A Reflection on EMU

                 In 2011, I graduated from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia and accepted a call to St. Stephen Lutheran. I moved into the parsonage with a cat, a pile of books, and $80,000 worth of Seminary Debt.

                While I was making more money than I’d ever made in my life, I was still in for an economic shock. The first shock came at tax time when I found out I am considered an independent employee for tax purposes, and owed both sides of my Social Security. The second shock was more gradual, a growing realization that, despite living like a monk, money was tight. After paying on student loans, taxes, and tithing to my congregation, only 31% of my paycheck remained. The bank that held my student loans was getting 6% more of my money each month than I was!

                This was a common phenomenon for new clergy at the time, and the Lilly Foundation stepped in to help! They provided a grant to a bunch of “middle judicatories” (in Lutheran lingo Synods) to tackle this crisis. The New Jersey Synod, in partnership with the South West Minnesota Synod, created the Excellence in Ministry Unleashed (EMU) Program to see to the financial wellbeing of clergy on our territory.

Not only did the program pay down a bunch of my debt, but it also offered financial literacy retreats, grants during Covid, and most recently a retirement seminar. I even got to make videos about generosity along with our Emu Lilly (voiced by our own Jim Krombholz) as well as sermon helps for the Gospel of Luke, a gospel that doesn’t shy away from talking about debt and money, poverty and wealth, and what it means to have enough.

                It’s now 2025, I’m in my second call, am married, have two cats, shelves for my books, and am debt free.

The time I spent reflecting on Luke’s Gospel turned into a book. While budget time isn’t without its anxieties, I am now an active participant in our Finance and Stewardship teams, have a keen sense of how congregational choices will impact our family budget, and can talk about generosity and sufficiency in a faithful manner. Thank you EMU!

Well, How’d the Lenten Devotional Go?

From a putting together my own thoughts perspective, it was lovely. I think my 17,000 words about the 7 Central Things of worship could be a springboard for writing something robust, maybe even a book.

But how many people participated? As near as I can tell from the statistics blogger gives me, approximately 30 people followed along every day. The bulk of the people came from the USA, but there were also regulars from the UK, Ireland, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Sweden. Additionally, I had occasional readers from Australia, Canada, India, Germany, Japan, and Poland.

If you’ve not had a chance to read through I’d suggest starting at the table of contents. Alternatively, the most popular posts were those from the personal story section. You can read all 7 of them here. For whatever reason, people were also particularly interested in my engagement with the ecumenical document called Baptism, Eucharist, Ministry.

A Lenten Devotional Blog

Hey all. I’m going to be doing a daily devotional blog about the 7 Central Things of Worship during the season of Lent.

This isn’t exactly a new direction for me. Back after Hurricane Sandy knocked power out in my area for a couple of week, I created a prayer pamphlet for my congregation that eventually became Read, Reflect, Pray. Somehow this work launched me into a place where I was able to assist in editing the current edition of Minister’s Prayer Book.

Since then, I’ve dabbled with doubling down on writing about the 7 Central Things, even creating a series of 21 questions that, that I think could help liturgical churches answer the big “what’s next?” question hanging over all of our heads.

At one point, I hoped to do a Sabbatical in which I’d spend 10 weeks focused on writing a book about the above questions and how Paul, as we understand him in light of the New Perspective, might answer some of those questions, or at least give us some fresh rhetoric to use when talking about worship these days. I thought it might be a book that could save the Church!

At another point, I’d planned on doing a D. Min. focused on the 7 Central Things; three years studying early church liturgies in hopes of discovering how the central things of worship might be decentered and scattered out into the world, being salt and light. I imagined such a thesis might provide scaffolding for a liturgy for the post-Covid post-Christendom world.

Instead of all that, I’ll follow the Hip-Hopper KRS-ONE’s advice, “Know the story of your own success, or you won’t be successful.” I’ll go back to writing some simple devotions.

I’ll be publishing 47 reflections on the 7 Central Things of worship. Each series of reflections will begin in scripture, point to a personal experience, mine a thinker who engages with the aspect of worship, poke at the “what now?” question, give a broad-brush summary of the subject, and close in prayer. I hope this devotional blog speaks to people’s hearts, possibly provokes some faithful thoughts, and may be a first draft of something more in the future.

Pandemic: COVID19 Edition

Pandemic: COVID19 Edition

            Hi all. In the midst of the current global pandemic, I thought I would offer a little catharsis—a variant of/add on to the board game Pandemic.

