The following is cross-posted from Living Lutheran. You can find the original post here.

In April, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton launched the Truth and Healing Movement to increase the church’s understanding of the impacts of colonization on Indigenous people in past and present generations. Living Lutheran reached out to Richard A. Magnus, a retired pastor who attends Edina (Minn.) Community Lutheran (ECLC), to hear how the congregation’s work with the movement has affected members and the community.

Living Lutheran: Could you tell me a little bit about yourself?

Magnus: My first call was to urban ministry at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Denver. My assignment was to get to know the communities of color and then invite suburban congregations into relationship with those communities. My second call was to an urban campus ministry in Boulder and the Auraria Higher Education Center, Denver. In that role I was … invited to serve on the National Indian Lutheran Board (NILB) from 1979 to 1981 as one of three “blue eyes” on the board. While in Denver I served as a mission director for the Rocky Mountain Synod and in that capacity supported Rev. Dr. George (“Tink”) Tinker in forming the Four Winds American Indian Survival Project.

In 1997, I was called [as] executive director of the ELCA Division for Outreach. In that capacity I worked with pastors Marlene Whiterabbit Helgemo, former pastor of All Nations Indian Church, and Gordon Straw, director of the ELCA Indian desk [both deceased], to form the Indigenous Institute, which trained 20 ELCA leaders in a better understanding of Native Americans.

In retirement I was invited to serve on the ELCA Repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery Task Force, where I continue to serve on the leadership team.

Could you tell me about ECLC?

In September, ECLC will celebrate its 75th anniversary. ECLC has always had a concern for justice. In 1971, ECLC called Barbara Andrews as the first woman pastor in the former American Lutheran Church. In 1973, ECLC supported members of the American Indian Movement with meals in their Wounded Knee trial. Since the 1980s the congregation has supported homeless housing ministries. It continues to support two food shelves. In 1985, ECLC became a Reconciling in Christ congregation. Strong advocacy was given to the Minnesota Marriage Amendment. The congregation partners with Redeemer Lutheran Church in Northeast Minneapolis in the African American community, Iglesia Luterana San Pablo in southeast Minneapolis and Cristo de Paz in El Salvador. Youth groups have traveled to the Pine Ridge Reservation. In 2003 the congregation sued the state of Minnesota over requirements for churches in the “conceal and carry” law.

In a current capital campaign to reduce debt, one-tenth of all contributions are given to community partners. One of those recipients is the Indian Land Tenure Foundation. Members accompanied Pastor Helgemo to Standing Rock [Indian Reservation] to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline at least twice.

There is increasing interest [in learning] the history of settler takeover of Native land, to understand the history as having an ongoing effect on Native people and to ask what is called for from us to address current injustices.

Why did ECLC decide to engage with the Truth and Healing Movement?

The 2016 Churchwide Assembly passed the “Repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery.” Some members paid attention to that action. The trips to Standing Rock followed. Then in 2020 the ELCA Church Council adopted the “Declaration to American Indian and Alaska Native People,” which I brought to ECLC. In October 2021 eight members under the leadership of Pastor Helgemo visited the Lower Sioux Agency, the Mille Lacs Band and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community. Those visits were a great stimulus for more action.

In September 2021 the Indigenous Rights group was formed. [It] has offered many educational experiences for the congregation, including sacred sites tours in the Twin Cities; educational forums on the Doctrine of Discovery; conversations with Vance Blackfox, director for Indigenous ministry and tribal relations; and more. The group prepared a land acknowledgment that is used in the bulletin every Sunday and is encouraged to be used at the beginning of committee meetings, etc.

In initial planning for the ECLC’s 75th anniversary, the theme chosen was “Sacred Ground.” The study portion of the celebration in September through mid-November will focus on the fact that we are on Dakota land and encourage the congregation to ask what that means and how it should inform our relations with Native nations, hopefully as strong advocates for justice for Native nations.

The action to join the Truth and Healing Movement announced by Presiding Bishop Eaton during Holy Week this year encouraged the congregation even more to dig deeper and make even more use of the excellent resources on the ELCA website (www.elca.org/indigenous).

How has work with the movement impacted the congregation?

There is increasing interest [in learning] the history of settler takeover of Native land, to understand the history as having an ongoing effect on Native people and to ask what is called for from us to address current injustices.

