Uncomfortable enough?
A year ago, in our September newsletter, I talked about uncomfortable. We were moving our worship service out of the building to join in the community Pride Worship, and I wanted to acknowledge that it might make you uncomfortable.
It is a bit uncomfortable when we have to figure out a different routine, and where to park, and find our spot in a different location. We have to remember which day this is happening. And how much earlier will we have to leave to make this work?
Last year was the first time we moved our worship. We’re doing it again this year, for the Pride Sunday service at the Memorial Union on Sunday October 12, as we announced last week. Last year our church showed up in force; I hope that happens again this year. Even if it made us a tad bit uncomfortable, it was also good for us. It was and is the right thing, to be part of that gathering that says to our LGBTQIA+ kin, “We’re part of one another.”
We can afford to be a little uncomfortable once in a while, for a good cause. Jesus would likely say we can’t afford not to be. He promised us abundant life (John 10:10); he didn’t promise that we’d find it by staying in our comfort zones! Jesus was more likely to talk about taking up our crosses and following him in spite of every obstacle and consequence (e.g., Luke 9.23).
Collegiate/Wesley stepped way out of any recognizable comfort zone 25 years ago next month when its members adopted a statement of reconciliation that said, in essence: All Are Welcome Here. That decision followed years of conversations, study, and exploration. It put CW at odds with the formal statement of United Methodist doctrine in our book of rules, The Discipline.
It was anything but comfortable. And it was absolutely the right thing to do.
Pastor Jena and I have conversations regularly with people who are here because—unlike some of our neighbors—we are a church that lives out that unconditional welcome you all chose 25 years ago. Just saying it isn’t enough; people can look at our website or hear our words and still wonder, “Is it safe here?” “Can I be who I am here?” They ask because it hasn’t been safe for them in other places they’ve tried. Many of our siblings have been wounded. We get to answer: Yes. Come. We are part of one another.
On Sunday, October 26 we’ll be celebrating the 25th anniversary of CW’s adoption of that courageous reconciling statement. Twenty-five years in which we’ve sought to become a place of thriving and loving and becoming who we are, together. It coincides with the Cyclones’ Homecoming weekend, so we’re inviting our Wesley alums (and anyone else who is free to join in!). What rainbow-colored joy!
So, yeah, sometimes a little discomfort is exactly what we need. I’m grateful to be serving a church that’s gone there, and helped all of us keep going there, again and again. It makes me think the question isn’t, “Does this make you feel uncomfortable?” We ought to be asking, “Am I uncomfortable enough yet?”
Come to think of it, that would be a good question to ask THIS Sunday as you visit our OpportunityFest (after worship) and ask, “What is God calling me to try out? Where might I serve?” If the answer makes you uncomfortable, you’re probably on to something!
