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« on: November 17, 2019, 07:12:11 PM »
It seem that St. Lydia's in New York, the pioneer of "dinner churches" is going through turmoil. The pastor suddenly resigned from the ELCA church, which had received Episcopal Church support, citing financial and theological reasons, facing opposition from a group of members.
What's striking is that this liberal Lutheran pastor tried to establish what she calls a "queer Christian ministry," but, according to her public letter, still faced theological obstacles: She writes: "As a theologian, I think the beliefs we hold are at the heart of the reason we gather. As your pastor, I wanted us to engage with and discover the liberating potential of the language and symbols of Christianity: faith in Christ, sin and forgiveness, theology of the cross, etc. However, many of you have found these things to be too harmful and would prefer that we avoid them altogether. I believe the mission of the church is first and foremost to share God’s redeeming love, which heals our brokenness and frees us to serve one another. But for some of you, hearing me say that “God loves you” has felt like an erasure of your pain and suffering, and has made you feel unsafe in my presence. I hope you will be able to find another pastor who is able to share this good news with you."
I don't know if St. Lydia's is representative of other dinner and alternative churches in the ELCA, but it casts a disturbing light on what and who may be driving this phenomenon.