Christians for Equality Supports Non-Discrimination

On Maundy Thursday, March 24, 2016, the Christians for Equality Steering Committee sent our the following press release on behalf of the CFE coalition.

In the six months since the expansion of equal rights protection in Anchorage to include sexual orientation and gender identity, the non-discrimination ordinance has proven itself as a fair, just, and common sense approach to balancing the legitimate needs of churches and religious organizations with the need to provide equal protections for all under the law. As faith leaders, we believe that strong and vigorous protections for churches and religious organizations are in place under the current ordinance. These protections facilitate the organizations in carrying out their mission and acting in accordance with their beliefs, the standard of which is based on the unanimous Supreme Court decision in Hosanna-Tabor (2012) [1]. This decision, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, was widely hailed by conservative religious organizations as a landmark case for religious liberty. [2]

As people of faith, we also recognize our responsibility to work within the law and, while operating in the public arena, to treat all people fairly and without bias or discrimination. Without this common understanding, codified in ordinance and statute, civil society would not be possible, and America would not be true to her own ideals of liberty and justice for all.

Furthermore, Christians for Equality calls attention to the Supreme Court decision in Employment Division vs. Smith (1990)[3], in which the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia wrote for the majority, stating that the Court held that the First Amendment's protection of the "free exercise" of religion does not allow a person to use a religious motivation as a reason not to obey such generally applicable laws. Scalia specifically cites Reynolds v. United States (1878) decision: "To permit this would be to make the professed doctrines of religious belief superior to the law of the land, and in effect to permit every citizen to become a law unto himself."[4]  

 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. ¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. ²⁰ If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. ²¹ And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.” 

1 John 4:18-21

Christians for Equality

Anchorage, Alaska

Rev. Michael Burke

Rev. Julia Seymour

Rev. Martin Eldred

Candace Bell

Rev. Matt Schultz

Nora Ortiz Fredrick

Rev. Ellen Johnson

---

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosanna-Tabor_Evangelical_Lutheran_Church_%26_School_v._Equal_Employment_Opportunity_Commission#cite_note-3

[2] http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/frc-applauds-supreme-court-ruling-in-hosanna-tabor-case-137121153.html

[3] Text of Employment Division v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 (1990) is available from: Findlaw  Justia  LII, or  UMKC .
See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employment_Division_v._Smith

[4] "Reynolds v. United States 98 U.S. 145,25 L.Ed> 244". 1878

Thoughts at Nightfall

by Rev. Michael Burke

Last night I think my heart broke in three different places.

Once again, it felt like 2009’s so-called “Summer of Hate” was happening all over again. I was seated in the Anchorage Assembly chambers waiting my chance to testify on a proposed non-discrimination ordinance that would add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the list of protected categories, alongside gender, marital status, disability, race, religion and national origin.

My heart broke listening to the very personal stories of discrimination, of people being told the landlord wouldn’t rent to them because, “you know, you are one of those kind of people.” A husband and wife talked about their love for their teen, who is struggling through issues of gender identity. A preschool teacher talked of her love for her students, and how she had to hide while at the supermarket, for fear that someone might see her shopping with her spouse, report her to her religious employer, and she would be fired for being a lesbian. 

My heart broke when people testified that their belief in the Bible required them to shun others who were different from themselves. One woman took great pains to point out how she loved all LGBT people, really, she did, and she respected them. She then used the final 60 seconds of her testimony to compare marriage equality with approving of sex with animals.
My heart broke when others testifying seemed not simply to disagree with non-discrimination, but seemed, to me, to be so mean-spirited in what they had to say, and how they chose to say it.

It’s just all so sad. And unnecessary. 

Pray for our community. Pray for those who feel that they will be judged harshly by God if they do not keep a bright line of separation between themselves and those they consider “unclean.” The image of God that came through to me, through much of their testimony, was of an angry, vindictive God. I think there is some truth to the observation that “we become what we worship.”

Pray for those who are genuinely and lovingly struggling to discern what God requires of us. Pray for those who are conflicted. Pray for those who are victimized because of that conflict. 

But mostly, I ask that we pray that God might strengthen us. Pray that God might strengthen us to become better witnesses for our faith in Jesus Christ – a faith that does not claim false certainties, a faith that is willing to take the risk to love, -- a faith that has the humility to respect others who walk other, different paths of love. And a faith mature enough to be compassionate even to those with whom we disagree.

The world needs that now. Not our silence. Not our “embarrassment” for being associated with the name of Jesus. Not more avoidance of anything “religious.” 

