LOVE is our way forward...

Today, I have cleaned up my blog-page; deleting some old nonsense and keeping some great memories.  Since this blog is supposed to serve as an expression of how to best "be the Church" in a world so in need of God's peace, I'm hoping to log the growth and development of our small Anglican mission-plant, here in St. Louis, into a vital, God pleasing, Gospel beacon; in our community.  Our work "on the margins" continues and this will become a showcase for what God is doing through St. Francis Mission!


So, stay tuned for updates on our latest Dennis Project outreach, and our work with our homeless friends and neighbors in need.


We are buckled up for a fun but occasionally bumpy ride.    Keeping in mind, Christ's call to LOVE; we step out in faith to be the people, the church, the Christians, the neighbors that He would have us to be.


Recently, we came under a "social media attack", when a "Brother Priest" in New York state chose to use our work as an example of all this is wrong with the current state of American Anglicanism.   His attack centered around out outreach to the local LGBTQ+ community and how he thought we were not being "condemning enough".  His attack and those who agreed with him hurt us.   But, we were resolved to move forward in God's love, to be the beacon of hope and peace that Christ has call us to be.   This was my response, to the internet bullies:

Many of you have already seen some pictures from our "Dennis Project" outreach, this past weekend, to our friends & neighbors in LGBTQ+ community- We had so many times, this past weekend, were God just "showed up" and hearts were melted in His love.  Thanks be to Him!

 2+ weeks ago, a fellow clergyman & many who follow him, used our work with our LGBTQ+ friends as fodder for pointing out how wrong such an outreach is.  These "brothers in Christ" stated that work like ours was harming the Anglican Church in North America & that unless we changed our approach, we would no longer be a part of Christian orthodoxy.  This attack hurt us deeply & gave us much to consider.

 

But, we were soon reminded, by our dear bishop & MANY in our diocese that our work is God's call.  And that those who know our hearts, respect our work.

 

These men of malice do not walk in our shoes & we do not see them on the front lines of loving the marginalized among us.  Their educated & well defined faith does not leave room for those they find uneasy to love.  And those on the margins suffer at the hands & words of those who have exchanged true Christian love (the very foundation of the Gospel!) for a comfortable seat in the tall tower of their own piety.

 

So, as I stood with transvestites who had never been told that God loved them & that Jesus died so they could have eternal life; or as my shoulder was drenched in tears as God's Holy Spirit moved in the heart of a young man once abused terribly by church leaders; or when I told an obviously drunk man, itching for a confrontation, that we were there only to show him that God loved him & so do we; he turned from a man focused on a fight, to someone asking for forgiveness & prayer.   While standing with, loving-on & respecting the dignity of these dear people; I knew 100% that we were in the very center of where God has called us to be!

 

I will stand, without apology, for the value & respect of all those on the margins of our society, I will love them, pray with & for them and I will tell them of Jesus, who loves them more than they know.   Here I stand; I can not do otherwise!

 

So, I am sure some will dislike or disrespect our work.  If so, we love them too!  I hope they take a more biblical & adult approach & come to me to air their concerns.   And, I invite them to be on the inner-city streets as we cloth & feed our homeless friends, I invite them to witness our effort to bring peace to those with mental illness & I invite them to come love our friends in the LGBTQ+ community.

 

But condemnation will not deter us, harsh hatred will not stop us, those who know no love will not dampen our outreach!  To God & God alone, be the glory! 

 

And if you have an issue with our Gospel work; PLEASE take it up with Him first!


Since this was posted, we have heard nothing further! 

 

Peace!
Dan+
Vicar of St. Francis Mission!

"Dennis Project" outreach, 2014

"Dennis Project" Outreach, 2014 pic

Miki & a new friend, rockin' a rainbow Mohawk, at PrideFest, St. Louis, 2014

“The Dennis Project” 2014… (Part 3 - Finale)

So, we gathered our group. We initially invited 50+ people who had expressed interest in our work, but when the date came, only 7 people showed up. But, knowing that GOD has used even smaller gatherings to impact great change, we charged on.

The group that came together was a diverse group of people from different faith backgrounds and cultures: We had a local missionary, fresh off the mission field in Haiti, a local “straight” friend who deeply appreciated the LGBTQ community and who had many LGBTQ friends, we had an ‘engaged’ couple; 2 wonderful Christian men who had come to help us to understand how not to offend and who were instrumental in helping us modify our outreach so to be loving and compassionate and, most of all, non offensive. This was our core group.

