Allendale Penny Cost
The Rev. Andy Oliver (left), Allendale UMC senior pastor, along with Ms. Penny Cost and the Rev. David Franks, pastoral care pastor, prepare to serve Holy Communion on World Communion Sunday, Oct. 3, 2022. (UM Insight Screencapture from Allendale video on Vimeo).
A drag queen shook up my community this October. Ms. Penny Cost, aka seminary candidate for ordained ministry Isaac Simmons, expertly preached the justice-laden words of Habakkuk through a lens of liberation and queerness. The question “how long” was answered with hope, and we were sent out in joy!
Her preaching upended our gathering within a way that matched her hyperbole of identity. She reminded us that “drag is an over the top art form brimming with enthusiasm, and over the top in the acceptance and celebration of all people, of all bodies, of all genders, and of all sexualities. It is a hyperbole of love, a hyperbole of grace, and a hyperbole of all that it is we as Christians are called to be.” It was a beautiful day in the life of my Justice-Seeking and Reconciling Congregation Allendale UMC in St. Petersburg, FL.
Soon after we were hit with an IRD hit-piece, a feature on InfoWars, and a local Moms For Liberty school board candidate calling our guest preacher names. A youth director in the Northeast filed a complaint against me for spreading false doctrine, and our song leader was disciplined by his university’s administration. The words “false church” now litter our Google reviews. The worst responses were from those who feared the preaching queen was supplying ammunition for traditionalists who would convince more congregations to leave The UMC. An annoying, temporary taste of what Ms. Penny Cost and those like her face every day of their lives.
The repeated sacrifice of our marginalized siblings on the altar of false unity for institutional survival is the opposite of the Gospel. Stoking fear and outright bigotry and discrimination for political gain and calling that living into "Christian values" is sinful. Every religiously traumatized person at my church who is willing to give their faith another try is promised that their stories will occupy the center of our communal life and witness. Centering people placed on the fringes of society requires intentional focus that isn’t distracted by hatemongers or those who love institutions more than people.
I'm writing this the day after election day and in my state of Florida we lost on everything politically. On every level from the state, county, and the local school board people voted for fear and hate. I was on the phone with about five more members of my church feeling the need to move because they do not feel safe living in this state, four were trans. The prophet Habakkuk says it this way: “Look—those whose hearts are corrupt will faint with exhaustion, while those who steadfastly uphold justice will live” (Inclusive Bible Translation).
This is why I support MFSA—a life giving community that enables justice-seeking churches like mine the strength to steadfastly uphold justice. Just this year, MFSA has finalized work on an anti racism audit, hosted numerous online seminars on various Justice Issues, and has organized through our chapters to uphold equity and justice. I invite you to make a financial gift to MFSA so that we may build a community rooted not in false unity, but in courageous hope—and be sent out seeking justice with the joy of a drag queen!
Communications
Andy Oliver
Rev. Andy Oliver
The Rev. Andy Oliver, senior pastor of Allendale UMC in St. Petersburg, Fla., serves as Board President of the Methodist Federation for Social Action, an unofficial caucus group devoted to social justice. This article is republished with permission from MFSA's January newsletter. To reproduce this content elsewhere, please contact MFSA.