            The main differences come:

-In the set up stage.

-Restricting the first three turns.

-And the addition of COVID19 World Event Cards that reflect actual news reports. 

Click here to download the word document with the game varients.

Enjoy!

People die all the time

People die all the time

A few days back it was like
someone flipped a cruel yellow switch.

Everyone started saying, “People die all the time.”

I think it was right after we passed
the Vietnam War casualty mark.

Perhaps that was triggering?

The Pandemic needed to be
made into a Kulture Kampf

America can’t understand
or control
the Virus,
but a good ol’ fashioned 

Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Culture War;

America was made for one those!

And so the rallying cry:

People die all the time

It’s the flu, people die all the time

Only vulnerable people die all the time

We want haircuts… people die all the time

It is a Chinese conspiracy and people die all the time

It just kills the old and the weak; people die all the time

The doctors and nurses are faking it, people die all the time

“How do we know they didn’t die of underlying medical conditions? 

“After all, people die all the time.”

Here’s the thing, they’re dead right

A parishioner watched his elderly neighbor’s corpse removed by cops after a wellness check.
“People die all the time.”

South of us the funeral director did two and a half years worth of funerals in a month.
“People die all the time.”

They say 2 people a day die on average at the local hospital, 70 a day this April.
“People die all the time.”

Our crematorium is now two weeks behind schedule and

one county north of us, they’re backed up by five weeks.
“People die all the time.”

My wife has a compromised immune system

and I have a congenital heart condition…
people die all the time

And yet we want to live.

Reopening a Congregation Responsibly

              So big caveat, this is a thought experiment, if it helps you think about your congregation’s eventual reopening, good. All I’m doing is ruminating on the Governor’s plan, 3 Texas Synod’s recommendations, and the Wisconsin Council of Churches two resources. That said, there is a growing movement in my state of congregations saying, “Slow down!” For that matter, until there is a vaccine, the best we can hope for is to do church in a way that keeps our people healthy in mind, body, and soul.

              With all throat clearing, some initial thoughts.

RISK & NEED:

Firstly, I looked at my congregation’s mission statement:
“St. Stephen Lutheran: a worshiping community of the ELCA, where the faith is taught, connections are made, and people are cared for.”

              Here is a chart considering how essential and risky aspects of each of those parts are as currently practices (again, a little throat clearing, this is my assessment with some coffee and a little time… I might rate them differently tomorrow or even this evening)

MANAGING RISKS:

Worship (Services and Choir)
              Sunday services will need to be multiplied, modified, and remote.

Multiplied:
This is essential for Social Distancing, if families are going to stay 6 feet away from other families there need to be enough services that there is space in the building to do this safely. Also, in between worship services there will need to be heavy cleaning.

Modified:
-All mobile objects should be removed from the sanctuary so that there are less things that can be touched; extra surfaces spread the Virus.
-In person worship might need to be done outside for a time.
-Congregants have to be responsible that will mean: not attending worship if they are part of a vulnerable population, wearing masks in service for a good while, and entering and exiting in a sensible manner. IF THIS ISN’T POSSIBLE IT IS NOT YET TIME TO WORSHIP IN PERSON.
-Bulletins will have to be left on seats and not reused and the offering will have to be modified.
-For a time singing, the peace, and Holy Communion will have to be omitted from the service.

Remote:
-This is something the congregation has likely been doing. What will change is that we’ll need to create a hybrid in-person/on-line type of worship. Think of it as “Taped in front of a live studio audience.” The trick is that where there are people attending the taping there will be privacy concerns; how do you respect congregants privacy while also ensuring vulnerable congregants at home get to participate in worship?

Choir:
This is tough to say, but singing is one of the major ways the virus spreads. In fact, meeting as a choir can be deadly.

ELCA:  
              Continuing to tithe to the Synod is harder with irregular offerings, but not risky. Additionally, in our Synod the Bishop is going to provide worship this coming Sunday and our Synod Assembly has been moved to September. So, not too much risk.

Partners:          
              The ELCA prides ourselves on our Ecumenical and Interfaith bent, as well as our willingness to partner with a wide variety of secular organizations. On the other hand, the danger with partners is they have different values and ways of doing things. So, for example, one of my ecumenical partners let an infected person wander through our sanctuary. To them it was no big deal, to us it was.
              Creating boundaries in partnerships and clearly expressing values and operating procedures is always essential, but even more so when this is life and death stuff.

