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Rev. Chris Jimmerson
Guest Speakers: Michael Thurman, Becca Brennan-Luna, and Tomas Medina
August 5, 2018
First UU Church of Austin
4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756
austinuu.org
With the LGBTQ Pride Festival and Parade coming soon, members of our “Alphabet Soup” group will share their stories of finding a spiritual home at First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin.
Call to Worship
We Answer the Call of Love
Responsive Reading By Julia Corbett-Hemeyer
In the face of hate,
We answer the call of love.
In the face of exclusion,
We answer the call of inclusion.
In the face of homophobia,
We answer the call of LGBTQ rights.
In the face of racism,
We answer of justice for all races.
In the face of xenophobia,
We answer the call of pluralism.
In the face of misogyny,
We answer the call of women’s rights.
In the face of demagoguery,
We answer the call of reason.
In the face of religious intolerance,
We answer the call of diversity.
In the face of narrow nationalism,
We answer the call of global community.
In the face of bigotry,
We answer the call of open-mindedness.
In the face of despair,
We answer the call of hope.
As Unitarian Universalists, we answer the call of love —
now more than ever.
Reading
Let Us Make this Earth a Heaven
By Tess Baumberger
Let us make this earth a heaven, right here, right now.
Who knows what existences death will bring?
Let us create a heaven here on earth
where love and truth and justice reign.
Let us welcome all at our Pearly Gates, our Freedom Table,
amid singing and great rejoicing,
black, white, yellow, red, and all our lovely colors,
straight, gay, transgendered, bisexual, and all the ways
of loving each other’s bodies.
Blind, deaf, mute, healthy, sick, variously-abled,
Young, old, fat, thin, gentle, cranky, joyous, sorrowing.
Let no one feel excluded, let no one feel alone.
May the rich let loose their wealth to rain upon the poor.
May the poor share their riches with those too used to money.
May we come to venerate the Earth, our mother,
and tend her with wisdom and compassion.
May we make our earth an Eden, a paradise.
May no one wish to leave her.
May hate and warfare cease to clash in causes
too old and tired to name; religion, nationalism,
the false false god of gold, deep-rooted ethnic hatreds.
May these all disperse and wane, may we see each others’ true selves.
May we all dwell together in peace and joy and understanding.
Let us make a heaven here on earth, before it is too late.
Let us make this earth a heaven, for each others’ sake.
Homilies
Michael Thurman
How I found this church. It was the 90s, Every week there was another funeral another friend diagnosed with AIDS. My LGBTQ family were being villafied around the globe. we were feeling scared, guilty and helpless. We were living in full crisis mode. Feeling alone and shunned by family, friends and the whole community at times.
We leaned on each other and time was spent on vigils, helping our dying friends as much as we could. Cooking for them, some of us opened our homes so during the day no one had to be left alone, while their partners worked. Our social lives had changed from bars and dinner parties to hospital visits, Benefits and collecting donations. We got the notice for a 24 hour benefit called The mostly music marathon. It was being held in a church?
Now I was raised in a Southern Baptist Church. (Its where I learned the word HYPOCRISY) I grew up hearing the hate spewed out in my church against homosexuality. I was lucky though, coming out was no problem for me. I came out after high school graduation in 1979 and my mother always had my back. She would get upset while we were out together and ask “Why do you have to let everyone know your gay?” Because they need to know gay people exist! My mom and step dad even left the family church after a sermon (as they described) as a ignorant unkind attack on their son.
So the day of the mostly music marathon I got prepared, picked out my clothes made sure my belt matched my shoes and then started to prepare for entering a church again.
Practiced my smile and nod I would muster up when I heard “Love the sinner Hate the sin” “accept Jesus Christ as your savior and denounce your homosexuality before you die and you might make it to heaven” and hoped I did not get whiplash when smacked upside my head with the bible. My montra was brain first mouth second.
