Redeemer Lutheran Church in Bangor

We're pleased to offer a warm welcome to the members of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Bangor, Maine, who passed a number of statements of welcome over the winter. In a creative move, the congregation handed out copies of all of the sample statements of welcome provided by Lutherans Concerned for the congregation to sign whichever ones they liked the most. So the congregation is affirming their welcome in different ways!

The one they settled on as "official" is as follows:

"All are welcome here!  

Redeemer is a Christian congregation called to unite people from diverse backrounds enabling them to grow in the love of Jesus Christ. 

We therefore respond to the vision to which God has called us - to proclaim this good news and to welcome in our congregation all people without regard to sexual orientation, gender identity, culture or ethnic background, physical or mental abilities, family status, gender or age.  

We pledge to ourselves and all others that we will strive to live as reconciling people in our life together and in our outreach to the world."

Please join us in keeping Redeemer Lutheran Church in our prayers as they continue their ministry of welcome. Thank you, Redeemer!

Letter to priest of former home congregation: Consider "the least of these."

The Rev. Jay Wiesner, pastor of University Lutheran Church of the Incarnation (Philadelphia, PA) wrote a letter to the priest of his former home congregation about the marriage amendment coming before Minnesota this fall. With Jay's permission, we provide the text of the letter below. Thank you, Jay, for your faithful witness.
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7 March 2012

Perpetua & Her Companions, Martyrs at Carthage, 202

Dear Monsignor Grams,

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I hope and pray that this letter finds you well and that your Lenten journey is already filled with grace and mercy.

My name is Jay Wiesner. I grew up in New Ulm, was a member of St. Mary’s, and was confirmed in my faith in the spring of 1990. I remember the name I chose for myself at my confirmation: Patrick. I chose the name because of the way St. Patrick was able to teach theology to the people. St. Mary’s was where I learned the faith and I give thanks for the gifts I received from the congregation. Whenever I am back in New Ulm, I try to attend Mass with my parents as I still love the community.

From the time of my confirmation at St. Mary’s and beyond when I began to attend college, I realized that I was being called to serve God and the Church in the way of the ministry. As my faith strengthened, I realized that the Lutheran Church was where God was calling me. When I informed my mentors in the faith at St. Mary’s, I was surprised to hear their joy, even though I was leaving the Roman Catholic Church. The letter from St. Mary’s confirming my removal from membership was one of the loveliest written letters I have ever received. This is all to say that even though I am no longer Roman Catholic, I still feel tied to the Roman Catholic Church as it has shaped my faith, St. Mary’s in particular. I remember your church fondly in my prayers and I continue to pray for your strengthening. This is what makes what I am about to write all the more troubling.

During a conversation with my parents (who are still regular members at St. Mary’s), I was informed that you have been making announcements calling for your parishioners to support the marriage amendment that is going to be considered by the state of Minnesota. This greatly disturbs my family still at St. Mary’s and this greatly disturbs me as well. This amendment that is being proposed will do great harm to people who continually have great harm done to them in society. One of the many blessings of being a pastor is being able to support others in their journeys of faith, loving and worshipping our God revealed in Jesus Christ. For same sex couples who are in loving, life-giving relationships who are also Christian (and there are many of them), it is vitally important that churches help nurture this faith so that their love and the love of Christ may grow. If this amendment passes, it will inflict great harm on these loving, life-giving relationships.

I do know that the Roman Catholic Church's hierarchy has spent a great deal of time and energy making statements on this issue. However, I also know that there are many Roman Catholics who greatly disagree with the church’s hierarchy; not for reasons of experience solely, but also because of their time spent in prayer and the reading of the Scriptures. As I read Acts 11.1-18, I am reminded of the power of the Holy Spirit that comes upon people others would consider unworthy of the gospel (in the case of Acts, the Gentiles). Of course, we are all unworthy of the gospel; it is only by the grace of God found in the work of Jesus Christ that any person is made righteous before God.

I’m not sure the kind of pressure you are facing from others in regard to this matter, but I kindly ask that you listen to other Roman Catholics who believe that same-sex couples should be embraced by the Church and offered the same rights and protections that heterosexual couples are offered. May I kindly request that before you make any more announcements calling for the support of this marriage amendment, you consider what it means to love those who are different from yourself and to love those who by many in this society and Church are considered “the least of these”?

My prayers continue for you and for St. Mary’s, as well as the whole Roman Catholic Church. May the Crucified/Risen One be proclaimed in all that we do.

Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me,

The Rev. Jay Alan Patrick Wiesner

Pastor, University Lutheran Church of the Incarnation

Zion Lutheran Church of Everett

Spending some time in Washington state? Head over to Everett and visit our newest Reconciling in Christ congregation, Zion Lutheran Church.

