It Should Be Simple Enough to Say...

 It should be simple enough to say,

"If you are in a church where it's not safe to preach,

'arresting people who have no criminal history is wrong,'

'keeping people in concentration camps is wrong'

'threatening to feed immigrants to alligators is wrong'

'depriving impoverished people of food and healthcare is wrong'

'depriving transgender people of their civil rights is wrong'

(etc.),

then go find yourself another church."

And yet,

Even in the half-dozen most moderate, liberal, progressive denominations we have in this country,

I'm not sure a preacher could preach *any* of this plainly,

without finding themselves in hot water,

in most congregations.

And further, despite whatever social policies were held

by the national bodies of these denominations,

the response would likely be from whichever bishop,

executive presbyter, conference staff, or district superintendent:

'You've got to think of your job security, and family.'

'Remember you've got folks on both sides of the aisle here.'

'Try to say things without saying them quite so...outright.'

Nearly a century after the Church in Europe

fell in line with the Nazi regime,

and the vast majority of pastors and professors

traded the cost of discipleship to Jesus

for the relative comforts of loyalty to Empire,

I'm not sure our present denominational structures

are any more ready to meet the challenge of this age

in pulpit and pew.

We may indeed be too beholden to

position and pension,

salary and station,

properties and endowments,

to do otherwise.

--

We live in a moment where so many thousands

of brilliant, gifted, conscientious people--

academics, scientists, doctors,

social service agency and nonprofit employees,

government and administrative employees

of every imaginable department--

many of whom had dedicated their lives

to trying to do the right things,

to make the most ethical decisions possible,

to serve the agencies and programs they served--

now find themselves without employment.

This is also true of many in the military

who have been recently let go for similar reasons.

There are real economic costs

to maintaining individual integrity

when systemic integrity fails.

However, when compromised systems

attempt to shame those who will not be compromised,

there is no shame in resigning or being fired.

Sometimes, as I often reflect upon Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's 'Letter From A Birmingham Jail,' which was itself a response to a letter of concern or condemnation from his fellow clergy...

I wonder whatever happened to those other clergy,

who wanted him to tone it down and get back in line.

Stay strong, fellow clergy,

who speak up in real life and who get involved in real ways,

and persevere, even when you are in hot water.

These times are not so unprecedented.

We were here, nearly a century ago;

and about 75 years ago;

and about a half-century ago as well,

and in dozens of other less-well-known ways.

The path ahead may not be comfortable;

it may not be middle-class;

it may involve ridicule

and perhaps even jail cells or worse.

Some of us have seen the inside of jail cells before.

We are in a good company of saints, and a cloud of witnesses.

Human Beings Wrote the Bible

Human beings wrote the Bible,

and each human being who helped to write

each part of the Bible over so many centuries

each carried in their own human foibles and fallibilities,

their own human prejudices, and

their own human understanding of who God is

and how God is at work in the world.

Each interpreter of Biblical languages, literature, and cultures,

In so many centuries since,

has also been a human being,

and has also carried in

their own human foibles and fallibilities,

their own human prejudices, and

their own human understanding of who God is

and how God is at work in the world.

Our current and future understanding of the Bible,

its original languages, literature, and cultures,

our own human understanding of who God is

and how God is at work in the world,

will continue to be shaped

by our own human foibles and fallibilities,

our own human prejudices, and

our ever-evolving understanding of

science, archaeology, arts, history, and other

fields of study.

Let us never believe that we have uncovered

Everything there is to know

about the Bible, or about God.

July 2025, Rev. Le Anne Clausen de Montes is working on the Confession of 2025, an Ecumenical Refutation of Christian Nationalism and a Call to Christian Inclusionism.

#Confessionof2025

About Your Church Profile...

I read your church's profile the other day,

on our Church Leadership Connection,

the matching service for

pastors seeking new congregations to serve,

and congregations seeking new pastors.

You told me of the beautiful scenic area 

in which your congregation is nestled;

yes, I know it well

It's gorgeous.

You told me about your generous, full-time

compensation package with benefits

and the lovely manse,

great for a pastor with a family.

You told me about your active congregation

And your dedicated lay leaders and ministries

Excited for a pastor to come and join them.

