When did it begin?  When did it become a desire?  When was it a necessity?  When did it change from being something that should be done, to something that must be done?  When did it make a difference what was said, what was done?  When did it begin?

For myself, I can recall that sometime in the 1990s, I was asked by Nima Ward (who was then the Director of our Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministry in New Mexico) to come to the Roundhouse (the State Capitol) and speak on behalf of a human rights legislation that was being sought to guarantee basic human rights to (as we said in those days) “gays and lesbians” and (as we now say) to “gays, lesbians, bisexual, and transgender persons.”

I said, “Yes.”

She cautioned me.  “It could be unpopular for you to do this.  You might be criticized.”

I’m not certain how I answered … something like, “Well, it’s the Gospel.  It’s what we have to say.  It’s what we believe.”

You have to understand that this took a great deal of courage on my part … not because of the issue, but because I really do not like to speak in front of people.  The day came, we gathered in the rotunda of the Capitol, and I ran into all kinds of people, friends from the GLBT community, legislators I knew who were supporting the bill, other clergy … including one pastor who came walking through the group as it was assembling and was muttering to himself.  I extended my hand in welcome, only to find out that he was praying for us, and praying for me (he said) not in support of what we were trying to say and do, but that I would see the truth of God before me and turn from my sinful ways.

I don’t know what I said to him.  I know what I wanted to say to him, but soon it came time to join the speakers.  When my turn came, I looked around at the crowd of people, saw the cameras and wanted to faint.  Nima tells me that I didn’t, and that I said something like this … that as a follower of Jesus, we need to understand that whenever we draw lines around ourselves to exclude others, Jesus is not standing with us, but is to be found on the other side of the line, standing with those we have excluded, and asking us to erase the line and join them.

But I don’t think it began there, at least not all of it.  I joined Lutherans Concerned in 1978 or 1979 when I was sent (along with several others from our synod) to a large gathering of Lutherans from the United States and Canada … the meeting was in Minneapolis and it was incredible.  The worship was outstanding, I first me the haunting melodies of the Taizé community there … but I had signed up for a workshop called “Ministry with Gays and Lesbians” and in that meeting room the stories of people who had been shunned, banned, ostracized, and even excommunicated for being gay filled the room.  A pamphlet from Lutherans Concerned showed up in my lap, and I joined that very day.

But, that’s not it either, not all of it.  There was that man who called me to come over when I first went to be Pastor of Christ Church in Santa Fe.  He told me he was gay and wanted to know if he would be welcome in our congregation.  And I said, “Yes.”  And he came, for a while.  He was not the only member of the GLBT community to show up over the years, but he was one of the first I think.  And when he came, he met the Gospel, the good news that does not discriminate, but is all including. 

And there it is … that ending “-ing” that I wrote as the title of this sermon.   Because in those early days we were called Reconciled in Christ congregations, and our parish officially became that in 1993.  But you see, the titles were changed shortly thereafter.  No longer “Reconciled” but “Reconciling” … the whole meaning is in those last three letters “i” “n” “g”.  It means that the task goes on and on and on, it never stops, it never ceases.

We were the only RIC congregation in our Rocky Mt. Synod for a long while.  Perhaps because of that, and as I was serving on the Synod Council in those days, the Bishop asked me and another person (Steve) on the council if we could form a committee to deal with ministry in the GLBT community and talk about the RIC movement.  So we did.  At the Synod Assembly that year, and purposely not on the agenda, I came to the microphone before one of the long breaks the Assembly was taking, introduced myself as one of the chairs of this committee and said that following the closing prayer I would be in such-and-such a room and if anyone was interested in talking about ministry with gays and lesbians and what it means to be a Reconciling congregation … come on by!  We figured about 8 people would come.

Over 50 showed up.

What did we do?  First I declared the room to be a sanctuary and a place of safety for our conversation, and if anyone was there with another agenda than that, they should leave.  No one left.

Next, we just listened to the stories.  Stories of people yearning to change the church, stories of people waiting to come back, to come home, to follow the Good Shepherd back into the community of love and healing.

Yes, it was a beginning.  And over the years, the conversations have continued, there are more reconciling congregations now, not a majority … but more.  The Gospel can be scary for some people, and downright fear inducing for others.   To actually do the ministry of the church by being open and affirming, that can be too much for some, while not enough for others.

Because, you see what this is really about is the doing of our calling.  It is an active not a passive thing.  We cannot come into the church, listen to the Gospel that beckons for us to love God, love our neighbor and heal the world and … just leave it at that, leave it in the church.  No, the welcoming church is called to be welcoming, the inclusive community of faith is called to be including, the church which claims love is called to be loving.

The dream that is before us comes from the Gospel we read just a bit ago … that there will be one flock, where all are welcome and included and held closely in love … without condition!  To work toward that dream, to make it happen, to be doing the ministry of love and compassion … that simply is the Gospel.