The congregation had as many as 60 screens when offering Zooms on the Doctrine of Discovery, the ELCA declaration and conversations with Vance. Twenty-seven members traveled to the Lower Sioux Agency on June 17 to learn from the Rev. John Robertson, a retired Episcopal priest who now works as a cultural interpreter in the Lower Sioux Museum.

Upcoming plans include attendance at the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community Wacipi (powwow) on Aug. 19 and a sacred sites tour led by Rev. Jim Bear Jacobs of the Minnesota Council of Churches on Oct. 7. There will also be several sessions directly related to resources provided for the Truth and Healing Movement during the anniversary celebration time.

Use of the land acknowledgment statement also deepens the understanding of members and calls them to action. Here is the land acknowledgment:

My hope is that we are in the Truth and Healing Movement for the long run. There is so much to be undone to right the wrongs of our past.

“We acknowledge that Edina Community Lutheran Church is located on the traditional, ancestral and contemporary lands of the Dakhota Oyate, the Dakota nation. Treaties developed through exploitation and violence were broken. Tribes were forced to exist on ever smaller amounts of land.

“Acknowledging this painful history, we as a congregation confess our complicity in the theft of Native land and acknowledge that we have not yet honored our treaties. We further confess that Christians and Christian churches have benefited from this land theft. We commit to being active advocates for justice for Native people and to truth telling that leads to healing.”

Another item that appears in our bulletin each week is:

“At ECLC’s Annual Meeting on February 5, 2017, the congregation approved the following statement and made a commitment toward racial justice: Racial injustice continues to thrive in our country and communities. Our Christian response is to walk in solidarity with people of color, because standing silent sanctions continued violence.  We recognize that those who are white, are intertwined in a network of unearned privilege. We, as a congregation, are compelled to advocate for racial justice. We invite other congregations to join together in expressing their commitments to live out our shared faith—active in love—in the struggle for equity and justice.”

What should congregations consider before they engage in this movement?

Ask yourselves why you are considering joining the Truth and Healing Movement. Ask whether you are willing to be changed by what you will learn in the process. Go to the ELCA website to see … what might be best for you to use as you begin. Find Native organizations and people who can be your guides and informers, remembering that leadership must come from those communities and people (but the work of learning will need to come from you).

Take the leap—there is so much to learn, so much to gain as you see the connectedness and begin to remove myths to be fed by the gifts of reality in the Native world these days.

Do you have any closing thoughts you want to share?

I am so grateful that our church is where it is now as it seeks to reclaim relationships that were lost with the end of the NILB. We have tremendous opportunity to become an important ally in working for Native justice. … My hope is that we are in the Truth and Healing Movement for the long run. There is so much to be undone to right the wrongs of our past. I’m a humble volunteer in an exciting justice-oriented congregation.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled the author’s name and listed Richard Magnus as the pastor at ECLC. Both have been corrected. The story also included a reference to Enbridge Line 3 as the pipeline ECLC members protested with Rev. Marlene Helgemo and not the Dakota Access Pipeline. This has been corrected and clarified.

The following is cross-posted from Living Lutheran. You can find the original post here.

Para celebrar el Mes de la Herencia Hispana, del 15 de septiembre al 15 de octubre estamos hablando con luteranos de ascendencia latiné para amplificar las voces de nuestros hermanos en Cristo. Hoy estamos hablando con Rev. Alejandro Mejía, director de la misión evangélica del Sínodo de Delaware-Maryland.

Las respuestas han sido editadas para su publicación.

¿Cómo está usted conectado a la ELCA?

Nací y crecí en Colombia, América del Sur. Mi familia siempre ha pertenecido a la iglesia luterana. Recuerdo estar presente en conversaciones en las que se mencionaba el nombre “ELCA”. Cuando me hice más activo en la iglesia, aprendí sobre los fuertes lazos que hay entre la Iglesia Evangélica Luterana de Colombia y la ELCA. Recuerdo haber visto o escuchado de líderes como Mary Campbell, Rafael Malpica Padilla, por mencionar a algunos que son conocidos y que todavía están entre nosotros. Tiempo después, cuando ya servía a una congregación, me llegó una invitación del Sínodo de Carolina del Sur de la ELCA en los Estados Unidos para servir como desarrollador de misiones entre la creciente comunidad latina.