What the world needs now:
is a bold, unapologetic confidence in the very same Jesus who came for the lost, the unwelcome, the wounded, and the fearful… … a confidence in the very same Jesus who revealed the heart of God as compassion, healing, love, justice, and mercy.

That… and some time for healing…

The Rev. Michael Burke serves as Rector at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Anchorage and is on the steering committee of Christians for Equality

Equality Is A Christian Value

On March 9th, 1965, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King led more than 2,000 marchers in a peaceful protest of Alabama’s voting policies and the harsh treatment of previous protestors. He was joined by hundreds of clergy, who had answered his call to stand up for those who were being disenfranchised. Following the march, King and his fellow clergy-people kneeled and prayed, and their courage moved our nation one step closer to equality. Their demonstration, like so many throughout history, embodied the fact that justice and equality are hallmarks of the Christian witness. “To bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners.” This is the central concern of the Gospel: Love and justice for those who are oppressed and marginalized.

And yet, at the Mayoral debate on Monday, candidate Amy Demboski said that laws protecting the marginalized would somehow be anti-Christian. In the past she has expressed fear of such protective measures as a “war on Christianity.” A few days ago, one church sent a mass mailing to clergy expressing similar fears. These incidents and others make it clear that there is a concerted political effort underway to say that the exclusion of gays and lesbians is a Biblical, Christian action. Speaking as Christian leaders of many faith communities in Anchorage, we must speak out and say that this is untrue.

Some churches oppose homosexuality, and consider it a sin. That can be claimed as a personal opinion, and a church can claim it as its teaching. But it cannot be accurately claimed that this is “the Christian opinion.” Recent studies by the Pew Research Center and the Public Religion Research Institute show that more religious Americans support gay marriage than oppose it. The view held by Ms. Demboski is not representative of Christianity, and yet she claims that somehow Christianity is under siege when the rights of others are upheld. To claim that you are being discriminated against because you have lost your right to discriminate against others shows a gross lack of understanding of history and oppression, as well as a disturbingly narrow understanding of Christianity.

We perceive the 'War on Christianity' to be those who are actively thwarting the truth that "God is love" (1 John 4:8). Love struggles to flourish where there is discrimination, hate speech, threats, and fear. However, our understanding of history reveals that love wins. Truth will come out. The realities of the gifts that our LGBT friends, neighbors, and family members bring to this community will prove to be essential to the growth of Anchorage as a modern city. Indeed, they already have. We are among the people of all faiths who see that and will stand to acknowledge it. And we renounce the voices that pretend it is not so, because discrimination is not Christian.

Jesus sat and ate with all people, never creating a system of worthiness for who was accepted. To the contrary, he regularly reached out specifically to those on the margins of his society.  If we claim to follow Jesus, then we must acknowledge that discrimination is not his way. It is not who we are or what we stand for. Looking back on the history of the church, we are proud of those moments when we stood to lift people up. We are ashamed for when we have stood to keep people out.

People of faith must remember the love and acceptance of Jesus, as well as the successes and failures of our own troubled history. In doing so, we hear the call to seek equality for all Alaskans in work, play, housing, marriage, and business. Because discrimination is not only un-American. It is also unChristian.

Reverend Matt Schultz, Christians for Equality Steering Committee

Reverend Michael Burke, Christians for Equality Steering Committee
St. Mary's Episcopal Church

Nora Ortiz Fredrick, Christians for Equality Steering Committee
Ascent Alaska (UMC)

Reverend Martin Eldred, Christians for Equality Steering Committee
Joy Lutheran Church, Eagle River

Mrs. Candace Bell, Christians for Equality Steering Committee
Catholic Laywoman

Reverend Julia Seymour
Lutheran Church of Hope

Reverend Ronald Myers
Anchorage First United Methodist Church

Reverend Jenny Smith
St. John United Methodist Church

Reverend John Campbell
St. John United Methodist Church

Reverend Ted Cole
St. Mary's Episcopal Church

Reverend Ellen Johnson-Price

Reverend Jamez Terry
Christian Universalist Association

Reverend Bob Smith
Turnagain United Methodist Church

Marie Sweezey
UMC Chugiak

Reverend Lisa Smith Fiegel
Director for Evangelical Mission, Alaska Synod ELCA

Reverend Sara Gavit
St. Mary's Episcopal Church

Tia Hollowood
Turnagain United Methodist Church

Judith Goodrum
Program Associate, St. John United Methodist Church

Bill Herman

Ministry and Nurturance Committee, Anchorage Quaker Meeting

Bishop Shelly Wickstrom
Alaska Synod ELCA

Blanche Crandall
Catholic Laywoman

Reverend Curt Karnes
Presbytery of the Yukon

Reverend Gail Nauska

Jim LaBau
Turnagain United Methodist Church

Phyllis Rude
Lutheran Church of Hope

Bonnie Bladow
Lutheran Church of Hope

Reverend Susan Halvor
Chaplain, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Louise Dekreon-Watsjold

