Yesterday afternoon, Elizabeth A. Eaton was installed as the Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It was as joyous and momentous occasion. I was honored to be among those gathered for the service, and especially glad to be sitting with Emily Ewing, an LSTC student,member of Proclaim and former Joel R. Workin Scholar. I was also glad to be sitting next to ELM’s new program director, the Rev. Jen Rude (also a Proclaim member & former Joel R. Workin Scholar!). I met two Proclaim members for the first time in person that day. I also loved seeing many Proclaim members active in the worship service. At one point, Jen and I elbowed each other when Proclaim members Rev. Erik Christensen, Kyle Severson, Rev. Steve Wilco, and Rev. Michael Fick all passed by us within minutes as members of the procession.
This great day came just two weeks after many of us gathered in Thousand Oaks to celebrate the installation of the Rev. Dr. R. Guy Erwin as Bishop of the Southwest California Synod of the ELCA. It was a powerful day for many and we were fortunate especially that day to hear a fierce sermon from Bishop Mark Hanson.
Bp. Guy Erwin with members of Proclaim.
Bp. Hanson began his sermon at Bp. Erwin’s installation with a long series of thank yous. He ended his introduction with these words:
“On behalf of this whole church, I want to say a deep and heartfelt thank you to everyone here and everyone who’s watching the live stream, and those that have gone on to glory that have worked so tirelessly, fervently, prayerfully, prophetically, agitationally so that we could come to this day as a church when Rev. Dr. Guy Erwin, in the presence of his husband Rob, could be installed in the office of bishop in Christ’s church. Thank you.”
One of the ways Proclaim supports leaders is through a monthly devotional written by one of the Proclaim chaplains. Here is the September devotional from Angela Nelson.
by Angela Nelson, Proclaim Chaplain & Guest Blogger
I have officially lived in New England for a whole entire year. Weird. Super weird. I came out east to live with my best friend while looking for work and waiting for a call, and I have no idea how an entire twelve months have gone by. More than that, really, since I spent the first month looking for work and am next week marking a year of working at Target (10% employee discount!).
It has also been a year since I drove four days in a row to and from my seminary roommate’s Ordination in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Good ol’ U.P. that always gets left off the Michigan maps. GORGEOUS drive at the end of September. Absolutely stunning, just like New England in the fall.
Which is where this devotion starts, really. Fall is my all-time favorite season. I don’t know if it’s the excuse to wear sweaters and drink hot cider, or the newness of every school year and excitement of learning that comes with the season. But the best part, in my opinion, is the smell. The smell, and the trees ablaze with color. Except, as I think about it, the smell is really the smell of death, isn’t it? Leaves dying in a blaze of glory and crunching under foot, giving off the smell of their own break-downs.
And at the same time, those leaves all red and yellow and gold (maybe not so much in Texas or in the Pacific NorthWest or in Alaska, I know) also bring to mind the story of the call of Moses after he ran away from his foster family and had made himself a new family. A call to his own kind of death and resurrection into a new ministry, and a new life, and a lot more bickering in a family lost in the wilderness for a generation.
In the middle of all of that, with Moses stuttering that he doesn’t know how to speak (and then, as one Rabbi lately said, he doesn’t stop speaking for something like 40 chapters!), in the middle of all of that is God’s NAME. The Name so holy some still refuse to pronounce it, or even to write it in it’s entirety. The Name so much alive that it is in the present tense. The Name at the crossroads, when everything around Moses is about to turn into plagues and argument and wandering and bickering and hungering and thirsting. The Name which shades the people with cloud in the wilderness and leads them with fire until they come to the home God promised them.
Whatever Autumn looks like where you are. Whatever is changing, whatever is challenging, whatever is celebrating, whatever is dying and being reborn, the Name is still I AM. Are you staring at a burning bush? Remembering one from long ago? Still waiting to be captured by one out of the corner of your eye on a seemingly ‘normal’ day? Remember Who it is setting you ablaze, Who it is calling to you, Who it is Who IS, and was, and will be, world without end.
It’s Jen’s first day in the office as the new ELM Program Director and I would love for you to join me in welcoming her!
This is a major step for Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries and one we couldn’t take without our committed and visionary supporters. Our organization began as a grassroots effort twenty-three years ago. The efforts of those first leaders and congregations led to a wider movement in the Lutheran church to support LGBTQ people called to rostered ministry. Grassroots and volunteer leadership have been central to keeping this work going over the years. In 2006, thanks to the One Voice campaign, ELM was able to hire its first full-time staff person. I was honored to take on that role of Development Director to help (then) Lutheran Lesbian & Gay Ministries expand our base of supporters and outreach.
