From the Pastor’s Desk
“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.”
– Ephesians 4:25
A few weeks ago, I received a phone call from the Assistant to the Bishop for Authentic Diversity and Leadership, Rev. Afi Dobbins-Mays, asking if I would be willing to write up a little blurb on Gethsemane’s strides toward authentic inclusion and welcome. She explained that she and Dr. Joyce Caldwell, the Vice President of the GM Synod had been talking about Gethsemane and some of the “amazing work your church has been doing in discerning the RIC process and inturn becoming more diverse, equitable and inclusive. “
It brings me such great joy to share that with you, beloveds! You are simply a beautiful expression of God’s love in action. I thought I would share segments of what I wrote about you… so here you go!
It is probably important to note that Gethsemane Lutheran in Brookfield has enjoyed a culture of “welcome” for years. When I first arrived, I was delighted to know that one of our staff members was openly gay and that his marriage was celebrated here. Early in my call, I was visited by parents and congregation members who upon seeing the pride flag in my office, knew that it was a safe place to ask questions about gender diversity and sexuality. But much like other congregations in the ELCA, openness to learning about diversity, equity and inclusion was not something that was happening with any kind of intentionality.
As pastor of this congregation for the past two years, I have seen growth in ways that are both organic and authentic as we continue to learn and grow together in discovering what it looks like to open up spaces for true diversity, equity, and inclusion to happen.
Over the last two years, we have been part of the ELCA Congregations Lead Initiative, a cohort of churches and faith centers challenged to “think outside the box” and experiment with ways that we are “being church”. Gethsemane’s work has been steeped in growing community outside the walls of our building. We realize that some people have been hurt by the church and that going inside the building on a Sunday morning may be challenging.
So, we decided to take some of our programming out of the building, meeting at an establishment across the street to do a book study “God and the Gay Christian” by Matthew Vines. We also chose to meet there for our “Big Questions” meetings where we pull a big theological question out of a hat and discuss what it might mean. We have enjoyed a few guests along the way who were curious about what we were doing studying the bible… in a BAR!
Because of this experiment, we now have a wonderful relationship with the owner of the establishment, who found hope in joining our book study as she has a child who identifies as transgender.
The neighborhood we are a part of is filled with several Hindu and Muslim families. Using our parking lot outreach events (Kids Fest, Story Time with Pastor P, Live Nativity, Trunk or Treat, etc.) we have become part of the community and have enjoyed organically meeting our neighbors this way.
We had a gentleman named Ram join our weekly bible study about 18 months ago. He is Hindu and brings a beautiful perspective to our studies. He takes notes and often asks questions about Jesus.
One Sunday morning during the distribution of The Meal, suddenly Ram was in front of me. He had never been to church with us. He bent down and in his Hindu tradition, blessed my feet and reverently held his hand out to receive the Body of Christ. It was one of the most meaningful expressions of God’s movement in the world; God who unites us as God’s children. It was a beautiful moment for Gethsemane.
It was also a test for our congregation – how would Ram, a Hindu, receiving Holy Communion be received. I am happy to say that the congregation has received Ram as a sibling in Christ. Ram has also joined our Centering Prayer group led weekly by a talented congregation member.
It is tricky to know what it feels like to be a person of color, a person who identifies as part of the LGBTQIA++ community, or simply a person who has been hurt by the church if one doesn’t identify that way. A final story I would like to share happened most recently and helped me realize that although we have much work to do, we are growing in the right direction.
A pastor colleague and their wife were finishing a week of vacation and decided they wanted to attend church somewhere as they were back in town. They chose Gethsemane. For the purpose of the story, the pastor identifies as non-binary and is a person of color, their wife is white and their granddaughter, who attended with them is also a person of color. My pastor friend shares that as they walked into our Narthex, they were warmly welcomed by not just one or two people, but “a whole bunch of people”. They shared that it felt warm, natural, and authentic. In fact, her wife said, “I could come here every week” to which my friend said “well, you better not!” The welcome didn’t end in the Narthex, but an invitation was extended to the Mother’s Day reception in the Social Room afterward.
My friend, who is heavily involved in the GM SYNOD RIC team shared this story at a recent meeting with the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team led by Pastor Afi Dobbins-Mays. It was tremendously encouraging to know that they felt this level of authentic welcome from our people at Gethsemane.
Our congregation has been on a tremendous growth trajectory, and we continue to see the work of The Spirit as we welcome more people, traditional and non-traditional families into our family of faith. We have been blessed beyond by the work and support of the GM Synod DEI team/RIC team and we look forward to seeing what the Spirit has up her sleeve next!
I am proud of you and the intentional work you continue to do to authentically welcome “the stranger”. I am proud of the uncomfortable places you put yourselves to educate and become better stewards of God’s mystery of creation. Paul’s letter to the church of Ephesus notes that we are all “members of one another” – an incredibly rich statement of love and inclusion.
In the month of July, I will be starting a 3-week sermon series entitled “The Expansiveness of God” in the hopes that we can unlock new understandings of who God is and how God shows up in our world – Yesterday and Today!
Thank you, beloved Gethsemane, for all the work you do as community to continue to open the door to the understanding of God’s love for ALL people.
With gratitude! Pastor P
