Author: Amalia Vagts

The Board of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries gathered Feb 5-8 at Pendle Hill, a Quaker retreat center near Philadelphia for our first in-person meeting of the year. It was an enriching, enlightening and fruitful four days. Here are some highlights from our work together:

1. 

   We welcomed trainers Sheila Radford-Hill and John Beck to lead us through work about intercultural competency. We focused on cultural differences in communication styles and approaching conflict. All ELM Board members took the Intercultural Development Inventory assessment prior to the meeting and are working on their individual Intercultural Development Plan. We loved our time with Sheila and John!

2. Staff members Jen Rude and Amalia Vagts shared some insights and techniques from the Rockwood Institute Art of Leadership training both attended in January. Central to our work together was the concept of conocimiento, a Spanish word that translates generally as “connection talk” or “sharing knowledge of each other to truly know one another.” The concept of conocimiento reminds us to put relationship before task – and we saw the value of this in action during our time together.
3. We learned that approximately 5% of all current ELCA seminarians are members of Proclaim!
4. We assessed our current strategic plan, celebrating all the good work that has been accomplished and started thinking about our next dreams for our work.
5. We heard about the diverse and exciting work in our three program areas – Proclaim, Candidacy Accompaniment and Ministry Engagement and took time for some big picture strategic conversation about this work.

   

6. We were richly fed through the locally sourced and lovingly prepared food of Pendle Hill.
7. We talked about our commitment to 100% intentional Board Member Giving and celebrated Jim Kowalski’s one on one in person meetings with each ELM Board Member last year.
8. We wrote letters to our Extraordinary Friends (those who give monthly) and some Proclaim members who might appreciate a note. And we had fun noting how familiar and known many of these names are – while celebrating the new ones!
9. We gave thanks for the rich leadership of Rev. Julie Boleyn, who has finished her service as Co-Chair of the ELM Board and we welcomed the new leadership of Jim Kowalski.
10. We celebrated meeting our 2014 fundraising goals and voted to create an ELM Reserves Fund – this is board directed giving that can be used for ELM’s long-term stability and growth.

And last, but definitely not least, we laughed – a lot – and we gave thanks to God and to you for the honor of working to fulfill ELM’s mission.

 ELM Board of Directors is: Jeremy Posadas, Randy Nelson, Jim Kowalski, Asher O’Callaghan, Elise Brown, Rose Beeson, Charlie Horn, Julie Boleyn, Margaret Moreland, Mike Wilker, Gordon Straw, and Angel Marrero-Roe.

by Margaret Moreland, ELM Board Member

On January 20, 1990 my husband, Bennett Falk, and I attended the service of ordination for Phyllis Zillhart, Ruth Frost, and Jeff Johnson.

This was a life changing day for me. I had gay and lesbian friends and relatives, but it had never occurred to me that I could or should take a public part in opposing the discrimination that they faced. Listening to the prayers offered by the congregation at that service woke me up to the pain that the church caused so many gay and lesbian people and their families. I decided right then that I could not remain part of a church that turned away so many people for being themselves unless I worked for change.

I did not know Jeff, Ruth, or Phyllis at the time they were ordained. Over the next year or so, I got to know Jeff a bit. When he and some others had the idea of setting up an alternative candidacy process for gay and lesbian seminarians, they asked me to participate. I was not sure just what a chemist could offer to this project, but I enthusiastically said yes.

Since that time I have been on the boards of the Extraordinary Candidacy Project, Lutheran Lesbian and Gay Ministries, and Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries for all except about 4 years. Ruth, Jeff, and Phyllis were the first of 18 pastors who were extraordinarily ordained. Bennett and I attended every one of the extraordinary ordinations, bursting with joy, laughing and crying.

Now I’m again on the board of ELM, and working on the new Ministry Engagement program. We are connecting with congregations in the ELCA to help them enrich and transform themselves by calling an LGBTQ pastor. I can speak to this personally since Pastor Jeff Johnson has been my pastor since 1999 at University Lutheran Chapel in Berkeley. Although ELCA policy now allows people in same sex relationships to be pastors, many congregations have trouble imagining having an LGBTQ person in a called position. Ministry Engagement  has prepared a guide for call committees to help them plan for including LGBTQ candidates. We are making plans to have an information table at several Lutheran synod assemblies this spring. We are gathering stories from congregations that have LGBTQ rostered leaders so others can learn from them.

Working as part of ELM is such a great part of my life, maybe I’ll keep doing it for another 25 years.

