Pride Ministries: Responding to the Need for New Forms of Evangelism

A paper presented for the Doctor of Ministry Class Revitalizing Church and Community M618, rofessor De!orah "# $app, %ritten !y &tuart D# &mith, at McCormic' (heological &eminary

Introduction
How do communities of faith which ascribe to progressive, nontraditional values and are convinced that these values are part of an evangelistic imperative create outreach that reflects a liberation understanding of evangelism? Specifically how do congregations which believe in the inclusion of sexual minority persons declare the gospel with integrity to those persons in the larger community who know nothing about radically inclusive theologies? This paper chronicles the formation of Caf ride as a result of one of the specific dynamics challenging my community and the formation of ride !inistries, to serve as an administrative parent or umbrella organi"ation over Caf ride# ride !inistries is an attempt to address the needs of congregations which seek new ways of doing progressive evangelism by providing resources, consultation, and a working example of radically inclusive evangelism#

The Initial Response to a Community Dynamic

Caf ride began as a result of what Holland and Henriot call the $ astoral Circle$ %&'() p# (*# +or over nine years, , had ministered in the main concentration of Chicago-s gay.lesbian.bisexual.transgendered community %hereinafter generically called the $sexual minority community*# This area is known in Chicago as the /incoln ark and /akeview neighborhoods or sometimes 0okingly as, $boystown#$ ,t is specifically the area bounded by +ullerton arkway on the south, 1shland 1venue on the west, ,rving ark 2oad on the north, and /ake !ichigan on the east# !y ministry had attempted to address the pastoral needs of adults and some youths who, although not always economically distressed, had matured in an environment that devalued and marginali"ed them by denying them e3ual legal protections, free association, and access to religious community# These persons although occasionally high achievers in many regards were often deeply wounded# , ministered from the position of a gay4friendly ecumenical agency, which in turn was supported by several radically inclusive churches# !y $point of insertion$ was to recogni"e the experience of the $poor and oppressed$ of this community# !uch of my social analysis over the years has informed me that the self4destructive behaviors , witnessed among gay and lesbian adults usually stemmed directly from their feeling of unworthiness and marginali"ation as children and young adults# 5hether corporate lawyer or street hustler, these adults were scarred by the self4hate they had absorbed almost with their mother-s milk6 conse3uently, not all the poor and oppressed of this community were economically distressed# 1lthough , had little access to pre4adolescents who might be forming destructive beliefs and attitudes, , occasionally had pastoral relations with sexual minority youths who were 0ust

beginning to come to the attention of law enforcement personnel and school officials as $problems#$ 7nce , worked past the convenient middle4class assumption that these were 0ust $bad kids$ and began to know some of them personally and to hear and see the world from their perspective, , had to struggle with the pastoral.theological 3uestion of what the church should do or be to counteract the system of teaching youths to hate themselves and become self4destructive# ,t is not enough to be part of what my denomination calls a $!ore4/ight Church$ %a gay4inclusive congregation* if the persons who would benefit from the salvation that 8od-s love has provided are not in the congregation or aware of the 0argon resbyterians use to signal parish4level inclusion in the face of denominational hostility# The last straw for my pastoral $paralysis of analysis$ was the e0ection of many of my younger parishioners from the one low4cost hangout for sexual minority youths when that establishment, previously a coffeehouse, received a li3uor license and could no longer legally host persons under 9& years old# 5ithin a few weeks several of my young friends had been arrested or detained for hanging out on the streets# They needed a place to be, to sociali"e, to laugh, and with no commercial establishment welcoming them, the police determined that otherwise harmless $hanging out$ was loitering, panhandling, or a cover for prostitution# 1dditionally for many of these youths, to be arrested or accused was the last barrier to actually trying out some of these forbidden activities# $,f they call me an outlaw, , might as well be one#$ 1s a representative of the larger church witnessing this situation, , felt a need to act# Theologically, it was $put up or shut up$ time# 1fter several weeks of negotiations among several secular agencies and two churches, on :ovember 99, &'';, Caf ride first opened to serve the neighborhood as a subsidi"ed coffeehouse for sexual minority youths under 9& years old# ,t was hosted by Holy Covenant <nited !ethodist Church, encouraged by /incoln ark resbyterian Church and $supported$ by several secular agencies# Holy Covenant became involved as they had become aware of the problems caused to several of their young neighbors by the closing of the neighborhood-s last cheap coffeehouse# 1dditionally, their pastor, =onnie =eckonchrist, and , had a social ac3uaintance that allowed us to share our concerns informally and begin to formulate a response to the needs we perceived# She also was well aware of the needs of sexual minority youths in this neighborhood#

Problems of Definition: Liberation Evangelism and Social or!

