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Judy WestLee preached this sermon at Wesley United Methodist [UM] Church, Minneapolis, MN. "As I used to tell my small rural churches," writes Judy, "when it was time to sing, they would hear me singing to encourage them to also sing... if not from inspiration, then from desperation." The text is from Jonah 3:1-5,10.
It was the evening in June 1994. At Spirit UCC Church, the Music Director stood beside a harp and sang "Somewhere." I walked alone down the aisle toward the waiting ministers; Janet walked alone down another aisle toward the ministers; And we met the communion table. Schmaltzy. But that was how it was. That is how Janet's and my Holy Union service opened. We prefer to call it our meeting.
I was so nervous. So excited. And so proud that Janet was there beside me.
And at the same time I was so happy, my joy had a bittersweet flavor to it. Because I knew that by participating in this ceremony, I was shutting the door on being an active UM minister. The UM Church, as do most mainline churches, has a rule that only celibate gay/lesbian [GL] may be clergy persons. With this ceremony there would be no turning back. I was now "out" of active ministry. The church makes GL persons make this horrendous choice: Do we be open and honest but loose active ministry? Or do we hide, saying it is a stupid rule, continue in ministry but always live with the fear of someone "outing" us, and thus loosing our active ministry? Either choice does major violence to the person who must make that decision. The church insists on judging us on our labels "gay man or lesbian woman" -- and refuses to look at all our actions, our gifts, our graces, our history in ministry. Which brings me right up to Jonah. Oh, but I love this story!
Jonah was a native Galilean in Israel, and God "Yahweh" called him to preach repentance to the people of Nineveh, who had recently destroyed Jonah's land. Jonah, being a typical upstanding man of God, replied: "No way! Let them go to hell! Can I help them on their journey?" But Yahweh said, "No, go to them. Tell them about me. Bring them to me."
Sometimes it is so dangerous, hard to love, and worship this God, Yahweh, who had no limits to the wideness of God's love, God's mercy, and God's forgiveness! Can't you be a little bit like us, Yahweh? Hold a resentment once in a while? Just a little grudge? Why must we be like you, instead?
Jonah wasn't going to have any part of saving the people of Nineveh! No way. That would be like me preaching salvation to the Good News people. Or even more extreme to Transforming people. They believe GL people can be "cured" through faith and prayer. Nope. Jonah headed for the first ship going in the opposite direction from Nineveh. Then there were terrible storms. The crew figured out it had to be Jonah who was making Yahweh angry. So, naturally the crew threw Jonah over board.
Once in the ocean Jonah was immediately swallowed by a whale. He was "in the belly of the fish three days and three nights." Think about that for a minute. Can you imagine what it was like every time the whale had a little lunch? Look out! Here comes another fish! The whale got tired of Jonah, too. After three days, three nights the whale vomited Jonah up onto the beach at the very place where Jonah had started from.
Then Jonah had a stoke of genius, he would go to Nineveh and tell them of Yahweh, thus saving them. What an idea! So, Jonah went. Right into the heart of Nineveh. And he went to the back allies in the heart of town. Made certain no one was around and whispered, "There is a God who wants you to come back into relationship with this God and your neighbor. This God, called Yahweh, loves you very much. Yahweh's mercy knows no boundaries. Yahweh is always ready to forgive."
Jonah whispered this message. When no one was around. And you know what: THE MESSAGE WAS HEARD! AND PEOPLE CAME AND BELIEVED. THEY WERE SAVED! Jonah couldn't believe it. He was disgusted [Don't you just love Jonah?]. He sat under a bush overlooking Nineveh to pout. And the bush shriveled up and died. There sat Jonah in the hot sun. Now he was ticked. And God came to our friend Jonah and asked: "Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?" And [Jonah] said, " Yes, angry enough to die." Then [Yahweh] said, "You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and 20 thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?"
I read this story and I hear an echo from Job when Yahweh asks, "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you understand. Who determined its measurements -- surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy?"
"Or who shut in the sea with doors when burst out from the womb? -- when I made the clouds its garments, and thick darkness its swaddling band, and prescribed bounds for it, and set bars and doors, and said, 'Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stopped?'"
Yahweh goes on giving Job more examples asking Job just who was God around here. A question I have to ask myself once in a while. God will be God. Whether we are ready for it or not. Thank God.
There is a project called "The Shower of Stoles." It is a collection of stoles donated by GL persons who were prevented from answering their call to ministry because of the churches' rules against their doing so. I have resisted donating a stole. Today I am wearing the stole I will be donating. I wore it only once before, a couple of weeks ago when my pastor asked me to help officiate at the Communion Service. This is the last time I will wear it. I will miss it. But not nearly as much as I miss ministry.
I agree with my pastor and others when they say they will wait and see what God decides on this issue of GL persons serving in ministry. Because if we were wrong and this is not the will of God, we will eventually know it by what happens. And the reverse is also true. If we are right in saying we have no business setting limits on whom God may call into God's service, then all will see what happens.
There is another type of stole: It is a stole for congregations to sign. It is called a "Solidarity Stole." Wesley Church has declared it will have a Solidarity Stole displayed at the upcoming General Conference.
Jonah thought he could run away from God's call. He found himself vomited out of a whale's stomach and landed right where he started. Jonah thought he could whisper God's message and not be effective. People came to him in droves!
The church says we must be quiet. I, and a number of people like me, refuse to be quiet. We are here. We will not go away. The church says all of this fuss will cause the church to split. And I start to mentally count the number of my friends who have already left the church because of its homophobic stands and no one noticed them walking out the door.
Split? No. I don't want a split. But don't tell me we are not already divided. The church says I can no longer pastor a congregation. They have that power. But don't tell me I can no longer preach. It would be like telling the chickadee she can no longer sing!
One summer night in 1994, I walked down a church aisle while the soloist sang "Somewhere." It was the smartest move I have ever made. And what the result will be from the church's reaction to that walk is still to be determined. I trust in Yahweh's mercy to guide me through this struggle.
The church seems perfectly happy to lose its GL children. That is so
contrary to my understanding of Yahweh. The Yahweh I know, love, and serve
is continually wooing people back and is never content to see a child lost.
Because of my understanding of Yahweh always wanting to be in relationship
with all people, I continue the struggle for the church to also be
inclusive. I continue to work for the day when Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgendered people ask, "Where is my 'Somewhere?'" The church answer,
"Here is your 'Somewhere.'"
Jim Scurlock (left) of San Francisco and John Fletcher of Minneapolis read names from the Shower of Stoles project in front of the Cleveland Convention Center as delegates to the United Methodist Church's 2000 General Conference return from a lunch break. The project has gathered stoles from gay, lesbian and bisexual church leaders who have been barred from church service because of their sexual orientation. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose
The Shower of Stoles is a collection of hundreds of liturgical stoles from gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people of faith from all over North America. Over 200 stoles from United Methodists have been brought to Cleveland for the General Conference.
This beautiful collection of stoles can be seen in the Dorothy Fuldheim Ballroom of the Sheraton City Centre Hotel directly across the street from the Convention Center.
Open 9:00 am until 7:00 pm daily.
Please join us for an Open House on Friday May 5 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm.
As an independent voice of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer people, Affirmation radically reclaims the compassionate and transforming gospel of Jesus Christ by relentlessly pursuing full inclusion in the Church as we journey with the Spirit in creating God's beloved community. We affirm a Gospel of respect, love, justice and mercy for all. Affirmation is an activist, all-volunteer, not-for-profit organization with no official ties to The United Methodist Church.
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