Guest Blogger Margaret Moreland serves on the ELM Board of Directors and is Convener of the Ministry Engagement Program. She (and Bennett) attended every extraordinary ordination and she has vowed to never eat sushi served by a squid.

Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries 2014 Year in Review!

We have finished another wonderful and full year –  I invite you to take a moment to join me in looking back at some highlights. (You can check out all of these stories in our ELM Blog archive!)

January – We launched Proclaim Pulpit Supply – a new way for LGBTQ leaders to proclaim God’s love for all and for congregations looking to support Proclaim leaders – especially those seeking call.

February – We celebrated 5 calls to Proclaim leaders, celebrated new solar panels on a congregation, interviewed an intern and internship supervisor and shared new ways to support LGBTQ leaders awaiting call.

March – We launched Extraordinary Friends (our monthly giving program),   and were invited to discuss placement of LGBTQ ministry candidates at the March Conference of Bishops meeting.

April – We launched the Proclaim Seminarian Team, finalized things for the 2014 Proclaim Retreat, Dreams & Visions, took a glance at the work of the Proclaim Team, and got creative. Oh, and then there was that new logo… 🙂

May – we got a Gold Star! We also went to Washington, D.C., got Faithful & Fabulous and held the  RETREAT! We also invited applications for the 2014 Joel R. Workin Memorial Scholarship Award, with an increased award of $2,500 thanks to generous donors who have helped grow the fund.

June – We celebrated more calls, attended Pride, rejoiced in generous supporters raising funds for ELM, and heard some great stories from an intern in Proclaim.

July – We gave a first glance at some forthcoming ELM resources; highlighted ministry in South Africa; remembered the life and work of Bp. Stanley E. Olson, and named Amy C. Hanson as our 2014 Joel R. Workin scholar.

August  – Guest blogger Donna Simon wrote about Ferguson, MO;  Amalia toured LA,  we released some new statistics about LGBTQ leaders, and celebrated some life passages, including a couple more calls to LGBTQ leaders.

September – Amid all the calls, we released a vital new resource for those who are first call candidates; highlighted some guest bloggers, congregations, and leaders, and announced our new  One Minute to Proclaim videos.

October – We rolled out the brand new Enrich & Transform, a resource for call committees & congregations who wish to be open to LGBTQ candidates; learned about Bi Visibility Day;  got together with Proclaim folks in Chicago; and we told supporters how they can “come out” about their support for LGBTQ-led ministry.

November – We visited ELCA seminaries in Gettysburg and Philadelphia; advocated for LGBTQ leaders at the ELCA Church Council and Conference of Bishops; and reflected on Transgender Day of Remembrance.

December – We got a glimpse of the upcoming Proclaim retreat, highlighted a generous and faithful giver, and wished all of you a wonderful and peaceful Christmas and New Year!

And really, those are JUST the highlights. You made this entire year possible through your prayers, work, and financial support. We’re moving right into 2015  as we celebrate 25+ years of extraordinary ministry by LGBTQ leaders! We are so thankful you are with us.

“When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.” – Luke 2:17

by Amalia Vagts, Executive Director

Sometimes when I tell people about Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries, they are amazed.

Some are amazed there is such a ministry. Some are amazed there is a need for it.

Those who support and walk with LGBTQ ministers and their ministries know the true amazement is in the Gospel story – told time and time again, sometimes in the most unlikely places, by the most unexpected of messengers, with the most surprising of words.

Seminarian John Brett offers this reflection on the Gospel text:

“We’ve seen God now, and he stinks to high heaven. Of course, so do we; thankfully, God understands a little manure around our edges.”

Nancy Wichmann, also in seminary, will share these words this Christmas morning in her sermon:

“When I was growing up, Christmas was not terribly joyous for me. I kept asking Santa for a pretty dress or a doll. I got tube socks and a package of “tighty whiteys” when white tights would have been preferable.”

Unlikely places, unexpected messengers, and surprising words.

May the wonder of the Christmas story amaze you.

(Pastor Brenda Bos, John Brett, Nancy Wichmann, and Pastor Steve Wilco are members of Proclaim, an active community of 175+ LGBTQ Lutheran rostered leaders, seminarians, and candidates. Proclaim is a program of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries.)

Amalia Vagts, ELM Executive Director, finds amazement in the passion and commitment of those who have sustained the ministry of LGBTQ people for nearly twenty-five years, and by LGBTQ people who proclaim God’s love for all so beautifully and wildly.

by Amalia Vagts, ELM Executive Director

It is easy to have fun when you’re spending time with Dick Tribble.

