Faith Matters

Sunday Evening Post

2009-01-11T22:29:00.000-08:00

“Every person needs a day away”, writes poet and author Maya Angelou. We all need time away to reflect and recharge our batteries. We need time to lose ourselves in ourselves. I look at time away as a sort of pit stop on our journey. It’s easy to dedicate all of our nonworking hours to other things, other people. It is important, though, to schedule ourselves into our own busy calendar. Sometimes we are so busy serving our own community; we lose sight of our individual path. We cannot effectively live out all we are called to do and be if we don’t stay connected to the Source. My prayer for this week is that we all take time this week to be away, to visit the Source and to connect with awesome power that comes from your incredible spirit. May we all clearly hear the “still small voice”! Blessings, Tara

A great loss -- This week the community lost a great man. Rabbi Aryeh Hirschfield left us on Jan. 6 unexpectedly. Every once in while we meet extraordinary people who transcend the human experience and give us a glimpse into the heart of God. Rabbi Aryeh embodied love and peace and joy. The grief at his loss is huge. But the memory of his spirit fills us with hope and love and peace. Our prayers are with his family, the P’nai Or Congregation and the community at large.

On Monday, people will gather for his Memorial Service at 12:30 pm at Congregation Neveh Shalom. (See P’nai Or website www.pnaiorpdx.org for more details)

What you need to know – Equality Sabbath Materials have gone out. We’ll post them to the website early this week. Please join us January 25-27 to prayerfully unite during your regular Sabbath observances.

You are invited -- Join us on February 28 at 6:00 pm at Central Lutheran Church in Portland for our Annual Celebration Dinner and Silent Auction. The Portland Lesbian Choir will sing and our special guest will be Dr. Bernie Schlager from the Center for Lesbian & Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry. Donations of silent auction items are being accepted. Contact Karen Kulm (lk.kulm@gmail.com) for more information. Tickets are on sale now for $40 each or reserve a table for a discount $375. Call the CWC office 503-665-8741 if you have questions.

Today is National Coming Out Day

2008-10-11T13:21:00.001-07:00

Today is National Coming Out Day. It is also my eldest daughter's 25th birthday. 25 years. A quarter century. In the wake of the death of my mother and grandmother, I realize how very proud I am of the woman she has become. She's had her ups and downs, her challenges and her triumphs. She gave birth to two of the most special grandchildren in existence. I see my own hurdles and celebrations when I hear her get impassioned about the latest issue.

Perhaps because of this sense of nostalgia, I reflect on the last 25 years in the gay rights movement. 25 years ago, Cleve Jones (whose birthday is also today), began the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and a few years later began the NAMES Project Memorial Quilt. 25 years ago Cleve stepped up and stood in his truth about who he was to respond to an epidemic that no one was paying attention to. He embodied, like so many others, what it means to be out, living in authenticity. He said, "If AIDS had taught us anything, it was that we must be true to ourselves if we are to survive."

Our community was experiencing genocide and public health officials and politicians, immersed in their own form of bigotry and homophobia, stalled in their response. And people like Cleve, stood up, organized and wrapped their arms around a community overwhelmed by death and grief. Cleve understood back then, the importance of claiming your power.

Matthew Shepherd was murdered 10 years ago this week and earlier this year, Lawrence King was murdered in California for being who they were created to be. Their deaths are symbols for all those who are victims of hate crimes, who die by suicide or who die from the inside out in their closets.

Sure, National Coming Out Day is a day to celebrate the gifts and achievements of our community. It is a day to look back and acknowledge how much we have been through. But is also a call to come out as people of faith. A call to listen, to be present, to affirm and understand.

In the coming days, when we meet each other on the street, let us pause and remember. Let us pause and connect. Let us affirm for one another what a gift we really are.

Blessed Be.

Rev. Tara

Challenging Ourselves

2008-10-08T14:29:00.000-07:00

In Sunday's Oregonian, an editorial caught my eye. Becky Ohlsen wrote, "Portland, Get Over Yourself: Wrapped in self-satisfaction, city snoozes on the issues". The article begins:

"Every few years, in lefty mags like the Utne Reader, someone declares yet again that Portland is a bastion of "livability," a wonder of civic planning and a model of progressive politics. And, to some degree, it is all of those things. But when you've lived there for a while and then left, as I have, you start to wonder if Portland isn't more like one of those willfully anachronistic Amish or Mennonite communities: idyllic but isolated, utopian but irrelevant.

With few exceptions, Portlanders inhabit perfect liberal values. They recycle with a vengeance. They're into slow food. They shop at organic grocers and farmers markets, or they grow their own vegetables in a community garden. They don't think it's rude to ask the waiter if the salmon on the menu is farm-raised or wild; if it's farmed, the diner will opt instead for the salad of locally grown beets and wild greens picked in the meadows of nearby Mount Hood. Being vegan is cool, not annoying. Portlanders drink organic beer and wine (except for the dregs of the demimonde, who insist on Pabst Blue Ribbon and are mocked for it). They bicycle to work, and they frown at cars as they pedal by. Those who must drive are forgiven if they own a Prius or if their vehicle flaunts a BIODIESEL sticker across the back. Public transport works well here, and people use it. Gay rights and racial equality are taken for granted as goals, if perhaps not yet total achievements. Everyone does yoga; serenity is a family value.