You told me about the great school system

And all the cultural opportunities

And what a lovely community 

it really is all around.

"Wow!" I thought,

"I really need to consider this one!"

And then you used the phrase, 

"We are a Bible-Believing, Conservative Christian Church,"

and my heart dropped,

along with your profile,

from the top of my list

to the floor

Because in one coded phrase, 

you told me:

You would not welcome my LGBTQ+ kids,

Let alone my Neurodivergent kids,

You would not welcome

my multiracial family, either;

And very likely, 

You wouldn't want me

as a Clergy Woman, anyway.

And furthermore, 

Most of our friends and family

Wouldn't be welcome to visit on a Sunday morning

even though we'd be living in a gorgeous area

perfect for camping and vacations.

And how is it even possible

That such a phrase could be posted

in a profile

in a presbytery

in our denomination

that ordains Women, and People of Color,

and LGBTQ+ people, and strives to work

for equality and justice for all people

and your congregation is in a state

that still prioritizes equality and justice

for all people

at a time that pastors and their families

and so many other families

are fleeing states that 

do just the opposite?

No, I understand exactly how carefully

that phrase is chosen

and who that church wants to attract

and who they mean to keep away.

I think briefly of writing back, 

"Are you sure you are in the right denomination?"

But likely, it would do no good.

All churches believe in the Bible, 

Some just believe 

in using it

as a weapon.

And so, 

because our family has been through this 

with other congregations before, 

and won't go through that again,

goodbye profile

goodbye full-time compensation package

goodbye lovely manse

goodbye great school district

goodbye lovely community

goodbye cultural opportunities

goodbye desirable scenic area. 

I refuse to sacrifice my family

on your bloody altar of hate.

--

(c) 2024. Rev. Le Anne Clausen de Montes (she/they) is ordained in the PC(USA) and serves on the Leadership Team for the Advocacy Committee for Women and Gender Justice (ACWGJ), and as a liaison to the Racial Ethnic Advocacy Committee (REAC). Le Anne also serves on the Committee for Racial Ethnic Ministries/ Self-Development of People (CREM-SDoP) for the Synod of Lakes and Prairies. Le Anne coordinates the Iowa Faith Leadership Network, the Center for Faith and Peacemaking, and Neurodiversity-Affirming Congregations, and is working to develop the Peace Center of North Iowa. She also pastors a rural UMC congregation part-time, and is a part-time hospital and Hospice chaplain. Locally, Le Anne Co-Chairs the Mason City Ministerial Association, the North Iowa Diversity Appreciation Team, and Mason City LGBTQIA+ Pride, as Coordinator of Community Care. The congregation in question was matched automatically through the denomination's matching system.

Invocation for the Dawn of a Red State School Year

Welcome back, Students,

you might notice a few

changes this year:

We cannot teach you

Real History,

nor Real Social Studies,

no genocide nor slavery

no systems of iniquities

and no Real Science,

nor even Real Biology,

lest you learn too much about

chromosomes and biodiversity

and the preacher down the street

should happen to disagree...

And no Real Literature,

even the classics

which your parents

and grandparents learned

...and loved...

And don't worry,

we've emptied

the shelves

in the library

of so many Real Books

about Real Lives

and Real Loves

of Real People

and Real Experiences

including the Reality

that human babies

are not delivered by storks

and also, that sexual abuse:

rape, and molestation,

are very Real Things, too.

And we can neither

Acknowledge nor Affirm

who you Really Are:

not your Pronouns

not your Name

And we cannot discuss

your Real Family

and your very Real Parents

who Really love the Real You

if they do not fit the

Aryan Family Ideal.

No! Not even

if your grandparents

and great-grandparents

or perhaps even

your great-great grandparents

fought against this Nazi nonsense

nearly a century ago.

No, now, our Statehouses

and our Governors

fully embrace it

and demand it

for you've got to be

carefully taught*

lest the teachers be

fined and fired

the dollars add up

the careers fade away

And remember,

Red State Students,

you don't need College

to Succeed

for the Corporations

are your Salvation

and they need Bodies

to Consume

the younger the better

We'll defund any University here

who dares to offer 'DEI'

And remember,

We can't have you

learning elsewhere

what we won't teach you here.

