Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries (ELM) invites Lutheran seminarians who publicly identify as LGBTQ to apply to be the 2014 Joel R. Workin Scholar.
Applications are due Friday, June 20.
ELM affirms and supports LGBTQ rostered leaders and those pursuing a call to rostered leadership while engaging allied congregations and ministries. ELM is the custodian of an endowment fund established in 1995 to honor the memory of Joel Raydon Workin. Joel was one of the three gay seminarians who came out to their Lutheran candidacy committees in 1989 (and were subsequently refused ordination). This act of faithfulness was the spark that ignited our movement of resistance within the ELCA and part of what led to the August 2009 change in ELCA ministry policies.
Each year, Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries names a Joel R. Workin Memorial Scholar. This award comes with a financial scholarship to a LGBTQ seminarian who embodies Joel’s passion for justice and faith in his or her life and ministry. In addition, the Scholar will be invited throughout the year to be involved with various ELM activities.
2014 marks the 19th anniversary of Joel’s passing from AIDS. This year, ELM will award a $2,500 grant to a seminary student who meets the eligibility criteria and submits a qualifying application. The increased award is the result of increased contributions to the fund. Thank you to all Workin Fund donors! Previous recipients include the Rev. Jen Rude, the Rev. Matt James, the Rev. Julie Boleyn, Laura Kuntz, Emily Ewing, Rebecca Seely, Asher O’Callahan, and Gretchen Colby Rode.
Past Workin Scholars
Eligibility – The eligible student must be a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer seminary or divinity school student who has demonstrated gifts for ordained or rostered lay ministry and seeks to fulfill their vocation as a publicly identified LGBTQ Lutheran rostered leader. The student must be a member of Proclaim, the professional community of publicly-identified LGBTQ Lutheran pastors, seminary students and rostered lay leaders. Proclaim is a program of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries.
Are you just learning about Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries? Or Proclaim? Or perhaps you haven’t been keeping up lately with all that’s been happening. Either way, you can easily catch up on the latest news by taking a look at our monthly eNewsletter, the interMISSION.
Barbara Kingsolver in a recent interview in The Sun magazine talks about raising her kids with the mantra (that she learned as part of their Montessori education), “You can do hard things.” Instead of taking over, or never allowing them to try and fail, when a task was difficult, she reminded them, “You can do hard things.” They have absorbed these words as their own and now often repeat it back to their mother when she is struggling. I am struck by how often I limit myself in the face of hard things, but also how looking back, these have often been the most meaningful and profound things. This season, I remind myself, I can do hard things.
Parker Palmer in one of my favorite books of his, Let Your Life Speak, says this about spring: “I will wax romantic about spring and its splendors in a moment, but first there is a hard truth to be told: before spring becomes beautiful, it is plug ugly, nothing but mud and muck. I have walked in the early spring through fields that will suck your boots off, a world so wet and woeful it makes you yearn for the return of ice. But in that muddy mess, the conditions for rebirth are being created.” Although I won the award for “muddiest camper” at summer camp when I was a kid, mostly these days I’m not thrilled about being in the muck – it’s hard, and often not very pleasant. But I wonder, what new life awaits me there, here, in this muck? This season, I remind myself to enter into the muck (or not be so quick to get out of it) knowing that avoiding the muck is often avoiding the possibilities of new life.
Joel Workin, one of the early prophets in the LGBTQ movement in the Lutheran church wrote an essay called “The Cost,” now in a book of his collected writings entitled, Dear God, I am Gay… Thank you! (For those of you coming to the retreat, you’ll have an opportunity to hear more about Joel Workin and to receive his book). This essay was written about the time of “the Berkeley Three,” three seminarians who came out to their candidacy committees, whose actions fueled the LGBTQ movement in the Lutheran church.
A short excerpt from Joel’s essay: “The past months have been a time of kairos, and it seems that a great part of what angers people is a recognition of the cost, the price of being ‘out’ in the Lutheran church. The toll, both professionally and personally, is indeed very high. Careers are ended, even before they are begun. Private life vanishes. Families are exposed to public attention. No one can pretend that being out is easy, that to follow the call to honesty and discipleship in this way is without a cross. Yet, what is the cost of the closet? Over and over again, as people, many of them closeted, express their rage over the price that three seminarians and many others have to pay for being out, I want to know – what about the cost of the closet?”