Miki had come across some information from a group in Chicago that does a similar outreach to the community in their area. She contacted them and was able to bring good insight to our group; some of their mistakes and successes that they have already learned from, that we were able to use. The thing that they impressed on us was the overwhelming need to simply be a loving presence. We already knew that we wanted to reach out in GOD’s love, but how to be genuine in this and how to be a compassionate example of the Gospel to a people often hurt by those who claim the name of Christ was our mission. After some healthy discussion and planning, we asked for others to join us at “Pride-Fest-St. Louis” and we made our plans to attend. We decided to get T-Shirts printed that simple read, “I’m Sorry”. This could be a conversation starter and it proved to be a great opening to those we met at the festival. We also had small business cards printed that briefly stated what the “Dennis Project” is and why we are saying “I’m Sorry.” We agreed to keep this outreach in prayer as the festival grew near. One of our friends who attended this first meeting thought it may be a good thing to offer an ongoing discussion group for the LGBTQ community and their friends and families. So, this is part of our continued outreach, as we strive to spread the Gospel and show this wonderful people group that GOD loves them, we are all sinners and that GOD loved them so much that he came to die on a cross for them.

I think that none of us were prepared for what was going to happen at the “Pride Fest” gathering. We had been told that occasionally, there would be people upset by any Christian presence and there would be people who would be angry that we were there. I feared that this group of people that had so warmly and lovingly given their time and their hearts to this outreach, would somehow be hurt by those who did not see the compassion that I knew was in these people. I feared for them and their emotions! I never feared for our physical safety, but what I feared most was that our efforts of compassion and love would be seen as troublesome and uncharitable.

The Pride Fest weekend was 2-days long and involved a festival area of food, entertainment and various booths, plus a huge “Pride-Parade” that wound its way through the city streets and showcased various groups and entertainers. We attended both. Immediately, any fear of being “hated” for being there was alleviated: Before we even entered the festival, people were stopping us and asking, “Why are you sorry?” When we briefly explained our outreach, we were greeted with hugs and smiles and people asking to take our pictures and so many simply stopped and listened and would take our card and thanked us for being there. I NEVER thought we would be thanked for being there and that our efforts to reach out in love would be so warmly appreciated. I have never felt so “accepted” and “not judged” in all my life! We were not only welcomed into this group of very diverse and interesting individuals, we were warmly accepted and welcomed to be there with our message. It was overwhelming & touching!

There was one obviously drunk couple who stopped us. I thought that this could turn sour quickly. But, no.. They listened, took our card and were happy to give us all drunken sloppy hugs before they went on their way. There were men dressed as women, there were women dressed as men, there were same-sex couples holding hands and there were families, young people and community dignitaries all together to ‘celebrate’. There was no one who was mean or disrespectful to us. There were some who read our shirts and simply passed by without talking, but mostly, people would stop us, ask us about our shirts and then gladly engage in conversation. Some would say, “I grew up ______ (Fill in the black with whatever religion or denomination), and they just could not accept that I was gay.” Some told us of horrible things that had been done to them in the name of the Church & yet others teared up, saying that they “needed” to hear someone in the Church says the things we were saying. At one booth, the booth of a local author who writes ‘Lesbian erotic horror fiction’, I felt sure that there would be no meaningful interaction with a person who’s message was so ‘different’ than the message we were sharing. I was wrong: When the conversation began about why we were there, the author began to cry. She said that this was the “nicest” things she had seen at Pride Fest and she came out from behind her booth to hug us, introduce us to her ‘partner’ and warmly welcome us to the work she does, as an author. She was so touched by what she saw in us that she asked if we had more of our small “I’m Sorry” business cards. She then asked if she could put one in each of the books she sells, as a bookmark. Wow! I was heartwarmingly shocked. Our little Gospel Tract was being used in ‘Lesbian Erotic Horror Fiction” as a book mark. Thanks be to GOD for linking us to the right people and getting the message out. So many talked with us, so many were kind and heard the Gospel and would then ask to take a picture with us. We made sure that they each got a card and that they were able to contact us for any support or help they needed. We simply shared the Gospel and expressed GOD’s love… It was that simple!

