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Atonement will celebrate our 100th anniversary this month. Please see the anniversary news on page 12 of this publication for more information.
For one hundred years people of God have been gathering together to hear the word of God;
to partake of Holy Communion and to baptize new members into the family of Atonement.
I can not even imagine the fortitude and commitment that was required of the past
members and leaders of Atonement. If these walls could talk, oh what stories they could tell! Stories of faith & doubt, pain & joy, struggle & peace.
You, the people of Atonement have done something very historic for this church. You have called and installed your first woman pastor and your first pastor of color. I won't say that I'm Native American, because if you were born in the North, Central or South American Continents you're a native American. I will say that I am part Indian, as well as German, Swiss & Irish. "A good American mix," as my mother would say.
I commend you, even as Bishop Carlson commended you the day of my installation. You may not think you have done anything out of ordinary, but you have. Women and minority leaders in the ELCA are still pioneers, even after 35 years of ordaining women to be pastors.
I encourage you to continue doing the 'ordinary'. Welcoming those who are different from you; those with whom you disagree or even dislike. All are welcome in God's house. As I look about the congregation of which I am now a member, I do not see any faces that are brown like mine. I see some sweet little black faces on Saturday nights, but I have heard an awful rumor that they are not welcome here on Sunday mornings. I don't know if it's because of the color of their skin or their economic status. I pray it isn't so, even as I know it probably is so. It's easy to say we welcome everyone, it's much harder to go against tradition and societal norms and actually welcome everyone into our church.
We just celebrated Easter, the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Risen Lord Jesus calls us to be a welcome church, a hospitable church, not a private group just for certain folks we deem acceptable. We are all unacceptable in some way; we all have rough edges that need polishing. We all need love and acceptance. This church lives in a neighborhood that needs acceptance and love.
In order for Atonement to be here another one hundred years, we need to be more welcoming and open. Things may not get done like we have done them before. The faces may be different, the language may be different, but love does not change. Let us welcome all through our doors, to our table of love and to the table of decisions. Let us walk the talk and live out what we believe.
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