Photo Friday: Khette

Khette's Ordination

Nashville, TN

April 2010

*Photos courtesy of Betsy. Thanks.

Call, Release, Proclaim

These are the only pictures I snapped yesterday. I was having fun. Or waiting. The ceremony started thirty minutes late. Or Jacq and I were yelling at bad drivers. That took up a good chunk of time. Nashville has really bad drivers. Or I was laughing. Even watching as KC was beaming with glee. Glee that exuded from every pore. Or maybe I was celebrating. Way to go Chuckers! 

Next year I will graduate. I can't wait to exude the same glee. Someone recently referred to me as Rev. T. Graduation just provides the degree I need to really get where I want to be. That degree does not determine my calling. It helps me fulfill my calling. 

Everyone tells me I am rushing things. Rush. Rush. Rush. Slow down. That's what they tell me. I love VDS. I enjoy the classroom. I am getting tired of reading. Papers are growing old. Hopefully I never have to another exam. Please, God. Rush. Rush. Rush. Slow down. 

Everyone tells me I plan too far in advance. Think too far in advance. I love ministry. I love the work of welcoming, loving, and caring. I am getting tired of being called an intern. I want to be full time. Full time. Please, God. Rush, rush, rush. Slow down. 

I will graduate next year. I will be moving on. I've got a year. And I've got the rest of my life. Rush. Rush. Rush. Slow down. I live in that tension. Amen. 

Call, Release, Proclaim,

Rev. T.

Service of Celebration

I have friends that are not allowed to be ordained in their traditions because of gender and/or sexual orientation. My heart breaks over this issue. I have friends who are better preachers, teachers, and servants than me. Better. Hands down. But I am allowed to be ordained in my tradition. My friends cannot because they are gay. (And in other traditions, because they are females.) I stay in my tradition. I could try to explain about working within the organization for change. I could. But it is so hard to explain. 

Today I celebrated my friends' gifts. I celebrated their call to ministry. Listen to me. All of you. They are called to ministry. I celebrated their diversity. And by God, we are a diverse bunch with diverse calls that awaken diverse gifts. I celebrated. We celebrated. 

I listened as an inspired commissioning message was delivered. Now, my friends, I ask you to listen:

"As one of your communities we have been privileged to experience your many gifts over the last few years.  We know that these gifts – of kindness, of loving justice, of hospitality, of compassion, of love of study, of imagination for what can be…. are gifts from God.  The fact that our various institutional churches have unjust roadblocks to ordination does not negate or diminish these gifts.  God has animated your life with the Divine Spirit, and the truth is you do not need anybody’s blessing to be about God’s work in the world.  The broken places of our world actually don’t care too much about credentials. 

But – let us not be naïve -- we live in a world where credentials still matter.  There will  be some professional opportunities that are not available to you because of your gender or your sexual orientation.  One of the challenges for you around this will be finding ways to be faithful to your call and the expression of the gifts you have been given….while negotiating your way around some anger you may feel about the church’s blind spots...

And so my word of commissioning to you today is to be attentive to the anger, but do not let it paralyze you. 

May it become a kind of righteous indignation

A slow-burning Pentecost fire in your belly that keeps all of us yearning for that day when our churches will look like God’s dream of an inclusive, beloved community. 

Anger is a power.  Use your powers for good."

You may not agree. You may not even agree that I should be ordained because of my gender. But I wept with my friends today. I wept because their call to ministry has been denied by so many. Their call is denied by the tradition that I hold near and dear to my heart. But I wept for joy, too. I wept as stoles were draped around their necks to honor their call. I wept because I promised to be an advocate. I wept in solidarity. I wept. We wept. I believe God wept. 

The church continues. It continues as the sign, symbol, and presence of God's reign on earth. I will be present, and I will work. Hard. I have been called to the vocation of ministry. And out of my own calling is a responsibility to acknowledge, support, and advocate for others to fulfill their callings. 

I wept today. I wept out of deep sadness. I wept from the experience of joy. 

It was a service of celebration. Celebrate with me. Amen.              BEAT

I was healed by a drag queen...

Don't judge. Don't try to understand. Just know that about 60 colleagues, professors, and I went to dinner, then dancing, and to a drag show last night. Yes. It is amazing. It is fun. It is about community.

I am an ally. Maybe some day I will more fully unpack this part of my...being. It is part of the way I create, build, and sustain relationships. Being an ally is incarnational to having "open hearts, open minds, and open doors." That is why I attend "Dinner, Dance, and Drag" annually.

Best part of the night: A drag queen "healed" me. Miss Carmella singled me out in the crowd (we were super close to the stage) and asked about my group. I responded, "We are from Vanderbilt Divinity School." She (yes, you use the female pronoun) asked, like most, "What the f--- is that?" Me, I say, "We're your future preachers!" In her best televangelist impersonation, she hits my forehead and pronounced me healed. The place went wild. Amazing. So fun.

Drag upon drag,

BEAT

ps: Miss Carmella is featured in the first three pictures!