MCCGSL Celebrates Landmark Supreme Court Ruling

Today, in the hallowed halls of the U.S. Supreme Court, history was made. After decades of work by activists, lobbyists, and everyday folks marching in the streets or simply talking to family members, it is now illegal to fire someone because of their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.

Human Rights Campaign president Alphonso David said this decision is a "landmark victory for LGBTQ equality."

Supreme Court analyst and University of Texas law professor, Steve Vladeck said, "Today's decision is one of the court's most significant rulings ever with respect to the civil rights of gay and transgender individuals. On its terms, the decision is only about discrimination in the workplace, but it inevitably opens the door to a host of other challenges to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or transgender status on the ground that it, too, is impermissible based upon sex. In that respect, only the court's 2015 ruling recognizing a constitutional right to same-sex marriage may be equally as significant."

Currently, we are facing so many adversities and challenges to human rights: the imperiled lives of Black Americans, the coronavirus, and growing anxieties over the looming election season. So while there remains much work to be done, today is a day to truly pause and celebrate. This ruling represents a tidal shift in the way America recognizes the inherent dignity of trans* and queer people of all types. In the 51 years since Stonewall, we have come out and proven our worth. Today, the Supreme Court honors what God always knew...what MCC has always taught...that every part of the rainbow, LGBTQIA+, is beloved, precious, and a part of the image of God that we call humanity.

Today, we celebrate. Tomorrow, we keep working to ensure that every life, especially Black Lives, are held and treated as sacred.

Black Lives Matter

Jesus left for us the work of reconciliation, justice, and renewal. In our community, this includes dismantling white supremacy and confronting systematic racism. We must start with ourselves and our community, so join us for upcoming programs to educate ourselves and one another. See our programming page on our Web Page for available programs.

Celebrate Pride This Month

This month, we will be focusing on LGBTQ liberation and how our liberation is wound up with the liberation of all people -- especially our BIPOC (black, indigenous, people of color) family. Throughout the month, we will explore people, movements, and ideas that have shaped the movement for LGBTQ inclusion and equality.

On Thursdays we Queer the Bible with Pastor Wes and Dr. Teresa O'Flynne. Join us as we de-code passages used against LGBTQ people and highlight positive stories of queer folk in the Bible.

On Sunday, we support Moms Demand Action Day Against Gun Violence by contemplating non-violence with Rev. Pressley Sutherland. Orange is the color of gun violence awareness, so consider wearing orange on Sunday and taking a photo of yourself to show your support.

Next Monday, think about joining our Book Club, celebrating the young voices in the LGBTQ movement by reading Rainbow Briefs by Kira Harp.

Continue looking for ways we will celebrate Pride in worship, films, and discussion all month. At the end of the month, we will continue our liberating work by turning our focus to ways we can use what we know to fight for the liberation of our BIPOC family.

Don't Give Up!

Last week, I shared one of my favorite poems: Wild Geese by Mary Oliver. Recently, Adrrie Kusserow wrote her own version of this poem.

As you read, think about how you might rewrite this poem during these times. What message do you have for yourself? What message do you have for the world? What might you let go of and what might you remind yourself of?

Mary Oliver for Corona Times
(Thoughts after the poem Wild Geese)
by Adrie Kusserow

You do not have to become totally zen,
you do not have to use this isolation to make your marriage better,
your body slimmer, your children more creative.
You do not have to “maximize its benefits”
by using this time to work even more,
write the bestselling Corona Diaries,
or preach the gospel of ZOOM.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body unlearn
everything capitalism has taught you,

(That you are nothing if not productive,
that consumption equals happiness,
that you are at your best when you resemble an efficient machine).

Tell me about your fictions, the ones you’ve been sold,
and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world as we know it is crumbling
Meanwhile The News barks at you, harsh and addicting.

Meanwhile a new paradigm is composing itself in our minds,
could birth at any moment if we clear some space
from the same tired hegemonies.
Remember, you are allowed to be still as the white birch,
stunned by what you see.

