God's Doors Are Open at GUM Church

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We recognize churches by their symbols. Christian churches have a cross and, sometimes, a Christian flag. United Methodist churches display their trademark Cross and Flame. Georgetown United Methodist Church in Jenison, Michigan, has all three. And they also have their own unique statement of their vision visible in the front yard. Since September of 2019, three brightly painted doors have stood by the church sign on the corner of Baldwin Street and 28th Avenue, a public expression that the congregation “actively lives the example of Jesus.”

Two weeks ago, the church’s members and friends on Facebook woke up to the news that the doors had been vandalized overnight. The response of the congregation and community was swift, not so much in condemnation of the desecration that had taken place, but in the immediate reassertion that Christ’s love is stronger than hate. On August 14, members cleaned up the damaged doors, and people from the neighborhood began to bring to the lawn their own hand-painted signs with hearts, rainbows, and loving words.

Bishop David Bard told WOOD TV, that he was disappointed that the church was vandalized and added, “Oftentimes, that kind of an act comes out of hurt and people feel diminished in some ways.” The Rev. Lynn DeMoss, the guest preacher on August 16, noted in his sermon: “When I first heard about this, I was very upset. Then I got to thinking, ‘Somebody’s paying attention to our signs!’ Saints be praised that we celebrate love, and some people pay attention! While some act negatively, we hope and pray, there are those who respond positively because of our witness.” Two weeks later, on August 30, freshly painted doors were standing once more, next to the flag and the Cross and Flame.

What follows is the account of the first and second comings of the doors at Georgetown, a witness to positivity and full inclusion of all God’s children.

Love made clear

Georgetown member Katie Smith looks back to February 2019. She recalls, “The Open Door Committee was formed at GUM in direct response to the decisions made at the special session of the General Conference. That session resulted in what some in our congregation saw as harmful and dangerous language and restrictions against the LGBTQ community.” The Open Door Committee (ODC) was commissioned by the Governance Board, and Katie was appointed chair. 

“The goal from the outset was to pursue means of authentically and intentionally living out our church’s mission statement and welcome statement,” Katie says. “Part of this group’s mission included outward displays of support for the LGBTQ community.” Initial efforts by the ODC included the recording of videos of GUM members affirming full inclusion. The seven videos were played in worship.

The painting of the doors took place on April 26, 2019, hosted at an ODC member’s home. Committee members and their children crafted the original doors. Katie notes, “We decided to use our children’s handprints on the center door, as a pledge to our children, and all children of God.” The doors were displayed inside the church throughout the summer and transitioned out to the front sign area during GUM’s Kick-Off Sunday celebrations on September 8, 2019. “Radical Hospitality” was the message from the pulpit that morning.

The Rev. Sherri Swanson, the pastor of GUM Church, recalls those months immediately following the 2019 General Conference. “After the special session of General Conference when the ban on the ordination and marriage of LGBTQ+ individuals was upheld and stricter penalties where added for those who disobey these provisions, many members of our congregation were devastated. We felt we had to do something, and our Governance Board decided to form a new group called the Open Door Committee.” 

Swanson explains that this was a time for engagement and dialogue within the congregation. “The doors were placed inside our church in the lobby area for the next four months. Each Sunday morning, members of the Open Door Committee stood near the doors during our Java Time, making themselves available for conversation with persons who had questions about the doors.” This was done out of respect for differing opinions within the congregation. “The committee offered these opportunities for dialogue and also to communicate why we feel it is so important for our church to be fully inclusive,” the pastor says. 

More than doors

GUM’s lay leader Deb Burg expands the context saying, “I remember when our congregation was beginning the Vital Church Initiative (VCI) process. I was in a small group discussing the book, ‘Renovate or Die.’ The conversation moved to inclusion of the LGBTQ community, and some imagined flying a rainbow flag over the church to express our welcome.” But the time had not come according to Burg. “We had not yet done the emotional and spiritual work of readying ourselves to be the welcoming people we wished to be.”

