be spoken from the pulpit I couldn’t help thinking how amazing it was that no one in the congregation grimaced or glared but instead received the message with open hearts and minds. You and I are all too aware that the same sermon preached in another church, maybe your childhood church or your present one, would cause people to huff and puff and blow the church down. The great loss for those people and churches who would be so offended at a message that speaks of queer people free of all condemnation is they’d equally miss hearing the words and experiencing the presence of grace and love and compassion and equality and all that witnesses to the Spirit of God and life of Christ.

Yep, I wish you could have been there.

Tonight the CWC will begin a series of regional meetings, the first one being hosted at Peace Lutheran, to bring together faith leaders from local communities to talk together about how we might respond to GLBTQ people following the court’s decision. For the time being the focus isn’t as much on what will we do in terms of continuing to advocate for marriage equality but how we will extend immediate care to those individuals who are personally affected by the final decision.  I can’t tell you how excited I am that this conversation is taking place and that tangible, substantive ideas are already springing up that are filled with the possibility for healing and the affirmation of life and love.

There is so much that could be done and for those of you given to prayer I’d ask that you remember these upcoming gatherings of clergy in the Bay area; that they would be the ground swell for compassionate action and ministry to those we care about in the GLBTQ community and beyond.

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