Church is sometimes a refuge, a place to hide from the chaos around us. In fact sometimes, when the going gets tough, we use the church as a place to hide. For the most part, my advice to churches is this: don’t hide!
But for some LGBTQ+ people, the danger is significant. For trans youth it is especially awful, and for all trans people the situation is bad. And right now the prospects for a worsening situation seems possible. For people who are afraid, church should be a refuge. In one of the more bizarre stories of the New Testament, the Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8:26-40) is wondering about what a text in Isaiah means, and Phillip appears to explain. What is bizarre is not that identity as Ethiopian, nor Eunuch, but that Phillip disappears into thin air at the end of the encounter. “The spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away” (v. 39). (Honestly the image of Philip running alongside the chariot is weird as well!) What is not bizarre in the first century context is that when this person says “what is to keep me from being baptized” (v. 36). Philip doesn’t even ask more questions. He just does the baptism, on the spot. Some ancient authorities have added some reassurance that he believed the good news, but there is nothing asking about his sexuality, his gender identity, nor his views on any number of Christian theologies. In 1930 the first transgender magazine started in Germany. In 1933 Hitler became Chancellor and began re-enforcing traditional gender roles. Trans organizations were attacked, some people were forced to de-transition, and many were sent to what were to become concentration camps. The government was particularly concerned with people who were identified as male at birth. Today, our government is again attacking people who are trans. Again, there is a particular obsession with those identified as male at birth. This will hurt real people and is part of intention to enforce traditional gender roles. Both the tirades against trans women in sports, and trans youth getting medical services they need are about very few individuals. This is a set-up for turning our society against a group of people who just want to live their lives as who they really are. For people who are afraid, church should be a refuge. Our buildings need to be safe places, and in some circumstances, secret places for people at risk to gather. We should be funding organizations that help trans and other queer people. We need to be public in our support of people who are trans, and yet make space for people to keep their identity private if they choose. Some trans people need help finding a way to move to safer towns or states. Others need a place to meet each other. For people who are afraid, church should be a refuge. Subscribe to get Act! Be Church Now blog posts sent to your email. What you can do: If your community is up for community organizing, is our city or town ready to become a sanctuary for Trans people? Worcester Massachusetts is not the first place I expected that to happen, and yet, some people got together to make it happen. If you’d like help creating a safe gathering place, you can contact the people at The Lighthouse. They are located in Florida but are helping churches in any state. If you’d like to help families relocate and/or to make sure people can get the gender affirming care they need, check out Pink Haven. The United States was once considered a safe place to immigrate for LGBTQIA+ individuals living in especially dangerous countries. The LGBT Asylum Project in Worcester, MA has been helping those refugees. They especially need your financial help now.
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![]() I find the eucharist, communion, the Lord's Table, the bread and the juice, whatever we call it, I find it the most moving part of our worship experience. The smell, the taste, the physical experience in my mouth, swallowing, doing this all together with my siblings in Christ, I am always overwhelmed. It is meaningful as such basic food, and meaningful that it is shared in community. A good meal opens up a good conversation. A brownie offers an opportunity to share something personal. Most congregations are good at feeding each other, and our neighbors, but are also places where we feed people metaphorically. The literal food is the gateway to sharing and caring for each other. Byron Rushing, onetime Massachusetts State Representative, and adjunct professor at Episcopal Divinity School while I was there, told us that his church took as long with prayers of the people as they did with the sermon. The prayers were a time to tell each other how they are doing, what is going on in their life. To ask for prayer is to reach toward God; in that community it is also to reach toward their church family. If your church sharing is not as deep as it could be, the trick is to find a few people to break the ice. Meet with whoever holds the spiritual health of your congregation: deacons, council, vestry, pastoral visitors, etc., and strategize for how to build depth during Sunday worship. The worship leader needs to be comfortable with silence, waiting for people to share. Work to become a place that anxieties, longings, passions, and fears are welcomed. Consider how to add a similar culture to your meal program, pantry, or thrift shop. My cousin's church added a prayer room, prominently marked, off to the side. People were free to come in and just share what was on their mind. Create open hours for your sanctuary so that people can come in and sit in a beautiful space. Imagine, as you engage the community around climate change, immigrant rights, or any other issue, how your church might act as the chaplains of these movements. Look for opportunities to offer individual and group caretaking of those who are doing the actions. We do some of that by showing up with food and drink to share. By calling the most active individuals to check-in on how they are doing. By recognizing all those involved are God's children, our siblings, all working for what God wants here on earth. Subscribe to get Act! Be Church Now blog posts sent to your email. ![]() If there is anything that churches know how to do well, it is to feed people. We do this well metaphorically, and we do this well literally. Today I want to talk about ways we can use our skill at feeding people to support the resistance. There are so many opportunities to feed people! Start with some local gathering where your neighbors are talking about how best to support immigrants, or trans people, or democracy--show up at the meeting with food! I suggest that your church be represented by two or three people. Bring easy to eat finger food to meetings: cookies, grapes, a pitcher of water or lemonade. Don't bring too much, bring the simplest of paper goods, and adjust what you bring next time based on whether it gets eaten. Home made is a delight of course. Meetings are better with food; food helps to create connections. First Congregational Church in Rindge, NH funds dinner for the local Bridging Differences group. A volunteer orders from a black owned business in town; students at the local university are more likely to join the conversation when dinner is provided. If you are showing up at town meeting or an controversial discussion, your congregation should send a delegation rather than and individual. And bring brownies and/or tangerines. Connect with folk over the snacks before the meeting starts, making it easier to feel like you are talking to friends, not adversaries. My congregation brought granola bars and lemonade to people standing out at election time--we brought them to both sides, introduced ourselves and then went on our way. It was tense, but some of the people we think of as "against" us showed up at our active bystander training later in the year. We provided food for that, too! A bag of jelly beans, or candy canes, or valentine hearts, and certainly almost always chocolate might be good for when your church delegation visits with an elected official. If you already have a meal or pantry, add some posters, table cards, or other markers to make it clear it is open to people regardless of their immigration status, and that LGBTQIA+ people are welcome. I heard of a church that had one table reserved at their dinner for discussion about how to stay safe. If you have the capacity consider adding events specifically for a group that is being attacked. In the early church, the evidence that the Kingdom of God is at hand was the existence of dinner every night, open to all regardless of their status as poor, female, or slave. The image of going from being a beggar to someone who was welcomed into the church family dinner still fills me with awe. It is the simplest of tasks to feed people, and it is the greatest as well. You can subscribe to Act! Be Church Now and receive these blog posts in your email. |
My ThoughtsFor my organized thoughts, see my book Five Loaves, Two Fish, Twelve Volunteers: Developing Relational Food Ministries. In this spot are thoughts that appear for a moment--about food programs, mission, church, building community, writing, and whatever else pops into my head. History
February 2025
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