She is grateful that the Open Door Committee “brought us into honest conversation. It came when members of our congregation were brave enough and generous enough to share their own experiences in a series of video testimonies.” The lay leader provides additional spiritual framework. “The doors we display outside our church represent the slow but intentional process of choosing the responsibility of loving and caring without borders. God so loved the world that he gave his only Son. We have chosen not to shut out God’s world to cultivate our own garden. We have chosen to place our own experiences into the context of the much larger story of a God who loves without boundaries. In this lies the beginning of wisdom and compassion for ourselves and others,” she concludes.

Andy Meredith and Hillary Kitchin, current co-chairs of the ODC, share, “The committee brainstormed ways for our congregation to become educated and grow as allies. We did this through book studies and small group connections.” At the heart of the ongoing work of the committee is the commitment to “living like Jesus as much as believing in Jesus.” Meredith and Kitchin assert that to welcome like Jesus means welcoming “everyone into the life and ministries of our congregation, unlimited by ethnicity, faith history, family make up, gender identity, national origin, race, sexual orientation, socioeconomic condition, or any other identification.”

In October 2019, the Open Door Committee unanimously voted to join the Reconciling Ministries Network (RMN). Since then, other GUM members have joined, as well. The church itself is not an RMN church, though 75% have affirmed full inclusion, according to a congregational survey done by the ODC.

Doors come back

The doors stood in silent witness for almost 12 months, until the night of August 14 when they were painted over with hateful graffiti. While Pastor Swanson was on vacation when the incident happened, she remained in contact with church leaders. She describes what took place back home. “At the center of our display was a door featuring our children’s handprints in many bright colors. The vandalism of that door was particularly troubling.” She continues, “Each little handprint on the door was completely blotted out with white paint. That required a lot of intentionality on someone’s part. Further, there were vile, hateful messages written on the other doors.”

Amy Schuiling, chair of the Governance Board, was among those who carried the graffiti-covered doors out of the yard the morning after. She observes, “The painted doors displayed on our corner are a unique and colorful way to share that message with the community, and I don’t think any of us even realized until now how many people noticed and enjoyed this display as they passed by.” Schuiling reports that GUM Church has received many phone calls and letters offering sympathy and support (both verbal and monetary) from people within the community and beyond. “The outpouring is truly heartwarming,” she adds. “The Hudsonville UCC posted a statement on their sign supporting us, and we have heard of support from churches as far away as Ohio.”  

The Governance Board came together and agreed that repainting and displaying the doors was a priority. The ODC went into action. Andy Meredith says, “The committee, congregation, and community were grieving and needed to move into a mindset of forgiveness and closure.” Like Schuiling, he was encouraged by the way neighbors expressed their concerns. “We were not aware of the positive impact the doors made on others outside our congregation, and we did not want the negative to be the last voice heard.”

An afternoon of activity was scheduled for Sunday, August 30, to “Restore and Reaffirm the Rainbow Doors.” While the ODC created the original doors, the doors would now be recreated by members and friends of GUM Church. Respecting COVID precautions, an hour was designated for members to lend their artistic touch, and a second hour welcomed others to pick up the paint rollers and brushes. Three stations offered the opportunity to add rainbow stripes or colorful handprints to doors. It was a multi-generational event engaging children, youth, and adults in positive messaging.

Welcome reaffirmed

The Sunday afternoon event was the largest gathering hosted at GUMC Church since mid-March. The church has yet to resume in-person worship, and live streaming continues from the sanctuary on Sunday mornings. Why would persons take the risk of being present to paint a door?

Anne Holkeboer has been staying home these many months, but she wanted to be present for the activity in the parking lot. “This day expresses that love conquers evil. We will love people, we will show love, and we will not be deterred!” she said with conviction.

