WB Check Your Lenses
“The Lord was pleased to strengthen us, and remove all fear from us, and disposed our hearts to be as useful as possible.” -Absalom Jones, Richard Allen, “A Narrative of the Proceedings of the Black People During the Late Awful Calamity in Philadelphia in the Year 1793“
In the pursuit of equality, acceptance, and true inclusiveness, you’re going to make mistakes. You’re going to say the wrong thing. You’re going to do something with great intentions only to find out that you offended someone deeply. You are a human being trying to use the grace of God to break out of systemic racism and homophobia. You will make advancements and you will experience failures. But as with Richard Allen and Absalom Jones, the Lord is pleased to strengthen you, to remove all fear, and to dispose your heart to be as useful as possible.
We have come to a point in history where simply making the claim “all are welcome” is like saying “all lives matter.” It sounds nice, it feels true, and yet it falls incredibly short of offering any welcome to the people who feel least safe in your church and society. The question becomes, what actions are you specifically taking to make LGBTQ+ people feel welcome? What about black and brown people? Simply telling someone their welcome to come to your church is like saying to a stranger, “Hey, you’re welcome to come over to my house for dinner whenever you’d like,” and then never hammering out the details to let them know they actually can come over.
If you are a white, cis, hetero individual, I’d encourage you to go solo to a black church worship service. As different as that experience feels to you, now imagine that is how a black person feels when they come to your white church. Imagine that is how a gay person feels when all they see are straight couples at your church. It’s a steep hill to climb towards a sense of belonging. But you can take steps towards genuine welcome.
ChurchClarity.org is a helpful website for navigating your language around inclusion of LGBTQ and women. They ask the question “If a new person was browsing your church’s website and was not searching for particular policy, would they discover it? If ‘yes,’ it’s ‘clear.’ If not, then it’s ‘unclear.'” In other words, can a person tell just by a quick view of your website that women and LGBTQ people are fully included in the life of your church, including leadership positions? If you don’t state it specifically and in an easily found location, then your policy is unclear. I love the way my own congregation puts it: “We strive to be a community of kinship: that loves as we have been loved; affirms the full participation of all ages, nations, races, classes, cultures, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities; and that is a light for justice and peace in our town and beyond.”
But well-worded policy is still just a first step. The harder work involves meaningful and lasting change that truly provides welcoming space for diversity. I’m interested in hearing success stories of how church communities have truly changed who they were to fully include diversity and reflect the fullness of God’s coming kingdom. If you attend one of these churches, please let me know what you’re doing so that my congregation can learn from you!
May all of us be willing to take God’s big, big hand and follow the Holy Spirit into the wide world. Make mistakes, learn from them, and grow into the full colors of God’s great love for all people.
New Charlie Baber
The Rev. Charlie Baber, author of Wesley Bros cartoon.
Creator of the Wesley Bros cartoon, the Rev. Charlie Baber, a United Methodist deacon, serves at Highland United Methodist Church in Raleigh, N.C. His cartoon appears on United Methodist Insight by special arrangement.