So what's the problem? Isn't this a virtuous and exemplary way to live?..." For the full article, see: http://tinyurl.com/4fyb24

What struck me about her main assertion was that even progressives must do their inner work to stay relevant. It reminds me of a common dynamic in the welcoming church movement. Many "progressive" congregations and denominations fall into the trap of "we did that", "we took that vote years ago" or "my tradition has been a leader on LGBTQ issues". While those specific things are often true, many times congregations don't move beyond that point. CWC offers a workshop called, "So we are Open & Affirming, now what?" for just that purpose.

Letters have been coming in to the Oregonian by people stating that her opinion doesn't represent their view of Oregon. And I think the author was trying to motivate and encourage people to get engaged and not to just say, "we did that". And regardless of how we feel about Portlanders and their seeming (or not) self-centeredness....I think there is a kernel of truth that communities in the "welcoming church movement" might do well to consider. We all can do more in terms of expanding our own individual ideas on inclusion and equality. We can do more individually...and as communities. We must not rest on our laurels and say....oh yeah...that inclusive stuff, we did that.

Does the article strike you that way too? I'd like to know.

Peace and joy,

Rev. Tara

We Pause to Give Thanks

2007-11-27T22:58:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

As we pause to give thanks this year for our many blessings, I am keenly aware of the impact you have made on our journey this year. From Transforming Faith, making our presence to be known in Salem, PRIDE celebrations, to singing about Faith and Freedom, you have been there boldly sharing your faith! Your courage, deep conviction and passion for justice has inspired me and our Board of Directors. We are deeply grateful for your partnership.

Yesterday we remembered those across the gender spectrum and the loss that many have known. Our transgender brothers and sisters continue to lead us with their prophetic voice and faithful witness as they challenge us to get real regarding our own social constructs and the institutional bias that accompanies them. We give thanks for the gifts shared with us by our Trans friends.

Some of our lesbian sisters have been in the struggle for voice and equality for many years. Since our nation was founded, strong women have stood up for the voiceless, rooted in deep faith, claiming their power to effect change. Our feminist and womanist sisters have taught us to organize, to speak out, to question authority and to expand the circle until we are all included. For our lesbian sisters, we give thanks.

Our brothers who are gay men, we applaude your witness, your strength and your ability to get things done. You remind us that there are many ways to be a man, and that sensitivity and masquilinity are beautiful things. Your creative spirit helps us to remember that beauty and justice work aren't mutually exclusive. We give thanks for all that you bring to our community.

Our bisexual brothers and sisters are often undervalued. Caught in our own hypocracy, we often shun those who aren't at the extremes of the sexual orientation spectrum. You remind us that sensuality cannot always be confined to one expression and that in the end it's about who you love. For your voices and your openness, we give thanks.

For our allies, our Pflag parents, and our clergy leaders, we are appreciative of your presence, your support and your willingness to stand with us in the heat of the moment. You recognize that discrimination is wrong even if it's not happening to you. You demand that justice come. And you remind us, even when we didn't hear it from our own families, that we are all worthy of love. Thank you for nurturing us, for working so hard for all of us, for this we give thanks.

Working for the full inclusion and equality of those across spectrums of gender and sexual expression is demanding and challenging work. It's work though that brings us closer together. As we share our faith, our gratitude, and our bounty, we are mindful of the contributions you have made that help us to share the truth that we are each loved by our Creator.

On behalf of the Board of Directors and staff of the Community of Welcoming Congregations, we offer prayers of Thanksgiving for you, your faith community and all those who have touched us. And as we break bread with our loved ones, we pray that all will be nurtured and find spiritual home.

Thank you for the Blessing that you are! Happy Thanksgiving!

In joy and gratitude,

Rev. Tara

National Coming Out Day

2007-10-11T11:54:00.000-07:00

Friends,

October 11 is National Coming Out Day. Today we celebrate the call to be our authentic selves. Today is a day to recognize all of the challenges and joys of coming out. The faith journey we each take is marked with milestones of courage, moments of recognition and experiences of transformation. For those who are transgender, lesbian, bisexual and gay and for the people who love us, coming out is a necessary step in our physical, emotional, and spiritual development.

Coming out requires the courage to be who we are created to be. Our journey towards wholeness, health and healing reminds us that we cannot live lives according to other people's expectations. We must be bold in our conviction to be all of who we are, bringing our whole selves to our relationships, our places of employment and our religious and spiritual communities.

