November 2009

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The past few days have been busy ones for me, between working on a couple of projects (one crochet, the other not) and dealing with some personal stuff that needed settling.

I had started to write on All Saints' Day. but realized I was tired and sad and really didn't want to talk about the people I have lost. The year between last All Saints' Day and this one had some significant losses in it, but with some oddness: some of the deaths had happened well before last November, but I only learned of them long after the fact. And that in itself makes me a little sad, for people moving and losing touch.

And something else is on my mind. This probably shouldn't be news to me, but it was: there are people in the ELCA who are so disgruntled over a convention vote earlier this year that they are withholding/planning to withhold any funds heading to the national church, with some fraction of the disgruntled talking about setting up a separate church.

The first I knew of any of this was when the November newsletter from my home congregation arrived. In it was a note saying that the council plans to have the congregation take up the matter of what to do with the percent of funds designated to be sent on to the national church, in light of the ELCA convention's actions regarding "homosexuals in church leadership." Until the congregation has a business meeting in late November, the money is in an escrow account.

And that note sent me looking. I didn't find anything terribly hateful, but I did find the notion of withholding definitely extends beyond my home congregation.

Those of you who've read a while know I'm all in favor of gay ordination, and am frankly glad I don't have money in the pot that's being escrowed. I could rant, but I won't.

But I will say I'm even sadder that two of my own saints, who were members of that congregation and who were both very much in favor of gay rights and inclusion, are gone. At least one of them would have had some compelling things to say at the meeting.