Patricia Kennish

"The Voice" Of Christianity

On Sunday, March 22, Christians for Equality steering committee member Rev. Matt Schultz of First Presbyterian Church of Anchorage published a Compass opinion piece in the Anchorage Daily News entitled Beware Of Any Who Claim to be The Voice of Christianity.

Reaction to Boy Scouts Removal from ABT

Christians for Equality is mentioned in several local and national media stories for their willingness to help displaced Boy Scouts troops expelled from the Anchorage Baptist Temple.

Anchorage Daily News
http://www.adn.com/2013/08/08/3014921/baptist-temple-ousts-anchorage.html

KTUU NBC Anchorage Affiliate
http://articles.ktuu.com/2013-08-07/methodist-church_41176584
http://articles.ktuu.com/2013-09-02/gay-scouts_41696559

Boy Scouts Equality - Press Release

For Immediate Release:

Christians for Equality Offer Support of Boy Scout Decision

Anchorage - June 20, 2013 - The recent decision by the Boy Scouts of America to include gay scouts in their membership has generated much controversy and division within the Christian community. In our affirmation of peace, justice and equality, we welcome Boy Scouts of America's recent steps towards inclusion and prayerfully encourage them to continue on this journey toward full inclusion.

This decision has seen Boy Scout units turned out of their meeting locations and the breadth of Scouting programs put at risk. We encourage churches to open their arms and doors to invite and welcome displaced Boy Scout units. We encourage Christians to remember the many benefits that Boy Scouts of America bring to our youth and our communities, and respond to the BSA with generosity and support.

Christians for Equality is a coalition of Christian leaders, clergy and lay, that raise up a faithful voice for justice, peace and equality rooted in the Hebrew Prophets and the Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Contact:

Rev. Martin Eldred                                                   

Joy Lutheran Church

graced@mtaonline.net           

Rev. Peter Perry

Saint John United Methodist Church

revpkp@gmail.com

Nora Ortiz Fredrick

Ascent Alaska

ascentalaska@gmail.com

Welcoming & Inclusive Churches in SC Alaska

This is a list of inclusive and welcoming churches in Alaska - faith communities that embrace all of God's children. Keep checking back as we expand the list.

• Anchor Park United Methodist Church, 2300 Oak Drive, on Lake Otis between Northern Lights and DeBarr
•  United Methodist Church of Chugiak, 16430 Old Glenn Highway, Chugiak. All are welcome. And when we say all, we mean ALL.
• First United Methodist Church, 725 Ninth Avenue (corner of 9th and G Street across from the Park Strip) 
•  SOLDOTNA United Methodist Church welcomes all. Soldotna UMC is located at 158 Binkley St. (turn right at the third light, at McDonalds.) Rev. Kay Shock is pastor.
• The Anchorage Friends Meeting (Quakers) meets at Anchorage Waldorf School, 3250 Baxter Road. Our unprogrammed silent worship is from 10:30-11:30 on Sundays. We welcome everyone!
• Immanuel Presbyterian Church Anchorage Alaska...... 2311 Pembroke Street (24th and Boniface)...... www.facebook.com/ipcanchorage :-)
•  ‎Joy Lutheran Church, Eagle River. 1111 E. Eagle River Lp Rd. 694-9601. ALL are welcome. Sundays: 9:30 worship with SS after.
• Saint John United Methodist Church, proudly proclaiming a welcome to ALL people.
• Church of the Covenant, 415 S. Bailey St. Palmer AK. Small Progressive and Awesome! We Delight in Diversity and welcome believers, non-believers, the unsure, and the questioning, the intellectual and the simple. There's room for everyone at God's Table.
• St. Mary's Episcopal Church It's great to see so many of our sister Churches getting the word out that there are welcoming, affirming, and healing places to be!!! We are St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Anchorage - at the corner of Lake Otis and Tudor Rds. We have a vibrant and inter generational faith community with members drawn from all faith backgrounds. Come as you are... and yes, ALL are welcome here...www.Godsview.org or find us on Facebook.