The following day was the “Pride Parade”, I had to preach at Christ Anglican Church that morning, so Miki and the group, along with about 6 other helpers attended the parade. Again, the message was well received. Miki made signs that read, “GOD loves you; more than you know” & “Free hugs”, they were able to put these over the railing of the parade route and all those in the parade got to see the shirts, the signs and many broke-ranks in the parade to come over and chat and give hugs to the group. More card were handed out and by the second day, we already had people signing up on Face-book and looking at our information on the web, asking questions and engaging with us through social media.

Immediately, it became clear that we need to have an official booth at the festival, next year. Walking the grounds and talking to people was important and was a meaningful outreach. But each booth, no matter how off-beat, quirky or seemingly not related to any LGBTQ topic (Ex: “Gutter Covers” for your home, Jewelry & insurance sales booths…) were all visited, as a constant circle of people shuffled through each row of booths, as they made their way through the festival. Having a group walking around with our information will be a part of next year’s outreach too. But, having a booth with maybe a free give-away with information about the outreach, a number to call or a website to view and the sweetness of the gospel message as we reach out to these awesome people will be important too. By then, we will have regular meeting ups and running. We can offer that support for those having issues with, or in, the Church. I would also like to offer free bottled water: Pride Fest seems to always fall at one of the hottest times in St. Louis. If we had free water to hand out, make the eye contact and show them the love of Christ, I know that walls will break down. We saw it work in our VERY small efforts this year. We will have to seek donations to help us get LOTS of water to share…

Any success in this outreach is purely of GOD. It is only in HIS power that we can even take the first step toward trying to mend the brokenness that some feel. The great saint, Mother Theresa of Calcutta once said, “God does not call us to be successful, HE calls us to be faithful”. You see, we find it’s so clear, that it’s not about us. It has little to do with our hopes or our plans. It’s all about HIM. He simply used us to bring some peace to some folks who needed it. I pray those relationships continue and that many more will grow. I was asked, by someone not so supportive of our efforts, “What if you wind up filling a church with ‘those people’?” My answer is that I would be honored to be able to minister to and among this amazing group of men and women. The fear of their ‘ways’ and the dread of their lifestyles has caused a giant chasm between the church and their community. They did not pull away from the Church; for the Church has always been a place of hope to ALL people. But, the modern Church has pulled apart from them and it is time to breech the gap and give them the respect and dignity that we are called to offer to anyone we meet. Jesus died for ALL of us: Not just the ones we agree with. The Gospel is sweet and pure and freeing and comes at no cost; we must do our best to share it with all those GOD places in our path..
 
So, onward and upward! Keep watching for more updates about our “Dennis Project” outreach and our future events. If you have thoughts or want to join us as we share the Gospel in this unique and needed way, please contact me.

Peace to you all!

Our "Dennis Project" Prayer-

Almighty GOD, Father of unending love and mercy,
we bring this outreach to you; asking for your blessing:
We come as broken and sinful vessels,
yet we are willing to be made whole -
To be used for your purpose.
Give us peace, as we go,
so that we can show your peace to others.
Sharing your hope and peace with a world, so in need of your touch.
It is something we neither take lightly
nor do we try it in our own power.
It is only in YOU that we have the strength to be the hands-of-Christ,
stretched out to a lost and hurting world.
We pray that we bring no offence
and that those we meet will see, in us, only the love and
compassion you have for them.
It’s in the name of Jesus Christ,
who lived, died and rose again,
that we may have eternal life, that we pray.
Amen

"The Dennis Project" 2014... (Part 2)

So, the question was, “How?”
• How do we reach out in love?
• How do we reach out without offending further?
• How should such an outreach look?
• How do we specifically “fashion the Gospel” for this specific people group?
• How will we be received?

In all honesty, our answers to the “How?” of this outreach took a great deal of prayerful consideration, consultation and re-re-re-thinking.

The greatest help, by-far, in the planning process, was having my awesome wife (Miki Kinkead) to help and to suggest and to pull-me-off-the-ledge as we kept hitting roadblocks and obstacles. We were on the same page: She had friends who were ‘un-churched’, not because of their thorough examination of the faith and a choice not to believe. But, because they did not find a place of peace, for their specific situation; in many who claimed the name of Christ. So, she was a valuable support in this outreach and enough can not be said of her humble-greatness and loving-care for others. Without her, this would not have happened, and GOD used her to make this a success.

