Women of the ELCA

In tonight’s online webchat — our final WELCA Radical Welcome conversation — we’re going to take on practical moves toward radical welcome. Not just the general hopes, but concrete steps. I’d like to prime the pump and offer some thoughts in advance of the webchat …

Since I wrote the book back in 2006, I’ve worked with and learned from many more congregations moving toward radical welcome. Over and over, two principles have come to the fore, informing every other transformative practice at the local level:

GROW THE VISION TOGETHER
This part is key. There’s no substitute for hosting discernment conversations in your church or your WELCA chapter and figuring out who you wish you could be welcoming, of the groups that tend to be systemically, historically marginalized (esp. people of color, immigrants, poor and working class people, young adults, lesbians and gay men, people with disabilities). One leader can’t announce to everyone from on high, “We will, from now on, welcome this particular group,” and expect everyone to get on board. Grow the passion and the buy-in. Even groups usually on the margins have told me they’d rather come in knowing there’s been some genuine discernment and development of the community’s desire for transformation. Otherwise, it’s a set-up.

So host a series of conversations for your congregation or your ministry to get specific. Ask yourselves:
1) Who do you hope to welcome? For example, do you want to welcome young women? Which ones? Those with children? Those who grew up in the church but left? Young women of color? Young women without a college degree? They’re all very different, and have different reasons for not engaging church. The more specific you can get about The Other who has been left out, the more specific you can be about welcoming them in.
2) Why do you yearn to welcome this group? Is there a relationship or experience that makes you passionate about finally embracing this group? Get in touch with that passion, and share those stories. Welcoming because it’s the “right thing to do” will get really cold, really fast.
3) What gifts and wisdom would this group bring to your church (or chapter)? Again, you’re not just welcoming The Other because you’ve got good stuff they need. This is about mutual transformation of our hearts and churches, and all of us getting closer to the kingdom of God together. What might The Other offer that actually changes you and inspires you to follow Jesus in a new and powerful way?

TAP INTO COMMUNITY ORGANIZING PRINCIPLES
Having discerned who The Other is for your congregation, you might feel stuck. What’s next? Do we just start making changes, based on our hunch of what has been disempowering or unwelcoming for this group? Do we just start inserting new music, new leaders, and hope for the best? Actually, the most important thing you could do is to pause and spend real time in conversation OUTSIDE your congregation. Crazy, huh?

Community Organizers do this all the time. It’s called one-to-one meetings. You go, meet people where they are, listen to their stories and passions and hurts, share your own. See what you could do for God together.

Imagine churches doing that. Go out and sit with The Other on their turf, on their terms. Learn what they’ve been told about your church, what they experienced when they actually came in once upon a time, and why they probably wouldn’t come near it (is it your worship? your leadership? your ministries and fellowship? the way you present your cultural identity?). Find out how God has spoken to them in other settings, in the language of their home culture. Find out more about their leadership style by attending gatherings where they lead. Put yourself at the feet of The Other, and open to learn where God is already speaking in this other culture/generation/experience.

Deep listening like this will give you three gifts:
1) New relationships that could be the basis for developing a critical mass of marginalized people who eventually become part of the church.
2) New insight into your own congregation’s history and its reality, from the perspective of The Other, which will help you to make change with greater intention and precision. Maybe your worship isn’t keeping this group out — maybe it’s the way your leadership is structured or the way your ministries primarily engage at a safe distance from the grassroots. You don’t know what the issues are unless you ask. Doing 1:1s lets you know what’s up on the ground.
3) New opportunities to share your own story of what God has been up to in your midst, what there is in your tradition to love and value, and how it might intersect with the hopes and dreams of The Other.

Equipped with that wisdom, you’ll be ready to make some real change, welcoming new generations and emerging cultures in a way that elicits hope, energy and resurrection life for all, and prepares your community to live out God’s reconciling mission.

Amen? Amen!

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Hello all,
Easter blessings! We saw lots of new faces at our church in New York City on Easter. Our conversation about radical welcome was deep in my heart as I looked out over a sea of new faces that beautiful, brisk morning. I wondered, “How are these visitors experiencing worship with us this morning?” “How is our language in worship inviting to those unfamiliar with it?” “Do I see our existing members reaching out a hand of welcome to the newcomers sitting all around them?” “If not, why not?”

