University Lutheran Church

340 E. 15th Street, Tempe, AZ 85281-6612 (480) 967-3543

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An Open Letter to Arizona Residents

18/3/2021 / 12424

Bishop Hutterer

Bishop Hutterer and many other community leaders signed this Open Letter.

Community Leaders Issue Statement in Support of LGBTQ Equality and Religious Freedom

(Mesa, AZ. March 20, 2021) – In an open letter to Arizona residents, United States Senator Kyrsten Sinema, Equality Arizona, ONE Community, and leaders from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist, United Church of Christ and Jewish faiths expressed support for LGBTQ equality and protecting religious rights. 

“My faith compels me to treat all people fairly and equally, with deep humility and respect.  As a person of faith, I believe that inclusive non-discrimination is the essence of the Golden Rule, which exists in most, if not all, religious teachings worldwide.  Its crux is that we should treat others as we would want to be treated,” said Robert T. Hoshibata, Resident Bishop, Desert Southwest Conference, Methodist Church

“Simply put, protecting people from discrimination is about treating others as we want to be treated. LGBTQ rights and religious freedom do not have to be in conflict. Instead, we can come together to protect all people and unify our community on what has for too long been a divisive issue,” said Elder Dale Willis, Area Seventy, with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“As someone who grew up in the LDS Church in Mesa and is also transgender, this is an incredible moment of love and acceptance of the equal worth and dignity of LGBTQ people. This letter serves as a powerful rebuke of attempts to repeal the ordinance and divide our community using fear and lies. I hope Mesa residents will join Church leadership and decline to sign the petition seeking to repeal the ordinance,” said Michael Soto, President of Equality Arizona.

“We are proud to have support for non-discrimination from the LDS Church and faith leaders across the state,” said Angela Hughey, President and Co-Founder of ONE Community. “Equal protections benefit everyone in our community, LGBTQ people and people of faith included. Everyone deserves an opportunity to earn an honest living, have safe houses and access to services,” concluded Ms. Hughey.

The full statement, which can also be found here, reads:

An Open Letter to Arizona Residents:

As citizens and leaders in the community, we write in support of non-discrimination ordinances that protect all people, including LGBTQ people, from discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations, while also protecting important religious rights.

No one should be denied these protections for being LGBTQ, and likewise religious persons and institutions should be protected in practicing their faith.

We are deeply concerned that the ongoing conflicts between religious liberty and LGBTQ rights are poisoning our civil discourse, eroding the free exercise of religion and preventing diverse people of good will from living together in respect and peace. 

We hope that every level of government will apply these common values and core principles in a balanced approach with all stakeholders engaging in respectful dialogue. LGBTQ rights and religious freedom do not have to be in conflict. Instead, we can come together to protect all people and unify our community on what has for too long been a divisive issue.

We respectfully urge all Arizona residents to join in support of public policy that provides protections for LGBTQ persons as well as people and institutions of faith.

Sincerely,
United States Senator, Kyrsten Sinema
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elder Dale Willis
Robert T. Hoshibata, Resident Bishop,Desert Southwest Conference, United Methodist Church
The Right Rev. Jennifer A. Reddall, VI Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona
The Rev. Deborah K. Hutterer, Bishop, Grand Canyon Synod, ELCA
Rev. Dr. William Lyons, Conference Minister Southwest Conference UCC
Rabbi Robert L. Kravitz, D.D. Past-president, Board of Rabbis of Greater Phoenix
Angela Hughey, President, ONE Community
Michael Soto, Executive Director, Equality Arizona

Relearning the Already Learned

Letter

Twice I have intentionally worn robes for our online worship: Christmas Eve and Ash Wednesday. On those other occasional times you see me in my liturgical regalia, it has been because either our taping sessions were changed or I had walked right past my online clothing without taking it with me as it hung there by the door as a reminder. 

Not too long ago when my forgetfulness caused another need to dawn the robe, I went to tie the cincture (church word for rope) around the robe and discovered I had forgotten how to tie it. I am of the pragmatic sort and don’t have a fancy way to tie the cincture. Some clergy have a way to make the knot using three twists or the Trinity. Others have a method where the cincture drops into a loop, creating a nice, neat look. Still others have two places…one on the right of the robe, the other on the left, with two knots. Very impressive looking! Me, leaning more to pragmatism and being all thumbs, I prefer any way as long as the cincture doesn’t come apart and fall down during worship. 

Try as I might, I couldn’t remember how to do it. Something I did multiple times on a Sunday, seemed now lost to the past. Eventually I figured it out, but I took this

as an example of how this pandemic has affected so much of life. It has affected so much that was once routine and now seems to be tucked away in some forgotten past.

What “cinctures” might you have? What things of times past that you once did even daily, may have to be relearned? It can be a bit fearful knowing we may have to relearn the already learned as we get back to some resemblance of life as we once knew it.  Will there be former routines at work that will require some thinking once we return to our office, classroom, or place of work? When we see youthful loved ones, will there need to be some re-acquaintance as they have grown and changed in the past year? 

This is, however, the way life has always gone. We study history so we do not repeat its mistakes, yet it seems at times we more than repeat them, we actually seem mired in them. How many times we insist on relearning the already learned!

In Lent we confess more than our sins. Yet our sins are merely a symptom of a much deeper malady. In Lent, what we confess most is the very sinfulness that produces them. Talk about relearning the already learned! Yet in Lent we have the hope that we, mired in sinfulness, need not be stuck in our sins. We are often able to learn from them, repent of them, and move on into a future without them. 

While many avoid the church because of all the hypocrites contained within, we who are within remain in the church because of our constantly confessed hypocrisy. We know we are those who persistently need to relearn what we have already learned. 

We all are aware of 12 step programs. The church and the Christian life is a one step program lived out through a 6 step program. Step one is following Jesus. Steps 1-6 are the cycle of the church year: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week/Easter, Pentecost/Sundays after Pentecost. Each year we repeat. Each year we learn some new things and relearn some old. 

Let your fingers stumble through your cinctures. Go ahead and learn all over what you already knew. Repetition can be a good teacher. It is not just the way of life and the way we make things a part of us, it is a way that God, through the Body of the Christ in which we participate, continues to implant faith and drive out sins as long as we need it; year after year for a lifetime, from Advent to Sundays after Pentecost. It would seem God is okay with teaching us over and over again. 

ULC/LCM Online – WEDNESDAY

Wednesday’s ONLINE Worship Available at 6:30pm During the Academic Year

Campus CenterWednesday, March 17, 2021 – 6:30pm – Online Worship
HOLDEN EVENING PRAYER

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