A place where ALL are welcomed
Some days I cannot imagine living
in this world where injustice abounds. Some days I think this faith I’ve so
desperately grasped through the ups and downs of my adolescence and young
adulthood is nothing but a boondoggle. I look around me and wonder why I still
call myself a Christian when that term has come to mean something it never
should have been to so many. I am embarrassed to say I label myself with the
same moniker as Ridgedale Church of Christ in Tennessee or Charles Worley or
Pat Robertson. I get strange looks from many in my larger circle of friends and
acquaintances when I back out of brunch or dinner because I have commitments at
my Baptist church.
My church is different from most.
We were born out of the Civil Rights moments of the sixties and seventies.
Today we are still right no the forefront of social justice in our community,
our state, our country, and our world. We are welcoming and affirming, meaning
that LGBTQ persons are invited to enter into our community openly and freely.
We believe in the equality of women and men in ministry and leadership, so much
so that our pastor (of more than a decade) is female. We do thinking very
differently from what most people think of when they hear “Baptist”.
Despite our welcoming attitude,
until this point, no same-gender unions, commitment ceremonies, or weddings
have been held in our church. Our pastor has also declined to officiate any
such ceremonies. An invisible demarcation has existed, allowing those who
identify as lesbian and gay full rights in our church EXCEPT for the ability to
be married in their church by their pastor.
This morning, that line was
spoken out of existence. I will let Pastor Sarah Shelton’s words in response to
Luke 13 speak here as no paraphrase could do them justice:
“On a panel at
Sixteenth Street Baptist Church I recently heard Rabbi Jonathan Miller say that
the ministers who received Martin Luther King’s famous letter written from the
Birmingham jail were all good religious men. What they lacked was the vision to
see community in a new way. It is the challenge that presents itself in the
gospel reading for today, and it is the challenge I wish for us to consider.
How do we envision redemptive community with eyes like those of Jesus when he
sees this woman and redeems her life … For you see these [gay and lesbian]
members of our church dare to share their stories with me in the privacy of my
office. And when they do, I reach to place a blessing on their forehead as I
say we would love for you to become a member at Baptist Church of the Covenant.
I welcome them into
church membership. I baptize them in the waters. I serve them communion. I
dedicate their babies. I appoint and ordain them to positions of leadership. I
receive their tithes and offerings. Offer prayers beside their beds and words
of remembrance at their funerals. But what I have not done, what WE have not done, is to honor their vows
of covenantal relationship by permitting commitment services in the very place
that they call their church home.
It is at this point
that the whispered voices of some define my reality. Like the leader of the
synagogue I hear them saying: ‘It is one thing to be an idealist passionate
about human suffering, issues of justice, and civil rights. But let’s be
reasonable. There is a time and place for everything. Gay marriage is wrong.
It’s against the law. Let’s not be cavalier about the law.’ And then Jesus
responds: ‘You hypocrite. You are missing an opportunity to experience God’s law
of loving your neighbor as yourself.’
Regardless of what
the outside world does or says, let us remember that this congregation, this
one right here, this congregation was founded on the principle that there would
not be second-class citizens. So when we refuse this sacred space to those who
wish to receive a blessing on their committed relationship, are we not asking
gays and lesbians to sit in the back of the bus as we introduce them to our
good friend Rosa Parks who now sits in the front? … The response of the synagogue’s
leader points us to who is really crippled in this story, and he is so bound by
right doctrine that he is incapable of living in a free reality defined by God’s
love. It is to this reality that I believe we are being called so that we can
stand tall in God’s love and joy.”
So when my friends find
themselves shocked by the fact that I am a dedicated and loyal member of a
local Baptist church, I smile. We are different for sure, but like any church,
we are still working out what it means to be an intentional community. We are
still working out the kinks of this brave new world of emerging equality. But
the point is, we are doing it. And I am a member of a church where a pastor can
preach about such equality and be received with embraces and tears of joy.
You see, when the sermon was
over, and we were singing our hymn inviting those who would like to join our
community, something interesting happened. One by one, people slipped from
their pews to walk to the front to embrace our pastor. Individuals and couples.
Straight and gay. It was one of the most sacred moments I have ever
experienced, and I will never forget it. It will sustain me on those days where
I have trouble believing in God. It will comfort me when I hear of a church
kicking out a gay member. It will remind me that to be a member of my church is
to be part of a community of equality and grace where ALL are welcomed. Amen.
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