I have thought much about Stephanie’s discussion about creating “holding environments” for welcome within our churches. Holding environments are places within our ministries that are open to and comfortable with the fears and discomforts that come with change. They are also places that nurture fears while creating a place of boldness and courage. Wouldn’t it be a blessing if our ministries could become such beautiful places of welcome? Places where all of our humanity with its joys, fears, uncertainties and loves could be held together as we move further along the path to radical welcome of all of God’s children?

I’m interested in hearing if your congregation is such a “holding environment.” And if it is, what is the uniqueness it is holding? How can we become stronger holding environments in our congregations?

Peace and joy,
Elise

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“If we become radically welcoming, will we lose our core identity?” Throughout our conversations about radical welcome, the question has come up again and again. And I suspect it always will. So in this post, I’d like to pose a question: what parts of Lutheran identity actually prepare us for radical welcome? Because it’s not all about sloughing off the past, shucking the “bad” tradition and putting on the “good” new stuff. It’s also about capturing and holding up the gifts of our tradition that make it possible for us to be a blessing and receive The Other in the name of Christ.

I’m reminded of a post on the WELCA discussion board, where a wise guest remarked:

“… hospitality begins in the desire to bless the stranger, to share with her the resources with which one has been entrusted. Abraham saw that the three visitors needed baths, shade, food, and rest, and he and Sarah provided all of these before the tables were turned and he received the promise of Isaac. Spiritually, this would seem to translate into sharing with visitors the spiritual victuals of Lutheranism: justification by grace through faith, remembering one’s baptism, rich sacramental life, etc.” (posted by Scott Huelin, 3.01.09)

I was so grateful for that comment, because it started a conversation that is both practical and absolutely essential for change. No one starts from nothing. How do we work with what we’ve got? How does a rich sacramental life help us to see Jesus alive in the stuff of ordinary life … including the changing communites surrounding our congregations? How does justification by grace through faith give us the freedom to take risks in the name of Christ, without being paralyzed by the fear of getting it wrong? How does remembering our baptism — baptism into the life, death and resurrection of Jesus — infuse us with a blast of Spirit power, and send us racing out to do the radically welcoming mission of the One whose name we bear?

You’ll find more practical answers to these questions in the companion book study for Radical Welcome. Sessions 4 and 5 help congregations to walk through two rounds of questions: first, a round to imagine the dream of God for your congregation together; then, a round to study your reality, see how far you are from the dream, what work you’ll need to take on as the body of Christ. This is a concrete way to get to know the dream of God (or the picture of the transformation before you) and your reality (including the gifts that will prepare you for transformation and the burdens you can finally, lovingly place back on the shelf because you don’t need them as much as you once thought). There’s nothing instantaneous about welcoming and embracing and sharing life with The Other. It will take all our best gifts … plus the vivid presence of the Holy Spirit among us!

A blessed resurrection to you all. Let’s remember that God is always raising up new life, and that it’s a joy — not just a chore — to be God’s partners in that ministry of renewal and transformation.

Amen? Amen!

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In Part III, Stephanie points out that a congregations’ goal of diversity is not the same as being a radically welcoming church. We must be honest with ourselves, about what our goals are in order to become radically welcoming. In order to be radically welcoming we most be committed to ministry and therefore committed to God’s mission. It is difficult to distinguish between our goals and ideas and God’s mission. As a kid the adults often said our hands God’s work we must own this statement to truly become radically welcoming.

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Few women’s groups embrace change the way that the women of Spirit of Grace (New Port Richey, Florida) are doing, but then again, few have the privilege of starting from scratch. Allow me to explain.

Spirit of Grace is a new congregation that was formed last fall. Five ELCA congregations dissolved and consolidated into one new congregation, Spirit of Grace, with two campuses (using two of the buildings from the previous congregations). The new congregation has between 700 and 800 members. They are averaging 580 worshippers at 6 weekend services in this quickly growing portion of Pasco County.

Each of the five previous congregations had a women’s group and they all dissolved too, giving away their funds to the Florida-Bahamas Synodical Women’s Organization and various local charities. Now the women of Spirit of Grace are forming a brand new women’s organization, starting from scratch, discerning how God is calling them into the future.