+rom the very beginning, because of the need to make the $evangelistic ministry$ palatable to secular agencies, the coffeehouse was marketed as existing to serve several non4 complementary ends# +or some agencies Caf ride was a way of keeping kids out of trouble with the police6 for others it existed to do 1,>S.H,? education in a hard to reach population6 for others it was $protecting$ youths from involvement with prostitution or drug running6 and for still others the coffeehouse was a source of referrals for homeless teens# :early all of these secular purposes and ends seemed to be rooted in the idea that youth itself was a pathology that needed to be fixed# 5hen secular, social service ends are mixed with evangelistic outreach you have an unhealthy mix of techni3ues# 7ften social service is an attempt to provide the designated

$client$ with appropriate material or psychological resources# 1t best this kind of social service mates with a form of liberal evangelism that gets stuck at repeating over and over $@esus loves meA This I know#$ Bvangelism if understood from a framework of liberation theology, addresses not merely lack of knowledge of 8od as in traditional orthodox theology or a need to experience of 8od-s love %in material or psychosocial ways* as in liberal theology, but an acknowledgment of 8od-s love for all creation and the individual-s connection to all the other $little ones CwhichD to him belong#$ Traditional evangelism is about absolving guilt before an absolutist 8od# /iberal evangelism is about overcoming ignorance of our relationship to 8od# /iberation evangelism is about reconfiguring connections4an unhealthy desire to be connected to things and too weak a desire to be authentically connected to brothers and sisters and to the rest of creation# >orothee Solle cites the example given by a black, woman, student pastor in :icaragua, $-1dam and Bve wanted to have more than others and so they ate the apple, and that is covetousness# Sin is the immeasurable greed of people who want to possess something and everything else follows from this desire to possess#-$%&''E p# ;E*# ,f , have interpreted and applied Solle correctly, liberation evangelism among marginali"ed persons is a process, not of attac'ing pride, as 2einhold :iebuhr taught %&'F& pp# &((4&('*, but of !uilding pride# She writes of feminist liberation theology specificallyG The specifically feminine form of sin cannot be paraphrased with terms like -pride- or -striving for power-# 5omen very often destroy their -being in the likeness of -8od-, the fact that they are created in the image of 8od, by obedience, self4denial and sub0ection to patriarchal role4models# So they do not become human beings at all4in social psychology people talk of the child woman who will never really grow up, and artificially keeps on being a little girl# # # # 2ather, we women are in danger of not developing any pride, of never becoming independent, of constantly remaining within all too narrow boundaries# %&''E pp# ;;4 ;H* Solle continues citing ?alerie Saiving-s list of women-s sinsG -Triviality, liability to distraction, talkativeness, lack of concentration and dependence on others for one-s own self determination # # # Tolerance at the cost of standards # # # inability to respect the limits of the private sphere # # #, sentimentality, love of gossip and mistrust of the understanding4in short, underdevelopment or negation of the ego#%Saiving, &'H' as 3uoted in Solle, &''E p# ;H*# Bvangelism among sexual minority persons, who all too often have been taught to belittle the particular likeness of 8od in themselves, must include fostering a sense of self that is $grown up$ and mature# ,t is no accident that the women-s sins which Saiving lists are also, when taken together, the most common parody of adult gay men# They describe less the feminine than the effeminate# Bvangelism among sexual minority persons is more than teaching that the penitent is loved by 8od6 it is teaching the penitent to grow up and honor herself or himself44to learn to sing 8od-s praises with one-s own voice# ersons of many marginali"ed groups need to experience what the :ew Testament 8reek terms m e t a n o i a , often translated repentance %literally $turning from$ or $turning away$*, not as turning away from pride and rebellion to godly submission but as turning from shame and re0ection of 8od-s

creation in one-s self to self acceptance and integration with all 8od-s good creation#