Post Election Thoughts

By Rev. Michael Burke

As I got ready to run out the door this morning for our usual St. Mary's 7AM Wed. morning worship service, I jotted down and posted a few of my thoughts, promising I would have more to say later in the day.

Well, I'm back at a computer. The day has been filled with meeting with so many of you, who have worked so hard on OneAnchorage. I am filled with gratitude and hope for the courage and faith you continue to show, and the unshakable solidarity you have all expressed with the LGBT family in Anchorage.

I don't have anything more to share this evening, because I have just read Martin's piece he posted, entitled "Some Election Thoughts."

He and I seem to be on some sort of shared wavelength (or iPod playlist) today." All I can say to his reflection, which I have re-posted below, is an enthusiastic "Amen!". More tomorrow, as things develop… Michael Burke


Early morning thoughts from Rev. Michael Burke of Christians For Equality:

More to say later in the day. Right now, I'm off to pray, then to visit someone in the hospital.

But I wanted you to know that, as strange as it might seem, I awoke this morning with a song on my heart. You might even call it a lament for us all, but I think of it as more than that - as a song of freedom... a redemption song. And as Marley said, "All I ever have, is redemption songs..."

It was written for and dedicated to Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma, in the form of a supporting, uplifting anthem, praising her for her activism and fighting for freedom in Burma. Until last week, Aung San Suu Kyi was held under house arrest since 1989 for the crime of speaking to the nest in the human heart and spirit.

In a speech made at Atlanta on August 16, 1967 Martin Luther King said, 'Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.' His namesake, Martin Luther said: "Everything that is done in the world is done by hope."

This morning my heart is broken and heavy. This morning my heart sings its lament. Yet, this morning my heart is stronger than ever. This morning it choose to love, arguably the most subversive and dangerous act in the moral universe. This morning it chooses to hope. This morning it rises to sing, for everyone of us:

"And love, it's not the easy thing
The only baggage, that you can bring
Not the easy thing, the only baggage you can bring
Is all that you can't leave behind

And if the darkness is to keep us apart
And if the daylight feels like it's a long way off
And if your glass heart should crack
Before the second you turn back
Oh no, be strong

Oh, oh, walk on, walk on
What you got, they can't steal it
No, they can't even feel it
Walk on, walk on
Stay safe tonight

You're packin' a suitcase for a place, none of us has been
A place that has to be believed, to be seen
You could have flown away, a singin' bird in an open cage
Who will only fly, only fly for freedom

Oh, oh, walk on, walk on
What you got, you can't deny it
Can't sell it or buy it
Walk on, walk on
You stay safe tonight

And I know it aches
How your heart, it breaks
You can only take so much

Walk on, walk on

Home, hard to know what it is
If you never had one
Home, I can't say where it is
But I know I'm going
Home, that's where the heart is

And I know it aches
And your heart, it breaks
You can only take so much

Walk on

Leave it behind
You've got to leave it behind

All that you fashion, all that you make
All that you build, all that you break
All that you measure, all that you feel
All this you can leave behind

All that you reason, all that you care
(It's only time and I'll never fill up all my mind)
All that you sense, all that you scheme
All you dress up, and all that you see
All you create, all that you wreck
All that you hate."

This morning the sun rose as usual on Burma, but it rose on a new day, many years in the making. Today Aung San Suu Kyi is free.
Today that same sun rose on Anchorage, on some tired bodies and wounded souls. Yet, the day is coming when it will yet rise on a better world for everyone who has to struggle for their dignity and integrity, and to be respected for who they are.

This is not the end, my friends. From here, we walk on. But know this --- from here, we walk on TOGETHER.


One Love,

Rev. Michael Burke
Christians For Equality

From U2, "Walk On," on "All That You Can't Leave Behind." c. 2000

Some Post Elections Thoughts

By Rev. Martin Eldred

Like Michael, I have had music running through my head all night and into the morning. I also thought of U2, although the song the came to mind for me as I drove home last night was, “I Still Haven’t Found What I am Looking For.” 
The last part of the song goes has these lyrics:

I believe in the Kingdom Come
Then all the colors will bleed into one
Bleed into one
But yes I'm still running

You broke the bonds
And you loosed the chains
Carried the cross
Of my shame
Oh my shame
You know I believe it

But I still haven't found what I'm looking for
But I still haven't found what I'm looking for
But I still haven't found what I'm looking for.