This Holy Week, Joel’s words invite me once again to think about the costly way of the cross. But also, the costly way of not the cross. The choice is not between paying a price and not paying a price – but which price, and what cost, which hard thing, and for what.
This week I remind myself that our God can do hard things, is doing hard things, even (especially) in the muck, and that through God, by way of the cross, so can we.
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”
You hear a lot about Proclaim, the community for publicly identified LGBTQ rostered leaders and seminarians. Do you wonder what they are actually up to? Turns out, quite a bit!
Here’s a quick overview of topics discussed on a recent Proclaim Team web-call, as reported out by Proclaim Team Secretary Carolina Glauster:
*A Proclaim Presence at the 2015 ELCA Youth Gathering–overheard: the phrase “selfie photobooth”
*The Roller-Coaster that is Springtime in Seminary–1st years are hearing about Field-ed placements, 2nd years are hearing about Internship placements, and 3rd years have all heard at least some info about Assignment, so it’s a good time to reach out to and/or pray for a seminarian
*Proclaim Survey – we’re gathering some great demographic and personal information about LGBTQ leaders to help the church understand more about our gifts and needs!
*Sharing our Stories Project – we are collecting stories for a yet-unnamed anthology of our shared stories – this was inspired by the project “And So We Speak” done by the United Church of Christ – and funded by a grant from the Philip N. Knutson Endowment at St. Olaf College.
As we’d expect this time of year, a topic that resurfaced several times during our call was….the Assignment process. It’s a sometimes wonderful and also often really rough time for so many of us for so many reasons. We talked about ways we can continue to support each other.
We worked together on several ideas for new and better ways to keep connecting and supporting folks as the wheels of the first call process turn. Let’s continue to keep one another in our prayers and look for opportunities to support one another.
The Proclaim Retreat is coming so soon and the news from the retreat team is exciting! We heard that there are already lots o’ registrations–and they’re still coming in! It’s gonna be a hoot!
ELM was invited to both the Conference of Bishopsmeeting and the ELCA Internship Directors meeting in March. It’s very exciting to be invited and to know our voices are being sought out by both of these groups!
Ongoing ways to be involved:
A brand-new, full-fledged, Seminarian Team is convening this year, with new ways for seminarians to connect. Look for more info on this at the retreat and coming to you from your seminarian reps: Emily Ewing and Paul Gibson.
Chaplain selection process will happen at the retreat as usual–be thinking about who might serve (maybe you?) and look for more info on that soon from Chaplain Laura Kuntz.
ELM Friends – your contributions and prayers keep this work going. Without you, we couldn’t do any of this.
Proclaim, a program of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries, is a professional community of Lutheran rostered leaders, candidates, and seminarians who publicly identify as LGBTQ. There are 154 members in Proclaim, living and doing ministry in 45 of the 65 ELCA synods. Proclaim photos by Emily Ann Garcia. Learn more.
On Tuesday, April 1, Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries announced their new name, Extraordinary Lutheran Federation (ELF), to reflect their expanding mission. ELF also revealed a new logo, an adorable woodland creature.
“Once we started discussing new name options, we quickly settled on ELF,” said executive director Amalia Vagts. “We wanted to keep consistency in our name. It was just pure luck that in our research, we learned that the elf has long been recognized as the LGBTQ one among all magical creatures. I live in Decorah, Iowa, so I was hoping there was a way for it to be a nisse, but they really don’t have the same connection to our work as elves do.” Vagts added that she still recommends putting a nisse in your window and treating it kindly.
ELF Program Director Jen Rude shared her enthusiasm about the change by announcing that ELF will be distributing pointed shoes and little hats for all members of Proclaim. “Elves are cute, outspoken and just a little bit mischievous,” said Pastor Rude. “I say, if the pointed shoe fits…wear it!”
Vagts and Rude added in unison, “APRIL FOOL’S!”
(This April Fool’s Day post written in the spirit of one of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries’ core values to have fun while doing important work. We thank ELM friend Bennett Falk for helping us to remember to have fun! You can learn more about our work at www.elm.org).