After all...

If Education is Power,

then Empires would crumble

and Tyrants might fall...

--

*the lyric, "you've got to be carefully taught," comes from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, 'South Pacific,' which was frequently banned for discussing topics such as racism and interracial marriage. It was more recently quoted by Lin Manuel-Miranda in 'Hamilton.'

--

2024, Rev. Le Anne Clausen de Montes. May be shared and reprinted with attribution. Le Anne is a former international human rights worker and peacemaker, prisoner of conscience, and pastor in the Presbyterian Church- PC(USA). She coordinates the Iowa Faith Leadership Network, Neurodiversity-Affirming Congregations, and the Center for Faith and Peacemaking. She resides and raises four children in Iowa, where a series of recent laws, including SF 496, ban books describing sex, LGBTQIA+ content, and other diversity-related content and materials from the public K-12 curriculum, and ban DEI support programs and content from public colleges and universities. Her most recent published work may be found in 'A Liturgy for All Bodies' (Cyclical, 2023).

On the Real Value of One's Education: Vocation, Greed, and the Student Loan Crisis

At the beginning of another school year, I write this reminder:

The value of an education,

and especially higher education,

is not solely,

nor even primarily,

economic gain

(aka, the size of your paycheck).

Unfortunately, our country's dominant political narrative since the 1980's has been that it should be reserved as a luxury for the already, or perhaps soon-to-be, wealthy. This narrative has been increasingly reinforced with every recession, every collapse of an industry that required a college education, the soaring cost of college following government budget cuts, and of course, the U.S. student loan crisis.

Education, including early childhood education, PK-12, higher education, vocational education, continuing education, and lifelong education, should be a universal human right, available to every person who has the desire to learn and grow. This is how we move forward as a human society; and likewise, we break apart as a society whenever we try to restrict who has access to complete their education--whether by race, by gender, by religion, by nationality, or by economic status.

What the student loan crisis and the for-profit university scandals in the United States have taught us in these past few decades is that education should not become a commodity for profit, because it then becomes a weapon to do harm rather than to help people live into their full calling and vocation.

We will do well in this country to follow the example of many other countries in the rest of the world--to invest in our people and their education as a common good, for our common future--rather than denying people the opportunity or exploiting them financially due to their families' socioeconomic background.

--

2024, Rev. Le Anne Clausen de Montes. May be shared or reprinted with attribution. Le Anne is a graduate of Mason City Schools and Wartburg College in Iowa, and was an international human rights worker and peacemaker prior to seminary. She is working to create the Peace Center of North Iowa, and coordinates the Iowa Faith Leadership Network, We Parent Together, and The Way of St. Elizabeth. Le Anne's most recent published work is included in 'A Liturgy for All Bodies,' (Cyclical, 2023).

If Meredith Willson's Mother Had Facebook

 If Meredith Willson's mother had Facebook,

She might've written about

the rows and rows

of marching band uniforms

lined up on dress racks

at the start of the school year;

and the concert tuxedos

for orchestra and band both

and the industrial-strength suspenders

and the snaps

that hold those pants in place.

And of the fitting process

and the unfamiliar sizing

and the, 'yes, it looks okay

with the arms at the side,

but put your arms up

like you're actually playing

your trombone

your viola

your cello

your tuba

your flute

oh yes, definitely

you'll want a bit more

freedom to really move.'

And a conversation about

the relative merits

of marching uniforms

that zip up the back

or button up the front;

back zippers require

someone to 'have your back,'

but they sure look snappy

And when you are in orchestra or band

you have two more years of practice

wearing tuxedos for prom

than anyone else at school

And of how the gowns are kind of convenient

because they don't get quite as overheated

under the lights during the concert

And then over to the table

for the shoes

And the gloves

(gloves are for

the marching band,

not the orchestra,

because that might be

rather difficult on strings)

And with reminders to go find

a white, button-down shirt

and black socks

to go with the tuxedo

before the first concert, please

And the small army of mothers

who keep everything organized,

tagged, labeled, noted, listed,

bringing order to chaos

with remarkable efficiency

and grace and humor

for managing

teens at the end of summer break

before the first school bell has rung

and the amazement of mothers

being newly initiated

to the process.

