Reconciling Ministries Network

Devotion: Name Calling

Now the LORD came and stood there, calling as before, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." I Samuel 3:10

I was amazed to read the headlines about the gay bishop who prayed at the inaugural celebration on Sunday. I was amazed because Bishop Robinson is actually an Episcopal bishop not a Gay bishop.

Here in the small coastal Massachusetts town where I’m appointed, I suspect that some may think I’m the Gay minister, not the Methodist minister.

Heading into the church this week I heard a loud voice behind me shout, “Hey! You’re gay! You are a HOMOSEXUAL!” Immediately I turned around to see who was yelling at me and realized that it was some kids playing hockey on the frozen pond next to the church. They hadn’t even noticed me but were razzing one another, shoving and saying other rude things at each other as they skated around the ice. (They were probably just flirting…)

I thought for a moment about going over and talking to them. I though for a moment about saying that there are gay people in this neighborhood who don’t want to hear them using those words in a disrespectful way.

But for once I didn’t choose a confrontation. (And this may very well have been a lost opportunity.) But God took the moment to remind me of something. As I stood in the snow outside the church I felt God tell me, “Hey! You’re gay! You are a homosexual! Remember and be thankful for who you are.”

People may call us names but God calls our name. The world may disparage who we are but God can take even our hurt and transform it into an anointing affirmation. 

Instead of talking to the kids this time, I shared this very illustration in the sermon on Sunday. I can almost imagine what some of the gay people in the church thought about it, almost like I can imagine Bishop Robinson reading those headlines. But this message isn’t just for GLBT people, it’s for all God’s people.

For you who have been called other names – because of your race or gender or appearance or any other reason – remember that though people may call you names, God calls your name. 

No matter what response is appropriate at any given time, we need to always ground ourselves in thankfulness for God’s grace and the blessing we know in our identity.

Hey! You’re God’s Beloved!

By Will Green for Grassroots Committee

Devotion: Praying in the New President

Devote yourself to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving. At the same time pray for us as well that God will open to us a door for the word, that we may declare the mystery of Christ. Colossians 4: 2-3

I have been praying a lot lately. There is so much need… in so many places. And, like many of you, I have been praying intentionally for our new president, Barack Obama.

I am ready for change. Julie and I were in Grant Park (Chicago) the night of the election. We had a great time ~ the outbreak of hope, joy, enthusiasm, and fun. Everyone was a friend. I have looked forward to the inauguration. The challenges and tasks are enormous~ but I have hope.
And I pray.

Alongside my joy, I have deep disappointment in the choice of Rick Warren to be the Pray-er for the nation on that day.  It is not simply because he de-humanizes LGBT people, attacking our love and our families. It is even worse because it is at the moment of prayer. This is a big deal.

As part of our spiritual journeys, prayer is a time of vulnerability. We open ourselves to God as we speak and as we listen for God. Alone or with others, prayer is not a time to keep up our defenses. It is a time to let the Spirit come in. It is a time to be authentic, it is a time to risk.

As I watch the event on January 20, how can I pray as one of the gathered community?

This question has brought to mind a book on my shelf: Praying With Our Eyes Open. The gist of the title is that for people under attack, bowing down and closing our eyes may not be the best posture for prayer.

“Prayer, especially public prayer, engages the participants in a web of interlocking     assumptions about bodies, communities, God, Jesus (in Christian prayer), human nature,     the world, and relationships. Furthermore, the assumptions set in place and maintained by     public prayer do not take place in a vacuum, but in the public arena, an arena marked by     racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism, and other forms of interlocking oppressions and     subjugations. In this context, Christian prayer, both in form and content, often serves to     reinforce and spiritualize multiple forms of oppression.”
                   Praying with Our Eyes Open: Engendering Feminist Liturgical Prayer
                   by Marjorie Procter-Smith, 1995.

So how can we pray? With our eyes open.

Let’s be alert, let’s watch for the danger and let’s watch for God. Let’s gather in all who are feeling left out. With our eyes open we will be able to see each other. With our eyes open we can still celebrate the good when we see it and let that good feed our hope and our hope feed our prayer. God will open for us a door and we may declare the mystery of Christ.

Sue Laurie, RMN Outreach Coordinator and pray-er.