Even if your life looks nothing like the Sabbath,
your stress boa-constricting your chest.
Know that your antsy kids, your terror, your shifting moods,
your need for a drink have every right to be here,

remind yourself over and over,
all the swells and storms that run through your long tired body
all have their place here, now in this world.
It is your birthright to be held
deeply, warmly in the family of things,
not one cell left in the cold.

May you know that you are enough no matter what your days look like in these times. Remember to reach out to friends, family, and your pastors if you are wanting some company or are in need of being reminded of your importance in our family.

Just Be Your Own Beautiful Self

One of my favorite poets is Mary Oliver. Every morning, Oliver would go outside to welcome the sunrise, listen to the birds, and wake up alongside the natural world. She disciplined herself to writing every day, her observations of nature guiding her poetry. One of her most famous poems is Wild Geese, a poem that she says just came to her one still morning. Today, read this poem and let it seep into your soul. What comfort do you find in these words today? What challenges you? What gives you hope?

Wild Geese, Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

May you find peace, and grounding this day and this weekend. May you find assurance that you are a unique expression of God and you have an important place in the family of things.

Celebrate Mother's Day

This year, Mother's Day will feel different in every way. For those who are accustomed to taking their mom out on Mother's Day for a special meal or going out to do something fun together, you are probably planning something online or at a distance. For those who have lost their moms or have no relationship with their mom, this might be a year where the pain of that loss is particularly close.

So, during Worship on Sunday, we will be having a special blessing for our mothers or for the motherly figures in our lives. We invite you to bring photos of your mother(s) or motherly figure(s) to the space in which you worship. We will ask you to hold or touch the picture(s) during the blessing -- or, if you prefer, simply close your eyes and draw on your precious memories of your mom. After the blessing, you may wish to lay a flower next to the pictures as a remembrance of this special time.

Think about inviting your mom to share worship with you on Sunday. This might be a unique year you can worship together. Or, take a picture and send it to your mom or motherly figure, if feasible, and let her know your church prayed for her on this special day.

Come to the Well

In this season of trail, it is important to remind ourselves of the promises of Scripture. Throughout the Bible, God and Jesus are referred to in many different ways, using many different metaphors.

Many of those metaphors for the Divine evoke images of God's strength in times of trouble or need. The Bible calls God a Strong Tower, a Rock, a Refuge, a Shelter, a Great Physician, a Healer, the Almighty, and our Deliverer. And of course, this list just begins to scratch the surface.

This Sunday Pastor Lauren and I will be talking about Jesus as our Shepherd, the one who would lay down his life for his sheep. But today, I want to share one of my favorite worship songs with you. In this song, the metaphor for God/Jesus is a "well." In this time when we may be feeling a bit empty, run dry, or just stranded in a lonely desert, this song offers a beautiful invitation to come to our God, the Well. With our God, "those who thirst will thirst no more, and those who search will find what their souls long for." May God be your Well today, and may this short video bless your Spirit.

Easter Reflection from Pastor Lauren

Resurrection Sunday!

We began this Lenten journey with ashes on our foreheads remembering that from ashes we came and to ashes we will return. Then, we took a 6-week journey reflecting on God’s ability to speak right through the middle of our ordinary lives. When entering upon this journey, who would have thought that we would spend over much of this Lenten season fasting from our ordinary lives? Who could have imagined we would be forced to reframe the meaning of practices like worship, prayer, sacrament, food, and community so significantly?

Collectively, we have experienced anxiety, grief, sorrow, and loss this Lenten season. Unfortunately, our Resurrection Sunday celebration does not coincide with going back to our ordinary lives, but will we ever return to life exactly as it was before this Lenten journey? I hope not. Lent should transform us and our relationship with God. For the rest of our lives, we will remember this Lenten journey. We will know where we were this Easter.

When we get to reunite at church, when we can go to the grocery store without masks on, when we can hug each other, and go out to eat, I imagine our hugs will be tighter, our kisses sweeter, and our meals more savory. Our worship will be more connected and our smiles brighter. Coming out of this experience, we will be transformed -- how could we not? And, what else might be transformed? My hope is that the disparity between rich and poor will decrease, healthcare might turn into a right rather than a privilege, and we will no longer take for granted simple things like sharing a cup of tea with a friend. After all, I cannot believe we have gone through this suffering for nothing. God will redeem this time. God is up to something long-term as God also responds today through the doctors, researchers, public health experts, grocery store employees, and other frontline workers.

