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| Susan Page Townsley |
You’d hardly expect a church that is not officially Open and Affirming to be writing a letter of protest about the exclusion of someone based on sexual identity. Not that First Congregational Church of Norwalk is afraid of taking a public stand. With a long history of leadership in the Norwalk community, First Norwalk has been an advocate for everything from decent low income housing to racial justice.
Indeed, there has always been so much to do that Open and Affirming has never made it to the top of the agenda. Not to mention some real concerns that this issue might be painful to tackle.
But when the interim pastor of the church, the Rev. Leigh McCaffrey, was denied an invitation to speak at an area Good Friday Service, hosted by an area organization the church had long supported, the Gospel Choir of First Norwalk was dismayed. Unbeknownst to Rev. McCaffrey, members of the choir drafted a gentle letter stating their inability to participate in the event, and their hope that the policy of exclusion might be reconsidered. “We feel strongly,” they wrote, “that [such exclusion] violates the principle of equal treatment for all people, regardless of their background, and the teaching of our Savior that ‘all are welcome at this table.’”
This should hardly surprise us in the United Church of Christ. We are led to such actions not because we long to be activists, but because we are a people of faith. The gospel teaches us, and human relationships engage us in the world. And it has long been so. When the Reverend John Elliot (1604—1690) longed to share the gospel with the native peoples, he was moved not only to learn their language but also to be advocate for their living conditions. And when the Revs. Simeon Jocelyn and Joshua Leavitt (1794-1873) encountered the slaves of the ship La Amistad, their faith compelled them to become advocates for their freedom. From my role, as a caretaker of the health of local churches, I am often so engaged in the congregation’s internal life: pastoral leadership, protocols, resources, and leadership development. You, local churches and church leaders, teach me to train my eye further afield, engaging me in the stories of compassion for the stranger and passion for justice. United Church of Christ congregations with open bibles and open hearts become agents for change in the world. Local churches shine like so many brilliant and guiding stars. Thanks be to God.
