Faithful but fearful

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This article was published 03/04/2025 (191 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Jonathan Stufft has plenty of faith, just not in his president and what’s happening to his country.

And he’s scared.

Stufft, 48, is an assistant to the bishop of the Northeastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The 48-year-old Mansfield, Ohio, pastor is one of a half-dozen clerics from the progressive denomination who’ve contacted a forward-thinking Canadian organization to ask about ministry opportunities in Manitoba.

He told the Free Press he was in “utter shock” when Trump was elected a second time in November.

Stufft and his wife, a teacher, have two daughters aged 17 and 11. And they have a 15-year-old LGBTTQ+ son.

As reality set in, the family began to think about leaving the country.

“We realized we needed to get serious about this discussion,” he said. “Our concern is foremost about our son. He’s scared.”

It’s not just Trump’s federal policies about LGBTTQ+ and trans people that concern them. New Ohio state laws target those groups, as well.

The legislation includes a new transgender school bathroom ban, a requirement for educators to tell parents about their students’ sexuality and a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth.

“The other kids understand what’s at stake,” Stufft said. “They are on board with this.”

Stufft is also fearful about his own prospects for ministry in a very conservative state, wondering at what point his own progressive theology and politics might not be acceptable to local congregations.

“They’re looking to immigrate to Canada because of concerns about the impact of Trump’s policies on education, health care, their own personal safety and the safety of their families,” said Jason Zinko, bishop for the Manitoba and Northwestern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, who has been in contact with the six Americans who have expressed interest in coming here.

He said there have been about 30 inquiries overall about jobs available across Canada.

The clerics are among a growing number of American university professors, scientists, researchers, doctors and nurses who are contemplating a move in response to massive layoffs across the federal civil service and deep funding cuts to post-secondary institutions.

After reaching out to Zinko, the Stufft family started the paperwork needed to apply to work in Canada; Canadian immigration law has a provision for religious workers that allows them to bypass the need for a Labour Market Impact Assessment from a Canadian employer in order to serve a congregation.

What attracted Stufft to the ELCIC is how the denomination is accepting and affirming of LGBTTQ+ people.

“Christians who support Trump are against everything Jesus stands for,” he said. “And it really hits home when it threatens my son.”

Another ELCA pastor planning a move to Canada works for a regional synod in the Midwest and serves congregations in her region as a preacher.

The 47-year-old — who said she didn’t want to be identified for safety reasons and because she hasn’t told her family about her plans — is married to a transgender person.

“Before the election, I was nervous,” she said. “After it, I was very nervous.”

Along with the anti-trans messaging coming from the Trump administration, what also concerns her is a new law passed in her state in February that removes gender-identity protections from its civil rights code.

“They are trying to erase transgender people,” she said of her partner, who is on a disability pension from the U.S. navy. “Will the time come when transgender people will be made into criminals? It’s hard to know how scared we should be.”

At first, they thought maybe about moving to Mexico.

“I’m not ready to retire,” she said. “I have skills I can still offer as a pastor.”

She reached out to ELCIC bishops across Canada, including Manitoba, to see if there were congregations where she could serve. Bishops in Canada such as Zinko “were kind, gracious and caring,” she said.

Right now, she’s exploring an opening in B.C.

“The bishop there is looking for ways to make it work,” she said, adding there are four or five congregations that could be good options.

But if none are the right fit, they’d be happy to come to Manitoba, she said.

“It seems to have a similar Midwest mentality,” she said.

Leaving the U.S. is a big decision, and the couple knows they are “asking a lot of Canada,” she said.

“But our concern about safety is a bigger concern,” she said. “We know there is a strain over immigration, but we hope it can work out for us. We want to make a contribution. I feel called to serve. I’m just hoping there’s room for us in Canada.”

Susan Johnson, national bishop of the ELCIC, said the Americans’ stories are heartbreaking.

“It makes me very sad that people feel they need to leave their country to feel safe,” she said, adding the denomination has openings across the country.

“We will be able to take some of these people in as long as we have a call that matches their needs. We will certainly gain, as we always have, by the faithful pastors we receive from the U.S.”

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