Three is a Magic Number

By: Rev. Kelly Lamon Some might ask, “Is it ok for Christians to protest?”  A better question is, “Why and how should Christians protest?” Minnesota is facing a human rights crisis. Good church people have many views on immigration, pathways to citizenship, border control, and amnesty, so we could debate policy all day. But one thing is not up for debate: Christians must speak out when our neighbors are being harmed. We are seeing: • Children detained to trap their parents • An elderly man hauled from his home in his underwear after they pointed guns at the family • Teenagers restrained at their Target jobs while trying to retrieve their papers, then abandoned miles away in tears • A disabled woman dragged from her car after receiving mixed instructions • A man pinned beneath four agents while one knees him in the head repeatedly and another worries more about being filmed than stopping the violence. Jesus did not stay silent when things weren’t right .  His e...

When ICE was operating far away, it was too easy to look away. But now they’re here in our neighborhoods, on our streets harassing our residents, friends, neighbors, co‑workers. A new resident, Renee Nicole Good, is dead. These images aren’t from 200 miles away. They’re from 15 miles away. From 10 miles away. From 5 miles away. Target workers, U.S. citizens, forced to the floor and cuffed. An Uber driver standing his ground because he knew his rights. High schoolers and teachers shoved outside of their own school. A pregnant woman dragged from her car. A father arrested while with his little girl, and ICE had no plan to care for her, so she ran. A woman killed because an agent decided pulling a gun was easier than stepping aside. I’m so mad. And I know I have to watch how that comes out because my people deserve a steady, non-anxious presence from me. I can be an intense person. But right now, all I can offer is the truth: this is horrifying. ICE and DHS are acting with cruelty and ...

I want to start by saying that we all need to be supporting our local food shelves.  Now to the post... I’ve had a series of videos popping up on my social media feeds by a content creator named Nikalie who is doing so-called ‘social experiments’.   She pretends to be a mom needing formula with a recording of a baby in the background.   Here are two examples of many.   Watch before you read on.   https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTMsrQGtb/ and https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTMsrvBgb/ You will notice that in the comments, people are outraged.   I’m irritated too, but for different reasons.   If Nikalie runs across this post, I hope she calls my church because I want to explain that, without knowing it, she is doing more harm than good.   I truly think she has good intentions, but she is lacking some context. The most common thing you will hear in these videos is that the churches refer the Nikalie to a food shelf or other organization that is set up to meet ...

 In my experience, woman in leadership must work harder and be more skilled in order to raise to the same level as their male counter parts.  It’s not to say that all the men leaders I’ve worked for aren’t skilled or that all women I’ve worked with have been exceptional.  But when I assess them overall, many of the men who raised to leadership could not have reached their role if they had been a woman.  And if the women had the same level of skill the men had, they would not have reached their leadership role.  This trend is not just true in ministry and education (my fields); it’s also in business, nonprofits, and yes, in politics.   For women, this dynamic is incredibly frustrating.   During this campaign season, we’ve all been watching how exceptional Harris has had to be and how ill-equipped Trump appears to be.   Yet this race is tight.   Harris is one of the most qualified candidates for president in history, working in all three...

My daughter, a first-time voter, said to me, “Mom, it feels really important to me that Kamala Harris wins the election.”   I replied, “I feel the same way.”   Plenty of pundits and talking heads are outlining why: the policies on her website, women’s rights, empowerment of the middle class, her message about lifting people up.   But I want to talk about a different reason.   As I Christian pastor, I’m concerned about the future of Christianity in the US due to the uprising of Christian nationalism since Trumpism took root.   It’s no surprise that as a pastor, I believe that faith really matters.   I can cite scientific research about the healing power of spirituality, point you to stories of individual transformation, and highlight the positive impact of religion on society.   Heck, I've devoted my life to sharing this good news.  But  I am also astutely aware of the damage that faithful people can do: oppression, manipulation, coercio...

Was Jesus a polarizing figure? My church will do a worship series on polarization during Lent.   Wish us luck!   People are already asking me, “Are you really going to ask me to interact with others whose views are so off course that they would become violent?”   That response is incredibly telling of the dynamics at play within our society—that people automatically go to the extreme without seeing the rest.   The goal of this series is to investigate whether the life of Jesus teaches us anything about polarization. I’ve been doing some scriptural research.   And I got to tell you: it’s been a tough day.   You know when you are reading a novel and you prescribe a personality, tone of voice, and temperament to a character?   It’s almost like you can hear their voice in your head as you are reading dialogue.   The author of the story, of course, plants all the seeds through their character development, but ultimately the reader’s own lens giv...

It's PRIDE month.  For the last three years, June has been a really strange time in ministry for me.  People often refer friends, relatives, and colleagues to talk through issues around identity and gender diversity.  I get calls from people dissatisfied with their own church's stance who are trying to figure out steps to allyship.  I get calls from parents trying to do the right things.  But the most holy calls I get are from people from the LGBTQIA community, folks looking for hope after church rejection, spiritual trauma, and family rejection.   These folks are brave:  brave to recount the pain, brave to dare to accept themselves, brave to let themselves sense a glimmer of healing grace.  Their stories are sacred, and I feel nothing but gratitude that I'm let into this sacredness.   Recently I was asked by a group to provide a two-minute speech about the power of story-telling during a time of holy conferencing (the nice version ...