You can make concrete differences in the lives of LGBTQ people called to Lutheran ministry through your support of the programs & projects of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries. One ELM program is Proclaim, a community of 150 LGBTQ seminarians & rostered leaders. Another is Accompaniment, supporting over 40 LGBTQ candidates for ministry through their candidacy process. A third is Ministry Engagement, which connects & highlights LGBTQ led congregations & ministries. We’re a growing, thriving organization and we need your support. Read on to see how you can support leaders like Pastor Sara Cogsil:
Sara writes,
“I have relied on ELM for the logistical support and monies that helped to fund my internship and provide scholarships for the annual retreat…
I have turned to Proclaim for the many relationships that have been formed…
I have established colleagues that have been with me every step of the journey offering prayer, love and grace. For that I am truly grateful and I give thanks that the support hasn’t stopped once I was ordained, but continues to be life-giving in my first-call.”
The best way you can affirm Sara and other LGBTQ people called to ministry is through our new monthly giving community, Extraordinary Friends. You can affirm Sara’s ministry with as little as $10 a month. Your support is a powerful show of support for leaders who continue to be told “No” or “Not yet” by the church they long to serve. Our faithful and fabulous leaders are engaged in ministry year round – we can show our support by contributing to their ministry each month.
Benefits:
* Easy and efficient way to support leaders and their ministries.
* You can give directly from your bank account or credit card.
* You are being a good steward of ELM’s resources – which means we can spend more time helping ministry leaders.
* Invitations to special webinars and conversations with ELM leaders and Proclaim members.
* It’s green!
* Anyone can do it – just $10 a month to be Extraordinary!
This month, we celebrate calls to five Proclaim leaders! Two of these are first calls and three are new calls for rostered leaders who have been serving in many different ways. We give thanks for these leaders and these congregations and ministries.
Angela Nelson
Angela Joy Nelson has been called as pastor of Christ our Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Chatham, NY. Angela will be ordained at Augsburg Lutheran Church, Toledo, OH, March 29th at 1:00 p.m. All are welcome! Read more about Angela’s call here.
Jason Glombicki has been called as pastor of Wicker Park Lutheran Church in Chicago, IL. Jason will be ordained on Sunday, February 23 at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Park Ridge, IL at 3:00 p.m.
Rev. Megan Rohrer has been called as pastor of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in San Francisco. ELM gives thanks for this call as it raises the visibility of publicly-identified transgender leaders in our church. Pastor Rohrer will be installed on Saturday, Feb 22 at 7:00 pm. All are invited to attend a Beatles Mass and reception to follow at Grace: 3201 Ulloa Street, San Francisco, California 94116. Casual dress. Read more about Pastor Rohrer’s call here.
Rev. Bea Chun
We are also excited to share the news that the Rev. Beate Chun has been called to serve at St. Francis Lutheran Church. Pastor Bea begins on March 1 and will be installed at St. Francis on Sunday, March 30 at 3:00 p.m.
And ELM’s very own Rev. Jen Rude has received a synodical call to specialized ministry in her role as Program Director at ELM! Pastor Jen’s call comes from the Metro Chicago Synod of the ELCA. Stay tuned for details about Jen’s installation.
Goal six of our strategic plan is that “Proclaim members will be actively engaged in planned strategies geared toward creating a church where all may serve according to their callings.” With each call, one more Proclaim leader is affirmed in their work to proclaim God’s love and seek justice for all.
Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries Responds to Thrivent Changes
Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries was deeply disappointed to learn of Thrivent Financial’s recent decision to exclude our organization from their various grant programs because they consider our ministry “divisive.”
Thrivent’s recent decision excludes certain organizations from member-directed giving via the Thrivent Choice program; employee gift-matching programs; and Thrivent chapter matching grants. Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries has received funds through all of these programs. These funds supported Lutheran pastors, Lutheran seminarians, and Lutheran congregations and ministries. This change in policy affects not just the organizations who are now excluded, but also the Thrivent members, employees, chapters, and congregations that are part of the LGBTQ community.
While neither Thrivent nor Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries are exclusively Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) bodies, many of our shared supporters are ELCA members. This action violates the spirit and the letter of the hard-wrought commitments the ELCA made in 2009 to “bear one another’s burdens, love the neighbor, and respect the bound consciences of all.” In those actions, the ELCA did not commit to a policy of neutrality, but to one of active inclusion of differing stances. In this conscience-respecting stance, the ELCA offered a model for how churches and faith-based institutions can honor both oneness and theological diversity. Thrivent’s action steps back from that bold witness and returns to a time when churches and institutions acted out of fear more than good faith.
Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries believes in a church wide enough to embrace differences of opinion.
The letter that our donors have received from Thrivent is disheartening. In the letter, Thrivent stated that Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries is one of a “small number of organizations and issues that are so divisive they distract, or have the potential to distract, from the common purpose of Thrivent and its membership.” The letter further states that the Thrivent Choice program reflects the “shared values of our members, advisors, and employees.” It is impossible to reconcile those words with a decision to exclude organizations such as ours that are, in fact, supported by Thrivent members, advisors, and employees.
We urge Thrivent Financial to drop their disingenuously named “neutrality” policy and restore the meaning of member-directed giving by allowing its members, employees, and chapters to truly choose which organizations they wish to support.
Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries affirms and supports lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer Lutheran rostered leaders and those pursuing a call to rostered leadership while engaging allied congregations and ministries to proclaim God’s love and seek justice for all. We are thankful for the many supporters and friends of our organization and those of our movement partner, ReconcilingWorks, also affected by this decision.
Learn more about Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries at www.elm.org.
What you can do:
We encourage you to contact Thrivent about this decision, especially if you are a Thrivent member or if your congregation invests in Thrivent. We remind everyone that many employees and members of Thrivent are supporters of ELM, ReconcilingWorks, and other affected organizations. This decision has been very difficult news for them too. It is important to be thoughtful, respectful, and kind in your communications. We want to encourage Thrivent to revisit this decision and to honor the meaning of “member-directed” giving. We believe that LGBTQ people are part of the church and that our lives, families, and calls are not “divisive.”
3. Contact your Thrivent Representative and set up a meeting or conversation to discuss your concerns.
4. Consider increasing your support for Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries, ReconcilingWorks, and other affected organizations through a direct gift from you or your congregation. We received $2,985 in funding last year through Thrivent member-directed giving. With a growing number of LGBTQ seminarians, pastors, and LGBTQ-led congregations to support, we need resources to encourage and support these ministry leaders. Contribute now.
5. Share this post with your Facebook friends, congregation, friends, and others.
The ELM Board gathers for our Winter meeting. Photo by YK Hong.
I often pinch myself that I get to be involved with the work of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries. Not only am I awed by the past courage and faithfulness of our founders, I’m daily inspired by the new vision of people with long-time and recent involvement in our mission.
I got a big dose of that this past weekend as the Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries’ Board met for their first in-person meeting of 2014. This group of volunteer leaders provides the strategic vision and overall governance for the work of ELM. They are all closely involved with our programs (Proclaim, Accompaniment, and Ministry Engagement) and our committees (Development, Inclusions, Board Recruitment, and Finance).
We gathered Jan 30 – Feb 2 in Washington, D.C. for a three day meeting and retreat. We are always looking for the most economical, yet satisfying way to spend time together. This year we tried something new and found a home through the rental site AirBnB that would accommodate our whole group and cost less than a retreat center. Yes, it was a little bit like the Real World House! We loved having a place to ourselves in the heart of the city. Board member Rose Beeson coordinated fantastic, nutritious, and simple meals – and our total food bill was about a third of what we usually spend at a retreat center.
We spent time discussing the next steps in our strategic plan and recent development in our three programs. We celebrated that the Proclaim community has reached 148 members! We prayed about and discussed new ways to support the 11 people in the Proclaim community still awaiting first call, and those awaiting a new call. We heard from several experts – Steve Hitchcock, who inspired us with ideas about raising the funds we need to support our mission; John Beck, who will be working with our board on the Intercultural Development Inventory in the coming year; and YK Hong, who led us through a conversation about gender identity and expression and how to expand our understanding and work in areas affecting the transgender members of our community. We had thoughtful conversation about the changes in civil marriage laws and how this impacts our community. We reviewed our fundraising achievements in 2013 and examined the work ahead as we seek to bring new supporters in to learn about and engage in our ever-growing work. We had many moments of energy around the results and greatly expanding work of our three programs Proclaim, Accompaniment, and Ministry Engagement, led by our new program director, the Rev. Jen Rude.
