Dear Rainbow Circle Friends:
My 2025 travel itinerary is off and running. My first trip of the year was to Louisville, Kentucky, where I had the privilege to be the proclaimer (preacher) for Highland Baptist Church. HBC’s pastor, Mary Alice Birdwhistell is concluding her ministry and so it was an honor to provide needed pulpit supply.
It was a wonderful weekend of great connections with folk as well as a powerful worship experience on Sunday morning. The sanctuary was near standing room only, the choir majestically sang acapella Thomas Tallis’ “If Ye Love Me,” and the clergy and laity led service was so carefully crafted from beginning to end. There was a palpable energy and vitality about the congregation. If you didn’t know better, you would have thought this was a pre-COVID service. And yet, as I looked out intentionally from the chancel, I had to wonder how “normal” did folk feel?
Yes, vestiges of COVID remained. I could see a dozen or more folk, including some choir members, wearing masks. And then, as I looked out upon a congregation filled with many diversities, I couldn’t help but think about my LGTBQ+ siblings who were sitting in worship for the first times since the new administration in Washington D.C. began issuing executive orders denying dignity and decency to many, especially those within the trans community.
With the energy and vitality of Sunday’s worship service, I believe there was also a quiet and yet clear uncomfortability with how not normal life was feeling for more than a few people in attendance. As my travel itinerary continues even this week, and as I read the headlines and stories of what is happening across our country, I feel and fear for our LGBTQ+ family members. Life’s itinerary ahead will not be easy. People’s lives are at stake.
For now, I’m prayerfully pondering how AWAB will respond and be present to our larger Baptist family in the days ahead. Our Baptist family spans continents and in more than a few places it seems the rights and safety of LGBTQ+ folk are in jeopardy.
Your ongoing support will help us do together what none of us can do on our own. Your care and commitment to welcoming and affirming ministry WILL save lives, literally. While life will not be the normal we’d like it to be, I’m glad we can share together on the journey. Thank you for being with AWAB as we go.