They passed their statement of welcome on "Leap Day," and it reads:

need good news? come hear it. see it. taste it. sense it. experience God’s love and grace; explore spirituality in the safety of not being judged

“Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” (Romans 15:7)

we’re unanimously committed to embrace people of all backgrounds … you, from of any ethnicity; skeptical or assured; rich or poor; liberal or conservative; you, from all gender identities or sexual orientations … you, who are cognitively aware or affected; healthy or ill; tired or energetic; silly or serious; and you, in between all those labels … you, made in God’s image are loved and celebrated for who you are.

Over one hundred years old now, Zion Lutheran Church is excited to make their welcome official, and we're eager to celebrate their ministries. Check them out and keep them in your prayers.

Trinity, Park Forest Becomes RIC

Over in the Chicago area we are pleased to be joined by the members of Trinity Lutheran Church in Park Forest, IL, our newest Reconciling in Christ congregation.

from trinityparkforest.org

They tell us,

Trinity's community of faith welcomes and invites you and all people of: every age, every race, every culture, every ethnicity, every level of physical and mental ability, every sexual orientation and gender identity, every married, widowed, divorced, partnered or single status, every family make-up, every economic standing, every educational background, every political affiliation, and every other trait of human diversity that is open to God's call of unity and inclusiveness.  

Trinity's community of faith welcomes and invites Lutherans, non-Lutherans, life-long faithful Christians, new Christians, not-so-faithful Christians, those who are seekers of faith matters, those who are simply curious about faith matters, and those who embrace any combination of these or other traits of faith.

You are welcome to join them at 8:30 or 11am on Sunday mornings for worship, and education at 9:45am. Please send them your prayers!

New RIC Congregations in CA and AZ

This week we finalized the RIC status for both All Saints Lutheran Church in Sun Valley, CA and Christ the King Lutheran Church in Phoenix, AZ.

All Saints is excited to become Reconciling in Christ. They serve their community in part by hosting a learning center for preschool children and day camps during school breaks. Members worship together at 9:30am and share adult forum at 11am. The congregation is also host to other programs, including a "giving tree" to support local charities and causes.

He Qi, artist

Christ the King will be embarking on their first year in the local Pride March. The congregation has also been doing work with Eritrean refugees for some time now, and members of all nationalities worship together.

We at Lutherans Concerned are excited to welcome both congregations and grateful for the welcoming ministry they do.

When Will We Ever Learn?

The following is a guest post by the Rev. Richard C. Staats originally submitted as an opinion piece to the Arizona Republic. He and his wife Linda Staats will be leading a pre-event at ReconcilingWorks 2012 on couple care and marriage.

What we have yet to learn is far more wonderful than what we claim to be correct.  Remember the Bible and slavery?  The Bible and women?  The Bible and race?  The Bible and suffering?  The Bible and homosexuality?  Now it's the Bible and marriage.  Within today's Republic article entitled "Appeals Court Rejects Same-Sex Marriage Ban" is a statement that "the California ruling could eventually impact Arizona's law, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman" because "Arizona's courts fall under the jurisdiction of the 9th Circuit."

Most of my 70 years I lived within the misnomer that the story of Adam and Eve gave us the beginning of history.  Bibles still have "The First Man" and "The First Sin" as chapter titles. When I learned that God gave Moses the stories of Genesis for the people of Israel wandering in the wilderness before entering the promised land to teach them there is only one God, not all the feared gods of their neighbors, and that God is good, I began to see the story of Adam and Eve as teaching us the nature of God and the nature of evil.  All the stories up to Abraham deal with horrible, rampant evil and they teach us God's tolerance, grace and promise so that we might trust God and serve God.

So the story of Adam and Eve teaches us for why God creates couples, all kinds of couples, not to blame God and not to blame each other for evil, but to take good care of each other that together couples might take good care of God's creation.  Ah ha!  The definition of a couple!  And the reason for marriage is for community and church and government to support couples in their care for each other that they might serve God well.  The phrase in the song several decades ago: "When will we ever learn?"  Many churches and  many people of faith still teach marriage as one man and one woman. What I've learned, finally, is so correct and so wonderful!

Welcomes on Both Coasts

In the last couple of weeks we've been swamped with new Reconciling in Christ congregations- it's been a joy to speak with pastors and members from all over the country. This week we're honored to welcome Faith Lutheran Church of Junction City, OR; St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church of New York, NY; and Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity of Vallejo, CA.

At Faith Lutheran in Oregon, you can find members together in Bible study, at worship at 10:30am Sunday mornings, and don't forget to check out a taste of the past in the original Faith Lutheran Cookbook, DANSK MAD!

At St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, you can attend a traditional service or a Sunday evening jazz service. They also host a coffee house and are reaching out to the local LBT community by hosting the AIDS Memorial March, hosting meetings for the Pride Parade and recognize both National Coming Out Day and Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Holy Trinity is a church on the move and just beginning a host of new activities. You should stop by to visit and find out more in person!

As always, we're incredibly grateful for the work of welcome done each day by these congregations and we hope you'll join us in supporting them in our thoughts and prayers.