Taught:             
              We have seven different learning opportunities at St. Stephen. One of them are already running online via Zoom with another on the way that will be one part zoom and another part YouTube. Additionally, our outdoor Learning, Lawn chairs, and Lemonade Learning/Fellowship event fits social distancing fairly well, though perhaps it will need to be a Bring Your Own Lemonade (BYOL) event.
              But there are other Bible Studies that are less obvious how they’ll fit. For example, a bible study in the home of an at risk parishioner and another in a local pub. How does that work?

Connections:
              How do we do fellowship now? I think Coffee Hour is just out of the question for a good long time. For that matter, the majority of our fellowship groups are made up of people who are considered especially at risk of contracting the Virus… Perhaps it all has to go!

People:
              The Body of Christ in the world is made up of people, hubs of interconnected lives that are salt and light for the world, close contact and ongoing relationship, being gathered and sent, is innate to who we are… and that same interconnection transmits the virus; gathering and sending is sinister in this situation! We’re going to have to be so careful as we live out our call to care for people.

-This one tears me up, but I won’t be able to visit the homebound for a long time, and the hospitalized for even longer. These folk are incredibly susceptible to the Virus and I can not unintentionally infect someone, full stop. For that matter, our hospitals don’t have enough gowns and masks for the doctors and nurses, they sure as heck will not prioritize outsiders. All this means I gotta make phone calls, write letters, and encourage congregants to do the same.
-Our Pop-up Food Pantry has done a good job modifying how we are serving folk; we are bagging the food separately and depositing it in folk’s trunks. It isn’t ideal, but it is the best we can do; there are so many hungry folk in this time of quarantine.
-Then there is the council and committee end of things. I think we’ll continue to find out how many meetings could just be emails, and zooming when necessary, for a good long time.

A HYPOTHETICAL ROADMAP:

              Again, a little throat clearing, this is SO hypothetical, just playing out what people who are thinking through reopening for a living have said this might look like. Remember Clausewitz, “No plan survives first contact with the enemy.”

May 15^th (this is the date some people are talking about opening schools here) Phase 1 begins
In the World: 
              New Jersey has had two weeks of fewer new cases of the virus, two weeks of fewer people on ventilators, and two weeks of hospital beds opening up; in general we have more recoveries than new cases. The Governor “soft-opens” the state.

In the Church:
              In phase one everything is still done remotely, the only change is that the Director of Music, the Pastor, and a Videographer are present in the building to broadcast worship.

May 29^th A Relapse
In the World:  Everyone went out on Memorial Day, new cases of the virus spike.
In the Church: We go back to broadcasting at home.

June 15^th Phase 1 again

June 29^th Phase 2 Begins

In the World:  Phase one works this time. People are more cautious.

In the Church: We jump up to 3 worship services, one of which is broadcast remotely. Everyone who worships in person wears a mask. The service is projected on a screen, or typed on a simple one page throw away bulletin. Vulnerable populations are required to attend online. Offering is placed in a plate at the entrance to the sanctuary, we do not pass the peace, and we do not sing (though we do listen to an amazing prelude and postlude). Council experiments with a meeting where they socially distance in the sanctuary and wear masks. Everything else is still done remotely.

July 13^th Phase 3 Begins

In the World:  The initial scare after the first phase one must have really jolted people. Everyone is following protocols. Good times!

In the Church: At this point we collapse down to 2 in person services, one of which is broadcast remotely. The vulnerable are still required to attend online, not in person. The bulletin is a little more robust, peace now involves a reverent bow to your neighbor. A soloist sings. Everything else in worship is still like phase 2. Outdoor learning opportunities are offered along with ongoing online ones, the start of a hybrid system. Pastor begins to spend longer in the church office. Committees begin to meet in a socially distanced manner.

August 1^st Phase 4 Begins

In the World:  The Virus has fallen for 42 days straight! Things are getting back to “normal”.

In the Church: We go back down to one in person service and one remote service. Masks are removed, communion, though still modified for safety, is added back, limited singing returns. The choir begins to meet and practice. Bible study returns to “normal” though Pastor still offers YouTube summaries for the vulnerable. Pastor resumes office hours and begins to visit the homebound, and the hospitalized as appropriate.

October 1^st Corona Season begins

In the World:  We don’t yet have a vaccine. It turns out the Virus is like the Flu, and comes back seasonally.

