Day 1: I was asked to write a profile for ONE.
ONE is a publication by our local Ministerial Alliance. The Ministerial Alliance is a nonprofit made up of many local churches from many denominations. It is distributed in the local churches as well as the local newspaper.
Day 2 – 7: I procrastinate and write nothing for the profile.
Day 8: I begin writing the profile. I answer all the questions given to me except for my favorite Bible passage. I hate picking favorites (as my son well knows).
Day 9: I suck it up and pick a favorite Bible passage. Upon finishing the profile, I email my responses to my pastor.
It will be important later for you to know that my pastor is the editor of ONE.
Day 10: I hear from my pastor that the board of the Ministerial Alliance is worried that my family will be harmed as a result of them printing my profile and that my profile could cause a division within the alliance. Thus, they have decided to not run my profile. My pastor is writing an article for the same edition of ONE and wants to include my profile in her article.
Day 11: I learn first that my pastor has resigned her position as editor of ONE. She submits her article, which includes my profile, to the board for publication.
Day 11 cont.: The Profile of Faith coordinator resigns. My pastor contacts our Bishop to give a heads up of the current happenings involving the church and my profile.
Day 12: The Bishop returns words of encouragement. We learn that the Ministerial Alliance has decided not to run my pastor’s article. I decide that my profile will be read, even if the only place it is published is my blog.
Below is the article written by my pastor and rejected for publication by ONE. Within her article is my profile. I was emailed questions and asked to answer them. That format is how they appear.
“My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness,” proclaims the songwriter. As we begin 2014, those words of where our hope is truly found are important words for me to remember and always live into. I know that when I place my hope in other places, it can be a slippery slope. I was reminded of that truth this past week.
This is how I was reminded that I must always and only place my hope in Jesus Christ. Trinity Lutheran Church was asked to submit a Profile of Faith for the January issue of ONE. The theme of this issue is hope and newness. As Pastor, after prayer and consideration, I choose my Council President whom I have experienced as an individual who has an incredible story of faith and hope.
After emailing the submission, I was contacted because I am also the Editor of ONE. It was recommended that running the profile might cause the family harm or hurt. There was also a concern that the profile might cause a division in the Ellis County Ministerial Alliance. Because of those reasons, as Editor of the ONE, I have chosen not to run it as the Profile of Faith. I do not wish either of these things to happen in our community; harm to a family or Christian disunity. I believe that our God is a God of hope that is big enough to bridge our division and bring us together at the cross and the empty tomb.
I have however chosen to run it as my article. Please note that each column in the ONE represents the view of the author and it is not necessarily a view of the ONE publication or its member churches. As you read Natalie’s profile, I invite you to consider what it means to love our neighbor as ourselves and to believe in the hope that is found in Christ our Lord. Please know I do not mean this to cause hurt or division. I share Natalie’s Profile of Faith with her permission and with you only to point out how the power of the love of God is amazing and healing.
My hope and prayer for 2014 is that all of us can find that depth of God’s love that allows us to experience his unconditional love and grace. May we, having experienced that depth of love, then be able to share that kind of love with all our neighbors in 2014 and beyond.
Name: Natalie
Hometown/how long there: Hays, since 2002
Age: 33
Church/how long a member: Trinity Lutheran Church, member since 2004
Occupation/how long: Office Manager/Billing Specialist for 1 year. Also, customer service agent for 5 months
Immediate family: wife: Carrie, daughter: Emma, son: Connor
Church activities/groups: TLC Council, Mutual Ministry, Choir
Favorite Bible passage(s): Matthew 12:1-8
Briefly share a story about how your faith has had an effect on your life:
As a lesbian, there was a time in my life when I felt condemned by my faith. However, my journey of telling friends and family about my sexual orientation led me to a deeper faith in Jesus. I was fortunate enough to have Christians in my life who were able to extend to me the acceptance and unconditional love of Jesus.
Share your feelings and/or thoughts on how faith has an effect on the Ellis County community:
I think that Ellis County, like many other rural counties, has a strong faith presence. However, I think among those who are not religious or don’t believe in God, there is a perception that Christians are hypocritical. More and more Christians, especially the younger generations, are acknowledging this perspective and working to prove that their faith is different.
Our theme for our January ONE publication is “New Things.” What are the new things you have found in your relationship with Christ?
I have found acceptance and unconditional love. With this, I can take a step back and see how many Christians have not been able to share this acceptance and unconditional love with others. Fortunately, I think that is changing. Christians are beginning to recognize the hypocrisies they have committed and are changing the way they see “others” to be a way of acceptance and unconditional love.
I knew the profile would be considered controversial when I wrote it (some conservative churches are part of the alliance), but never did I think it would result in two articles being rejected and two resignations within the Ministerial Alliance. And why do they need to decide that it wouldn’t be safe for my family? Do they not think I know how people feel about me being gay? I’m pretty sure that as the one who’s gay, I have a better feel for how people will react to me and my family.
What do you think? Was my profile worth all the hassle?
dreadedlesbian 