Devotion: Joy to the World

When the wise men saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage.  Matthew 2:10-11

I was in Texas for Christmas because three of my seven siblings live with their families in the suburbs north of Dallas. While Julie and I have been committed to traveling for the holidays to be with our families, we do miss observing Christmas at home. My family members do not belong to a church, so Julie and I have always driven farther into Dallas to attend Northaven UMC, a wonderful reconciling congregation (with some familiar faces).

Meanwhile, as we visited my family over the last several years ~ going to school events, soccer games, shopping and eating out, we had driven by a neighborhood United Methodist Church. It is a newer one built among the new housing and shopping developments. It has been growing and there are obvious signs of outreach that offer the community a sense of a congregation that "loves its neighbors" near and far. I could see that it was a lively place, but as we know, LGBT people cannot presume that any random church is safe inside. And while our faith may call us out of places of safety into action, we still need to worship in places where we can be vulnerable, where we can be open to the Spirit. So in years past, I never ventured inside that church.

However, my path crossed with this congregation a year ago when the General Board of Church and Society (GBCS) offered a conference in Fort Worth. The GBCS themes were to empower local congregations to do justice ministry. Northaven UMC of Dallas, sponsored a display table. Together we offered information about Reconciling Ministries and  a staff member of the congregation came and spoke with me at the RMN table.

Recognizing the name of the church as the one in my sister's neighborhood and sensing some amount of interest in Reconciling, I left my usual script. I did say some introductory things about RMN and the need for authentic welcome. However, I allowed some of my personal frustration into the conversation. Was it hope? Was it fear? Was it aggravation? Was it expectation? Was it the Spirit?

I told her that I have nieces and nephews in the area that love me. They love their Aunt Julie and they love their gay uncles too. And they need a church, a Sunday School where they would not hear bad things about people they love. She replied that she thought they could find it at her church.
I did mention to my sister that I had heard good things about this church we drive by so frequently. She and her family did venture into SUMC last fall. It was not east because she was unfamiliar with church - speak and practices. She appreciated the way they explained and invited people to our UM open communion table.

My Joy this year is that my sister and her family have found a church that seems to be genuine in its messages of welcome and grace. My nieces were baptized there last  month and participated in the Christmas pageant. Julie and I were there for Christmas eve and Sunday. It is a place where you can feel the love of Christ and where they are generous in offering it to others. While I still need to "hear the words" that welcome LGBT people specifically, I have hope in this place. And being there gave me great joy.

We are in Christmastide. We have experienced another Christmas event ~ we have allowed our hope to bubble up through the dense, sometimes cold realities of our lives. We have sung the carols ~ some more sentimental and some that dare the hope to continue.

As reconciling people we are abundant in hope. Hope keeps us going and we have been faithfully relentless. Can we also live as people of JOY ? Can we trust the gift of God, in the person of Jesus Christ, so much that we see the JOY, feel the JOY, share the JOY of Christmas in the months to come?

I am going to try,

Sue Laurie, Outreach Coordinator RMN

Mary & Reconciliation

By Leland Spencer

Mary had an important calling, and we remember and celebrate it during this season of Christmas. Mary was called to give birth to Christ--to bear the Christ in a world hungry and thirsty for Christ's presence.

Mary, I believe, is thus the Mother of the reconciling movement, for that is what the movement seeks to do. Our call is to give birth to Christ in every conversation, congregation, class, or campus where we do ministry. Our call is to give birth to Christ, even when the church says there is no room for us, even when we are pushed to the margin.

May God find us faithful as we approach the task--sometimes rewarding, sometimes challenging, sometiems exciting, sometimes painful--of giving birth to Christ in every opportunity.

Devotion: Christmas is for the Just and the Unjust

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; and ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself…the scribe answered, ”this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.
(Mark 12:28-31, 33)

Jesus had many exchanges with the religious hierarchy and those who were trying to understand what Jesus was doing and who he was.  He was interrogated for eating with those whom others would ignore or avoid. So a scribe asked him a tough question, “Out of all the commandments, which the most important?”  Jesus answered calmly, without hesitation and explained the entire purpose of his ministry in those few words.

When asked the same question a rabbi answered “love your neighbor as yourself and all the rest is commentary.” This is so true; if you truly love your neighbor as yourself then the rest of the Bible can be fulfilled. 