Todo eso es para decir que la ELCA siempre fue parte de mi jornada de fe, gracias a su asociación con la iglesia en Colombia. Por supuesto que nuestra conexión se ha vuelto directa y más fuerte desde que me mudé a este país.

¿Cómo cree que la ELCA puede amplificar mejor las voces latinés?

Creo que, juntando las caras con las historias, explicando los puntos fuertes de nuestra gente. Debemos fomentar atención y empatía en nuestra iglesia hacia las necesidades y realidades de nuestros hermanos latinés, pero también es necesario que publiquemos historias sobre las habilidades, los puntos fuertes, el poder que existe entre nuestra gente. Somos luchadores; nunca nos echamos para atrás. Eso es algo que hay que mencionar. Por supuesto, aún hay tantas necesidades por satisfacer. Sin embargo, hay tanto que podemos ofrecer para hacer más fuerte a nuestra denominación. Así como contribuimos a la grandeza de este país, también podemos hacerlo en nuestra denominación.

¿En qué formas puede la ELCA ser más inclusiva de la comunidad latiné?

Es importante abrir espacios en la mesa de toma de decisiones donde se sientan los poderosos. Pero no se trata de traer a una persona latiné porque existe la necesidad de cierta diversidad. Se trata de traer suficientes personas de una comunidad en particular, en este caso la comunidad latiné, para que haya una voz más fuerte y asertiva. Para una persona de color es intimidante estar en la mesa con probablemente otras dos o tres, pero en la que todavía somos una minoría.

También es importante tener presente que América Latina está formada por varios países, cada uno con tantas culturas diferentes que nos hacen únicos. Los líderes de nuestra iglesia deben confiar en nosotros, escucharnos, y aprender con nosotros y de nosotros. Podemos prosperar si lo hacemos juntos.

Es esencial ser conscientes de nuestra presencia proporcionando formas en las que podemos sentir que pertenecemos. No porque necesitemos ayuda, sino como iguales. Un ejemplo de ese enfoque podría ser ofrecer interpretación simultánea al español en reuniones como la asamblea de toda la iglesia, entre otros espacios importantes para nuestra vida como iglesia; poniendo a disposición material de adoración, de formación en la fe —por mencionar unos cuantos— en español, escrito por líderes latinés.

Necesitamos más y más líderes latinés listos para servir; por lo tanto, debemos crear formas de capacitar y equipar a las personas de nuestras comunidades facilitando el acceso a la educación. Y no solo seminarios; hay otras profesiones que se necesitan dentro de nuestra iglesia que pueden funcionar por el bien de nuestra comunidad latiné.

Hay muchas oportunidades y maneras que nuestra iglesia podría implementar para poner en práctica el hecho de que todos son bienvenidos, con el fin de que podamos sentir en nuestros cuerpos que, en efecto, somos vistos y apreciados.

¿Cómo ve a la comunidad latiné representada en su sínodo e iglesias locales?

Soy muy afortunado de trabajar con el obispo William Gohl. Él me ha dado la oportunidad de ocupar una posición de liderazgo dentro de nuestro sínodo. Me encantaría ver que esto sucediera en otros sínodos. Me encantaría ver a más ministros latinés en la lista como pastores principales o como diáconos a cargo de programas sólidos dentro de congregaciones y sínodos. Directores juveniles, directores musicales.

¿Qué le da esperanza?

Hay comunidades y ministros en la lista que, a pesar de los retos (inequidad, falta de recursos, racismo), se despiertan cada mañana para trabajar duro y prosperar. Ellos y sus comunidades están marcando una gran diferencia en esta iglesia y esta nación. Tengo esperanza al ver a niños y jóvenes diciendo que aman a la iglesia, y se identifican como cristianos luteranos.

Sé de familias que se suben al automóvil y conducen varias millas solo por la oportunidad de reunirse en torno a la palabra y el sacramento porque sienten que pertenecen. Madres que vienen con sus hijos porque necesitan ser nutridas por el amor de Dios hecho realidad a través de la comunidad. Dios nos ha inspirado a seguir adelante, a nunca echar para atrás, sino a levantarnos si caemos. Y nos levantamos más fuertes, porque no estamos solos.

¿Por qué cosas ora usted?

