Ashes
Can you believe that Lent is almost here? By the time you get your next Ebulletin, it will be Ash Wednesday. All are invited to an ecumenical service at Good Shepherd at 7pm on Wednesday February 18th. We begin our Lenten journey to Jerusalem with Jesus to the cross, with the belief and the hope that new life is on the other side of death. It is fitting that we begin Lent with an opportunity to remember our morality and sinfulness in community, marking our heads with ashes and praying for God's mercy and forgiveness.
Content warning: child abuse, sexual abuse [Read on with self-care, or scroll past]
As your pastor, I hear the experiences of mortality and vulnerability that trouble you. Many of us have been trying to absorb the accounts of child sexual abuse that have been given accountability through the Epstein files. I share your horror and grief over the betrayal of trust against vulnerable children and girls, and I recognize how such things can stir painful memories in many of us who are survivors. You may wish to skip over the rest of my note, and that is totally fine. Or, take it in chunks. Church is a safe place where we can thrive fully in our bodies.
I want to lift up some of the commitments and practices in the Lutheran church that strive to make our communities a safer place for all. I do this out of the deep belief that from ashes, comes new life:
- As your pastor, I am a mandated reporter of abuse. The Lutheran church does not require me to hide abuse under the seal of confession. Rather, harm or intent to harm is reported.
- Church council is screening all our adults who work with children, and no one-on-one communication between adults and children is allowed in our church. Our childcare spaces are designed for transparency, not privacy.
- The Lutheran church has taken great steps to expose, repent and repair of sexual misconduct and mistreatment of children that was allowed in our history. In November of last year, the ELCA churchwide organization passed a comprehensive theological statement on the sanctity of children, their full participation in church and society, and policies for their protection and defense. You can access the full statement here if you wish.
with love, Pr. Chelsea
