4th Sunday of Easter
Friends,
This is such a pretty time of year in Rochester! The magnolias are blooming, there are tulips everywhere, and we have the hope of lilacs very soon. There is a lilac in my back yard that is about to burst into bloom. It was planted for me by my friend Jimi Waffle before he died fifteen years ago of AIDS. I have often wondered how Jimi's life might have been different, had he grown up in a gay-friendly world -- or a gay-friendly church. Imagine a world in which every teenager growing up knows that their sexuality is a healthy and good part of the person that they are, and where there are good role models for healthy relationships of all kinds, among church leaders and other adults they know. Imagine a world in which the AIDS virus had been taken seriously right from the beginning and not dismissed as a “gay disease.” How many precious people like Jimi would still be here to grace the world?
The Presbyterian Church (USA) took a giant step forward this week by voting to allow gay and lesbian people to serve in ministry. There have been many long hard years of struggle by people like the Rev. Janie Spahr, who started a ruckus here in Rochester in the 1990's when she came out as a lesbian minister and Downtown United Presbyterian Church tried to hire her as its co-pastor. The highest Presbyterian court ruled that she could not serve. Janie and DUPC creatively found another way for her to minister, traveling around the country as an evangelist, in a ministry called “That All May Freely Serve.” In the early days of the 1998 struggle at Corpus Christi that led to the formation of Spiritus, Janie told us that in her travels around the country, she heard the name of Corpus Christi whispered with hope. And that gave me hope! Blessings and gratitude to Janie and all whose courageous witness has at last borne fruit in the Presbyterian Church (USA). May all of our churches be safe places for everyone.
One of the gifts of being a woman priest, and thus being on the outside and forced to find alternate ways to serve in ministry, is that I have sometimes found work with other denominations. For the past two years I've served the Presbytery of Genesee Valley as its Peacemaker. I've been so impressed by the way the Presbyterians do process. They are so careful to hear all the voices, to include as many voices as possible in their discussions. Every two months they have a big meeting with pastors and representatives of all the churches, and staff members like me. Those meetings have often felt as holy to me as any church service. The way we make decisions is an important part of who we are as church. I am delighted to see this wonderful new move toward justice for all in their denomination. Hooray for the Presbyterians!
Join us this Sunday for Mass at 11 am. We are enjoying the quiet space in between Easter and the beginning of our new ministry of bringing Mass in Spanish to migrant workers near Rochester. Let me know if you might be interested in participating in that!
Blessings and love to all,
Chava
“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Oscar Romero Church
An Inclusive Church in the Catholic Tradition
Mass: Sundays, 11 am
402 South Ave. Rochester, NY 14620
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