We met when I was just starting out with Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries, in the midst of the ONE VOICE campaign. I was immediately at ease thanks to Dick’s warm and open smile, and easy-going manner. He eagerly committed to becoming a major contributor to the ONE VOICE campaign and shared his own passion for faithful and generous support for the church.

Dick has continued to be a faithful supporter of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries. In 2008, he led the effort to help us open our office in Chicago by providing a seed gift for the rent and office expenses.

This year, I met with Dick to tell him about the way our programs are growing thanks to our new program director, Jen Rude. Dick responded by making his most generous gift yet to Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries in support of our new programs. He shared with me his excitement for ELM’s mission and the importance of giving generously to support causes that you care about.

Last month, I had the chance to visit Anderson-Shumaker, an open-die forging company started in 1902 by Dick’s great-grandfather. Dick gave Clyde Walter (ELM Development Committee member) and me a tour of the company – there were several moments where we thought we’d been transported back to the early 20th century as we watched the ancient art of pounding metal into forms. As Dick put it, “There’s only ever really been one way to form steel – you heat it up and pound it into the shape you want.”

Next year, Dick has agreed to be part of Faithful & Fabulous Chicago – a way for Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries to connect one-on-one with supporters who want to invest in the ministries of LGBTQ leaders. Dick is already leading the way by becoming one of the founding members of “Extraordinarily Faithful & Fabulous Friends,” those generous folks who give $2,500 or more annually in support of the work of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries.

A life-long Lutheran, Dick learned to be generous from his parents. Dick writes, “When we give of ourselves, our time, talents, and treasures, God is with us, and there is no darkness at all, and through those gifts, God completes our joy! That is always in my heart.”

Giving thanks today for Dick Tribble, and for all the dear people who give of themselves, their time, talents, and treasures to support LGBTQ ministers and their ministries.

Meeting with faithful & fabulous friends of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries like Dick Tribble is one of Executive Director Amalia Vagts’ greatest joys. She also enjoys reasons to wear a hardhat and safety goggles, which remind her of her favorite role at Holden Village – feeding the wood chipper.

Today we hear from guest blogger, Diaconal Minister Lauren Morse-Wendt. On the eve of Thanksgiving, we wanted to highlight and share a wonderful idea from the extraordinary congregation Edina Community Lutheran Church. 

by Lauren Morse-Wendt, D.M.

At  Edina Community Lutheran Church we are always seeking new and active ways to engage in justice, so during this season of Thanksgiving, I wanted to share this as a simple and powerful activity for other congregations to try as well.

Our congregation is committed to mission and justice, and we often hear from parents and grandparents that they seek more opportunities to connect their children to these values.

But, most volunteer organizations are have a minimum age limit, so we’ve stretched ourselves to come up with opportunities accessible to all ages.  Throughout the month of November, we reminded the congregation to donate food and hygiene items to our regular food shelf partner.  By Christ the King Sunday, we had a hallway overflowing.

It took only twenty minutes to  transform the sanctuary into a labyrinth, turn on some meditative music, and invite babies to crawl, toddlers to toddle, and children and adults to prayerfully walk through the labyrinth praying about hunger and our part in both creating and ending it.

Our faith, our worship, our call to seek justice are intertwined…but sometimes we need a tangible reminder.  Physically moving the altar following worship, building a prayer labyrinth out of donated food, and prayerfully walking through the food itself was a physical reminder for what we as Children of God are called to do in this world.

Proclaim member Lauren Morse-Wendt is a Diaconal Minister serving as the Mission and Ministry Developer at Edina Community-Lutheran in Edina, Minnesota.  When she’s not joining her faith community in advocacy acts…she’s at home with her wife advocating for their 2 year old to go to bed before 9 p.m.

I felt like I was in the junior high school lunchroom again.

Remember that nervous feeling as you reach the end of the cafeteria line and then turn to face a room full of tables filled with people talking and laughing. Where do you sit? Will you make a new friend? Will you trip on your way across the room?

This feeling came up last month when ELM program director Jen Rude and I attended the ELCA Conference of Bishops. In fact, it happens several times a year for me when I attend the ELCA Conference of Bishops and ELCA Church Council meetings. I don’t mean to suggest that anyone throws a milk carton at me or slides their books over so I don’t sit down next to them (okay, that did happen once). But the unavoidable sense that I’m on my own comes up time and time again.

People do often ask, “Why are you here? The 2009 decisions were ages ago. Why do you keep coming back?”

Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries made an organizational commitment in 2009 to be present at these meetings in order to be a visible witness of LGBTQ rostered leaders, candidates, and seminarians in the church. Over the years, I have developed wonderful relationships with Bishops, Church Council members, and Churchwide staff who, like me, are committed to living out God’s work. I have witnessed powerful conversations about faith, the future of the church, and spirituality. I have deepened my own sense of compassion for those different than me. On a couple of occasions, I have been invited to speak to address questions about LGBTQ rostered leaders. At other times, I have experienced again the deep, biting, pain of exclusion that caused me to step away from the Lutheran church years ago. It has been a deeply challenging and spiritually enriching part of my work.

There have been times when I have been one of a handful of openly LGBTQ people in a room full of people discussing the future of LGBTQ people in our church. It is most often the case that my colleagues from ReconcilingWorks and I sit at the back of the room and observe conversations about our community happen around us. It’s true that the people having the conversation are the appointed and elected leaders of the church and we are visitors. It is also true that without even our silent presence, many of these conversations would likely be very different.

ELM invests in this work. Caring ELM donors contribute funds to pay for my travel so I can be present at these meetings. We believe that it is vital that we are present when the church invests time in talking about matters impacting LGBTQ rostered leaders and seminarians.

I am extremely grateful for the surprising and new conversations I’ve had with the leaders of our church. I have not forgotten a single time that a person looked up and smiled as I crossed the room and invited me to join their table.

When I think back on junior high, I often remember some of my darkest and most devastating days. I also know that I learned who I was in those days, and have never forgotten those who valued me for who I was.

I give thanks that I am able to do this work. I’m heading off to attend the ELCA Church Council this coming weekend and invite your prayers for the Council and others engaged in the work and life of the ELCA. And the next time you see someone looking for a place to sit, consider the good that might come from you offering a smile and the chair next to you!

Amalia Vagts, Executive Director of ELM, promises not to steal your cookie if you sit next to her at lunch.

An extraordinary congregation and pastor were highlighted yesterday by KALW, a San Francisco public radio station, in a story about the Rev. Megan Rohrer and Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church. Read or listen to the whole story here.

The story was about unexpected communities in San Francisco. It’s a great story about Grace Lutheran and Pastor Rohrer, and provides insight into a lesser known part of the LGBTQ community. Megan identifies as transgender and uses the pronoun they to reflect their comfort with male and female aspects of their identity.

Pastor Rohrer has a long history with Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries. They were a member of the historic ELM Roster, ordained extraordinarily in 2006. Pastor Rohrer was also part of the transitional leadership team that founded Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries, serving as the volunteer Communications Director. Pastor Rohrer was received onto the ELCA Clergy Roster in 2010.

ELM celebrates and gives thanks for extraordinary congregations and pastors like Grace Evangelical Lutheran and Pastor Rohrer. Learn more about how ELM supports extraordinary congregations through our Ministry Engagement program.

by Amalia Vagts

When we came up with the name “Proclaim” for the group of Lutheran ministry leaders who publicly identify as LGBTQ, we knew it was perfect. And when I say “when we came up with,” I mean Jen Rude, ELM’s Program Director. At the time, Jen was serving on the ELM Board. We’d just finished a Board brainstorming session for the name and had come up empty-handed. From the backseat of the car on our drive home, Jen sat up suddenly and shouted, “Proclaim!”

And that was it.

As Paul writes in his second letter to the people of Corinth, “For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord…”  And in Isaiah, “I am about to do a new thing…so that they might proclaim my praise.”

The proclamation of good news is the reason you and others invest in these leaders.

I am always looking for new ways to help the leaders of Proclaim share what is on their hearts. At our recent Proclaim retreat, the Rev. Brenda Bos combined her skills as a Lutheran minister and movie producer to create a series of brief testimonies from Proclaim leaders.

We’ve started adding the videos to our homepage. You can easily find the most recent video to watch or share with a friend. You can also check out the Proclaim Profiles section to find out more about the leaders you support.

Please check out these stories and share them with others! Your wonderful support makes it possible for us to collect and share these stories so that the good news continues to be proclaimed from a wide variety of voices.

Amalia Vagts, Executive Director for ELM, has had the chance to see all of the incredible interviews that Brenda recorded and is excited for you to see them (except for hers, which was painfully awkward and fixed only through Brenda’s ace editing skills!). Amalia can be reached at director(at)elm.org

Note: This post was edited on 9/5/2014 to correct a URL link.