El fin de la mentalidad patriarcal, de supremacía blanca y despreciativa con la que muchos están acostumbrados a mirarnos. Oro por oportunidades para que nuestras nuevas generaciones sean quienes son, que promovamos el bilingüismo, que fomentemos el aprendizaje de otros idiomas, que nuestras iglesias sean espacios seguros, no para asimilar la cultura dominante, sino para afirmar que la diversidad es uno de los dones más preciosos de Dios y la esencia de Dios.

___________

ENGLISH TRANSLATION

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 we are speaking with Lutherans of Latiné descent to amplify voices of our siblings in Christ. Today we are speaking with Rev. Alejandro Mejia, director for evangelical mission with the Delaware-Maryland Synod.

Responses have been edited for publication.

How are you connected to the ELCA?

I was born and raised in Colombia, South America. My family has always belonged to the Lutheran church. I remember being present at conversations in which the name “ELCA” would be mentioned. When I became more active in the church, I learned about the strong ties between the Iglesia Evangelica Luterana de Colombia and the ELCA. I remember seeing or hearing about leaders such as Mary Campbell, Rafael Malpica Padilla, just to mention some who are well-known and still among us. Later, when I was already serving a congregation, an invitation came from the ELCA South Carolina Synod in the United States to serve among the growing Latino community as a mission developer.

All of that is to say, the ELCA was always part of my faith journey, thanks to its partnership with the church in Colombia. Of course, our connection has become direct and stronger since I moved to this country.

How do you believe the ELCA can better amplify Latiné voices?

I think putting faces and stories together, explaining the strengths that our people have. We need to promote mindfulness and empathy among our church toward the needs and realities of our Latiné siblings, but we also need to put stories out there about the abilities, the strengths, the power that exists within our people. We are fighters; we never step back. That is something that has to be mentioned. Of course, there are so many needs still to be satisfied. However, there is so much that we can offer to make our denomination a stronger one. As we are contributing to the greatness of this country, we are also able to do it within our denomination.

What are ways in which the ELCA can be more inclusive for the Latiné community?

It is important to open spaces at the decision-making table where the powerful sit. But it is not about bringing a Latiné person because there is the need for some diversity. It is about bringing enough people from a particular community, in this case the Latiné community, in order that there is a stronger and assertive voice. It is intimidating for one person of color being at the table with probably another two or three but where, still, we are a minority.

It is also important to keep in mind that the Latino America is made of several countries, each having so many different cultures that make us unique. Leaders from our church need to trust us, listen, and learn with us and from us. We can thrive if we do it together.

Being mindful of our presence by providing ways in which we can feel we belong is essential. Not because we need help, but as equals. One example of that approach could be offering simultaneous interpretation to Spanish at gatherings such as a churchwide assembly, among other important spaces for our life as a church; making available worship, faith formation material—just to mention a few—in Spanish, written by Latiné leaders.

We need more and more  Latiné leaders ready to serve; therefore, we need to create ways to train and equip people from our communities by facilitating access to education. And not only seminaries—there are other professions that are needed within our church that can work for the sake of our  Latiné community.

There are many opportunities and ways that our church could implement in order to put into practice the fact that all are welcome, so that we can feel in our bodies that we are indeed seen and appreciated.

How do you see the Latiné  community represented in your synod/local churches?

I am so fortunate to work with Bishop William Gohl. He has given me the opportunity to occupy a position of leadership within our synod. I would love to see this happening in other synods. I would love to see more Latiné rostered ministers as senior pastors or as deacons in charge of strong programs within congregations and synods. Youth directors, music directors.

What gives you hope?

There are communities and rostered ministers who, despite the challenges—inequity, lack of resources, racism—wake up every morning to work hard and thrive. They and their communities are making a huge difference in this church and nation. I have hope by seeing children and youth saying that they love the church, identifying as Christians Lutherans.

I know about families who get in the car and drive several miles just for the opportunity to gather around word and sacrament because they feel they belong. Single mothers coming with their children because they need to be nurtured by God’s love made real through community. God has inspired us to move forward, to never step back, but rather to rise if we fall. And we rise stronger, because we are not alone.

What do you pray for?

The end of the patriarchal, white supremacist, patronizing mindset from where many are used to looking at us. I pray for opportunities for our new generations to be who they are, that we promote bilingualism, that we encourage learning other languages, that our churches are safe spaces not to assimilate the dominant culture but by affirming that diversity is one of God’s most precious gifts and God’s essence.