So, first we talked to our friends. Looking for support & thoughtful suggestions: We told them about our hopes for the outreach and we asked for support in finding the answers to “How?”… We talked to everyone, clergy, lay, conservative, liberal, folks of various denominations, ministers, Christians, un-churched friends, gay, “straight”, you name it…. This is a testament to a good, diverse and inclusive circle of friends. I once heard someone say, “If all your friends are Christians; you don’t have enough friends!” I think this goes for any “adjective” – If all your friends are ___(white, rich, straight, educated, etc…)__; you don’t have enough friends!” So, having a diverse pool of people to consult, is a great thing and a blessing from GOD. But, even in this diverse group, we immediately found that we had waded into a stream that was neither easy to ford, nor peaceful to float:

Of course, there were a few who immediately said they were willing to help in any way. These are the true outreach-warriors; those who will go to any end to help a neighbor, shine the light of Christ or stretch out a loving hand to someone in need. For these folks we thank GOD and are blessed to have this handful of Christian friends in our circle.

But, what came as a great shock to me was the ‘push-back’ from so many ‘brothers & sisters’ in Christ. The sentiment, that this group of Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgendered and Questioning people is, not unlike the lepers of old, completely untouchable and unworthy of such an outreach:
• I had e-mails from local clergy who said that there is no good and holy way to do such an outreach, because of the potential violence that could ensue.
• Many voiced a fear for our personal safety. Something that had NEVER crossed my mind to consider. We were going there in peace and were planning on meeting a peaceful people & we had no fear. But, this was a true concern of MANY who offered an opinion.
• I was also told, by a fellow clergy-man, that to reach out the LGBTQ population, you have to do it one-on-one so that when you tell them that their lifestyle is sending them to Hell, they can confront your message ‘without backup’.
• A well respected clergy-man friend even told me that he predicted nothing by “disaster” from such an outreach and that if we did not go in loudly “calling them out of the sin of Sodom”, we would not be honoring GOD with speaking the “true” Gospel.
• One dear, but un-thinking lady said, “No, that’s just too sick. I’m tired of hearing about them.”

Now, you could easily say that I should not have been surprised by these reactions. I have been doing out-reach ministry for some time and am familiar with not getting a lot of support from fellow members of congregations, or even the wider Christian community. I was once told, while a part of a fairly wealthy suburban parish, that “these folk would rather through money at an issue than to do anything about it.” In that church, we found that to be sadly true, generally. People in all Christian settings, I suppose, will gladly sit and hear the stories of missionaries and foreign ministers and will watch cleanly edited film footage of need, and read glossy brochures about the poverty and deprivation either in a far-flung part of the World, or even right here at home. Some will take the need to heart and write a check or give a donation, but VERY few will get out their beds on a Saturday morning to minister to the needy, or travel to a mission site or march in peaceful protest for the cause. This is a sad and far too common indictment on the Christianity of modernity & something I pray we find a cure for, in this generation.

A “cure”, for it is a deadly disease:
• Wealthy Christians will travel the African grasslands or Indian countryside to explore nature, yet never step off the bus to “be Christ” to the impoverished locals all around them.
• We will gladly walk past the homeless man, on the street corner, in winter; while we guzzle our 36oz, $6 cappuccino and never offer the poor man a dime.
• And, our “Brothers & Sisters” in their comfortable and well adorned beds will do nothing to offer even a clean mat for an orphan, in a 3rd world county to rest on.
It seems that our dedication to the “Great Commission” gets more and more diminished as time marches on & there will surely come a time when the call to “go and share the Gospel & baptize” is replaced with, “I wish someone had done something…” Very sad & constantly perplexing to me!

So between the disparaging calls to reconsider this outreach and the inaction of those not moved enough to help; GOD did bring us a core group of wonderful people who were able and willing to offer the support and help we needed to take this outreach to the streets. And truly, this was a diverse group… “Diversity in unity” was what saved and empowered this outreach & GOD used the effort and, with our rag-tag group, GOD touched us & we KNOW that He touched others through our efforts.

