More than just a name....

Our Little Church on the Corner became an Affirming Ministry in the United Church of Canada several years ago. Since then, we have occasionally paused to ask ourselves what that really means. We try to make our status as an open and welcoming congregation as public as possible, and I tend to find myself in plenty of places where I am able to do so.

This past week, our City had its first-ever Pride Week. The week began with worship in our Little Church on the Corner. We had plenty of guests and a feeling of safety and celebration all around. It was good.

The week proceeded with more activities and events than I can possibly name here. It was remarkable - art shows, literature readings, movie presentations, union workshops, a Walk for Healing, a Drag Show Extravaganza (which our son happened to win!!!!), a family picnic with children's activities, displays, food and plenty of music, an Electro Dance night and a closing worship tomorrow at the Unitarian Fellowship. Whew! That is only part of the whole week. It was a smashing success.

Thursday night's Walk for Healing began in the outdoor labyrinth of an Anglican church, with opening words from the (female) priest of that congregation along with a traditional aboriginal smudge. We walked in silence to a Presbyterian church. As the group of fifty or so people made their way into the church I could feel the hesitancy in some of the people. It made me sad to think of how many of those who had come to honour those they had lost, or who continued to suffer from violence, bullying and suicide in their community....felt as if they had walked into a very unsafe space - simply because it was a church.

Our small planning group quickly set the tone for the evening and the shift in the feeling of the space was palpable. One by one, those who felt so moved came to light a candle to shine some lightness on the darkest places of grief, fear and discrimination. They took away a flower as a sign of hope and beauty. We departed silently.

Today at the picnic in the park, I can't even guess at the number of people of all ages (but mostly my son's age) who came to thank me for being a part of that evening. For making a church a safe place for them to be on Thursday night, even though it wasn't my church. They felt safe enough to be themselves. To be real.

One young woman thanked me for a message I gave at a rally for a young gay man who was horribly beaten in our city a few years ago. She said she still remembered my words (and she quoted me word for word): "My God does not discriminate. My God does not punish. My God does not inflict pain, for any reason, on any person. My God cries with the rest of us when one of our community is so brutally harmed. That is the God I worship. And the only God I will serve."

I was speechless.

Two years later - she remembered EXACTLY what I had said. All I could do was thank her and give her a hug.

That, friends, is what it means to be an Affirming Ministry. That is why we worked so hard to become the congregation that we are. Because we need to be a part of creating safe and welcoming space everywhere we go and in every way we can. Our God is continually calling us to the power and privilege of this ministry. May it ever be so.

And the people said...........Amen!