New Living Lutheran Post: The Joy and Terror of the Cross

Sept. 14 is the day we foolishly celebrate a device of terror. Yes, it’s Holy Cross Day.

Before we celebrate, I’ll confess that I didn’t know this day existed before I was asked to write about it. If Jesus would have told me along with Peter about needing to suffer on the cross to save all of humanity, I would have told him that it’s a great metaphor, but there are plenty of better ways to spend his time (i.e., healing the sick, feeding the poor, ending war, teaching us how to be less discriminatory and really love all our neighbors, etc.).

Read the rest at Living Lutheran.

In the News: The Advocate

WATCH: March Honors 46th Anniversary of Compton's Cafeteria Riots

Nearly five decades later, San Franciscans look back at a major turning point in trans liberation.

BY Diane Anderson-Minshall

August 23 2012 5:31 PM ET

In the 1960s, Compton's Cafeteria in San Francisco's gritty Tenderloin neighborhood was virtually the only place in the city where transgender folks could congregate publicly, as they weren't allowed in gay bars at the time. Cross-dressing was still illegal in the city, and the local police often used the presence of trans women as a pretext for raiding and closing gay bars.
The patrons at Compton's were used to being rousted by the police, but one night, after a cop attempted to arrest one trans woman, that "street queen" (as the women were often called) fought back and tossed her drink into the officer's face. A huge riot broke out and spilled into the neighborhood, becomimg one of the first transgender uprisings in the U.S., three years before New York's Stonewall. (There was a much smaller riot in L.A. in 1959.)

Trans people weren't the only ones rioting as the hours went on; they were joined by many from the country's first youth group, Vanguard Youth, as well as numerous street dykes, queer hustlers, and neighborhood locals. Later LGBT folks from other parts of the city joined in.
The Compton's riot was a turning point in trans liberation, and by 1969 the first transgender advocacy group in the nation -- and the world -- had been founded, according to GLBTQ.com.

New Living Lutheran Post: St Clare of Assisi

Each Monday, I gather with a group of homeless youth in San Francisco who call themselves Otro Vanguard. I join them as a mentor, a pastor and an adult who won’t judge or take advantage of them.

Unfortunately, their stories are not too different from the stories of homeless and abandoned youth (estimated to be between 1.6 and 2.8 million) across the country. It’s hard to find the light in the deep darkness of their all too often broken and battered homes, scarred, addicted bodies or tales of dangerous sexual encounters.

Recently, I found myself sitting in a rocking chair as we shared stories, thinking about what faith stories could inspire the youth to take care of their bodies, live as soberly as possible and to seek the safest options for shelter that are available.

Read the rest at Living Lutheran.

Living Lutheran: A Lutheran Response to Shootings

Since I was 6 years old, I have been afraid of the kind of gun slaying that happened at the Batman screening recently. When I was younger, I tried to sleep in ways that made it look like my room was empty, so if an attacker came into my room at night they would not be able to find me. During nightmares, I strategized escape plans from attackers with guns in public places.

Unfortunately shootings, no matter how shocking, are not unique. And while I’m sure many survivors and pastors will be speaking out in the days following this event, I think the Lutheran tradition has a perspective that is helpful for this national conversation.

If you’re looking for lobbied opinions for more mental health care, more or less gun regulations or an attempt to figure out how or why this tragedy happened, you won’t find it here. Other traditions have louder, more polarized things to say. Lutherans are adept at issues that fall in the messy middle.

Read the rest at LivingLutheran.com.

Living Lutheran: Of Backpacks and Organizing

When I was a student at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D., I worked at the summer conferences serving lutefisk at the Nordlandfest, setting up microphones for weddings, cots for the summer music program and chairs for the ELCA South Dakota Synod Assemblies.

In addition to providing me with a way to pay for summer school room and board, I learned many of the behind-the-scenes skills it takes to be a good community minister.

While it may seem strange, I bet that the members of synodical staffs around the country and the ELCA churchwide staff who manage national gatherings may resonate with the call to organize and coordinate.
Perhaps Noah was the first to get large groups coordinated in response to a natural disaster, but certainly, Jesus continued this tradition as he organized 12 motley tax collectors, fishermen and other riffraff to feed people, heal the sick and travel about bringing good news to those who had ears to hear.

Read the rest at Living Lutheran.

Living Lutheran Post: The Weary Traveler

Over the past couple of years I have been traveling around the country to preach or present at conferences and to learn about the ways ELCA congregations have been responding to the poverty they find in the communities where they live and worship.

Everywhere I’ve visited I have been inspired by the creativity, gospel-centeredness and the risks congregations have taken to care for their neighbor and to tangibly pass on the grace they have received.

Some of the greatest risks these congregations have taken happened by inviting people inside their worship spaces and home lives.

Read the rest at LivingLutheran.com

New Cafe Article: Advocacy - Faith in Action

When most people think of the 2009 Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ameria's Churchwide Assembly in Minneapolis, they think of the votes cast to allow openly gay people to serve as pastors. Some advocacy-minded folk might also think of the launch of the ELCA Malaria Campaign.

I think of tornadoes.

It felt strange to me that my beloved Lutheran church, in the midst of the biggest economic crisis since the great depression, would spend such little time talking about domestic hunger and economic issues. Particularly at a time when the church seemed like it might be on the verge of splintering, it seemed like we should be talking about what Lutherans are best at: responding to poverty and advocating for hunger relief.

Sleepless in Minneapolis
Following in the footsteps of the great Civil Rights leaders who dramatized struggles in order to bring much needed attention to them, I decided to sleep on the streets of Minneapolis during the assembly. Since I had been on more than eight street retreats in San Francisco and lived with the poor in Nicaragua, I felt confident heading to Minneapolis. 

Read the rest here.