To be continued……

“The Dennis Project” 2014… (Part 1)

For some time, it has been my hope to find a way to help mend the rift between the Church and the hurt & mistrust felt by many in the LGBTQ community. I have known gay men & women who have openly attested to the fact that the Church was not a welcoming and caring, safe place for them when, in truth, the Church should always be a safe refuge of peace to all who come to her. Knowing that there are many kind and caring Christian brothers and sisters, within Christendom, who lovingly treat everyone they meet with the compassion and dignity that Christ demands of His people; I knew there must be some way to reach out, in total love & the truth of Christ’s compassion and saving grace, and to show these dear people that there is a GOD who cares for them and who wants a saving and peace-filled relationship with them & that He proved that fact; in the death His Son died for them, on the Cross.

But, the question was, “How?”

The Church is full of well thought out and already-undertaken approaches to this question, approaches that stretch from pole-to-pole with attempts to ‘fit’ such an outreach into various denominational or theological or preferential ministry-boxes:
• Our friends in the über-progressive ‘churches’ believe that affirming & even celebrating all sexual-behavior is the key to breaching the divide that separates.
• At the opposite end of the spectrum lies the group that believes that Homosexuality is so twisted and so evil that there can be no good Christian approach to “sharing the Gospel” within such wretchedness.
• I’ve also come across this odd, “Not in my backyard” approach – The NIMBY approach: This is a group of people who say they would do nothing to harm or demean a gay or lesbian neighbor or acquaintance, but that “it’s not my fault” that some Christians are acting hurtfully to them, so I’ll have nothing to do with ‘fixing’ the problem. This lack-of-an-approach approach is the same tact taken by the majority of the German population as their Jewish friends and neighbors were being carted-off to death, before WWII & the same action-of-inaction that we see in our efforts to help the homeless and those in need, on the streets. People just do not want to get involved.
On this journey to find the right and holy approach, I have been met with each extreme approach… And, both extremes fall way-short of the goal of sharing the true peace of Christ’s love with a people who often feel hurt by the very ones who claim the “Christian” name. There must be a “right” way…

A personal note: Why this subject “hit’s home” so deeply with me runs deeper than just having friends, in the LGBTQ community, who have felt this hurt from “Christians”. This outreach project takes it’s name from a very personal situation. I had a relative who was gay: He was born into an abusive and worldly family and was treated as a burden by often seemingly uncaring parents bent on satisfying their personal hopes and wishes without much consideration for their child’s needs. He was, as a young child passed from relative to relative and was rarely settled in one place for long without being uprooted and passed to another relative in another far-flung place, away from the people he knew or the ones who most cared for his welfare. Eventually, he settled with his mother, after his father left to “take up” with a number of other women. But, by this time, his life was on a destructive path of crime, a number of imprisonments and actions that seemed to scream for the care and comfort of a loving family, that he never really knew. He grew up in a very different world in a very different time. The societal ‘norms’ of that day were much more exclusive and he wound up hiding his sexuality, for quite some time, from nearly everyone he knew. But, “in the closet” at that time, the community was being inundated with a new sickness that began taking the lives of so many gay men. This was a time when retro-viral drugs had not been ID’ed as a reasonable combatant to the HIV virus; and many times, those who were falling ill to the virus had no means of seeking or ever finding treatment. By the time that better medicines were made available, the virus had already ravaged his immune system and there was no stopping the infections and minor illnesses that would eventually take his life. He died in a facility, far from his family and without the care and comfort of people who should have been there to bring peace. A few years before he was diagnosed with the virus, he did find peace, for his soul in a local faith community. For a time, he lived a life dedicated to service and care for others and was a well known and respected member of that faith community. But, as has been said, this was a different time. As his disease progressed, he lost contact with his faith community. I do not believe that he lost faith, but the community in which he found his peace with GOD did not support him as perhaps they would today. And, as stated earlier, he died alone and nearly “put away and forgotten”.

I have to say that I feels an amount of guilt in not having known of his struggles until he had already passed away. I know that, in death, he was comforted by the whole company of Heaven, as he had put his trust in Christ and had the hope of Salvation; that he found in his baptism. But, this does not relieve an uncaring family of guilt, for the way he was treated. The name for this outreach is in honor of him and I so look forward to seeing and getting to know his full story, on day, in eternity; when we are reunited in the glowing love of Jesus, as we gather around GOD’s throne.

So, to conclude this blog entry, I will quote a good friend who so often says, “More shall be revealed!” Getting this story out and inviting other to join us on this journey to bring GOD’s peace to a hurting people is not a small task, so watch for more updates, information about our recent activities and the hopes we have to expand this outreach and to make a real difference.

The peace of CHRIST to you all!