In the Church: We know how to deal with this… we return to Shelter in place, or Phase one, depending on how severe everything is.

CONCLUSION:

              Look at your congregational values and the activities that flow from them. How essential are they? How Risky are they?

              Perhaps cease to do the less essential things, especially if they are risky. Find ways to minimize the risks of things that are essential. Move slowly, this isn’t flipping a switch, this is becoming something new, it takes time. Also, we’re the church, don’t move at the same pace as the world; it is in our DNA to care for people more than profit, that is not so for those making decisions about re-opening things.

              Be safe!

What people are saying about "Minister's Prayer Book"

As you can see by my excitement at getting an early Editor's edition of Minister's Prayer Book: An Order of Prayers and Readings, I'm kinda excited about thing.

I just thought I'd share with you all the reviews:

"Ministers, like all Christians, need to pray. Yet they often need help to pray as they yearn to do. Generations have found this classic a faithful companion through each week, through the Christian year, and through the dimensions of pastoral vocation--all in conversation with Scripture and the church's wisdom. This affectionate update freshens language and expands sources to reflect ministry in our time, when ministers are more diverse but prayer is as urgent as ever." --Elizabeth Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

"Minister's Prayer Book has supported me and countless others for many years. Its organizing principle of Scripture, prayer, and meditation is fundamentally right. This pastoral guide now reappears in a thoughtfully updated version, its classical structure intact but with the addition of new prayers and contemporary voices. It is a reclaimed treasure. I will be using it again on a daily basis. It belongs in every minister's hands--and heart." --Richard Lischer, Duke Divinity School, author of Open Secrets: A Memoir of Faith and Discovery

"After four decades in ministry, I still find that one simple practice has grounded me on the best days and the most challenging days. Reading a daily devotion, drawn from holy Scripture and a rich array of theological writings and prayers, has been my practice for many years. This revised version of Doberstein's Minister's Prayer Book, enhanced by new selections and fresher language, holds a treasure trove for pastors, deacons, and all Christians. Open it and see." --Patricia J. Lull, bishop of the Saint Paul Area Synod, ELCA

"Here, prayer and preaching are grounded in God's down-to-earth gospel, not in mystical flights of the soul. With Luther and Bonhoeffer, Doberstein guides the minister 'to know the blessings of God's word, heard personally in all its severity and love.' This revised edition is a gift to a new generation." --David L. Tiede, professor and president emeritus, Luther Seminary

"If you find prayer difficult, this book is for you. If you find prayer easy, this book is for you. If you are dry in prayer, you will find this book a font. If your prayer flows, you will find fresh streams. New, old, and ancient prayers have been carefully selected and brilliantly arranged, well-suited for both rookie and veteran ministers as a resource in their service to others and even more so in the enrichment of their own prayer life." --Matthew Riegel, bishop of West Virginia-Western Maryland Synod, ELCA

"As a young pastor, I searched in vain for a faithful and effective devotional book compatible with Lutheran theology, liturgical rhythms, and the fast pace of ministry. This resource fulfills that ministry-long search. Updated with contemporary writers and the introduction of women's voices, this revision of a classic provides adaptable methods and materials that support today's demanding, uncharted ministries in mission. It engages a foundational gift of the Reformation: spirituality solidly grounded in God's word. I heartily recommend it and will use it for pastoral formation with the seminarians I teach." --Mary Sue Dreier, professor of pastoral care and missional leadership, Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary of Lenoir-Rhyne University

"This revised edition makes a devotional classic available to a new generation of ministers. Those of us who have found the riches of the Minister's Prayer Book to be helpful in all phases of our vocation will find it now has been coordinated with the Common Lectionary and has brought new voices into its collection of readings. It meets the many challenges specific to ministry with the rich spiritual resources of every age--including our own." --H. George Anderson, presiding bishop emeritus, ELCA 

In Book News

Hi all. I just wanted to make sure everyone knew that I have two new books available. One is a re-write of Shakespeare’s Richard the Third, Richardless: The One Where He Dies in Act 1, Scene Two and the other is a revision of Doberstein’s "Minister’s Prayer Book" that I was a co-editor on.