As an ally in this movement, I am frequently asked by people about my sexual orientation.  People want to know why a straight person would put themselves in a position in which they can be possibly ridiculed and questioned.  I calmly answer and remind them of a people that may not be like everybody else in the church, but are God’s children all the same.  I speak about respect and demand that LGBTQ persons be recognized as our neighbors.   

Sometimes it is difficult to acknowledge our neighbors. Our neighbors don’t always look, act, or like the same things we do. They may challenge us to change how we do ministry because they see a gap between our words and our actions. This past General Conference I attended as one of the on-site volunteer coordinators. I witnessed an outpouring of love and compassion. I also witnessed moments of out-right hatefulness. I heard such statements as, “homosexuals are from Satan”.

Reconciling ministry is hard --  I must remember that the people who attacked us are also God’s children and my neighbors. Even in their anger and fear, they will not be turned away. How do we invite and hold all those who are hurting and live into grace; abundant grace that can diminish the harm of hatefulness and heal the Body of Christ?

This Christmas season remember that little baby who came into world not knowing his purpose, but who changed the world.   A tiny, maybe 6 lb. baby that arrived kicking and screaming, just like any other baby, but so different in many ways, pushed the boundaries of the day and still pushes today.  That baby didn’t know his neighbors or the world around him, but loved anyway and grew-up to be one who still challenges us to look around and see our neighbors.

Merry Christmas!

Candie ODell
Seminary Intern at Reconciling Ministries Network, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
California-Pacific Annual Conference

Devotion: Blessed to be Methodist

In Christ, God was reconciling the world to Godself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making an appeal through us. 2 Corinthians 5:19-20

I imagine that you have seen something of the tragedy in San Diego where the military jet crashed into the home of  a young Korean family killing the wife, her mother and two small daughters. The husband/father, Dong Yun Yoon was at work at the time of the crash. Yesterday Yoon held a press conference during which he said in halting words, "I believe my wife, two babies and mother in law are in heaven with God. God is taking care of them".  About the pilot of the jet who ejected safely before the crash Yoon said,"Please pray for him not to suffer from this accident...I don't blame him. He did everything he could do". When CNN ran a piece on this during the program "Situation Room", they followed these words with a brief interview with Yoon's pastor. As they panned to the sign on the church you see the words "Korean United Methodist Church". As the pastor is speaking you see behind him his stole with cross and flame hanging over his robe.

Sometimes I wonder and worry about the United Methodist Church as a denomination...finances, factions, frustrations over purpose, and failure to be a truly inclusive and reconciling people.

And then, through the wonder of media, I encounter such a soul as Dong Yun Yoon who's faith and person has been formed by the Gospel of Christ as known through the United Methodist Church and I again know myself blessed to be one with each of you, a part of the people called Methodist.

Have a very blessed Advent and Christmas Season.

Rev. Sarah Roncolato for the Grassroots Committee
Rev. Sarah Roncolato is a Reconciling United Methodist and pastor in the Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference

Devotion: God's Complex Love

“Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you…’”  (Mathew 16:16-17)

“He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me!”  (Matthew 16:23)

All in one chapter, we see the mixed nature of Jesus and Peter’s special relationship.  Because of his devotion, Peter begs Jesus to stop angering the priests and scribes who wish him harm.  Jesus’ response?  “Get thee behind me, Satan!”  No word of acknowledgement for his concern and love, Jesus appears simply irritated by Peter’s  fear.

In my life, the best relationships are full of these painfully honest moments.  I have two roommates right now, both of whom I like very much.   One is particularly funny, the other especially compassionate; we all share a penchant for romantic comedies and good books.  However, we do not always get along.  One night one forgot her keys and woke me up at two in the morning to let her in the building. I was about as nice as a grizzly bear woken up in the middle of winter.  But these difficult times build trust for relationship.  Later, the same roommate timidly explained that my boisterous demeanor frightens her, so I have learned to speak more slowly and quietly when we are together, and she feels more free to express her feelings at home.  

In the midst of these painful moments, relationships are built upon the refusal to walk away and the hope to try again tomorrow.  Again and again, Peter was impetuous, and Jesus stuck around anyway.  Peter climbed out of the boat to walk on the water, got scared, started to sink, and Jesus reached out to hold his hand and save him.   Jesus called this friend Satan,  told him to go away, but a week later the two men climbed up a mountain together so Peter could witness the transfiguration! 

