Visiting High Street United Methodist Church

One aspect of my quest to become a better ally includes exploring some of the people and places in my community who have publicly expressed welcome to their LGBTQ neighbors. As part of this effort, I am visiting all seven churches who added their name to the Equality Springfield billboard project.

As I visit these churches, my intention is to highlight some of the work they are doing and enter into conversation with them about their decision to publicly express their support of LGBTQ people.

Last week, I kicked off my Welcoming Tour with my first church visit: High Street United Methodist Church.

The church was founded in 1849, having been launched from the nearby Columbia Street Methodist Church when the congregation became too large to fit in their meeting space. The new church launched with 85 members and they purchased the lot at 230 E High Street in 1850. High Street UMC has been present in our community ever since.

I visited High Street UMC with my wife and two friends during the 11am contemporary service (there is a traditional service at 9:30am). We did not set out to "review" our church experience (this is not Yelp for churches!). But, as we ate lunch together after the service, we did talk about our experience.

If I had to choose one word to characterize our visit to High Street UMC, I would choose the word welcome. As soon as we arrived, numerous people went out of their way to introduce themselves and show us around the building. I lost count of how many times someone approached us to offer coffee and conversation. We also received helpful information about the church, including their various outreach efforts, groups, and upcoming events. The people who spoke with us did not just say hello, but took their time explaining who they were, what was going on at the moment, and what to expect from the service.You can read more about all these things at the church website.
 
Even the music selection was designed with the idea of welcoming in mind. Take a look at the lyrics of the first song: 

Speaking of music, my good friend Kent Brooks is the Music Director for the contemporary service, and he also leads the contemporary service at Faith UMC. Kent is immensely gifted, and he does an amazing job leading worship with humility and grace.

One of the many things I respect about Kent's leadership is his devotion to seeking a diversity of voices in worship. Kent seeks to bring a worship experience that is reflective of the kingdom of God, incorporating people from differing backgrounds, ethnicities, class, and orientation.

One exciting aspect of this diversity in worship at High Street UMC is the presence of LGBT people in their worship leadership team. There is something decidedly powerful in seeing LGBT people in positions of prominence and taking part in the active life of the church, especially in light of the sad reality that many churches currently exclude LGBT people from service and worship. If the message truly is, "all are welcome," then this should be reflected in the composition of the leadership.

Why did High Street UMC decide to add their name to the Equality Springfield billboard? I had an opportunity to speak with Pastor Steven Fewell, and I asked him just that!

I contacted Pastor Steven by email before visiting the church, and we were able to chat after the morning service.

Pastor Steven is relatively new to this congregation, having stepped into the role of pastor during the summer. He explained that the decision to support the Equality Springfield billboard project was made by his predecessor (Pastor Jeff Allen), cementing the church's status as a welcoming congregation before he arrived. He also credited Music Director Kent Brooks and others as being key figures in bringing about the decision.

Pastor Steven told me he is honored to serve in a church that is welcoming to EVERY neighbor, and he considers the welcoming posture toward LGBTQ people to be an honorable legacy to uphold. He told me he looks forward to doing all he can to live up to the calling set forth by his predecessor, and he also looks forward to seeking new opportunities to work alongside other churches to make our community more welcoming overall.

Besides the general sense of welcome, I was also struck by the amount of outreach taking place at High Street UMC. Food pantries and meals for the homeless, activities for children, youth, and adults, missions work, and even group knitting circles! There are free concerts and performances (the Sanctuary series), and as visitors, we were able to designate a ministry effort of our choosing, which the church then made a donation to in our honor (we selected a local elementary school).

There's no question: there are many people hard at work, making our community a healthy and happy place. I am honored to be serving in the same community as High Street UMC as they work out their faith and extend the welcome of Jesus to every single person they meet.
  
Goodness is afoot! More to come in my survey of welcoming churches.

Why You Shouldn't Call Someone a Homosexual

Perhaps you've heard something like this, "My neighbor is a homosexual." Or, "There is a group of homosexuals."

This type of language is not helpful.

When you call someone a homosexual, you are zeroing in on their sexuality and amplifying that aspect of their personhood over everything else about them. Calling someone a homosexual puts their sexuality on the forefront of who they are as a person.

It comes across as if you've said to yourself, "What is the best way for me to describe this person? I'll start with their sexual life! Every time I talk about this person, I will begin by describing their sexuality."

Ask yourself this question: would you be comfortable if people insisted on introducing you as a heterosexual? Would you appreciate people highlighting your sexuality every time they mentioned you?

Aside from the reductive nature of describing a person based solely on their sexuality, the term homosexual also has a history of derogatory usage.

There is linkage to the derogatory usage of the term "homo." Also, the term homosexual has been used by numerous opponents to LGBTQ equality, including politicians, commentators, and religious leaders (i.e. the homosexual agenda). For many LGBTQ people, the term homosexual holds negative connotations based on the tone and usage of the word in the past. 

Not to mention the fact that, until 1973, homosexuality was described as a psychological disorder in the DSM. 

If you are referring to someone as a homosexual, ask yourself: is it necessary for me to highlight this aspect of the person's identity? If so, perhaps it is best to refer to them as an LGBT person, as applicable to that specific person.

Perhaps there are ways to use the term homosexuality in clinical, descriptive, or non-offensive ways in a general sense, but whenever you are talking about people, remember that tone matters. Resist the impulse to define a person by their sexuality. And don't lose sight of the living, breathing people you are talking to and about.