Crises and "daptations

+or a time Caf ride stood on its own as a half4recogni"ed part of my employing agency and a half4owned ministry of one congregation# 7ther than the moral support of astor =eckonchrist and the invaluable staffing of Iaren Tompkins, one of their seminary students, the Holy Covenant congregation had little knowledge or interest in the coffeehouse# 1dditionally Holy Covenant-s building is rather small and very heavily used# 7ften our use of the space overlapped with other programs or conflicted with much needed rentals# 7n more than one weekend Caf ride was forced to find another location in which to host its young patrons# ,n @uly &''H, , left the employ of the agency under which Caf ride had been developed, and shortly thereafter, Caf ride separated itself from my employing agency# This was a painful but necessary separation as Caf ride redefined itself and reclaimed its religious roots# 1t that time the coffeehouse became a personal ministry of its staff and became more recogni"ed by the Holy Covenant congregation# This recognition was partially due to the crisis caused when the <nited !ethodists- :orthern ,llinois Conference $taxed$ the congregation for monies they were holding that had been raised for Caf ride# 1s 1mmerman points out, denominational structures can often damage innovative ministry rather than encouraging it %&''H p# ))&*# Those of us staffing Caf ride immediately needed to find a new fiscal agent for the coffeehouse# This crisis and the need to $market$ ourselves to another religious group forced us to develop a more specific mission statement for Caf ride# The crisis also forced us to reevaluate our place in the community and the potential for ministry we knew to be there# @uly, 1ugust, and September were rough months# 1t the time it was a horrible mess6 in hindsight it was an experience that forced us to do important, adaptive work %Heifet", &''F p# ;'ff#*# 7ur conclusions led us eventually to form a new organi"ation which could be our fiscal agent, oversee our operations, and connect us more widely to potentially supportive congregations and to the community at large# 1nd in the short term our very fully $ripened$ %Heifet" p# &&;ff* fiscal4agent crisis forced us to deepen our relationship with a congregation that had previously been merely a supportive bystander4/incoln ark resbyterian Church# ride !inistries was founded as a result of hours of $parking lot$ conversations among Caf ride-s staff, interested friends, and my classmates in !4;&(# These conversations led to the following conclusions# &# There exists a need to do appropriate evangelism in sexual minority communities particularly in the neighborhoods we had identified# 9# Caf ride can effectively do ministry among only one age group of sexual minority persons# )# Caf ride was already serving as what eter Hodgson %&'(( p# H&* calls a $clearing of freedom#$ Hodgson-s term comes from the antebellum =lack church and was later appropriated by the 5oman Church and the $feminist ecclesial vision#$ Slaves were willing to risk their lives to answer the call within their souls to find a place where they

could be free to worship, sing, and laugh even if they could only reach that space in the dark of night and for only a few hours# F# !any congregations recogni"e the need to reach out to persons marginali"ed as a result of minority orientation but are ill e3uipped through traditional models to provide appropriate outreach# These congregations could benefit from those of us associated with Caf ride aggressively marketing ourselves as speakers and consultants and.or publishing as experts in sexual minority, liberation evangelism# J# Caf ride could serve as a functioning model of liberation evangelism and an example to interested congregations, not to be merely copied but to inspire new thought# 1s a result of these conversations initiated by our attempts to adapt to our string of crises, the volunteer staff of Caf ride began to approach local congregations and resource persons to create a broader $self4sustaining$ organi"ation to manage Caf ride and address the other needs we had observed# 5e would come to call this organi"ation $ ride !inistries#$

