Dear People of St. James’,
Happy PRIDE Month! Throughout the country, June marks a celebration of our LGBTQI+ community. It is also a time to take stock of where the fight for equity and human dignity for all people is gaining momentum or losing ground.
St. James’ Episcopal Church was an early space of sanctuary and inclusive and affirming Christian community in Austin. Members of St. James’, particularly Ms. Ora Houston, stood up at microphones at Diocesan Council after Diocesan Council and at the General Convention of the Episcopal Church to push for marriage equality and the full and unhindered recognition of the God-given gifts for ministry of people from the LGBTQI+ community. St. James’ was quick to move through the Unity in Mission process to get permission to hold same sex blessings, and later marriage, when it was legalized by the Supreme Court’s decision in 2015. Since the bar to the ordination of individuals from the LGBTQI+ community fell in our diocese, St. James’ has supported Steven Tomlinson and Scott Madison in receiving postulancy, a key step toward ordination in the Episcopal Church. Steven is now a candidate for ordination, studying for bivocational priesthood in the Iona Program, and Scott will begin seminary at the Seminary of the Southwest in Fall of 2022. St. James’ also supported the ordination process of The Rev. James Harrington, who serves with us as Missioner for Proyecto Santiago. Over the years, Proyecto and St. James’ have been an inclusive and affirming space for seminarians from the LGBTQI+ community to serve in the context of Latino Ministries.
At St. James’, we believe that love is love is love is love. We believe that God’s Love can be expected to break through our age-old prejudices in order to reveal something new and good. We are grateful for the ministries of members of the LGBTQI+ community in our midst and in our larger community, and we seek to be a place where all feel welcome at God’s table and may receive strength for the journey. We pray that we will continue in the awareness that we have been blessed in order to be a blessing.
Our Austin community celebrates Pride in August, and our friend Chaz Nailor has accepted the co-chair position for the Pride Parade on August 20, 2022. Be on the lookout for details on an opportunity to participate!
We enter Pride Month knowing that we have made strides toward equity but there is a long road ahead, particularly in our own state where inhumane legislation has repeatedly targeted the trans community. We are also aware that a reversal of Roe v. Wade might threaten decisions based on other unenumerated rights protected by the 14th amendment or the Constitution, particularly privacy, autonomy, and self-determination. We must continue to be vigilant, prayerful, and active in seeking equity and justice for all people. May God bless the work of our hands and the yearnings of our hearts.
Rev. Eileen