In the middle of Holy Week, these words seem appropriate to me right now. As one of my colleagues posted today, I too am feeling the darkness of Good Friday today. I am also trying to remind myself that these struggles are hard. (Otherwise, they wouldn't be, "struggles", I guess) Working for justice is not easy. I know that, but it is hard to bear sometimes. I am so thankful to the clergy and lay people who have joined together to stand together. The Body of Christ is at work in our community.

This morning I was also reminded that 44 years ago, The Rev. Dr. King was taken from us. Before I knew that, in one of those serendipitous moments of the Spirit, I woke this morning after a fitful attempt at sleep, with an old civil rights song, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” That song was a sort of unofficial, “official song” of the Movement, and was, in many ways, as influential as “We Shall Overcome.” What came to mind was especially the beginning of the second verse, “Stony the road we trod….” I like the words of verses two and three:

Stony the road we trod, bitter the chast’ning rod,
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
Yet with a steady beat, have not our weary feet,
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
We have come over a way
that with tears has been watered.
We have come, treading our path
thro’ the blood of the slaughtered,
Out from a gloomy past, till now we stand at last
Where the white gleam
of our bright star is cast.

God of our weary years, God of our silent tears,
Thou who has brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who hast by thy might, led us into the light,
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Lest our feet stray from the places
Our God where we met Thee,
Lest our hearts drunk with the wine of the world
we forget Thee;
Shadowed beneath Thy hand
May we forever stand,
True to our God,
True to our native land.

I am clinging to the hope in the journey. It will be a struggle. There will be stones, tears, and crosses. There will be love as well. The love we share for one another. The love we have for our GLBTQ neighbors, friends, colleagues, and family. The love Jesus share with and through us – for ALL people.

We are not done. As people of faith, we live between Good Friday and Easter, in the, ”already/not yet” of faith. We work. We struggle. We press on. I am proud to be associated with our group and once the heaviness in my heart ebbs a bit, I am ready to begin again in the work of the gospel.

I close with a quote from Pastor King:
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness:
only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate:
only love can do that.

From: Testament of Hope

We shall overcome.
Martin

One Anchorage Report

By Michael Burke

In this Holy Week, there is much suffering in our community. 

All last week my phone rang off the hook with people calling from other congregations feeling a tremendous amount of pain because of the anti-prop 5 messages they heard from their church's pulpits these past two weekends. I heard from young parents that they never again wanted their children exposed to the kind of messages they heard from the pulpit this past week. I heard stories of elders who had been in their churches for 30 or more years, feeling that they just couldn't go back again. One elder told me, "I've listened to thirty years of sermons from my pastor. But Sunday was the last time I will ever sit and listen to him refer to my family members and children as 'disordered' or 'deviants.'

Christians For Equality has adopted a three-fold approach to these calls we are receiving:

1) We commit to listen deeply to the painful experiences people are expressing, and assure them of God's love for them and their family members. Whenever possible, we will encourage callers to hold fast to their faith, their hope, and the transforming and redeeming love of Christ in their lives.

2.) We will encourage people, as much as possible, to go back and talk with their pastors and church leaders, to first share with them the pain they are experiencing. In many cases, people have years of history and a web of church family relationships that have been strained, and in some cases broken irrevocably.

3.) If there is no way they can continue in their own faith communities in a spiritually healthy way, being honest about themselves and the lives of their loved ones, then we commit to walk with them as they search for a supportive faith community that welcomes all in Jesus' name, and will hold them tenderly in Love and prayer.


But people have also e-mailed to share encouraging thoughts and theological reflections. Here's one such e-mail that is representative of the many I have received:

"It's both ironic and humbling that the Prop 5 vote is coming during Easter Week. I'm sure this isn't lost on you, but it's been a small revelation for me, unschooled as I am, in churchy things. : )

Anyone reading the scriptures with an open heart must recognize Christ's message to the religious institutions of his day. Jesus worked so hard to tear down the social barriers of his time which were created and upheld by certain powerful religious factions. The Sanhedrin and the Chief Priests primary interest was protecting their institutionalized bureaucracies.

History is intent on repeating itself. So many "Christian" religious institutions are disregarding Jesus' core teachings and reacting to protect perceived, earthly rights, rather than embrace scripture's healing message. In their blindness, they try to protect their institutional dogmas created by men (and I do mean men, for the most part), that aren't of God.

I don't know what will happen to these religious institutions, but long-term I believe they'll end up having painted themselves into such a corner they'll be unsustainable. Whenever that happens, it could mean the collapse of all Christianity or a time of great growth and renewal for the church.

Whatever happens with Prop 5, I believe that Anchorage will be better place for having had the conversation" - Deb S.