Extending Welcome in Springfield

If we are going to have a full conversation about becoming allies to the LGBTQ community, we must talk about the relationship between the Christian church and our LGBTQ neighbors.

I'd say we need to have this conversation in a broad, general sense if we are going to make any headway. But in addition to a general conversation about LGBTQ people and the church, I think it will be helpful to apply this conversation to my local context. What kind of relationship exists between LGBTQ people and the Christian church in Springfield, OH? 

There is much to be said on this topic, and I can assure you there will be more posts about LGBTQ people and the Christian church in the future. But I think some conversation about my specific context will be helpful.

So, I am going to step back and do a little recon. I'll be doing some preliminary reporting on the current lay of the land when it comes to welcoming churches.

There are already some warm and inviting churches hard at work in our midst. Let's begin our assessment by shining a spotlight on their presence in our community.

In 2014, Equality Springfield launched a faith community billboard project, inviting churches and faith communities in the area to express their welcome to LGBT neighbors by adding their name to a billboard, which would be displayed throughout the city. In the first year, four churches joined the project. By 2016, that number had grown to seven churches.

As part of my year of ally learning, I will be visiting each of these seven churches throughout the rest of the year.

As I connect with these churches (or as I strengthen existing connections, to be more precise), I will highlight some of the work they are doing in this city.

I'll also ask these churches about their decision to add their name to the Equality Springfield billboard. Why did they decide to participate? Why do they think it is important to make such a public stand? What, if anything, has resulted from their decision?

Finally, I will enter into conversation (whenever possible) with key members of each congregation about what it means to be welcoming, open, and affirming.

A year-long road-trip of ally excursions! I may even venture outside the city limits.

We're already underway. I visited one of these churches this morning, and the conversations have begun. There's goodness afoot, and I can't wait to tell you about it.  

LGBT is not a Noun

Just a quick word on language: it matters. This is not about political correctness or over-sensitivity. It is about expressing love for your neighbor by speaking honorably.

Keep in mind, the letters LGBTQ represent adjectives, not nouns. These words should be thought of as descriptors, not as labels.

It is best to avoid phrases like, "My neighbor is a gay." What you mean to say is, "My neighbor is gay," or, "My neighbor is a gay man."

Similarly, it is helpful to avoid, "She's a bisexual," or, "He is a transgender."

The term lesbian is a bit different in that it can be used as a noun or as an adjective (this is because the word is derived from the Greek word Lesbos, home of the poet Sappho who expressed love for women in her poetry).

Although the term lesbian can be used as either a noun or adjective, it is still important to manage tone. Are you expressing your thought honorably and respectfully, or are you using this term in a derogatory way?

Why is this important?

If you say, "I share my office with a gay," what word have you left out?

Person.

You have left out the word person. This type of language is subtly dehumanizing. It removes the human from the picture and fixates on the descriptor.

Give some thought to how you speak. You don't know a gay, you know a gay person. A lesbian person. A bisexual person. A transgender person.

Losing sight of the person attached to your descriptor is a sure-fire way to sever connection with others. Beyond that, it limits your ability to empathize and relate.

One more thing. It is best to say transgender (or trans), not transgender-ed.

Those two little letters at the end of the word may not seem that important, but adding an "-ed" on the end of the word implies that "transgender" has happened to a person. As in, "They have been transgender-ed."

I have not been straight-ed, and they have not been transgender-ed.

More language-based posts in the coming weeks!

It's about Power

If we are going to have a conversation about justice and equality, we must have an honest conversation about power. 

Here are some short (and generalized) thoughts for emerging allies as it relates to power.

For our purposes here, there are two basic approaches to power.

One approach seeks to gain power OVER others. This approach relies on tactics of domination. This approach seeks to oppress, suppress, exploit, marginalize, exclude, alienate or control.

I happen to be a Christian, and if you'll allow me to draw from my own faith tradition for a moment, I will suggest that an alternative approach to power is demonstrated in the life of Jesus.

There is this part of the Bible that says Jesus had the power of God, but instead of using that power for personal gain, he humbled himself as a servant and poured out his power on behalf of others. The Bible goes on to say that we should have this same mindset. 

Where worldly power seeks power OVER others, the approach we see from Jesus demonstrates power UNDER others, through humility and service. This makes way for power WITH others, through community and fellowship. Potential allies have a choice to make. We can use power in a dominating way, or we can try to use power like Jesus did.

We must ask ourselves (1) who has power in our community? (2) How is that power being used? (3) Is power being abused? (4) Who is being left out?

 

It is possible to be complicit in the "power over" mindset even if we are not actively oppressing others. Responsible use of power begins with a refusal to take part in or benefit from the tactics of domination.This begins with an examination of our own actions, but also extends to examination of the actions of others, our systems, and our structures. 

Finally, the concept of privilege is directly tied to our perspective on power. I am a straight white Christian male. This is a position of privilege. I can choose to use my position of privilege for personal comfort and gain, or I can recognize my privilege and act honorably.

Simply stated, privilege is power. If you have privilege, you have advantages and benefits that others do not have. How will you use your power? Will you use your privilege to make things better for yourself? Or will you seek way to use your privilege as a platform to amplify and highlight the voices of those not being heard? 

We're Just Getting Started

Welcome to the blog.

In this space, I will be documenting my journey to become a better ally. You can expect some posts soon.

In the meantime, you can click the tabs above to look at a few of the pages I've added. Thanks!