In 2008, we added the position of Operations Coordinator and changed my position to Executive Director. Rachael Johnson served as Operations Coordinator until this past August, when she moved to Portland, OR. At that time, the ELM Board assessed our current staffing needs and capacity and decided our programs were at a place where we need dedicated program staff. Rather than fill the Operations Coordinator position, we created the full-time Program Director role and were lucky enough to hire the Rev. Jen Rude for the job.
Jen will be working full-time from the Chicago office. Her primary focus will be directing ELM’s three programs: Proclaim, Candidacy Accompaniment, and Ministry Engagement. She can be reached via email at programdirector@elm.org or by phone at 773-235-0610. You can read all about Jen’s background and vision for ministry here.
Even though we’ve been able to move to two full-time staff positions, Jen and I could not (and don’t want!) to do this work alone. It is only thanks to the devoted board members, volunteers and supporters that we can pursue our vision of a church where all people can serve God according to their callings.
Thanks for doing your part. Please join me in welcoming Jen!
Robert and LSTC members of Proclaim (L – R, Paul Eldred, Amy Westphal and her spouse Olivia-Beth Horak, Robert Needham, Emily Ewing). Photo by Sami Pfalzgraf.
In addition to beginning his studies at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago this August, Robert Needham provided invaluable help in the ELM Chicago office during our staff transition. We are so grateful for having Robert as part of our team for a short time! I invited Robert to share some thoughts about his first days at LSTC. -Amalia
by Robert Needham, Guest Blogger
During the months of August and September young people throughout the country begin their school year. This is no less true of those God has called to serve in the church who are beginning the academic year in seminary, divinity school or other theological education. Moves from places far across the country (if not globe) took place. New student orientations and subsequent explorations of the new locations happened; during this time relationships began to take shape.
When I moved onto campus, I prepared to experience a sense of being an “other” because of the many ways I perceived myself as different from the seminary community. Although I attend a Lutheran seminary and embrace some Lutheran theology, I have not yet joined a Lutheran church. As an openly queer person who has received a significant amount of bullying because of that identification, I braced for rejection and taunting from classmates. I spent a few years outside of academic life before starting my theological education. Many of my classmates transitioned from undergraduate graduation to graduate school with little more than a summer in between.
However, no matter what I expected God surprised me with welcoming community, and all of the othering I expected did not matter. Since arriving on campus almost a month and a half before classes started, I anticipated the arrival of new students during the weeks before orientation. The mutual welcome we gave to each other allowed me to identify as and to become part of this seminary community. This space also opened up several conversations about what it means to be queer, and how that looks on a seminary campus. At a personal level, I define queer as “beyond the mainstream.” What exactly that means, each person can decide as they get to know me.
During the Master of Arts student meeting, I had conversation about LGBTQ identities and how they work in various ministry contexts. For several of the students, I was the first openly queer person they had met, and certainly one of the first they felt fully comfortable asking questions about identity. This was the beginning of a pleasant surprise. The seminary community celebrates each person in their personhood, celebrating the diverse perspectives they bring to the table. As a not-quite-Lutheran, I’ve learned how important grace is, not just for me in all my brokenness, but for all of those children of God I encounter in daily life. Finally, as a person who needed an academic break, I realize how much I’ve missed the academic context. God has been working throughout my lifetime to bring me to this point, and I am thankful for the community God prepared to share the seminary experience together.
Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries (ELM) has hired our first ever program director, the Rev. Jen Rude!
Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries’ work with LGBTQ rostered leaders, seminarians and ministries has expanded enormously in the past few years. The ELM Board of Directors felt the vital next step was to provide the staffing support these growing programs need.
From a solid pool of talented candidates, we found a clear choice in Jen.
Jen brings considerable program experience to this role, developed over her 8+ years at the Night Ministry and Resurrection Lutheran Church. Jen has done significant anti-oppression work, and has excellent experience working with youth and young adults. Jen has been serving as the volunteer Proclaim program chair for the past few years and currently serves on the ELM Board of Directors. Jen attended Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD. She received a B.A. in Religion with Gender Studies and Psychology minors. Jen earned her divinity degree from the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA. Jen was extraordinarily ordained in 2007 and received onto the ELCA Clergy Roster in 2011.