Implementation and #roup $inistry

7n 1ugust )E, , met with the mission committee of Holy Covenant <nited !ethodist Church to officially keep them abreast of the ministry of what then was still only Caf ride# , specifically asked that they recogni"e it as a ministry and keep it in their regular prayers# 5e discussed the possibility of Holy Covenant holding two seats on a future =oard of >irectors# They agreed in principle but candidly offered that they had no immediate prospects for the =oard# 1t the September &(, Session meeting of /incoln ark resbyterian Church, , presented the concept of ride !inistries and re3uested several things, among themG &# That the session recogni"e that ride !inistries and Caf ride were ministries associated with that congregation and that they be added as responsibilities to my arish 1ssociate covenant with /incoln ark# 9# That the session agree to become, at least temporarily, the fiscal agent for ride !inistries# )# That the session authori"e me to recruit from the congregation for two members for a future =oard of >irectors for ride !inistries# +ollowing a lead from a casual conversation between astor =eckonchrist and the pastor of /ake ?iew resbyterian Church, @oy >ouglas Strome, , began conversations with @oy about moving the +riday night meeting of Caf ride to /ake ?iew Church# That church has a more desirable space both because of its location and because it was not so heavily booked with other programs# This led, on 7ctober (, to my meeting with /ake ?iew-s building committee and presenting the possibility of renting /ake ?iew-s space for Caf ride-s Halloween arty# This presentation was successful and led in turn to my meeting with the session of /ake ?iew on 7ctober 99, at which time they agreed to recogni"e Caf ride not only as a ministry but as theirministry# ,t should be noted at this point that all during this time ride !inistries has been gaining allies# =y the time , spoke to /ake ?iew-s session, several elders had already researched the program, visited us in operation, and promoted the ministry in a variety of $parking lot conversations# , have no idea of all the lobbying that went on for this ministry, but , was far

from alone in my efforts# , am only able to report what , know about firsthand or have been told about#

Seminary Involvement
1t the first of the &''H4'( academic year, Iaren Tompkins, who had been one of Holy Covenant-s seminarians the previous year and had in that capacity staffed Caf ride, volunteered to staff Caf ride this year and to serve as a community member of ride !inistries =oard of >irectors# Iaren served last year in partial fulfillment of her field placement from 8arrett Seminary# She continues to do excellent work as a volunteer ministering among Caf ride-s patrons# ,n the model we have come to see as normative for Caf ride, she plays cards and board games with the patrons and waits for the $teachable moment$ or appropriate 3uestion from one of our patrons to initiate conversations that have more pastoral content# She waits for the patron to signal openness to conversation# This academic year has also seen the addition of !arilyn :ash and @on =assinger, students at !cCormick Theological Seminary, to Caf ride-s volunteer staff# !arilyn and @on are making valuable connections among our regulars and helping us integrate new patrons# 1s occurs in any ministry, parishioners discover themselves more comfortable talking with one staff member or another depending on the issues at hand and the tone of any given evening# >espite the 1postle aul-s directive, we cannot be all things to all people# Having a staff with widely different ages and temperaments seems to be part of any success in this kind of outreach#

Community Involvement
1nother person who has been central to the life of Caf ride and ride !inistries is my partner, >avid Thomas# His temperament is uni3ue and has helped us connect with many youths who otherwise would have been too intimidated by my clerical collar and the church setting# 1dditionally, since he was raised as a 2oman Catholic, he can communicate with the ma0ority of our patrons and the concerns they have both from their faith perspectives and from their fear of rotestants# >avid is also an inveterate promoter and has helped us connect with a variety of persons within the larger community who are essential to our finding funding and receiving the publicity that helps youths discover that we-re here# , have been unwise to begin naming names here# , cannot forget people like >avid-s son, >avid Thomas, ,,, who helped us put together a business plan or 2andy >eneen who has staffed the coffeehouse on evenings when we needed another male adult and who has brought his Iellogg School of =usiness, marketing degree into our promotional planning# 5ithout a doubt this has not been a solo exercise but a work of many hands#

" Summary of %ur "daptive Change

, believe the outline of this period has beenG &# ,dentifying a need for broader sexual minority outreach specifically youth outreach

