A Pastoral Letter for Such a Time as This

Dear siblings in Christ, 

          Unless you have been living under a rock, I’m sure many of you have seen or at least heard about the sermon that The Right Reverend Marianna Budde, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington preached at the inaugural prayer service the other week, and have heard the wide variety of reactions that it sparked. It is astounding just how many and vast the responses this one sermon has garnered. We have seen public outcry from those in power, demonizing her sermon, claiming it was an ugly and political attack against the newly installed administration. And we have seen many coming to her defense, expressing the fact that her message was that of the message of Jesus, who came to bring good news to the poor and liberation to the oppressed and marginalized, and to again lift up the message of Jesus’ message of mercy and love for all people. Many praised her for her courage for preaching Jesus’ message boldly yet calmly in the presence of those gathered. Among those were that of many from denominations such as our own and those that we as ELCA Lutherans are in full communion participation with (which means that an ELCA pastor could be called to be the minister in their churches and any of their ordained ministers can be called to lead in ELCA congregations). These denominations include that of the Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church USA, the United Methodist Church, and the United Church of Christ. 
           It wasn’t just those from the ELCA or our partners that were among those praising Bishop Budde for her sermon, but I saw many people who are atheist or unchurched express their praise as well as make comments about if the churches they grew up in, preached this kind of Jesus, they may still be attending church or that they may now be interested in checking out one of these Christian churches that they did not realize existed because this is not the type of Christianity that is shown most often in mainstream media. Among much of the praise, people often made mention of how brave Bishop Budde was to preach so boldly and courageously in that moment and as I was scrolling through social media later that day, I came across another female pastor who was speaking about, yes what she did was fantastic but it really wasn’t as drastic of a move as it might seem because for women preachers, it continually takes courage to step into any pulpit because we, as female clergy, continually face ridicule and questions of our authority and are often called things like false prophets or sinful to have the audacity to believe that we, woman could be ordained by God to lead faith communities and to preach and teach about God and Jesus. And I can say honestly that I have also faced some of this ridicule, not here within the walls of St. Paul’s but at time by others out in the community, and more often faced this kind of behavior on various social media platforms and post when I have shared thoughts about faith, God, Jesus, and how I feel Christians are called to live out in the world for the sake of all our neighbors both near and far, sharing and showing God’s love to all people no matter what, because that is what Jesus taught and called us to do as his followers.  
         Since Bishop Budde’s sermon, we have seen executive order after executive order be signed, and I doubt it would come as a surprise to many of you as to where I stand and how I feel about many of these orders. And I would like you all to know that from this past week or so, I feel a renewed call to speak up and act for justice for my fellow children of God. I feel it is important to also state that this doesn’t stem from party politics but from the political stances that Jesus so often took throughout his life calling others to notice and care for the marginalized which often made those in power angry at him, so much so, they called for him to be put to death on the cross. It is of note that no matter who happens to be the president, I have always tried my best to speak up against injustices, it’s just that the current administration seems to be perpetuating so much injustice that I cannot sit idly by. As I am writing this, I have heard from my brother who is an assistant to the bishop in the Nebraska Synod Office, that there is an active ICE raid in the Omaha area, which directly impacts many of the congregations in which he works with and I know this is not a stand alone event, because this has been happening all over the nation. I personally can not condone the inhuman way in which our government is allowing beloved children of God to be rounded up, and detained in inhospitable conditions. I also, cannot condone the inhuman way that the government is going after individuals of the LGBTQIA+ community, trying to paint people as invalid and question their existence just for living as best as they can as the complex and beloved children of God that God had created them to be in God’s own expansively diverse divine image. Our trans and non-binary siblings in Christ are just as beloved as any one of us and I will never stop affirming their humanity and belovedness no matter what! And I know that I am not alone in these sentiments. I am grateful to be a part of the ELCA which has put out various social statements that address many of these issues to help “guide the life of the church as an institution and inform the conscience of its members in the spirit of Christian liberty” (check out the various social statements at elca.org/faith/faith-and-society/social-statements) as well as the fact that a few years back we became a Sanctuary Denomination making a public commitment to walk alongside immigrants and refugees because it is a matter of faith as Jesus had called on his followers to welcome and care for the poor and the stranger (read more about this at elca.org/our-work/relief-and-development/ammparo/sanctuarychurch). 
​          I also want to say that I am eternally grateful to have been called to be your pastor at this time, because I know so many of you feel similarly on much of this, and it helps to give me the strength and courage to keep me going in seeking and speaking up for justice for all our fellow children of God. And I feel you have the right to know that if I witness another's human rights be brought into question, I hope and pray that I will have the strength to step up in that moment to do the right thing, even if it means putting myself in harms way of being arrested or worse. This is not the time for myself to assume others will do what I feel God calling me to do, and I ask you each to consider ways in which during this time that God might be calling you to do to join in this work of speaking up for the human rights and justice for your fellow children of God both near and far. I am open to conversations about any of what I have shared here if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, but know that you will not be able to talk me out of continuing to follow God’s call to care for the marginalized, the poor, and the vulnerable of our society. 

God’s peace,
Pastor Tamara Siburg