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Jesus was often noted associating with those who found themselves scorned by the social and political elite. These people were often women or working class. At times these people were hard working tax collectors or progressive thinkers. Other stories share with us that these people had physical characteristics that included skin conditions like acne or eczema or at times had persistent or chronic ailments. Those who were on the “in” treated others dismissively (at best) but were most often cruel and abusive. Jesus, in turn, went out of his way to love and show acceptance. Here are stories of how our church is Jesus in our city. Saturday, I was running errands and a middle age married man came up to me and asked me if I was Martell. He proceeded to share that he was married to the love of his life but was unable to share with his coworkers (in his corporation) that he was gay, out of fear of losing his job. Pictures of his children were on his desk but there was never a mention of his spouse as gay jokes ran rampant at the office. He thanked me for the banner on the church and made it a point to say that it gives him hope every time he looks up at it when he is downtown. A woman at the Hy-Vee came up to me on Sunday morning as I was picking up organic grape juice for communion. She shared that she knew who I was as she attended the Lutheran Church next door. She shared that her granddaughter is transgender and theologically displaced. She also shared that she was so happy that one church in our community had the strength and courage to make a bold statement of love with “the banner”. She found herself grappling with staying in her tradition out of familial loyalty or going to a place that is “really Christian”. She shared that, although she doesn’t know what she would do, our banner comforts her. Sunday, after church, I received a call from a doctor who called me specifically because of the banner. In his forties, he had just “come out” at work and the organization with whom he had been working had cut all of his research funding, even though his work was well respected and even though he had received incredible accolades. He shared that his performance evaluations had been stellar. Before leaving town for another position, he wanted to thank the church for providing change in a broken and hostile environment. He wanted to express how this community needed healthy people, like FCC, to call out the powers that be that want the traditions of bias and bigotry to remain unchecked. Monday evening found me on a panel at Augustana University answering questions about the UCC perspective in relationship to other Christian denominational traditions. After the function was over, while the other ministers and professors were chatting with each other, I found myself surrounded by students who were sharing how they could get behind a church that boldly waves a flag of inclusivity. These students, straight and gay, male and female, were unanimous about their approval and admiration for a church that puts themselves out there in a world that is not quite ready for the truth. We, as church, continue to minister to the lives of many through our bold and unapologetic statement of inclusivity. We, as church, are the embodiment of Jesus in Sioux Falls. Live Jesus, Martell
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