Here is a blurb about Minister's Prayer Book:

"Since it first appeared in print in 1959, John Doberstein's Minister's Prayer Book has been a devotional classic among Lutheran pastors. Written by a pastor for other pastors, Doberstein's work recognizes the need for the pastor to drink from a well of rich resources to sustain the spiritual vitality needed to serve faithfully in parish ministry. The fact that this manual of devotion is still available more than fifty years later is a testament to the timelessness of the collection Doberstein gathered, as well as to his own pastoral acumen. Other than a minor revision made in 1986 by Philip Pfatteicher to update the propers, there has been no attempt to bring fresh material to Doberstein's work, no attempt to update it for a new generation. Until now. This revised edition recognizes the increasingly diverse face of clergy. New resources--prayers and readings written by women, people of color, and Christians from around the world--give the collection a broader appeal. The beauty of the Minister's Prayer Book is its intentional re-centering of the pastor's calling on word and sacrament, on pastoral care, and on being fully present and engaged in the lives of God's people."

They are Home: The Commander in Chief must not act like this!

            Donald Trump’s latest tweet, telling four congresswomen of color to go home, just hit me so hard. I’m in tears… and I’m a white guy, I can only imagine how this feels to folk who have regularly been told, “go back to where you came from.” 

            I am struck that the Commander in Chief would speak like this, that the president would say such a thing about members of congress. 

            For whatever reason, his actions take me back to my childhood as a NATO brat. We occasionally had drills about getting nuked or overran by the Communists. We were told to find our parents, or failing that, to find adults we trusted. The two adults I decided on were Dr. Omar and Rob. 

            The Commander in Chief of the United States Military was not only attacking Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, and Rep. Ilhan Omar—he is also saying Rob and Dr. Omar aren’t really Americans. They would die for this country! For that matter, “The Squad”represents and serves nearly three million Americans… that’s 5 of my home state of Wyoming… that’s a lot of Americans!

            What kind of President uses his bully pulpit as a bullhorn for the worst impulses of our country? What kind of President injects that kind of hate into our nation’s veins? What kind of President holds millions of citizens in such low disregard, and states it publically?

            What kind of Commander in Chief insults 40%of the troops he commands?

A prayer for “The Squad”:

            Lord God, our President’s words are endangering the lives of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, and Rep. Ilhan Omar, please shield them and protect them, please keep them safe. Do not let them be demonized, do not let them be used to scare people, and do not let the evil done to them have its intended effect. 

            Instead Lord, take “The Squad” and use them to do good for this nation and prosper all who live herein. Strengthen them daily for their vocation as Congresswomen. 

            Dear Lord, be kind to them. In Jesus name. Amen.

A prayer for everyone who has been told to “Go Home”:

            There is no rest, until we rest in you, and yet… and yet Lord, this nation can be a place to be and be safe for a time. Lord, it is not so. Millions of your children are insulted, denigrated, hated. Please heal the wounds inflicted upon them. Please make it so such hatred may never again be used against them.

            Also, please turn the hearts of those who have attacked them, turn them from their sin that they might be transformed. 

            Make of our imperfect nation a home. In Jesus name. Amen.

Oh No, The World is Changing vs. Look, a New World! (Newsletter article)

              I received a letter from my home congregation Christ Lutheran, Cheyenne Wyoming, informing me that it was closing. It was a shock; it sort of knocked me off of my spiritual center of gravity. I mean, for me it was one thing that Lutheran congregations around St. Stephen were closing—after all on the East Coast only 1 in 4 members attend on any given Sunday, whereas “back home” Lutheran congregations have double the attendance—half of the congregation attends any given Sunday—which makes it much easier to keep a congregation afloat and energized. So, I went down that sad rabbit hole of thought, “If congregations in an area of the country where there is a cultural expectation that everyone attends church can’t make it… what chance do we have here?”

              Coloring all of that, of course, was all the emotional ties I had with the people of Christ Lutheran and yes, even the building. It was the place I first heard that God was gracious, the pulpit from which I preached my first sermons! I was losing an incredibly important part of my past! My very identity was being pulled out from under me!

Ouch!

              I was unable to attend the closing of the congregation, but I was able to send them a brief letter that was read at the closing:

Grace and peace,
This is Chris Halverson, I was a member of Christ Lutheran in my high school years. I received the letter informing me of Christ Lutheran’s imminent closure. I’ve not worshiped at Christ since traveling back to Cheyenne for my 10 year East High graduation; Seminary in Philadelphia and being called to be a Lutheran church in New Jersey has kept me away. I just want everyone to know how much you all mean to me. The wide variety of ways you all ministered to me—the community, the openness and love, all of it, was just what I needed as the sensitive teenager I was; you were truly the body of Christ to me. Thank you all so very much!

