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).

Every Abrahamic Religion...

Every Abrahamic religion

(and likely every world religion)

has feminists, progressives, secularists,

moderates, fundamentalists, nationalists,

and even violent extremists.

There are Muslim feminists,

just like there are Jewish feminists

and Christian feminists.

There are secular Jews,

just like there are secular Christians

and secular Muslims.

There are progressive Christians,

just like there are progressive Muslims

and progressive Jews.

There are moderate Muslims,

just like there are moderate Jews

and moderate Christians.

There are nationalist Jews,

just as there are nationalist Christians

and nationalist Muslims.

There are fundamentalist Christians,

just like there are fundamentalist Muslims

and fundamentalist Jews.

There are violent extremist Muslims,

just like there are violent extremist Jews

and violent extremist Christians.

Most people within each of these religions

are perfectly decent people,

who mean no harm to anyone,

and who are kind and care about

their neighbors and communities.

Let's not defame each others' religious traditions

as if we were really so different from anyone else.

And if you've never heard of a Muslim feminist,

or a progressive Jew,

or a Christian nationalist,

try Google.

Christianity Without Nationalism

 Heard this morning but didn't catch the original speaker:

"Christian Nationalism has been fed to us so long, that many of us now simply mistake it as 'Christianity."'

--

Christian Nationalism is utterly contrary to everything Jesus taught us about love of neighbor, love of enemy, equity between men and women, care for the poor, the foreigner, the prisoner, the sick, people with disabilities, and so on.

We as pastors and faith leaders must help our people to see beyond all this. We must be able to speak to a vision of Christianity without Nationalism, a Christianity that follows unabashedly in the footsteps of Jesus, letting go of all our faulty human divisions.

Surviving Christian Nationalism by Embracing Radical Ecumenism

 If we are going to not just survive

Christian Nationalism,

but offer Christians something

worth belonging to,

Then we must embrace a radical ecumenism,

Loudly proclaiming who we include,

because we have followed

the call of Jesus

to welcome and include

those who others

would exclude.

Christian Nationalism vs. Radical Inclusion

 We must seek out every opportunity

to practice radical inclusion

in the face of Christian Nationalism.

We must seek out every opportunity

for cooperation, from the ground up:

in parenting groups

in Sunday Schools

in Vacation Bible Schools

in Church Camps

in Confirmation

in pastor sharing agreements

in community parish agreements

in regional lay pastor trainings

in seminaries

in theological scholarship

in denominational relief and development services

in stewarding all of our resources.

We can't afford

to hold on to our little fiefdoms

or our denominational egos

any longer.

On the Klan and Its Modern Descendants, and Selling Your Soul

Joining the Klan,

or any of its modern descendants:

The Proud Boys
The Moms for Liberty
or anyone else
that promotes Klan teachings

This is no less than selling your soul.

It is turning your back
on the teachings of Jesus Christ

in exchange for the Devil
and all his empty promises.

Which promises, you ask?

- That "Jews will never replace us"
- That we can "whitewash" history
- That we can make transgender people disappear
- That we can create neighborhoods, school districts,
and entire cities, where we don't have to see or deal with
people who are different than ourselves.

God's grace is abundant, available, and sufficient;
Repent now, and be reconciled.

Otherwise, of what use to you is Heaven?
After all,
it will be filled
with all the people you so loudly despise:
Brown and Black people
Asian and Arab people
Muslim and Jewish people
Immigrants from all nations
People with disabilities
and so many more.

Even LGBTQIA+ people,
people who simply loved who they loved
and did no harm to anyone.

After all,
they didn't join a hate group
to twist and mock the teachings of Jesus.

That's all on you.

Can such a sin-sick soul be redeemed?
Of course...with a truly penitent heart.
This is what Jesus taught us, too.

Turn back now
from your evil ways
and Live.

Go and sin no more.

There's Nothing 'Christian' About 'Christian Nationalism'

There's nothing 'Christian' about 'Christian Nationalism,'

except

history shows us

how the Church,

and especially the White Church,

chooses Nationalism

time and time again.

Those Christians who choose

to stand up to Nationalist movements

(whether in Nazi Germany, or here in the United States)

frequently do so at great cost

not only to their vocational prospects,

but also their liberty,

and their lives.

On Rejecting the Evil of Christian Nationalism, And All Its Empty Promises

Our next chapter

in ecumenical partnership-building

must be working together

to reject the evil of Christian Nationalism

and all its empty promises.

Our future is not in holding on

to the shards

of our White European

immigrant squabbles,

but in creating sanctuary

and a society

in which all people

are truly, fully, and unabashedly

welcome

and included

as a vital part

of God’s

Beloved Community.

What Is It about Christianity and White Nationalism?

To paraphrase Brian Zahnd, Christian Nationalism is just Nationalism, using Jesus as a mascot.

It is the same White Nationalism that we see at work in the Klan.

It is the same White Nationalism that we saw at work in the Nazis and see at work in the neo-Nazi movements.

And yet, it does seem that Christianity, and especially White Christianity, is particularly susceptible to embracing White Nationalism. It is somehow still too easy for us as White Christians--

not just in the fundamentalist, Evangelical, and nondenominational branches, but also in the mainline Protestant and Catholic branches--

to believe that Black and Brown and Asian and Indigenous people, or foreigners; people who are Muslims and Jews and Buddhists, Sikhs, and Hindus and people of other religious traditions; people with disabilities; people who are poor, hungry, and/ or homeless; people who are left-leaning or liberal university students or teachers, writers, artists, musicians, or community organizers or activists, or people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, or any variety of queer--

that these people are somehow less equal and less worthy of existence on our earth; and less worthy of being treated with dignity and respect and love as our neighbors.

This susceptibility to White Nationalism persists even though it flies in the face of the Gospel of Jesus and everything Jesus taught about love of neighbors that were from widely different parts of society even in Biblical times.

There Is No Klan Jesus

 There is no Klan Jesus

waiting to whisk you off

to a Whites-Only Heaven

segregated from all the

Black and Brown Souls

you'd like to avoid

and all the Muslims and Jews

and Buddhists, Sikhs and Hindus

and all the Catholics too

and all the foreigners

and all the poor

all the hungry

all the homeless

all the sick

all the people with disabilities

all the outcasts

all the leftists

But I do believe that if there is a Heaven

and there is a God who created

Black and Brown people

and Muslims and Jews

and Buddhists, Sikhs and Hindus

and Catholics too

and all the foreigners

and all the poor

all the hungry

all the homeless

all the sick

all the people with disabilities

all the outcasts

all the leftists

well then, I believe

that a God who created them

loves them too,

just as much

as me or you

and that God's good Heaven

includes them all, too.

But if you insist on a Separate Place

perhaps it is there,

outside those 'Pearly Gates'...