 I’m responsible for four humans who are between the ages of 16-21 years old (three are offspring and one is niece).  About a year ago, all three were playing a game in the dining room while I was lounging in the living room.  I heard one say, “It just occurred to me.  I’m the only straight cis person in this room!” Sure enough, I’m not sure how it happened, but I’m blessed to get to parent a bunch of rainbow umbrella kids.  They are proud of who they are.  And I’m proud they have discovered, or are discovering, their identities.  So it’s no secret around here.  We’re all out… and figuring it out.  I’m also a United Methodist pastor.   And for anyone who follows along with denominational things, this is a tough week.   We have a lot of “tough weeks” as a denomination because we are anything but united.   This particular week is tough because a significant part of the denomination is leaving to form a new denomination.   W...

As a pastor, I get the privilege of talking to parents about why worship matters for kids.  Most people expect me to give religious reasons:  God is worthy of worship; worship is part of discipleship.  And, yep, that’s all true.  But when it comes to worship and children, I find myself mostly giving the perspective of a developmental psychologist (you know, that other job I do).   Here’s what I shared recently with a group of parents: 1. Patterns, rhythms, and rituals build identity, create a sense of security, and orient/ground us.  Research for over 70 years (yes, that many!) has shown that children thrive when their grownups provide rituals and routines.  Worship is a powerful ritual that reminds kids, “you are part of something bigger.”   Family routines and rituals may improve family relationships and health (apa.org) 2. Worship is a sensory-rich experience with music, liturgy, readings.  Little brains are stimulated when ...

This is written with permission of the daughter of Sha-Von.   Last year, my church started a journey of more actively pursuing racial justice.   After so much struggle in the Twin Cities, we could not turn our eyes away any longer.   As a step in this journey, the staff and executive team was asked to make progress in our ability to adapt to diverse cultures, backgrounds, and experiences, and to understand more deeply the biases operating in us.   I remember meeting one-on-one with our consultant.   I found myself saying to him over and over, “I feel as if I know what I need to do in my head, but I don’t intentionally create space and time to interact with the diversity around me.   I’m scared.   I'm a  perfectionist.   And I can’t be perfect at this.   I’m worried that my interactions could create harm.   I don’t want to be that person.   So I just withdraw.”   That was last spring.   And I didn’t make an...

I used to get eggs from a friend who had free range chickens in her yard.  The chickens wandered around everyday eating ticks and whatever else they found.  These chickens' eggs were so good—hard shells, dark yoke, and yummy.  I’ve never tasted a store-bought egg, even those marked “free range,” like the eggs from these truly free chickens. The United Methodist Church is a mess.  I don’t need to go into the details.  Most of you know what’s happened.  And if you don’t, a quick google search will fill you in quick.  Like most United Methodists in the US, I’m sad, especially for the pastors who identify as LGBTQI+ and pastors who are leading divided congregations.  Grief.  Frustration. Vulnerability.  It's all part of this.  I must be honest with myself too.  I’m in a safe church, which is mostly of one mind.  As a cis-gender, heterosexual woman I have a ton of privilege in how I frame the debacle of the last few week...

"Does Creator/God actually want us to worship them?" I was recently drawn to this question posed on a friend's Facebook page.  I've grappled with this question several times in my life too, so I offered a comment and now have been thinking about it for the last couple of days.  It's like a little marble rolling around in my brain.     At certain times in my life, I've felt corporate worship--and the resources churches put into it--aren't consistent with God's desire for humans. In fact, at different points, I've actually thought we need to give up on worship, or at least the form its taken over the last 200 years.  I can't actually imagine a God who wants us to use our time and money to lavish praise and adoration on him/her while people are starving and hurting in the world.  Yet, I continue to come back to worship as the most important spiritual practice in my life (which is no surprise for you who have known me over the years). ...

To Rachel Marie, the Person who Taught Me How to be a Friend, Before 2nd grade…  You were simply the girl who wore dresses to school but reminded us, “it is still ok to participate in gym because I have shorts underneath.”   You were the girl who was sensitive enough to cry easily when emotions ran high.   You were the girl who bounced on her tippy-toes down the school halls.   But sometime during 2nd grade, I came to know you as a friend.   I’ve been rummaging through my memories, trying to recall how it happened.   We certainly spent a lot of time together at church, so I’m guessing our road to friendship was the comfortable path of familiarity in each other’s presence.   At some point… You became the person I wanted to stand by in line. You became the person I looked for on the playground. You became the person I had the courage to call and ask, “Do you want to play?   Do you want to have a sleepover?” By 3rd grade,...

Christians from across the US are disgusted with Jeff Sessions and Sarah Sanders' interpretation of Scripture to justify separating children and parents who are seeking asylum.   I am disgusted too.   My facebook feed is filled with people offering a Christ-like, loving alternatives to this twisted interpretation of Scripture.   I can’t offer anything different or new, but if your facebook feed doesn’t look like mine, and you don’t know why Sessions and Sanders are wrong, let me offer you the highlights. 1.        Sanders and Sessions are proof texting.   Don’t know what that is?   Go here . Biblical scholars often point out the dangers of proof texting.   (Side note:   If you do it in seminary, you get a bad grade.   Trust me—I tried it once.)   Why is it bad?   It undermines the authority of the Bible when people cherry pick passages to make points that aren’t necessarily consistent with the overarch...