Jen’s role will be directing ELM’s three programs: Proclaim, Candidacy Accompaniment, and Ministry Engagement. Her first day will be October 1. Jen’s position is full-time and she will be working from our Chicago office at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church of Logan Square. Jen will join Executive Director Amalia Vagts to round out the staff for Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries.
Freed and compelled by the Gospel of Jesus Christ to proclaim God’s love and seek justice for all, Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries envisions a church where all may serve God according to their callings. The mission of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries is to expand opportunities for Lutheran LGBTQ rostered leaders and their ministries in order to proclaim God’s love and justice for all people. Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries does this work through three main programs: Candidacy Accompaniment, Ministry Engagement, and Proclaim—a professional community for Lutheran LGBTQ rostered leaders and seminarians. Learn more at www.elm.org.
Extraordinary Lutheran Ministry has released a major new resource for candidacy committees working with LGBTQ candidates in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Click here to download the resource as a PDF: Candidacy for LGBTQ Individuals- Draft. The resource is also available on the elm.org homepage.
Candidacy for LGBTQ Individuals
Candidacy and LGBTQ Individuals was prepared as an offered resource for Synodical Candidacy Committees in the ELCA in their work with candidates seeking rostering in the ELCA. Although it was prepared carefully and reviewed extensively, the resource is being released in draft form to allow for feedback and modification from those working in candidacy. ELM will publish a final version in early October. Anyone is invited to submit comments and feedback that will strengthen this resource. Please send comments to info@elm.org.
Some candidacy committees may have limited experience in engaging LGBTQ candidates. This guide is intended to help that engagement to be a respectful and rewarding one for both candidates and committees. Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries has been working with openly LGBTQ candidates for ministry for many years and has learned quite a bit in the process. This resource has developed out of that work and through extensive review and conversations with LGBTQ candidates, Candidacy Committee members, seminary staff, churchwide and synodical personnel.
Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries (www.elm.org) is a social ministry organization that expands opportunities for LGBTQ rostered leaders and their ministries through three primary programs: Proclaim, the professional community for Lutheran rostered leaders and seminarians who public identify as LGBTQ; Ministry Engagement, which connects ministries led by or open to leadership by LGBTQ leaders; and Accompaniment, which supports LGBTQ people through the candidacy and call processes. The Accompaniment Advisory Team includes the following people: Rev. Dr. Randy Nelson, Rev. Dawn Roginski, Rev. Rod Seeger, Rev. Anita Hill, Rev. Tom Taylor, Rev. Joy McDonald Coltvet, Rev. Jason Bense, Rose Beeson, and Asher O’Callaghan.
Candidacy and LGBTQ Individuals was authored and edited by the Rev. Dr. Randy Nelson, based on a previous version written by the Rev. Megan Rohrer. Reviewers and contributors included members of the LGBTQ community; rostered leaders; seminarians; former and current candidacy committee members; seminary faculty; and ELCA synodical bishops. Additional information about Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries is available at www.elm.org.
Last Friday at the 2013 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, I heard an excellent sermon preached on Matthew 15:21-28, the story of the Syrophoenician woman. In it, I heard good news for LGBTQ people and especially those called to places where they have not been welcomed.
In this passage, we heard a difficult truth – that Jesus didn’t always welcome everyone. When a woman from outside the Jewish faith approached him for a miracle to save her daughter, first the disciples turned her away. Then Jesus did. She persisted and in a stunningly frank exchange she made it clear that she was able to accept whatever Jesus had to offer. Her faithfulness changed Jesus. As biblical scholars note, this is a turning point for Jesus and leads to a great expansion of his ministry to people outside the Jewish faith.
The pastor didn’t mention LGBTQ people, but as I sat among a dozen or so LGBTQ pastors, candidates and seminarians as I listened to his sermon, I could only think of the faithfulness of people who have been rejected at many turns, but continue to follow a call to ministry. I sat next to a pastor who served faithfully as a pastoral associate for nearly 20 years before her congregation decided to move forward and ordain her extraordinarily. I sat near a clergy couple who were placed in separate rooms by their candidacy committee and quizzed about their relationship. I sat near someone who was selected for a full tuition scholarship from the ELCA’s Fund for Leaders several years ago, and who still awaits first call. I sat near another pastor whose candidacy committee told him that he was the one of the best candidates for ministry they’d ever seen, but that they could not approve him due to the ELCA’s (then) guidelines. Despite these barriers, each of these pastors has followed her or his call to ministry, and the church is better for it. These are just a handful of the stories that surrounded me that morning.