Our current Board includes: Rev. Julie Boleyn (Co-Chair), Rev. Mike Wilker (Co-Chair), Dr. Jeremy Posadas (Secretary), Charlie Horn (Treasurer); Asher O’Callaghan, Rose Beeson, Rev. Dr. Elise Brown; Carolyne Schultz, M.S.W., Angel Marrero, Jim Kowalski, and the Rev. Dr. Randy Nelson. This is a hardworking and committed group of leaders. Please join me in praying for them, thanking them, and supporting the work they do to lead Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries.
Thanks to you, it’s been another full and productive year for Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries. If you missed a few stories, or just want to look back at all you helped accomplish, we’ve gathered together our top stories of the year.
Proclaim Our Proclaim community grew to 143. This means that in less than three years, the number of publicly identified LGBTQ rostered leaders and candidates has TRIPLED. Wowza. We launched a new section on our website, Proclaim Profiles, to help you learn more about the leaders you are supporting. Read Profiles.
A number of folks in Proclaim received calls. For some these were first calls – including the Rev. Erik Haaland (called to Christ Church Lutheran in Minneapolis, MN), the Rev. Sara Cogsil (called to University Lutheran Church in East Lansing, MI), the Rev. Matthew James (called to Trinity Lutheran Church in Worcester, MA), the Rev. Jeanine Reardon (called to St. Paul Lutheran in Evanston, IL and specialized ministry in chaplaincy). And others began new calls: Rev. Paul Clark (Chaplain at Fresno State University), Rev. Jenny Mason (Light of the World in Farmington, MN), Rev. John Roberts (Unity Lutheran in Chicago, IL), and Rev. Mark Allred (Program Director for American Indian & Alaskan Native Ministries for the ELCA).
Oh and then there was that other call…the Rev. Guy Erwin was elected Bishop of the Southwest California Synod of the ELCA making history (and the news!). Full Story. And a link to all the news coverage here.
We said goodbye to a beloved member our community, the Rev. Paul Brenner, who passed away on February, 24 2013. Full Story.
And we walked with many Proclaim members who still await call. Chris Wogaman shared his take on this experience in a guest blog. Read it here.
We held our biggest Proclaim Retreat yet! LGBTQ leaders and their families gathered for renewal and learning in sunny California. Full Story. Or if you like to see it in pictures, check out our retreat slideshow.
Accompaniment Thanks to you – and in response to a growing need – we greatly expanded our outreach to LGBTQ Lutheran candidates for ministry in 2014. Full Story.
Ministry Engagement
This was a year of transition for the way that we support LGBTQ-led ministry. 2013 marked the final year (for now) of direct grants to congregations and ministries. We provided nearly $1 million in grant funds since 1995. In 2014, we are launching Ministry Engagement, a new way of connecting with ministries led by LGBTQ-leaders – and those that are open to it in the future.
You helped support fantastic and successful ministries like EcoFaith Recovery and pastors like the Rev. Robyn Hartwig in Portland, Oregon. Full Story.
You provided support for mission development ministry like Spirit of Hope in Detroit, MI, led by the Rev. Matthew Bode. Full Story.
You helped fund four internships for LGBTQ seminarians – from Denver, CO to Victoria, British Columbia! Full Story.
Joel R. Workin Scholar
You supported Gretchen Colby Rode, our 2013 Workin Scholar. Full Story. Gretchen shared some reflections in a guest blog post here.
Other Noteworthy Highlights Of course, a major development this year was saying goodbye to long-time staff member, Rachael Johnson, and expanding our staff to include a new full-time program director. We’re delighted that the Rev. Jen Rude began this important role in October of this year! Full Story
The Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries Board of Directors approved a new mission and vision statement and affirmed a multi-year strategic plan. Full Story.
The Rev. Jenny Mason traveled to her former missionary site in Chile and had a powerful experience. Read More.
Executive Director Amalia Vagts was able to give an important LGBTQ perspective in The Lutheran. Read the essay.
Lastly, we launched a new 6 -minute video to help you introduce your friends and congregation to ELM. Share this video widely! Click the photo below to watch the video.
We couldn’t do any of this without you. We haven’t finalized our 2013 numbers, but over 425 individuals and congregations and two foundations shared their resources to help us raise $207,886 for LGBTQ leaders and LGBTQ-led ministries. Friends also gave special gifts totaling $14,300 towards the Joel R. Workin Endowment. All of this work happens thanks to your generosity and faithful support. Thank you for your wonderful involvement in 2013 and for joining us as we head into 2014!
