As the church, we hope that we can be a contrary voice of radical inclusion rather than exclusion and segregation.
As Christ’s body, we preach love for all; but, are we ready for what that “love for all” really means?Lutheranism, at its best, champions a God who gives of Godself first, who gives freely of grace and forgiveness, who welcomes
everyone to live in love. But, as we approach the 500th
anniversary of the 16th Century Reformation, we are sorry to see Lutheranism reduced to a caricature of cultural norms, a caricature extremely limited in its
scope. Garrison Keillor and
Jell-O have become more synonymous with Lutheran than service to neighbor, grace, and justice. “You know you might be Lutheran if…” jokes have come to define our denomination.
For some people, this may seem a harmless and even funny byproduct of tradition. But, for many Lutherans, this perpetuates a dominant culture and excludes other cultural norms which frequent our church communities. These quips and cultural assumptions do Christ’s church a disservice—God’s love is for everyone, not just white people who eat
Jell-O.
Recently, I attended the first ever Decolonize Lutheranism Conference in Chicago. This was a day of relationship, conversation, prayer, subversion, witness, and truth—in short, I participated in the most meaningful and challenging worship I’ve ever experienced. When I returned to the Lutheran Church of Mahomet the following day, many people had questions for me about what Decolonize Lutheranism is all about. Generally, I will say that Decolonize Lutheranism is a complicated movement which deserves more than a short answer; the movement is emotionally and spiritually wrought with pain, truth, and a longing for justice and deserves more than a typed answer. I am always willing to take a phone call or meet someone face to face to talk about this more, and we at LCM will be organizing intentional and safe ways to participate in this conversation.
But this Epiphany newsletter seems an appropriate place to supply an overview regarding what this movement is all about. On January 6, the worldwide church remembered when royalty and wise people journeyed to meet the newborn Jesus. Circumventing the evil and violence of King Herod, these people journeyed to Bethlehem to pay homage to the Christ-child. The way this story unfolds reminds us of the diversity into which God is born and the diversity into which God’s promises seek.
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