"St. John's celebrates the loving acceptance of Christ through worship, fellowship, and service which includes and affirms all persons."

Dear Friends in Christ,

With these words, your Vestry in 1997 made a very bold statement. In essence they declared that St. John’s Parish was to be a place of welcome for all people, regardless of race, gender, socio-economic status, age, marital status, sexual orientation, or any other aspect of the human condition which is often used as a means to divide God’s people.

In choosing to endorse these words, our parish took the bold step to join with other Episcopal congregations throughout the country in being a place of welcome to gay, lesbian, transgendered, and bisexual individuals. We proudly proclaimed our intention to extend the loving embrace of God to all persons. I am very grateful that we are a “Welcoming Congregation.” That fact played a large role in my decision to accept the call of the Vestry and Bishop Jelinek to serve as your priest-in-charge.

This next week, St. John’s has a wonderful opportunity to live out its proclamation of inclusiveness. The South Central Minnesota Pridefest is taking place 21 August in Sibley Park. As part of this event, St. John’s is teaming up with other Episcopal congregations in Region IV to sponsor a booth at the Park. Information about the Episcopal Church will be available and folk will be on hand to visit and welcome those who stop by. Later that evening, we will host a celebration of the Holy Eucharist at 6.30 in the church. A potluck dinner will follow worship. The theme for our time together is “Celebration in Thanksgiving for All God’s Children.”

If you or someone you know would like to volunteer in some small way next Saturday, please give me a call. We would certainly welcome folk to staff our booth at the Festival and especially invite you to come to worship that evening and share a dish for dinner.

I understand that, for some of you, our participation in Pridefest may be a source of some anxiety and difficulty. Issues related to human sexuality are particularly troublesome for many in the church, and, though the Episcopal Church is leaning more toward diversity and inclusion, questions still remain. I invite you to visit with me and share your concerns–and your hopes, dreams, joys. My door is always open to anyone and I welcome the exchange of ideas generated when people come together and engage in open, honest, and respectful dialogue about matters which concern us all. I give thanks for being in a faith tradition which so highly values the exchange of ideas, as together we discern the movement and call of God’s Spirit.

God bless each of you as we seek to live into the radical hospitality of sharing the message of Christ!