Complex relationships carry great potential for joy.   Later in his life, Peter said of Jesus, “You have made known to me the ways of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.”  Peter’s moment of fear on the water allowed for Jesus to show exactly how much he cared about Peter remaining alive.  My roommate’s vulnerability in sharing enabled a deeper than previously imagined intimacy.   Because God really DOES love this crazy, messed up world, a baby was born in a smelly stable.  God did not abandon the world, but stuck around to show us love and hope.   God does not abandon us, but sticks around to show us love and hope.

Audrey Krumbach for the Grassroots Committee
Audrey is the Outreach Coordinator with Young Adult Emphasis at Reconciling Ministries Network

Devotion: Light breaking into the darkness

"What has come into Being in the Word was life, and the life was the light of all people."
--John 1:3b-4

December brought some snow to Chicago...for me that is a sign of Christmas coming.

Christmas is coming, coming soon. This is Advent, as we watch for Jesus to come, our hopes are voiced in the hymns, prayers and preaching of our local congregations. As LGBT people of faith we hope.

Advent is a time of the light breaking into the darkness. As we hope for inclusive church and community, the light may be the thoughtfulness that breaks down ignorance. The light will be those days when "Love your neighbor" activities break into complacency and idle confusion. For the ones who watch and hope in Jesus, the life and the light does come.

In my twenties, coming to full realization that I was lesbian, I turned to scripture not really sure how it would speak to me. As a Christian, naturally I began with the Gospels. Reading page by page in the book of Matthew I saw the stories that I knew from my childhood. Very early in the New Testament is the "Lord's Prayer", the Beatitudes and other stories of God’s love for us. This is Good News!

Thankfully the effort to hate myself for being gay was being healed by the scriptures themselves. The words reinforced my earlier positive experiences of church. Many Christian leaders, theologians and Bible scholars admonish us, "Read the scripture as if it were written to you." 

I distinctly remember reading Matthew 5 in those days. I smiled when I read...

“You are the light of the world. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under a bushel basket. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your God in heaven.”

It tickled me to realize – Oh! This is where the song comes from!  “This little light of mine…” Today I also know that in my Bible is my name; Matt 5 says, “Sue, let your light shine.”

When Julie and I were married at the General Conference last May, the ceremony began inside the convention center. After the welcome, hundreds of us processed out of that place singing the children’s song that is so profound, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.” It was sung with passion and power as we brought our light into world. It is more than a children’s song, it carries the hope of Advent.

As Reconciling United Methodists we hope for a truly welcoming Church. We anticipate the joy of the moment when every person will know, and feel it deeply in their souls, that they are precious to God and precious within the human community.

Sometimes it feels like we live in a season of Advent no matter the month or day. We trust in God, we give thanks for the moments when we have seen this light and love, and we let God’s light and love flow through us into the world.

By Sue Laurie for the Grassroots Committee
Sue is the Outreach Coordinator for Reconciling Ministries Network.

Asking for crumbs

By Jorge Lockward

During my high school years, as I faced  academic subjects that were not my forte, my mother Lina offered the following advice,

                "Mi hijo, aspira a 100 para que saques 80,"
                which could translate in the US alpha based grading system
                "My son, shoot for an A+ so you get a B." 

The principle behind my mom's aphorism called me to look beyond what seemed "realistic," to set my aspirations higher than what I thought was possible, to ask boldly of myself, others, and of life itself.

Granting the limitations of this principle, particularly at moments where, after shooting high, realities on the ground call for the wisdom of negotiation and revised expectations, we would do well as a progressive movement to heed my mom's advice. Too often, it seems, we are content with accommodating our aspirations to anticipated obstacles before we even ask for what we really want. Too often we settle for moderate, sympathetic leadership when what we really need is risk-taking, courageous leaders. Too often we fall into the trap of incrementalism before we even give the Spirit's power a chance to shine and surprise us through our actions.

The price we pay goes beyond the tangible outcomes. A part of our soul is chipped away whenever dreams and hopes are suppressed before they are given a chance. Slowly, but surely, cynicism clouds and eventually take over our God-given dreams.

Wisdom and audacity are not mutually exclusive for there is a wisdom in timely audacity. There is indeed a time for everything under the sun; a time to ask, a time to withdraw, a time to move and a time to stand still. Beyond identifying the proper time, it is the quality of the asking, withdrawal, movement and stillness that requires our attention. When it is the time to ask, audacity is a virtue.

Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
Matthew 7:7-8 (NRSV)