LGBT Lutheran Pastors Express God’s Love

Eighty-two LGBT pastors in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America have joined together at this year’s ELCA convention to raise awareness of their experiences and contributions.

Rev. Debra Haffner, at Religion and Sexuality: What’s the Connection offers more information about the ELCA’s past and upcoming decisions on BGLT ministers. She also highlights the booklet “A Place Within My Walls,” which intersperses scriptural reflections with testimonies by BGLT Lutheran ministers.

“A Place Within My Walls” is riveting. I was rapt with attention the whole time I read the stories by ministers, in which they describe becoming aware of their sexual orientation, following their calling to ministry, falling in love with their life partners, and coming out to family and parishioners.

What struck me most about these testimonials was the power of God’s love in the lives of these ministers. They write about the support they received from family, friends and parishioners; about the joy they felt in their ministry; and about the overwhelming sense that God stood by their side in the difficult and the elated moments of life. Even though they face unjust discrimination from their own faith community, they maintain faith in God’s love for them, and they express God’s love through their ministry.

Here are a few passages that I found particularly moving…

Pastor Barbara Lundblad describes finding her life partner, Nicole, while serving a congregation in Manhattan:

“The members of the congregation accepted us as a family, often inviting the three of us to dinner. The most surprising thing was how very ordinary it was-the pastor, her family, and the congregation…I could never have imagined such scenarios growing up on an Iowa farm, but God has often surprised me along the way.”

Pastor Darin Easler reflects on the attitudes of congregants towards BGLT ministers:

“What they know is that they love and feel loved by their pastor, are cared for, and feel God’s loving and gracious presence.”

Pastor Phil Trzynka, on the idea of “coming home”:

Understanding the importance of a loving home, I view my ministry as welcoming people home to God. The wonderful parish I serve, Trinity Lower East Side Lutheran Parish in Manhattan, New York, seeks to be a home for everyone-including poor and rich, young and old, gay and straight, housed and homeless…

…Brett and I realize that wherever Christ is, there is home. We also realize that I am not completely accepted in the denomination in which I currently serve because I am in a partnered relationship. We yearn for the day when the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America can say to us both, “Welcome, Brett and Phil. You’re home!”