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.
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A SPECIAL WELCOME
submitted by Sue Anderson, Chair, Gloria Dei Reconciling in
Christ Committee
A year or so 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.
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THE REST OF THE STORY - A historical account of how Gloria Dei became a RIC congregation.
This year will be the 13th
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
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