Anglicans, Lutherans join forces to ‘be better allies’ with LGBTTQ+ community

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This article was published 22/04/2024 (895 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Concern about the safety and well-being of LGBTTQ+ people in Manitoba has prompted Anglicans and Lutherans to create a new committee to educate about and advocate for members of that community.

The new committee, made up of a mix of Lutheran and Anglican clergy and lay people from the Manitoba and northwestern Ontario Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Anglican Church’s Diocese of Rupert’s Land, met for the first time in March.

“Over the last few years, there has been an incredible increase in attacks on the LGBTTQ+ community,” Theo Robinson, a member of the committee and pastor of the joint Anglican-Lutheran Interlake Shared Ministry, said.

Robinson, a trans male, cited things such as anti-trans rallies and messaging from some politicians targeting the LGBTTQ+ community and trans people.

At the same time, he said, there have been statements from some church leaders who use the Bible “to get the public riled up against people who identify as LGBTTQ+.”

Robinson noted a recent Canadian Security Intelligence Service report warning extremists could inspire and encourage serious violence against the LGBTTQ+ community over the coming year.

CSIS said there is an “ecosystem of violent rhetoric within the anti-gender movement” that, combined with other extreme worldviews, “can lead to serious violence.”

Robinson said the committee will be a way for the two denominations to counter those messages and threats of violence and to work together to support congregations that want to be more welcoming and “be better allies” to the LGBTTQ+ community.

The committee, he said, will bring together people who want to offer “statements of love, standing in support of minority groups in the name of Jesus, declaring that Jesus called Christians to love, not hate, and that everyone is a blessed child of God.”

Zsófi Schmiedge is the pastor and spiritual leader of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Winnipeg and a member of the committee. Schmiedge, who identifies as “gender flux,” said the committee is a way for the two groups to be more efficient.

“We have resources available,” Schmiedge said of what the Lutheran church has already been doing. “We can avoid duplicating efforts.”

The committee will also build bridges to the LGBTTQ+ community, she said, including “helping queer people find a welcoming congregation.”

At the same time, the committee will seek to counter the message shared by some churches about LGBTTQ+ people “that God doesn’t approve of you, doesn’t want you, wants to punish you,” Schmiedge said.

Jason Zinko, bishop of the Lutheran synod, said the new committee will be a life-giving ministry for the two groups.

By bringing together people from both groups, it can provide a stronger voice and larger impact,” he said, adding the synod is “committed to looking at our practices, policies and thinking in order to more fully embrace the welcome and inclusion of all people as the body of Christ.”

The committee will also help Zinko, as bishop, to lead in this area, such as examining policies for inclusive language, providing training for clergy and members and organizing joint events, he said.

Geoff Woodcroft, bishop of the Diocese of Rupert’s Land — which includes Winnipeg and the central part of Manitoba and northwestern Ontario — agreed, noting the committee “will be a bridge between our two communities.”

“Since last summer’s horrendous experience of false information regarding school curriculum regarding sex education, and the attack on trans youths, the time for us to act as one church was clear,” he said.

The committee’s first joint event will be an affirming worship service of prayer and song at 7 p.m. Wednesday at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church (600 Cambridge St.). It will be led by LGBTTQ+ people and their allies.

Everyone is welcome, and attendance is free.

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