Related to my last post about Gustavus, I am proud to see that my old school has produced a video for Dan Savage's It Gets Better Project. Responding to the rash of publicized gay teen suicides in the US last fall, Savage and his partner Terry made a video telling young victims of anti-gay bullying that it gets better. Savage is, among other things, America's foremost sex advice columnist, and his broad audience quickly made It Gets Better a nationwide campaign against the bullying that affects so many young people, whether or not they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered.
I preached about this topic in October of 2010, in honor of National Coming Out Day. I was nervous, being a relatively new pastor and daring to preach about supporting LGBT teens when so many Christian communities (particularly ELCA congregations) have been experiencing extreme tension in their relationship with gay folks. I tried to emphasize that, irrespective of one's political or theological opinions about gay people, we can all unite around the common goal of making the world safe for struggling teenagers. Only the most heartless, cruel "Christian" would want to stand by while young people commit suicide because of bullying, and clearly God's call that we love one another is stronger than any condemnation found in the Bible or anywhere else.
I am immensely proud to say that I received many more compliments on this sermon than on any other I have preached here at LCS or anywhere else. Calls, cards, letters, emails, and tearful hugs were among the responses I received, and I felt overwhelmingly affirmed in my call as pastor of this congregation. As Jesus himself cared for those in need, our congregation really felt that day capable of being the body of Christ in this world and in this community. The sermon was less a call to action than a call to reflection and confession, but I have confidence that we at LCS will find ways to stand up for love and against fear and hopelessness. Someday when I know more about how these tricky interwebs work, I hope to post the audio of that sermon (as well as a number of others we've recorded) to this blog, as I was not exactly able to follow my script that morning.
The It Gets Better project has been popular among ELCA Christians; even our presiding bishop, Mark Hanson, posted an It Gets Better video, and is a contributor to the book. It is a tremendous honor for me to serve a church that supports the full humanity of all people, and strives deeply to make room for those with whom we disagree, whether "we" disagree with gays or "we" disagree with those who would exclude them from the fullness of life in the church. It is not the easy path, but I believe as Bishop Hanson and so many others do that it is the faithful path, following the Jesus who brought God's love to life for us.
One more note about the It Gets Better project: right now IGBP is soliciting donations so the book can be sent to every high school library in the United States. This awesome and ambitious goal is well worth $25 to me, so I donated tonight and requested that a book be sent to my own high school, Benson Sr. High School in Benson, MN. I considered sending one to a local high school here in the Kalamazoo area, but my parishioners live in well over ten school districts, and I thought it better to take responsibility for the site of my own upbringing, where I was as much bully as bullied. Where will you have a book sent to potentially save the life of a teen?
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