The RIC Committee meets periodically at Gloria Dei. If interested in being part of our planning for deepening our welcome to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender folks, please contact the church.
THE REST OF THE STORY
This year will be the 10th anniversary of Gloria Dei becoming a
Reconciling in Christ congregation, in 1998. On Reconciling in Christ
Sunday, the focus of the adult forum was on the process that the church
went through, before formally adopting the welcoming statement of RIC.
Actually, the process began some years earlier. I have been told that
the idea was explored some time in the 1980’s after Pastor John
Engstrom came to Gloria Dei. There was also a Gay/Lesbian Interfaith
Bible Study that began meeting in 1984 at a different location, and
then moved to Gloria Dei with the permission of Lutheran Social
Service, which occupied the third floor offices at that time. I
understand that the Bible study group was formed as a response to a gay
rights ordinance that was voted down by the city council in 1984. I
have seen a clip from one of the city council meetings from that time,
where an area minister spoke, and said that he thought gay people
should be put to death. I began attending the Bible study group in
1985, after moving back to Duluth from the Twin Cities. After a couple
of the people moved away, Harry and I took over the leadership of the
group. It evolved into more of a support group, although we did have
some services with communion, and also some pot lucks. One highlight
was when we did the stations of the cross, an Easter Vigil, and an
Easter Sunday dinner. Many of the people who attended the group were
gay/lesbian clergy from various denominations, as well as lay people
who were involved in their churches. The group continued to meet until
2003, when it was disbanded due to low attendance and my work schedule
at the time. Gloria Dei has also hosted various other groups, such as
an HIV/AIDS support group, and a GLBT-AA group which still meets on
Friday nights. I started attending services at Gloria Dei in 1988,
and I joined the church about a year later. Tim C., a gay man, and I
joined at the same time. Some time after that, Harry, Tim, and I had a
meeting with Pastor Engstrom, and out of that came a series in the
adult forum, on homosexuality and the church, in 1990. The News Tribune
also sent a reporter to our gay/lesbian group, and did an interview
with Pastor Engstrom on this issue. Some of our names appeared in the
article, along with a picture of our Pastor. Later on the paper did
another article about Harry, and his work at the church. Although
unassuming, it was a powerful witness. Pastor Engstrom was so
supportive, and we were all sad to see him leave in 1993. After that we
had a couple ‘Meet Your Neighbor’ sessions, on AIDS, and on the
gay/lesbian issue and gay clergy. In 1995, the GLBT Pride committee
presented Gloria Dei an award for our “continued support to the Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender community. The plaque is displayed in
the Lakeside Room. Apparently we had built a reputation in the
community, before establishing an official status. In 1997, we
became more serious about becoming Reconciling in Christ, when we held
a major workshop one weekend, on “What Does It Mean to be Welcoming?””
with Anita Hill and a group from St. Paul Reformation. We invited other
churches, and explored the issue in more depth. This then led to the
process of becoming an RIC congregation, as was outlined in the recent
adult forum. This came about through the Service & Witness
committee. Something else that may have spurred us on at that time
was a threat of a visit to Duluth by Fred Phelps, a notorious anti-gay
activist whose group has a website called “God Hates Fags.” This
actually seemed to help mobilize other churches and the gay/lesbian
community, much as it did back in 1984, to become more pro-active.
The current statement of welcome reads as follows: “Gloria Dei is a
Reconciling in Christ (RIC) church, meaning that we welcome and strive
to incorporate all persons, regardless of gender identity, or sexual
orientation, into full participation in the church.” This goes right
along with our mission statement: “Empowered by Christ’s love, Gloria
Dei reaches out as an inclusive, welcoming church through worship and
social action.” We are so grateful to have Pastor Carlson's support
in this matter, as well as other pastors and church members. It is
important to have strong leadership when it comes to issues involving
social justice and spiritual inclusiveness.
Submitted by Alice Lahti
(NOTE: This article was submitted a while back but I thought it so worthwhile to leave on the RIC page as I do think it explains what being an RIC church is all about. Linda-Webmistress)
A SPECIAL WELCOME
submitted by Sue Anderson, Chair, Gloria Dei Reconciling in Christ Committee
A few
weeks ago, Carol Kelley, Steve Dalager and I made a presentation at
Messiah Lutheran in Mt. Iron about being a Reconciling in Christ
congregation. We were well received and enjoyed the opportunity to
worship on the Range with some wonderful people.
One
of the questions that we were asked was "Why do we need a special
welcome for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people? We welcome
everyone. Shouldn't we have a special welcome for all sorts of
different groups of people?" Personally, I think that's a fair
question. A special welcome-why indeed?
While
hanging out at the Lutherans Concerned informational table at our Synod
Assembly, a person supportive of the full inclusion of glbt people in
the life of the church also asked, "Is it really necessary to become a
Reconciling In Christ church? We already welcome everyone." Again, a
fair question. Is it important (necessary) to extend a special welcome
to glbt people?
When
I addressed the question posed to us at Messiah, I said glbt people
need a special welcome in part because there are lots and lots of
churches with signs that say "Everyone Welcome" who have also made very
clear their non-inclusive, non-tolerant stand regarding glbt people.
Everyone doesn't mean everyone and everyone knows that. I added that of
the many groups of people that have not been fully invited or brought
into the Lutheran church, it is really only the gay men, the lesbians,
the bisexuals, and the transgendered folks who have been officially
denied full participation in the ELCA via church policy. By proclaiming
a formal statement of welcome, glbt people feel safe to walk through
the doors of a church building. They know they have entered into a
place where they are truly welcomed to be openly who God created them
to be.
Recently
I had a conversation with Doug Maguire. He was excitedly sharing
information from a recent church conference he had attended. (Doug
loves a good church conference.) Talking about those "absent 18 to 35
year olds" who we miss seeing in church on a regular basis, Doug shared
an interesting bit of information from his conference. When asked for
one word to describe the Christian Church, 90% of the respondents from
that age group said: homophobic. Interesting. This wasn't a poll of
just glbt people; the sample included a cross section of people. Why
indeed do congregations need a special welcome for glbt people? Because
the Christian Church (including the ELCA) has an image problem with all
sorts of people. To not have this explicit welcome is to be part of the
"Everyone like us is welcome" welcome. By proclaiming a welcome, we
openly refute the broad brush image of Church=homophobic.
I am writing
this with the image of Jesus the Good Shepherd still fresh on my mind
from worship. I think about when Jesus says that there are other sheep
not now in his fold, but he will also bring them into his fold. Those
words are words of deep comfort to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and
transgendered people. We know that many Christians do not welcome us
because we aren't like them, but we also know that Christ has brought
us into the fold through the waters of baptism and the promise of
eternal life. Doesn't Christ extend a special welcome to each of us?
Actually, Christ goes beyond a special welcome, he extends the
invitation. A special welcome? Yes, and yes to truly Everyone who
enters Gloria Dei's doors.
Gloria Dei Lutheran Church 219 N. 6th Ave. E. Duluth, MN 55805 218.722.3381