We are each created in the image of the Divine, so let us not be afraid of the love and light that image reflects. Tonight CWC invites you to pause, to light a candle or offer a prayer. Consider who you have been created to be. Consider where you have closets that need to be opened. Remember that we each have a unique gift to share and that you are never completely alone in the struggle for equality.

We are a wonderfully diverse people. Tonight let us celebrate the fullness of who we are and the potential we each have to create a world full of justice, hope and peace.

Shalom,

Rev. Tara

CWC challenges House of Bishop's position

2007-09-27T12:37:00.000-07:00

The Episcopal Church USA’s House of Bishops met in New Orleans and released a statement on Tuesday. They met with the hope of “mending the tear in the fabric” between various factions within the Anglican Communion.

I think it is important to lift this example up as so many denominations struggle with living out an inclusive Gospel. Their statement, and others like it, is religiously, indeed theologically offensive. It denies our humanity and wholeness as people of God.

They concur: As all parties agreed to exercise restraint by not consenting to the consecration of any candidate whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and as they pledged as a body to NOT authorize public rites for the blessing of “same sex unions”. They affirm their position from March, “We proclaim the Gospel of what God has done and is doing in Christ, of the dignity of every human being, and of justice, compassion and peace.” And then call for the “unequivocal and active commitment to the civil rights, safety and dignity of gay and lesbian persons.

It is a contradiction to on one hand state that we are one in Christ and we are full and equal participants in the life of the church, and then to state that the church cannot affirm our families. It is a contradiction to “proclaim the justice of Christ” and then to deny it. The theological position that we are all one in Christ but not in Christ’s church is offensive. The position that gay and lesbian people are included in every way in the life of the church as long as we deny who God created us to be is immoral, destructive and spiritually violating.

The House of Bishops call for the justice and dignity of gay and lesbian persons. They state, “It is of fundamental importance that, as we continue to seek consensus in matters of human sexuality, we also be clear and outspoken in our shared commitment to establish and protect the civil rights of gay and lesbian persons, and to name and oppose at every turn any action or policy that does violence to them, encourages violence toward them, or violates their dignity as children of God.”

They oppose any action or policy that does violence to us, except for their own. Committing spiritual violence is more debilitating than physical violence. Do they not see the log in their own eyes? They violate our dignity as children of God and then condemn that position.

So my question is, “What is the pastoral message to the gay and lesbian community?”

I affirm and acknowledge that this is church politics and is not the demeanor of many local congregations. I know there is strong leadership in the Episcopal Church working on behalf of all of us. But I have a deep concern for those Episcopalians who are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender AND the people who love them. This sort of verbal and theological abuse is not okay.

The Episcopal Church is not alone. The Presbyterians recently presented a report entitled, “Peace, Unity, and Purity”, which took a similar view. The Lutherans (ELCA) recently voted to defrock a gifted beloved pastor for being who God created him to be. My intent is not to call out the Episcopal church per se. My intent is to challenge us with two questions. The first is always, What is the pastoral response to the LGBTQ community? And next, are we complicit in the abuse if we are not actively doing something to counter it?

For those of us in denominations who are actively working for the full inclusion and equality of all persons, CWC is with you. Our prayers are with you, our support is with you. This is not easy work. And for those congregations who are actively proclaiming inclusive faiths, you go! We stand in solidarity with you and will do whatever we can to lift up your message of love and hope and peace. And for those who are lone beacons modeling the peace of Christ, challenging exclusive policies, providing the prophetic word, know that you are not alone. We are all in this together!

Let us pray for the spiritual protection of all those who may hear the rhetoric of church politics within and outside the church. Let us pray for healing for those who have been wounded. And let us turn our faith into action by actively working for the full inclusion and equality for all. Blessed Be.

From Morningbear

2007-09-27T12:35:00.000-07:00

Perusing the S-J in Salem, there was an article on how the city was prepared to deal with hate crimes, listing the usual groups against which such crimes are directed, although the subjects of the Civil Union legislation and Equal Rights legislation were noticably absent. We have worked hard to get this legislation on the books and now we are threatened by various fundementalist and evangelical groups that wish to strike down these liberating laws. How does the message of Jesus Christ and his life allow professing Christians to be hateful and deny others protections they would go ballistic about if they were denied them? I also noted in the paper that one town in Oregon has problems like Jenna, LA, focusing on its Latino population. Hate crimes are alive and well in Oregon and without legal protections for all Oregon citizens, some will feel obliged to express their hatred in some pretty pernicious ways. It is up to the spiritual community to encourage ethical thinking and inclusion in law and in politics.

Walk the Blessing Way
Swim the Blessing River
Soar in the Blessing Light

Morningbear Mercer

Welcome to the conversation!

2007-08-16T23:30:00.001-07:00

Friends,

We hope to expand our horizons and the discussion by exploring issues of faith and sexuality, life and spirituality in this new forum. We invite you to join us!

Blessings,
Rev. Tara

Executive Director