Peace,
Chris Halverson

              When I started to write (and re-write, and re-write again) the above paragraph I did so mourning the past, that everything was changing, my story was changing.

              But by the time I send the letter the direction my heart was headed had flipped. I was so thankful for the good I experienced at Christ—in fact I wanted to pass it on! What if in my ministry… in the congregation I serve and the congregations I will serve… I could help create communities of openness and love, where we can be the body of Christ for whole hosts of people who need it? What if a changed story, a loss of place, the deep sorrow of looking back at what was… what if all of that could prompt us to look forward? We’re not losing an old world, but finding a new one, flowing out in front of us to explore. What if the whole thing is a grand new adventure?

              I don’t know how that shift occurs, that moment mid-paragraph that moves the soul from grief to hope, but I’m so glad it happened for me. I hope it has happened for folk from St. Peter’s and Cross of Life and St. Stephen, Edison. I hope it happens for the entire church as we continually wake up to the new world in which we minister. We experienced the Church as a life giving, resurrection laced place, and now, in this new world we are in, we get to create just such a place for others! Thanks be to God!

Some thoughts on ULS

Trigger warning—Conversion Therapy, Gaslighting, and Rape.

So, first off, here is some background from wiser and more informed people than I about what is currently happening at ULS, a new seminary built out of LTSP, where I attended, and LTSG.

Here are the closest thing to official notes we have.

Here are some really good unofficial notes from Pastor Lura Groen.

Here are Pastor Groen’s follow up reflections.

Here, as well, is ELM’s statement.

Finally, here is where a bunch of letters in support of Dr. Latini from the board and bishops were, but have since been taken down.

A History of This

            In my first year at LTSP the non-first year students would occasionally mention a rape that was “covered up” on campus. It was my first year and there was so much going on that I never dug any deeper.

            Then a well-known and beloved campus security officer was fired, and the students were not told what that was all about. He may or may not have taken petty cash. I distinctly remember some students fighting against the administration’s silence by setting up a camera hovering over a 20-dollar bill in the quad.

            Then there was a passive aggressive fight between faculty and students in favor of “Black Church and Multi-cultural” Worship and those who favored “Orthodox Lutheran” (read European) Worship. The whole thing felt like it was done in whispers and shadows and was really dysfunctional. This conflagration eventually heated up to the point that the administration let it be known that there are things students just don’t need to be aware of, the seminary isn’t our home, it is only a place we’re at for a while, so students should just stick to their studies.

            Then a campus group hid a rat infestation in the compost, the administration cleared it out without telling anyone—and somehow this open secret and lack of communication led to a completely unnecessary blow up on campus.

            Still later, there were rumors that the Seminary had no money and none of us would get a degree because Philly was going to lose its accreditation on account of this lack of funds.

            Then there was all the semi-secrets that floated around about the creation of ULS—I was gone by then, but hear tell it fit the pattern above.

            All that to say, LTSP had an ongoing transparency and communications issue. It seemed to be fused into its DNA. So, one of my deepest hopes for the dissolution of LTSP and LTSG and the forming of ULS was that that part of LTSP’s DNA would be left behind.

The Present Situation

            And along comes the revelation that Dr. Latini, ULS’s first president, was the CEO and poster child of a gay conversion organization. She did not disclose this on her resume, because she didn’t include anything about herself before she was ordained. She later told Rev. Dr. Elise Brown, the chair of ULS’s board, about her past. Rev. Dr. Brown made some inquires on her own and then did not pass this information on to the board. Then, either in November or December, she did so, maybe after a board member was informed of Dr. Latini’s history. Fast forward to February, somehow this information got out, and everyone feels betrayed or worse. 

A few thoughts:

-Reparative Therapy is unconscionable.

-In the 1990’s, living in Wyoming, I was at a very different place in my understanding of sexual orientation and gender issues writ large and might have bought Reparative Therapy as a humane way to help gay folk. Moving out of Wyoming, the enormous cultural shifts in our country during that time, and frankly exposure to LGBT+ people (especially at LTSP) has made such a position seem disgusting to me today.
-I feel for Dr. Latini. Reading between the lines I’d imagine part of the reason she applied to work for an ELCA seminary was because folk from all sides of her own denomination (PCUSA) had used her “conversion” and then her repudiation of conversion therapy as a bludgeon against one another. I can imagine just wanting to start fresh, let the Lutherans take me as I am now without using my person and past in polarizing ways.