In November, 80 women gathered to talk about the future. Whatever form Women of the ELCA would take at Spirit of Grace, they were clear that it wasn’t going to be “business as usual” and that the group wasn’t going to be just for “old women.” To give the group a vision, they showed the new Women of the ELCA DVD, Created in the Image of God: A Community of Women. That jumpstarted the group’s thinking, showing many ways in which women gather as Women of the ELCA.

Because the women in this new group don’t all know each other, the group decided to focus some of its initial programming around fellowship, helping the women get to know each other. In December the women held a cookie exchange. Next month a Girlfriend’s Picnic is scheduled at a local park that includes a kid-friendly playground.

After looking at different models for organizing their group, in January the women decided to organize their life together around fellowship, education, and service. The fellowship team, led by Deb Boland, has coordinated the get-to-know-you activities. Beth Hollenberger is heading up the education team. That team found that some of the younger women and some of those who are new to the Lutheran church don’t have a strong biblical background, so the education team is embracing the Book of Faith initiative and planning some educational events using those resources.

The service team is led by Michelle Hutton. They’ve begun their planning and are looking at new ways to envision service. The first service group that has been formed is Prayerfully Made, a ministry of service through textile arts. This multi-generational group is making relief quilts, prayer shawls, and “prayers and squares.” The group is not just sewing, knitting, and crocheting; they are focusing on the spiritual aspect of their work, praying through and with their art.

Mae Haines is heading up the leadership team for this new group, working with Deb, Beth, and Michelle. Pastor Sally Cook, one of the two pastors serving Spirit of Grace, works with the women’s group. Mae explained that the group is a “work in progress.” Since Spirit of Grace is so new, there’s no telling where God is calling this energetic multi-generational group of Christian women!

[Pictured above, left to right, are Beth Hollenberger, Deb Boland, Mae Haines, and Michelle Hutton. They are pointing to some pink flamingos that are involved in funding the youth of Spirit of Grace who are going to the ELCA National Youth Gathering this July in New Orleans. Anyone who is going to the youth gathering -- stop by the Women of the ELCA cafe in the exhibit hall!]

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I once heard a dear friend and colleague referring to radical welcome as an effort to change worship, making it more accessible to different cultures. I turned to her and said, “Huh? You’ve read the book! You know it’s about transformation at the personal level and throughout the congregational system — in our leadership, our ministries and community relationships, our vision and mission as a congregation, our identity, all the places where power gets exercised. Worship is one of those places, but not the whole story.”

“I guess I know that,” she told me. “But it just seems like that’s the thing you talk about the most. And when you do, you get really excited. If someone were just watching you, they’d definitely think worship was at the heart of radical welcome.”

Oh.

The truth is, I do believe it’s tough to radically welcome The Other on the margins of your congregation — whether The Other is young adults, or a different cultural/ethnic group, or poor and working-class people, or gay and lesbian people or some combination of several groups — if your worship is off-limits for transformation. You can be incredibly friendly and inviting, welcoming people who are pretty much like you to come and make the “family” even larger. You can be inclusive, getting excited at the idea of people who represent some “difference” … as long as they don’t expect to share the power to actualy help to shape the congregation’s life (“It’s not that we don’t like them,” we say, “it’s just that we’ve got to be clear on our identity”).

But radical welcome? Increasingly, I am convinced that pursuing this holy, Spirit-led transformation will and should eventually make an impact on our worship. Believe me, it makes a difference. Imagine you’re a young adult, walking into a church. Imagine that they’ve got a sign outside that says, “We welcome you!” and pictures of young people. But imagine that the music is primarily classical or traditional church music drawn from the European- and European-American canon, much of it assuming the ability to read music. Imagine the people who are serving are mostly 45 and up or 13 and younger. Imagine you’ve got to juggle books, and that people keep uttering phrases you can’t find in any book. Imagine the words are stilted and formal.

There are things that resonate for you — the communion meal was mind-blowing, the Peace felt like home, the people were kind, the commitment to social justice was inspiring. But it feels so foreign, even uncomfortable, at odds with the church’s message. And members shake their heads and tell you, “Oh, this is who we are. Our worship can’t change.”

Would you return? Would you feel welcomed … radically? Or would you depart feeling as if your story, your culture, your community, had no place in this congregation?

