A Letter from Lindy Feb 23
A Letter from Lindy
Pilgrims,
Not wanting to jump over the importance of Transfiguration Sunday marking the end of our Epiphany journey, but I want to again invite us to enter Lent through our Glitter + Ash Wednesday service at 6pm on February 26. We began sharing in nuanced adaption of Ash Wednesday last year, marking and celebrating our 20th year as an open and affirming congregation. Let me again share the premise and invitation from Parity NYC for why our doing so feels so compelling:
WE WILL BE SEEN
Glitter is like love. It’s irresistible and irrepressible.
WE WILL TELL THE TRUTH
Ashes are a statement that death and suffering are real.
Glitter is a sign of our hope, which does not despair.
Glitter signals our promise to repent, to show up, to witness, to work.
Glitter never gives up -- and neither do we.
WHAT IS GLITTER+ASH WEDNESDAY?
Ash Wednesday is a day when Christians receive the mark of the cross on their foreheads
to begin the 40 days of reflection and repentance in preparation for Easter.
Glitter Ashes lets the world know that we are progressive, queer-positive Christians.
We are in the pews, in the pulpits and giving glitter ashes in the street to those
who either may not have time to go to a church—or may have been rejected by a church.
WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?
The public face of Christianity is often a face of intolerance -- especially toward LGBTQia people. There are millions of Christians who believe that the Gospel commands us to love,
not hate. Glitter ashes are a witness to an inclusive Christian message.
It is commonly believed that the God of Christianity condemns LGBTQia people.
This is Christian “fake news” not the Good News of Jesus.
Christian condemnation is toxic, doing vast damage to queer people, especially to queer youth—and to their families who are told they should reject their children.
By becoming visible, we show our faith in God who empowers us and wants us to repent
of hurting each other. We want people to see how important our faith is to us,
HOW MANY CHURCHES ARE DOING THIS?
In the very first year over 200 churches and faith groups in 3 countries and 29 states participated, though the reach was far beyond that, with international media reports that reached 200 million readers and viewers. Glitter Ashes was named by several media outlets as “a new movement”
and was called “the most talked about event of 2017 Lent.” We are still collecting the stories
from 2018 - and have given up on counting. Glitter is everywhere!
Glitter Ash Wednesday isn't be confined just to churches. There are Glitter Ash Wednesday services in public parks and in homes, on sidewalks, at subway stations, coffee shops
and even in bars.
Why Now? Why Glitter?
THE NEED FOR PROGRESSIVE CHRISTIAN WITNESS HAS NEVER BEEN MORE URGENT.
Glitter is an inextricable element of queer history. It is how we have displayed our gritty, scandalous hope. We make ourselves fabulously conspicuous, giving offense to the arbiters of respectability that allow coercive power to flourish.
Glitter+Ash is an inherently queer sign of Christian belief, blending symbols of mortality and hope, of penance and celebration. Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent, a season of repentance. During Lent, Christians look inward and take account in order to move forward with greater health. At this moment in history, glitter ashes will be a powerful reminder of
St. Augustine’s teaching that we cannot despair because despair paralyzes,
thwarting repentance and impeding the change that we are called to make.
Glitter+Ash exquisitely captures the relationship between death and new life. We do not live in fear of ash - of death - we place it on our foreheads for the world to see. We know that fear will rise, cramping our hearts. We also know that God specifically calls us not to project that fear
onto the Other, the alien, the stranger in our midst. God insists that we look for the spark of life, of hope, in ourselves and one another. This Ash Wednesday, we will make that spark easier to see. We will stand witness to the gritty, glittery, scandalous hope that exists in the very marrow
of our tradition.
Pilgrims, as we explore just what it means to be Open and Affirming in 2020, I hope you hear God's call to join in our Glitter + Ash Wednesday service.
Pastor Lindy