We Are Family

A couple weeks ago I was sitting in church watching others go up to the front of the sanctuary for communion after I had already taken it.  ”Uncle Bill” as he is affectionately known by the kids at Trinity UMC, was standing in line near my pew and humming along more loudly than normal to the piano accompaniment in the background.  My friend Matt, who was sitting next to me leaned over and said, “He does that every time.” We shared a quiet giggle and I said, “There’s one in every family.”

This vision of family is seen in many places around our church.  Once a month during the school year, we host a “PNO – Parent’s Night Out” where moms and dads drop off their kids at church while the aunts and uncles (like the humming Uncle Bill) spend 4 hours of the evening with their nieces and nephews.  This is where I met Maya, one of my favorite nieces, who shares a hug with me every Sunday.

Family is also seen in the ways that we share together each week.  Time is taken during the worship service to share our joys and our struggles.  It is a place where I knew that my brothers and sisters would rejoice with me as I announced the birth of my niece in October.  And in that same space, I was able to openly cry when my biological aunt suffered a stroke last year, knowing that my family would pray with me.

This community also shares as a family when we break into smaller circles and go out to lunch, play volleyball, sing songs in the choir, share in game and movie nights, and meet weekly in small group settings.

We are a family that welcomes others into our family as we stand up for the rights of all people together.  Some of us marched in the PRIDE parade in June, some of us host a soup kitchen every Saturday to feed the homeless in Ballard, and some of us travel to other parts of Seattle and the state, to advocate on behalf of those who have no voice or to stand as peacekeepers during protests.

As any normal family, we are not perfect.  We have our struggles, and with all of our different life experiences – we sometimes disagree.  But we love and acceptance of every person for who they are.  We are a United Methodist Reconciling Congregation.  As such, we seek to affirm and welcome ALL people, including those who are part of the GLBTQ (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) community.   This is something that I would have had a lot of trouble with years ago.  It wasn’t until college that I started to question my former belief that being Gay was outside of God’s will. (I cringe now even remembering that I felt that way!) But, I don’t want to focus on how I believe that we all deserve the same rights regardless of sexual orientation, or how I believe that scripture is misinterpreted when it is claimed to condemn the acts of homosexuals. What I want to focus on is God’s love for ALL. Being part of this family has shown me that when we realize God’s love for all of us, and accept who we are, then we are able to love others and live more freely. Freedom in who we are as God’s child, freedom in who we are as a member of God’s family,and freedom in the choices that we make as we follow Christ.

During my time in and with other reconciling congregations, I have heard the stories of individuals, heterosexuals and homosexuals, who have fallen away from their faith and a faith community because of the exclusivity of the church.  The church has told them that because of their “sin,” they are not welcome.  The church has told them that their feelings and desires are merely choices. The church may even have told them that God does not love them.  Now is a greater time than ever for the church to stand up for the gospel of Jesus that is inclusive of all in love.  When someone finds a church that is willing to accept others as homeless, as an immigrant, as a minority race, as homosexual, as normal, as a human being, then all will be able to see that God is not exclusive – God is love. How are we, as Christians, able to share the love of Jesus if we are quick to judge another by who they choose to love, if we are quick to tell another how we think they should live, and if we are quick to close the  door to some?

I say this knowing that as I want to be open to all people, I may be quick to close the door on those who disagree with me – thus wrongly growing the gap that lies in the church and in the country.  There are times in my life when I need to think how we can all work together as a family.

Today is Ash Wednesday, and as such, starts of the Lenten season.  In preparation, our fabulous pastor has been describing this season as a “spring cleaning for the soul.”  We find those things in our lives that keep us from connecting with God and connecting with others, and commit to some sort of spiritual discipline that will bring us closer to God and to one another.  I ask you all, as my extended family – though mixed up as we may be – to find the things in your life that could use some cleaning.  Could they be things that, once cleaned, leave room for all to enter in?

Note: I realize that I was quite preachy – but hey – I’m being real too.