I was sitting among many Proclaim leaders because one of their colleagues, the Rev. Tita Valeriano, was presiding at the service. Just a few seats down was the Rev. Guy Erwin. Just four short years ago, our own church policies prevented both Tita and Guy from being recognized as ELCA clergy. And due to their faithfulness and the persistence and faithfulness of many before them and alongside them, these leaders can now do the ministry to which they were called. And I believe that the church has and will continue to change as a result.
The 2013 ELCA Churchwide Assembly was a powerful experience because of moments like these. I was deeply grateful to be there to show my gratitude for the leadership of Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson and to recognize where he has led this denomination. And I’m thrilled to welcome Bp. Elizabeth Eaton as Presiding Bishop!
Path beneath the ELCA Churchwide Assembly
I couldn’t agree more with Presiding Bishop Elect Elizabeth Eaton’s words that she shared in a press conference following the election: “The election of the woman to the office of presiding bishop is a fulfillment of his ministry of making this church a welcoming place,” [Eaton] said.
We’re still on a journey and there is a long way to go before the diverse gifts of all are recognized. But we’re on our way. I’m thankful for the prophetic vision and witness of LGBTQ pastors, their congregations & ministries, and the ELM donors who support this work.
One of the best parts of the 2013 ELCA Churchwide Assembly has been seeing Proclaim leaders in all kinds of settings. I’ve counted 17 Proclaim leaders in attendance.
At opening worship on Monday night, I caught a glimpse of the Rev. Jason Bense serving as a communion minister. The same night (and at all worship services since), I’ve seen the Rev. Steve Wilco busy in his capacity as a member of the ELCA Worship Team. There are a number of Proclaim leaders who are here as voting members. Proclaim members Tim Feiertag , the Rev. Anita Hill, and Rose Beeson have been VERY busy all week as members of the ReconcilingWorks staff and volunteer Legislative Team. We heard the Rev. Guy Erwin preach tonight at the ReconcilingWorks-ELM worship service and we’ll hear the Rev. Tita Valierano preside at the ELCA worship service on Friday morning. And from my vantage point in the Visitors’ Section, I’ve gotten more than a few glimpses of Assembly floor volunteers Laura Kuntz and Sara Cogsil (pictured at left).
It’s wonderful to see all of the LGBTQ leaders serving their church in different ways. I’m especially moved by the service of Laura, Sara, and Angela Nelson – all three are approved for ordination and awaiting call. They are here on their own dime and staying at host homes (traveling over a half hour each morning to arrive for their 7:30 shifts!). They’re here because they wanted to witness the Churchwide Assembly and be of service.
These are the leaders you are supporting through your investment in Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries. It’s been a big week. We give thanks for the wonderful leadership of out-going Presiding Bp. Mark Hanson and welcome Bp. Elect Elizabeth Eaton. I’m thrilled that ELM and Proclaim have been here to witness and be part of all of it.
Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries will say a sad and thankful farewell to staff member Rachael Johnson this week.
Rachael has worked in our Chicago office since October of 2008. She began working two days a week as the Operations Coordinator, focusing mostly on administrative responsibilities for ELM. Over time, her role has grown to include managing most of our communications work, including maintaining the ELM website, blog and monthly eNewsletter. She has worked in all areas of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries, from coordinating much of the Proclaim retreat logistics to fielding calls from donors and supporters. And on top of all of that, she’s kept our Chicago office humming! Many people in ELM have interacted with Rachael over the last nearly five years and she will be deeply missed.
We celebrate with Rachael as she and her partner, Johannes, begin a new life together in Oregon, where they both look forward to more opportunities to experience outdoor pursuits.
From Amalia, “I’m incredibly grateful for Rachael’s contributions to ELM during a time of great change for the organization. She’s been a steady and friendly voice and face and we will all miss her a great deal. I’ve heard from board members and donors this week expressing their sadness that she’s leaving ELM and their excitement about what lies ahead. On behalf of the whole ELM community, I say thank you, farewell, good luck & God bless!”
Anyone wishing to send a note of farewell can reach Rachael at her e-mail, operations@elm.org, until Friday, August 9. Messages after that will be forwarded on to Rachael.