The youngest charter member of Georgetown UMC — “I was only 13 when we formed this church in 1976” — is Karen Strickland. When asked what the doors mean to her, she responded, “This church is my second family, my extended family, and that’s one of the reasons I am out here today to help redo these doors.” She expressed her long-standing support saying, “I feel that we should be inclusive of everybody, so I was really glad when the church showed it was doing the same thing. I’m out here because we should be inclusive. Everyone is a child of God.”

Kyle Anderson was chair of the Governance Board in 2019 when the ODC was established. “This has been years in building to something like this,” he reflects. “I was discouraged, but today I am hopeful. I am here because I want to be a part of what comes next.” Anderson celebrates what the doors represent. “It’s a positive thing for our church and community that this United Methodist Church is seen as a safe place. We intend to make a visible display of inclusion and not just keep it behind our walls and inside our building. We want people to understand that we are not shameful about what our beliefs are on this.”

Since the doors were first created, ODC members and others have stressed the importance of the full expression of Jesus’ love has for children in the church and community. Lindsey Bolhouse, who was present with her kids painting a rainbow door, speaks to that core value. “My family has attended here since my kids were little. We started attending here because one of the former pastor’s wrote an op-ed about Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, with a wonderful set of reasons for why that’s not good. I said, ‘I think I could go to church THERE!'” For Lindsey, the doors are a symbol to the community that GUM Church is a safe place and a loving place. She notes, “I’m a teacher, so, I think it’s really important that children grow up knowing that they are loved and accepted, and there’s a place for them. That’s what today means to me.”

Hilary Behrens, an artist living in Cedar Springs, was present through the entire afternoon. Behrens says, “I learned about the vandalism on Facebook. The issue of accepting everyone with unconditional love is a part of me. So, any community thing where people are getting together for the positivity of unconditional love, I am for it.” Behrens brought a partially-painted door with her then painted in the parking lot. “It was really disheartening that someone tried to ruin that, so, I wanted to be a part of making that better,” she states.

The door she worked on is a gift to GUM Church. “I mostly paint for me and as a role model for my kids,” Behrens reflects, “but I like to step up when it comes to social things where positivity is needed.” She was also in downtown Grand Rapids, after the killing of George Floyd, in support of Black Lives Matter. “I painted for two hours on boarded-up windows in the city to make an impact away from the negativity,” Behrens reports. “I want to impact change and positivity. There are people here and so many drive by, it’s awesome. Good can come out of bad things.”

Blessing diversity

After two hours of painting and fellowship, Pastor Sherri Swanson was on hand to bless the doors and all they represent. “These doors represent our values as a congregation,” she began. “They also proclaim what we understand about God’s nature. God is the creator of all people and God loves each person God has created with a love that is constant and true. Each child of God has sacred worth.”

She thanked all who organized the activities of the day as well as the many who shared artwork on temporary display before the doors could be restored. “There is strength in our solidarity as we together proclaim that, indeed, love is stronger than hate.”

Swanson concluded with a prayer, including these words: “Loving God, we celebrate the rich diversity of our human family … Today, we specifically lift up to you our LGBTQ+ siblings. May they know your love and blessing and feel the support of our community … Let these doors be a blessing to our community so that all who drive by this corner and see them will be reminded that each person you have made is an individual of sacred worth … Keep us faithful as we pursue justice for your children.”

The doors are back, but the work of the Open Door Committee is not over. Co-chairs Andy Meredith and Hillary Kitchin state, “It’s unfortunate, but true, that the United Methodist Church has done significant harm to LGBTQ+. So, at GUM Church, we want to show that we welcome all, and we believe that Christ welcomed all.” They look forward to a day when The Book of Discipline changes “to accept and affirm ALL.”

In the meantime, the two ODC leaders anticipate, “The doors, signs, children’s chalk and any other display at GUM Church are a beacon of light, glimmer of hope and a promise that God’s Love has no boundaries.” On behalf of Georgetown United Methodist Church, they hope “the doors can be a step towards change and a reminder that our Church is living out that mission.”