So today, let us sing boldly in our homes, “Christ the Lord is risen today!” Let us shout, “He is risen!” Let us celebrate the empty tomb. Let us see that God hasn’t failed us yet - God hasn’t brought us this far to leave us now! Indeed, God will be with us throughout this experience and with God’s help we will be stronger, wiser, more innovative, and more collaborative.

So today, I leave you with one final question: What is resurrecting in our world?

Reflection for Good Friday from Pastor Lauren

Good Friday

We began our week singing, “Hosanna!” or “Save us!” What did the people want to be saved from? Perhaps they wanted to be saved from corrupt politics or an unequal pay. Perhaps they wanted to be saved from worshipping the culture of the empire. Maybe they wanted to have better education for their children or more equal opportunity or freedom from bondage. Perhaps there was cohesion in their reason to cry “save us!” or maybe their pleas were as diverse as our own are.

Now, on Good Friday, we look up at the cross and see the very one we sang for hanging. The cries of the people changed from “save us” to “crucify him” in a matter of days. What happened to create such a drastic turn? Did people realize they would lose too much in saying “yes” to the way of Jesus? Was it too scary to stand alongside him and insist change? Was it too risky to say “no” to the Roman Empire?

Good Friday is the awful day when we cry alongside Jesus. The day we mourn alongside the disciples. The day we shake our fists at God and ask, “why?”

William H. Lamar IV, pastor of Metropolitan AME in Washington, D.C. reminds us: “God is not the cause of the suffering and God did not send Jesus here to die... our systems, our government, our politics, our economics killed the one God sent to teach us how to LIVE.” Thinking about the awful death of Jesus points to his innocence and sacrificial love. In addition, it ought to point us to the ones who are losing their lives because of the maintenance of our systems -- by both action and inaction alike.

Everytime someone innocent is killed at the hands of the powerful, we should think of Jesus and the anesthetizing grief of the disciples. When we remember victims of genocide, we should remember Jesus. When we think of Black men lynched by the KKK, we should remember Jesus. When a child dies because they found an unlocked gun, we should remember Jesus.

What are the things you would call out for Jesus to save us from? To save you from? What comforts are you willing to let go of in order to challenge the status quo and let the oppressed be free?

Reflection for Thursday, April 9 from Pastor Lauren

The Bread that Jesus breaks with me

Helps me to truly see

This Bread, which is my life in Christ, who dares me

To be fully in touch with God

It tastes of the grain of heartache;

While, its moist with the texture of triumph

This Bread, which is my life, in Christ who dares me

To eat freely or go to grow stale

The Cup that Jesus offers me

Filled with my Destiny

As one, who like the Christ, takes on the challenge

To be fully in touch with God

It’s bitter with the sting of failure

While it’s sweet with the promise of glory

This Cup, which is my life, in Christ, who dares me

To drink fully, or go to waste

Lucia Chappelle, a fierce Black lesbian who lives in LA wrote these poem that is to be sung to the tune of “The Blood Will Never Lose its Power.” Lucia is still writing and creating, her long grey locks hanging down by her waist. She has been a part of the fight for LGBTQ liberation for decades, her writing and poetry accompanying her long history of activism and prayer.

Today, we remember the last meal Jesus shared with his friends and disciples. The night when he knelt down, humbly, next to each one and washed their feet. He broke bread and blessed wine. He prayed. Almost certainly, he cried. He begged Peter, John, and James to stay awake and keep vigil for him. After a full day and a big meal, they couldn’t. But, who knows? Maybe they wouldn’t have been able to save Jesus from the authorities even if they had stayed awake. He was betrayed and taken into custody. A night that begun in celebration of a steadfast God who brought the Israelites out of slavery ended with Jesus, the king of the Jews, brought into slavery.

As you reflect upon this Passover meal and the celebration of communion in church, what comes to mind today? What keeps your faith from going stale? What is at risk of going to waste if you don’t drink the cup fully?