9# !aintaining a focus on the real problems not intra4agency politics or denominational $taxation$ formulas )# Creating an atmosphere where creative suggestions can be verbali"ed6 studied6 and accepted, re0ected, or adapted within a highly motivated group F# resenting our ideas to a wider public that has the power to implement# This pattern is analogous to $The +ive Strategic rinciples of /eadership$ identified by Heifet" $&# ,dentify the adaptive challenge# # # # 9# Ieep the level of distress within a tolerable range for doing adaptive work# # # # )# +ocus attention on ripening issues and not on stress4reducing distractions# # # # F# 8ive the work back to the people, but at a rate they can stand# # # # J# rotect voices of leadership without authority$ %&''F p# &9(*#

The &oard of Directors

Conse3uently, ride !inistries came into being, a ministry that would include Caf ride as a model and market those of us trained in our particular understanding of liberation evangelism as consultants to other congregations# 1fter months of recruiting and preparing for our first meeting, on :ovember 9), &''H the first =oard !eeting of ride !inistries convened itself and began the work of administering monies we had received, and setting ground rules for our eventual incorporation# They adopted the following statements with the proviso that they be reexamined on a regular basis#

Pride $inistries' (ision)$ission Statement

$ ride !inistries is dedicated to the proposition that the 8ood :ews of 8od-s love is broader than any one denominational creed or religious understanding# ,t is, therefore, not limited to service among any one type of religious community# ride !inistries is dedicated to the concept that the needs of all persons transcend the merely material and include access to religious tradition, ritual, community life, and opportunities to serve others#$ "Therefore, ride !inistries is a religious organi"ation that exists To provide assistance to religious communities considering outreach among persons in their neighborhoods- sexual minority communities# To consult with religious communities designing or redesigning sexual minority outreach programs or any type of radically inclusive ministry# To guide religious communities in the study of urban ministry in general by leading guided street walks, by providing resource persons for study groups %Sunday School classes, youth groups, or academic classes*, by writing study guides, and by offering more intensive consultation#$

Caf* Pride's $ission Statement

$Caf ride is a religious outreach of ride !inistries that exists To provide sexual minority youths with a safe space for fellowship with peers and to interact with adults who are integrated into the community# To challenge the exclusion which gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered youths often experience from religious communities and the attendant spiritual alienation that many sexual minority persons experience# To offer the wider community an example of inclusive ministry#$ ,n addition to the =oard of >irectors, we are also in the process of forming a romotions =oard# This board will take responsibility for raising community awareness and fundraising for ride !inistries# 1s of this writing we have scheduled a cabaret night fund4raiser with several local vocalists volunteering their skills to this ministry#

Evaluation
1lthough some forms of evaluation have been going on throughout this period, the formal, ongoing evaluation will be by the =oard, which at present is composed of +red =raucher, elder at /ake ?iew resbyterian Church and semi4retired psychologist 2obert 8uenther, elder at /incoln ark resbyterian Church, and attorney !onna 2ay, elder at /incoln ark resbyterian Church and retired administrator for the ,llinois >epartment of Children and +amily Services /onnie Silva, youth patron of Caf ride and student at /oyola <niversity Bmily Stewart, youth patron of Caf ride and high school student @oy >ouglas Strome, pastor of /ake ?iew resbyterian Church with extensive experience in suburban youth ministry Iaren Tompkins, Caf ride volunteer staff, former youth pastor in several <nited !ethodist congregations, and currently a student at 8arrett Seminary Three other persons, two from Holy Covenant <nited !ethodist Church and one community member have been invited to serve on the board but have not formally responded as of this writing# , hope to have these positions filled by our next =oard meeting on +ebruary J, &''(# <ltimately, however, the only useful evaluation will be the long4term observation of the lives of the youths served by the coffeehouse and others who find our work helpful# 1t this writing, , consider the ministry successful because of the response we have received from those with power to act who helped us get this far and from those youths who come back week after week# 1s one young woman said, $Caf ride helps me keep my life from blowing apart# ,t releases pressures that might CotherwiseD get me in trouble#$ Personal Learning 5hen , did my re3uired Clinical astoral Bducation unit at 2ush resbyterian St# /uke-s

