Editor’s note: Embracing Queer Family uses the term “Queer” to mean “anyone who does not identify as heterosexual and cisgender.” The authors acknowledge that not everyone in the LGBTQIA+ community uses the term; the ELCA standard is “LGBTQIA+.” However, for the sake of consistency, this article uses “Queer.” Celebrating Pride or talking about sexuality and […]
ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton has issued a statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 15 ruling that employment discrimination on the basis of a worker’s sexual orientation or gender identity is illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. “The court’s decision is an important recognition of equal protection under […]
Elected June 7 as bishop of the Central States Synod, Donna Simon understands the importance of supporting lay leaders who do the challenging work of understanding and living out what it means to be the church. Simon, who has served as pastor of St. Mark Hope and Peace Lutheran Church in Kansas City, Mo., since […]
As the daughter of an ELCA pastor, Eleanor Jerbi has spent a lot of time in churches. And as a neurodivergent person—Jerbi has dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)—she knows that church may not feel like a welcoming sanctuary to everyone. “Especially in smaller church buildings, services can be very overwhelming just […]
At Messiah Lutheran Church in Ashtabula, Ohio, where I grew up, there was a drinking fountain. It was old. It was ordinary. It barely worked. But just after midnight on Christmas Eve, the water would run cold and clean and strong. I know now that water pressure drops when everyone sleeps and the cold December […]
Russell Meyer, intentional interim pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Jacksonville, Fla., considers his vocation to be creating welcome for all people. St. John, a historically African American congregation located in Jacksonville’s Springfield Historic District, was pastored by Victoria and William Hamilton for 20 years before they retired and Meyer was installed. Its designation […]
Kwame Pitts (she/her) serves as a mission developer for Community of Good Neighbors (CGN) Buffalo, a mobile food pantry combating food disparity and inequity on the east side of Buffalo, N.Y. Living Lutheran spoke with her on what it means to hold space for both joy and grief during a month that includes Juneteenth, Pride […]
For Albie Nicol (he/they), what began as a childhood visit to a Lutheran church has since grown into a calling. Now in his/their fourth year of seminary and first year serving an internship in Ohio, Nicol spoke with Living Lutheran about what it means to live faithfully as a queer Lutheran. How are you connected […]
Erik Nelson’s hope for the church comes from his work as the St. Paul outreach intern at Lutheran Campus Ministry-Twin Cities. During his three years there while attending seminary, Nelson (he/him) witnessed young adults being drawn to a community where they could study Scripture, receive the sacraments and experience God’s unconditional love. Nelson spoke with […]
Three years ago, when Sue. J. Briner, bishop of the Southwestern Texas Synod, tasked Keats Miles-Wallace to build a grassroots community for those who identify as LGBTQIA+, the pastor had a definite, immediate thought: “I was like, ‘That’s insane,’ I don’t know how to do that … but I’ll figure it out.” So, Technicolor Ministries […]