Next week’s ELCA Churchwide Assembly will include a number of Proclaim members performing a variety of roles – from voting members to iPad tech support to the ELCA Worship Team to working with ReconcilingWorks to staffing an Assembly floor mic, these LGBTQ rostered leaders and seminarians have got it covered. Of particular note will be the worship on Friday, August 16, which marks the first time an openly lesbian or gay pastor will preside during an ELCA Churchwide Assembly Worship Service.
by Brenda Bos, Proclaim Communications Team
Rev. Tita Valeriano
When Proclaim member Rev. Teresita “Tita” Valeriano presides at communion during the Friday worship of Churchwide Assembly in Pittsburgh next week, people will see her in a variety of ways. Some will see an ordained minister, some will see a woman, some will see a Filipino immigrant, some will see a Mission Developer. Some will see a partnered gay mother of a newborn. While Valeriano is all those things, she believes “first and foremost I am a child of God.” Humbled to have been asked to preside at this national church event, she considers herself “not put in a position of power, but that of servanthood, of being able to be a part of God’s feast that Christ is hosting.”
Pastor Tita’s History
Pastor Tita gives thanks for the journey. “To have been born in the Philippines, a third generation Lutheran and the youngest in a family of twelve children, to be born with all the gifts and weaknesses that I have, everything of who I am and now serving in this context of North America; those, I believe, are gifts of God to me. Of course I did not choose my gender, or my nationality, or my sexual orientation, but I have been honored to be a participant in this journey God has given me, to live out these gifts.”
This journey has had many twists and turns. Pastor Tita received a degree in accounting and a second degree in church music before coming to the United States in 1994 to pursue her masters of divinity from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, California. Her first congregational call was in central California, followed by a four-year stint in Geneva, Switzerland, as the Secretary for Youth in Church and Society for the Lutheran World Federation.
Those years in Europe and North America brought hard lessons about race and gender. Pastor Tita notes that until she arrived in the United States, she did not think of herself in racial terms; she had to learn to be a “minority” in the new culture. “No one in the Southern Hemisphere ever asked me how I got my job, as though I didn’t deserve my position. That only happened in North America and Europe,” Pastor Tita explained. She came back to California to serve as the Lutheran campus pastor at USC in 2004, where she met her partner, Jennifer Snow. She then returned to the Lutheran World Federation in 2008 as the Regional Officer, relocating to the churchwide offices in Chicago.
Immigration Injustice
Pastor Tita had applied for her permanent residency (green card) in 2004, leading to an eight year quest for a green card. The couple ran into the injustices so many bi-cultural same-sex couples face;. Until the recent Supreme Court decision, United States citizens could not sponsor their same-sex partners for green cards, and Tita’s original employment-based petition for a green card was denied in 2009. Pastor Tita was in Canada for work when Jennifer received notification of the denial. Jennifer packed their apartment and came to Canada while the two of them tried to figure out what to do next. During this time, the ELCA assisted in Pastor Tita’s legal battles, including the expense of requesting a new visa and she was able to return and receive a green card two and a half years later, just before Christmas 2012. And recently, she and Jennifer welcomed their son Taal Charles into the world, on July 15, 2013. Pastor Tita notes, “I am grateful for the help I received when so many other immigrants continue to struggle for their rights to be a family.” She continues to do extensive work and organizing among the immigrant community in the Bay Area while she completes an assessment of a potential new mission start.
Leading At The Table
Now she will lead the church she loves at the table. “Hopefully this is a sign that we are telling God’s story, no matter what it will cost us. It is important to me that this is really a statement of the gospel, and that we are taking it seriously. This not just a matter of selecting those who are the most oppressed among us on this perfect occasion and then letting ordinary life and ordinary oppression run our lives together when the event is over. We need to hold ourselves accountable as a church to the statement that we are making when someone like me is at the table.”
Pastor Tita’s witness and proclamation to the whole ELCA is part of Proclaim’s mission. Proclaim is a ministry of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries, providing affirmation and support to Lutheran rostered leaders and seminarians who publicly identify as LGBTQ. Members of Proclaim serve in a variety of ministry contexts in North America and beyond, spreading the gospel and loving the neighbor. We look forward to celebrating more of our Proclaim members’ stories in future months.
See you at Churchwide!
Brenda Bos conversed on the phone and over email last week with Tita before writing this profile about her. Brenda recently completed her internship at St. Paul Lutheran in Santa Monica, CA and is approved for ordination in the Southwest California Synod of the ELCA. Both Bos and Valeriano are members of Proclaim, the professional community for Lutheran rostered leaders and seminarians who publicly identify as LGBTQ. Proclaim is a ministry of ELM.