Hospital, , was assigned to the child4psych ward# 7ne of my first patients was a teen so disturbed as to be non4verbal# , was fresh from seminary and eager to do $real ministry#$ , wanted to use pastoral interventions, words, and programs to $help$ this young man# ,nstead the psych staff asked me to play with /ego blocks with him# ,n time , learned that healing from many of life-s spiritual and psychic wounds re3uires, not a program, a bibliographic resource, or a sermon, but a safe space# 1 space in which to relax, a space in which to hear the voice of 8od, and perhaps foremost a space in which to hear one-s own voice# The youths in Caf ride and the wider audiences we hope to reach through ride !inistries do not need our intervention to be loved by 8od# They do not need our structure to receive ministry# 5hat they need most is a space in which to heal themselves# 1s , saw in traveling through this period of adaptation and change, there are many folks who care about the dynamic challenges addressed by this ministry# =ut they need an individual to focus the issues, keep them attentive to those issues, provide some framework for addressing the issues %another safe space* and adapt a new response to the original dynamic# , have learned through this stage of the ride !inistries pro0ect that , hate the kind of vulnerability that adaptive change re3uires# , have a tremendous fear of being wrong# , much prefer a position in a 0ob or in any relationship where someone else takes the lead and , can critici"e from the rear# ,-m willing to work hard# , 0ust don-t like being in a position where my missteps are visible to everyone# , also have a great deal of passion for the community 8od has called me to serve# , believe , am called to be a minister to those who feel 8od-s love leaves them out because they are different# Conse3uently, , am more comfortable ministering among outcasts than among traditional, well4connected, mainstream, middle4class resbyterians# This pro0ect has forced me to harness my passion for the youths of my community to overcome my fear of being wrong# , believe that during the last few weeks , have been able to care more about the program than my reputation or my position# , have been forced into talking to conservative folks whom , would have previously avoided about a ministry that exposed my own marginali"ation# The phrase, $put your money where your mouth is$ has come back to me fre3uently during the last few months, not 0ust as it applies to those in local churches or in the community with money, or resources, but as it applies to my desire to evangeli"e my own community# ,-ve learned through this pro0ect that , can create a way to live out the call to evangeli"e rather than 0ust talk about it# This pro0ect became a safe space for me to do what , did not have the courage to by myself# Several times , heard myself saying to groups that , didn-t feel ,-d convinced, $This is part of my >#!in# pro0ect for !cCormick# ,n other words, if you think this is too weird an idea, blame those seminary folks, don-t blame me# , found the space eventually to think of the >#!in# as assisting my risk4taking not as a cover for it# , guess you could say that !4;&( has been for me what /ego blocks were for my friend in the psych ward# 1s he healed, he became able to move beyond the pretend world that the brightly colored blocks provided, and on a good day, so do ,#

Conclusions
,n the time since this course started, we-ve broadened our little coffeehouse pro0ect to include the broader governance, outreach, and fundraising capabilities that ride !inistries now allows# 5e-ve worked with several congregations and have a business plan to begin meeting with more congregations# 5e have a =oard of >irectors in place and a romotions =oard partially recruited# 5e have a fundraising benefit scheduled for +ebruary# 5e-ve raised KJEEE#EE in grant and donation money and published two newsletters# ride !inistries and Caf ride are up and running, and as the spiritual says, $5e-ve come this far by faith, # # # He hasn-t failed us yet#$

Sources Cited
1mmerman, :ancy Tatom# &''H# Congregation ) Community#:ew =runswick, :@G 2utgers <niversity ress# Heifet", 2onald 1# &''F# *eadership %ithout +asy Ans,ers#Cambridge, !1G The =elknap ress of the Harvard <niversity ress# Hodgson, eter C# &'((# Revisioning the Church- +cclesial .reedom in the /e, aradigm# !inneapolis, !:G +ortress ress# Holland, @oe and eter Henriot, S#@# &'()# &ocial Analysis- *in'ing .aith and "ustice, rev# ed# !aryknoll, :LG 7rbis =ooks# :iebuhr, 2einhold# &'F&# (he /ature and Destiny of Man, 0#:ew LorkG :isbet# SMlle, >orothee# &''E# (hin'ing A!out 1od- An 0ntroduction to (heology# /ondonG SC! ress#