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On a blustery February day I sat down with 15 women from eight congregations in the Shenandoah Valley. These humble Virginians have deep Lutheran roots, roots that extend back to the Colonial era. Say “Muhlenberg” here and you mean John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg (son of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg) who had an illustrious career as a Lutheran, then Anglican, pastor; a Revolutionary War hero; and, later, a senator in the first United States Senate. (That’s a bust of Muhlenberg outside the 1795 courthouse in Woodstock, Virginia.)

The 15 women come from small rural congregations. Don’t let the size deceive you – they are all active with a variety of ministries that reach out from their congregations into their communities. Consistent among all the congregational units are Bible study, quilting, Thankofferings, support for Western State Hospital, and some form of “golden age” meal (for senior citizens). From there, the ministries expand into a wide array.

At Mt. Zion (New Market) the women prepare Valentine bags and boxes for shut-ins and college students. They also sponsor a Pentecost Picnic for the entire congregation. They hold a Girls’ Night Out where they gather at a local restaurant for dinner. St. Steven’s (Strasburg) holds a free community Thanksgiving dinner each year.

They do a weekend retreat each fall at Mt. Zion (Fairview), inviting all women of the congregation to participate. Mt. Zion’s quilters are known as Meet, Eat & Knot. Clever names abound in the Shenandoah Valley. Java with Jesus is a standing Thursday morning drop-in get-together at the Woodstock Café for women of Emmanuel (Woodstock). Drop Your Drawers is a summer underwear collection for school-aged children conducted by the women of Prince of Peace (Orkney Springs).

These women from the Central Valley conference, like the women of All Saint’s in Baltimore (see my March 5 blog post), show how congregations that are small in numbers can be big in faith and action.

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Dear all,
I have been thinking about Stephanie’s categories of Acculturation, Assimilation and Inculturation regarding worship in the chapter on Re-imagining Your Common Life. Stephanie says, “Worship is a community’s most important, most accessible, public offering. It communicates our values, our culture and our priorities: it shapes us as followers of Christ.” (p. 110.)

Worship is so central to our congregational life and identity, and yet it can be a place where radical welcome is not practiced. There does seem to be an expectation that a newcomer has to either assimilate or acculturate to our way of doing things. But it’s so hard to offer worship experiences that truly welcome everyone, because we are all so different! We like different kinds of music; some like spirited, up-beat music, while others prefer quiet, contemplative music that enables serene reflection. Some people love to stand up the whole service; others prefer to stay seated. Some people have small children who move around and make noise; others bring in elderly friends, family or neighbors with wheelchairs or other mobility devices who need open spaces and accessible buildings to be able to fully participate.

How do we craft a worship experience that meets so many disparate needs? It is a great challenge for all of our congregations. Yet, I believe the most improtant element in radical welcome is the spirit within the congregation that opens its hands and hearts to the newcomer. The kind voice that says, “Welcome. It’s good to have you here.” And does that with a sincere, caring heart.

How do others help create communities of radical welcome in worship? Are there certain things you do? How can we help each other learn to be radically welcoming, and truly open to the newcomer seated next to us in the pew?

Elise

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I’ve been staying close to home, reading and writing of late. I finished Eat, Pray, Love and I’m focusing on Returning to My Mother’s House (see my March 2 post). I’ve been working on several writing projects, especially around our May re-launch of Katie’s Fund.  And I found time, in all of this, to celebrate a significant event, the big 5-0 (see photo).

I thought I’d post my current travel plans for the rest of 2009. Beyond my sabbatical (with four weeks to go), I’m expanding my regularly scheduled trips so I can spend more time with congregational units in those areas, collecting more stories of mission and ministry. (I’m having a great time doing this!) So, look over the list here and send me suggestions of women and units to visit in or near these cities, please. You can post your suggestions here as a comment or send them to me directly at linda.bushkofsky@elca.org.

March 31 – April 8, Tampa, Florida

April 29 – May 5, Atlanta, Georgia

June 4-6, Lansing, Michigan

June 14 – 17, Twin Cities, Minnesota

June 19 – 28, Central and Northeastern Pennsylvania

July 20 – 26, New Orleans, Louisiana

August 3 – 9, Houston, Texas

September 18-20, Willow, Alaska

September 25 – 27, Great Falls, Montana

October 14 – 18, Spokane, Washington

November 12 – 15, Sacramento, California

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