Keeping Hope

I spent the weekend in Minneapolis, MN with wonderful people working for human rights within the Church of the Brethren. I am on the board of the Brethren Mennonite Council for LGBT Interests. It is a pleasure to spend time with this group of people. They make me more hopeful!

Here are some of the things that BMC is currently working on:

• A short film about the journey of Calvin, a transgender man
• The Elder Project, which is interviewing and filming the Brethren and Mennonite elders who began this movement and researching Brethren and Mennonite retirement communities in relationship to their policies that effect lgbt people.
• BMC Gathering in early October
• Theological Retreat for Pastors of SCN congregations -- late October
• And of course, we continue to fundraise, develop new resources, relate to CoB and Mennonite leadership and institutions, and provide accompaniment for many.

One of the great things about being on the BMC board is that I get to meet new people wherever we meet. Some of them have been in the midst of this struggle their whole lives. Some are relatively new allies. Some have left the church long ago. Some continue to slog through the painful treatment, fighting for a better day. I have deep respect for all of them.

I spent time this weekend with a pastor, whose congregation has been dis-membered from three different Mennonite denominations. Currently, they have no denominational affiliation. So they petitioned the government to be viewed as a stand alone congregation so that they could continue to function as a church, perform marriages, etc. That petition was accepted and so they keep on being church with a new sense of freedom. I was impressed by this pastor's spunk, good humor and honest disappointment. I want to be her when I grow up.