--

(c) 2024. Le Anne Clausen de Montes has a 9th grade Orchestra student at Mason City High School in Mason City, IA, home of 'The Music Man.' Their family also includes a 7th grade trombonist, a 6th grade cellist/ string bassist, and a 3rd grader biding her time with a ukelele. She is also a co-Admin of the Mason City Musicians Facebook group, and composes church, protest, and choral music at New Songs for Peacemakers. May be shared and reprinted with attribution to the author and link to original post.

The Institutional Structures of The Church Are Not 'The Church.' The Church Is The People...

Institutional structures of the Church-- such as the denominations (ELCA, UCC, UMC, PC(USA), etc.) and mid-councils (presbyteries, synods, classis, conferences, etc.) are not the Church.

The People are always the Church. These institutional structures are much more like the temporary 'houses' of the people of the Church--a home designed for a specific time, place, and set of social conditions.

When a house no longer meets the needs of the People it is intended to house, it makes sense to modify the housing, or to change it altogether-- just like we renovate our homes, or move into larger homes, or into smaller homes, at various points in our lives. Sometimes we can even take a very old, historic home, and fix it up to make it useful for a new generation to live and grow--and at other times, that's not as feasible an option due to the age, the construction materials, the accessibility issues, or the labor and cost of making it usable again vs. the benefit likely to be gained.

Our modern Mainline denominations (UCC, UMC, PC(USA), ELCA, etc.) are not the People of the Church; but rather they are the temporary houses of the people of the Church, constructed mostly to accommodate the social situation of the postwar Baby Boom. Sometimes households were joined together during this era, and new houses were created or renovated. At other times in our history, households split over issues such as slavery, Civil Rights, women's ordination, and LGBTQIA+ equality, and the people moved into separate living quarters.

We must never forget that the walls that house the People, are not the People. To change the boundaries of a presbytery or synod or conference; to merge; even to separate denominational structures when needed for reasons of justice and equality--these are not failures. These are the lives of the People, and we adjust the housing to meet the needs of the People.

Perhaps in this next decade or so, we will finally realize that the arguments between White European Reformers 500 or so years ago, aren't really great reasons for us to remain in our separate little walls and houses anymore. Maybe we will even realize we have far more in common and far more to be gained from joining together, than we have ever really realized.

Similarly, we may realize that it's ok to separate from and put some distance between people who would discriminate against and harm people based on race, sex, orientation, gender identity, immigrant status, disability, or other human demographic factors--and those who would seek to welcome, include, and protect them--even if we seemed to share a lot in common in the past.

And as the Baby Boom enters its sunset years and our demographic patterns change and our populations migrate from farm to city, or even from one region of a state to the next, we, too, can look for ways of rearranging our housing to meet our new realities.

Housing exists for the People, not the other way around.

Sometimes we people forget that we do not exist to preserve an unsuitable house at all costs. Houses should not consume so much of our time and energy and resources that we have little left with which to live the rest of our lives, to love and learn and grow, and to be active in the world around us.

--

Frankly, it is not so different with the walls of our own congregations, our 'Houses of Worship.' Like our own family houses, sometimes we need to expand or move into a larger home as our family grows; and sometimes we need to move into smaller, more manageable housing as our family changes, moves, or the older generations die. Sometimes a big old house is beyond our energy and resources to maintain, and it's time to let a younger, growing family put it to use. At other times, a house can become too old and unsafe for use; or perhaps the land it is on could be better used to serve the needs of the community in a different way.

Even in times when a house, or a House of Worship, needs to be demolished, we can still offer them first to nonprofits who can recycle and repurpose building materials, creating new life and new beginnings where something we once loved is ending.

Similarly, when our institutional structures of the Church change, or are even dissolved, we can offer what we have in assets, or in other gifts, practices, events, and traditions, to create new life and new beginnings for new gatherings of people and new formulations of community. We can even find ways to use what we have had to do justice--such as when the assets and property we have attained came at the expense of Indigenous, Black, or other displaced and unjustly treated groups of people.

The housing is for the People, not the People for the housing.

The housing is not the Church.

The Church is the people.