-Having gone through the candidacy and call process of the ELCA—I was under a microscope for 6 years just to get interviewed for a call. Then before the “job interview” they googled my name, they read multiple pages of search results, and read basically every one of my blog entries (poor call committee, I’m freakin’ tedious). I wish ULS’s board had done at least that in this situation regarding Dr. Latini’s online footprint.

-Within that process, at my call vote, the congregation I serve asked me about my sexual orientation (which I refused to reveal). I’m a straight white cis-guy and that line of questioning made me feel uncomfortable and angry. I wonder how Dr. Latini is feeling as East Coast Lutherandom scrutinizes that aspect of her life.

-I wonder too how LGBT+folk at ULS are holding up? What would they like folk connected but outside the institution to be doing?

-Reading the notes from the Q and A session, the ULS board seems out of touch with a world where Google exists and LGBT+folk ought to be respected like everyone else. I’m especially surprised by Dr. Brown’s part in all of this. As a board member of ELM I wouldn’t expect that she would hide information about gay conversion therapy or be part of a group who would write off such a thing as “no big deal.”

-I’m astonished the board and bishops who wrote letters defending Dr. Latini would take them down—this isn’t 1984, there are no memory holes.

-There needs to be a non-board group that establishes a clear timeline of what happened and who knew what when, because the official one has holes in it and feels like something is being hidden.

-I pray for ULS.

My question:

The way in which Dr. Latini was hired seems to fit LTSP’s pattern of miscommunication and resistance to transparency. ULS is still a very young institution, how will ULS use this particular blow-up as a place from which to brake this pattern you’ve inherited from one of your parent institutions?

A Review of "The Gospel of John: Church and Culture in Conflict"

The Gospel of John: Church and Culture in Conflict by Gregg Knepp
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Five Big Stars!!!
Disclaimer—I served under Pastor Gregg as a Vicar at St. John’s Pimlico, so I’m biased.
I can’t say enough good things about Pastor Gregg’s book “The Gospel of John: Church and Culture in Conflict”.
This book reads the Gospel of John in light of Pastor Gregg’s experiences as, essentially, a Lutheran Human Shield in El Salvador, his time serving at St. John’s in NW Baltimore, and his experience as a parent of both biological and adopted kids. This book will give you an “in” into the head and heart of a very faithful Pastor.
I first read it devotionally, it reminded me of why I got into this business in the first place, the nuances of faith lived in the world as it is, it both convicted me and convinced me to be a better Pastor of the congregation I serve.
I am now using it as the main resource for a bible study on the Gospel of John. It is really helpful. I’ve been looking at scripture with this same crew of people every Thursday for 6 years, and Pastor Gregg’s book has brought us to a much deeper place of discussion than we’ve ever been at!
So, if you are clergy in need of a rerooting of your ministry, buy this book. If you are leading a Bible Study or book club, or want to, buy this book. For that matter, if you’re a skeptic or burnt out on church and church folk—this book is the real deal, not going to say it’ll convert you, but it’ll remind you why Christianity and Christian ain’t all bad, in fact at our best we’re pretty damn good!


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Dance, a poem

I recently attended the Adult Congenital Heart Association's 8th annual conference. It was an incredible experience that I'm still processing. The conference ended with a gala and people getting out on the dance floor... here's a poetic initial reflection about all that:

Dance

“So dance, dance,

Like it’s the last,

Last night of your life, life”

A dance floor where Usher and Pitbull sing

“DJ got us fallin’ in love”

Not my scene, scene

…Like really not my scene, scene

“So dance, dance,

Like it’s the last,

Last night of your life, life”

But it was my scene

Because it was my people

Adults with Congenital Heart Defects, defects

Dancing all there together on the dance floor, floor

“So dance, dance,

Like it’s the last,

Last night of your life, life”

I didn’t even know I had a people

A night with peers

I felt normal for the first time, time…

… Nah, I felt they knew my normal, normal

“So dance, dance,

Like it’s the last,

Last night of your life, life”

Dance with your oxygen tube in your nose

And tank in a fashionable bag

Dance up on that doc who sent you home to die, die

Dance because it’s not the last night of your life, life

“So dance, dance,

Like it’s the last,

Last night of your life, life”

Dance for the rolling veins from your Blalock Shunt

Dance for zippers and scars outside and in

Dance for all those whose last night came too soon, soon

Dance because you’ll see the dawn, dawn.