Recently Wendy had the chance to visit and lecture at Calvin College as part of the Sexuality Series.
Here’s a write up about the evening. (Full link: http://www.calvin.edu/chimes/2015/04/17/lecture-addresses-churches-response-to-lgbtq-community/)
And below is a video of the evening.
DetailsOne of the reasons I have so loved being engaged in the conversations at the intersection of faith and sexuality over the last decade plus is the very reason some people seem to avoid entering the discussion. I have found, over time, that this conversation invites you, eventually compels you, and if you resist –…
DetailsMiddle section, second pew from the front, left side.
That’s where my family sat every Sunday morning. It provided easy access to the stage for my pastor dad, who was always positioned closest to the aisle. It gave me a sense of being under the watchful gaze of the whole congregation: significant, but scrutinized.
Sunday church attendance was non-negotiable, though I don’t remember the four of us kids ever really putting up a fight. Some of us would actually make the church trek twice on Sundays once our evening service started up. When I moved to Vancouver I immediately found two new churches to attend, later paring it down to one. This eventually led to being hired as a pastor (which I was pretending to be, as a child, in the photo above). This obviously only intensified my church involvement.
DetailsEarlier this month, 75 people attended our annual Generous Spaciousness Retreat. Most were from southern Ontario, but some came from as far as Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, and New Brunswick! We spent three days together at a conference center on a frozen lake, laughing, crying, eating, singing, praying, listening to each other’s stories, and watching God work in us and through us.
One of the retreat participants, Chad, had this to say about the experience…
“Last year’s retreat was life changing, so coming to this year’s retreat I knew the experience wouldn’t be quite the same. This past year has been a whirlwind. My partner and I are involved with two community groups in which we are using Generous Spaciousness as our model. Wehave also been starting conversations with our church leadership about the LGBTQ community. I’ve also had to deal with some difficult conversations with family. This is hard stuff, and even in the week before this retreat, I was really starting to feel down and wanting to give up.
DetailsIt’s something the church has been talking a whole heck of a lot about in the past few years, whether it’s behind the scenes in policy meetings or out front in the media. Same-sex marriage. Partnered gay men and women who are committed Jesus-followers. Married, faithful gay couples loving and serving in the church. And every one…
DetailsWikiGod Podcaster Mark sits down with Wendy for a two-part conversation. This week in Part 1, Wendy talks about some of the major influences that affected her awareness about the legacy of New Direction as she took the role of Executive Director in 2002. It’s a fascinating and highly relevant account of her listening, feeling uncomfortable, being unexpectedly welcomed, meeting undeniable grace, and becoming a beacon of hope for Christians accustomed to being marginalized and hiding in the shdows.
DetailsRecently Wendy, Beth, and Danice had the chance to chat with MennoNerd moderator, Jennifer Yoder. It was a fantastic conversation about sexuality in the church, LGBT issues, safe spaces, and other topics.
Check out MennoNerds and watch the video here.
DetailsOn the final morning of last month’s Gay Christian Network (GCN) conference in Portland, which our staff from New Direction attended, it was clear that the conference organizers had gone to great lengths to figure out how to serve communion to 1300 participants from multiple denominations.
It may have taken more time to explain how to receive communion than it did to receive it.
Besides the twenty-some stations offering wafers, white bread, and wine, there were also special stations with gluten-free bread, and bowls of juice for those who abstain from wine. In one corner of the huge room, Catholics could go and receive the host, consecrated and served by a priest. And in the middle, there was something I’d never even heard of: the antidoron, the non-consecrated Bread of Fellowship, baked by attendees from the Orthodox tradition and offered especially to others from closed-table churches. Gosh, I thought, they’ve even got a way to participate for people whose traditions prevent them from participating.
DetailsRecently Wendy was interviewed by Xander Gibb on his Radio Show Xandermonium.
You can listen to the full show and find out more about Xandermonium here. Or listen to the portion with Wendy here.
DetailsA good number of years ago, when I was a young and inexperienced woman in ministry, a mentor showed me Janet Hagberg’s stages of power. It was an ‘aha’ moment for me. It gave me an understanding of some of the feelings, experiences, and efforts I was making in my life to become a freer and more giving individual.
We had already covered quite a bit of ground at the women’s retreat, but I checked in with them to see if we could add this additional layer – as a tool to bring us to a deeper awareness of where we’re at and where we want to be. Given the ages and stages of life and the many experiences represented in the room, I knew that the women would have a lot to offer to one another as we talked about these stages of power.
Though we’d been working with the four quadrants of a circle, representing the seasons of our lives, Hagberg describes six stages of power. The first stage which would be up in the awakening quadrant, is described as powerless. In this stage, we feel as though we are starting at ground zero. Perhaps we have suffered a significant loss – a death of a family member, a break-up or divorce, being laid-off or fired, failing a course at school, not making the team, discovering the betrayal of a friend, financial disaster, totaling the car, illness or sudden disability. These experiences can leave us feeling unmoored, unsure of where to turn, disconnected from needed resources. Some may call it ‘hitting bottom’. Hagberg suggests that in this place we may realize our need for God. We cry out for help – we have no where else to turn. We awaken from the stupor and recognize that we cannot carry on simply relying on our own devices.
DetailsThis is part three of a short blog series reflecting on the keynote that I facilitated for the WeConnect women’s retreat at the Gay Christian Network conference in January 2015. Together we shared practices and reminders that invite us to go deeper and farther in our spiritual lives. The next layer we applied to the wheel introduced key ideas connecting us to our true selves.
In the top quadrant, that of awakening, there is a call to resist. We resist “Who I am NOT.” In this early season, a season of coming awake, perhaps after a period of chaos or stress where we found ourselves unable to remain present, attuned, or aware of the happenings within our soul, we so often forget (or haven’t figured out) who we truly are. We may have taken on the labels or expectations of others. Perhaps the whispers, the mockery, the accusations that pull us into dark, slimy pits of insecurity and self-loathing have overwhelmed us. Perhaps the voices of others in our heads are so loud – that we can no longer hear our own voice. This call of awakening is the call to stop, silence the voices, strain our ears for our heart song, and resist the false self (the one so badly wanting to earn God’s love and everyone else’s) (the one so frightened that the built-up personas are a constant presentation) (the one that has numbed down true emotions in order to fit in, not cause a stir, or be a burden). We become still long enough to recognize that which is NOT ourselves. The Spirit offers the accompaniment to a new song. Perhaps life has thrown so much at you that you find yourself bitter, angry, complaining, negative …… and the still small voice inside reminds you that this is NOT who you are. Resistance brings energy, it brings remembrance and recognition. And it ushers us to the next season.
DetailsRecently Wendy had the chance to be featured on the Nomad Podcast.
Nomad Podcast is an chance to explore Christian community, mission and the future of the church. Join two ordinary pilgrims as they stumble through the post-Christendom wilderness, looking for signs of hope.
Listen to the episode (podcast) and find out more about Nomad here.