We pulled up in front of the church, walked to the front double doors and the first thing we see is a sign that stated “This church has a open door policy and accepts all that step through its doors” WOW! That still makes my hair stand up on end (and with all this hair that is saying something) As we walked in we were welcomed by several church members and smiled at, a little small talk, no entrapment so far! Then we hit the sanctuary and found a place to set. As I sat there a kind of peace fell over me. Here in this church there was every kind of person, all colors, ages, sexuality and families with children, not afraid to be around us gays. During intermission in the fellowship hall got to meet and talk to members of the church, gay and straight all welcoming and thanking us for being there. Heard of the gay mens group that met once a month. Even heard a rumor the new pastor was going to be a gay man.
The next sunday got up and went to our first Unitarian service. After a few more services my partner and I became members. Worked on committees gathered things for the annual fundraiser auctions. Being gay here was just a normal thing. I had found my place of peace. Now as all things do, things change, a breakup, a move out of town, several health challenges and church fell to the side. Then on my birthday a couple of years ago a small gift from a fellow Unitarian. My First Unitarian Universilist name tag. I found my place of peace again back in this church!
It was a little confusing that first Sunday back, All those Rainbow stickers on a lot of name tags had me confused. I thought “this church has become overrun with the gays” Then realizing allies wore them too, my heart felt so supported. Thanks allies for all the love and support. You are definitly part of my peace here. THANK YOU.
Becca Brennan-Luna
Hi, my name is Becca Brennan-Luna. I have been a member of First UU since last September, so almost a year. My wife Amy and I have been married for over two years and together for over 6 years. We had a few setbacks, and some discrimination at first, but we just recently found out that we have become licensed foster parents!
I was raised Mexi-Catholic in El Paso, TX. My family went to church every Sunday. We celebrated Christmas and Easter and gave up something for the 40 days of Lent. We were REALLY super Catholic! It was a big part of my life for a long time. I was baptized, had my First Holy Communion, and my Confirmation in the Catholic Church. I grew up believing that if we prayed and sacrificed and confessed our sins, that we would go to Heaven. I believed that God created us in His image and that He loves us, but that He would punish us if we sinned.
I’m sure we all have an idea about what the Catholic Church thinks about homosexuality, right? Well, Pope Francis is a good guy, but it was different when I was growing up. I heard a lot of anti-gay sentiment and hate and judgement based on fear. Despite this I did believe that God would be there for us when we needed Him. I still believe that, and I still pray. Okay, maybe my image of God is different now. He is a She, for one.
My family was very close and very loving. But we definitely had a certain way of doing things, and a way things were supposed to be. Homosexuality is not something my family talked about all that much. My mom had one gay friend who lived in California and a distant gay cousin who lived in Mexico. We saw the friend sometimes, and my family was pleasant with him, but there was always an air of mystery about the men and their “lifestyle.” It certainly wasn’t something that would be acceptable for me in my family’s eyes.
I guess growing up I had crushes on boys. Yes, I swooned after the New Kids on the Block. But maybe that’s because that’s what all the other girls did. Maybe that’s just what I was “supposed” to do I honestly didn’t know crushing on girls was an option. I remember feeling very ashamed and confused for a long time.
I attended an all-girls private Catholic high school, with nuns and everything! If the mean girls didn’t like you, they would spread a rumor that you were a (whisper) leeeesbian! Oh, the horror if that rumor got spread around about you! Everyone would avoid you like the plauge and make ugly faces at you for being SUCH an abomination. Needless to say, finally coming to terms with my sexual orientation was a lengthy and difficult process. College was great for me because I moved away from home, met like-minded people, and felt accepted for who I was. I understood who Becca really was for the first time . So, I shared a bit of my coming-out story and we’re supposed to be talking about our experience at First Unitarian Universalist. I’ll get to that.
Even though I felt a little betrayed by the Catholic Church, I still continued to go for a while. I longed for that spiritual connection with a community. I loved the music, the singing, the prayers and “Peace be With You.” At first it was kind of ok to be there. Even though I personally was never turned away, it got harder to ignore the fact that I was not welcome.
I heard about First Unitarian Universalist from a few different people, so my wife and I decided to try it out. I LOVED it! People were so welcoming! It seemed like everyone was friendly with one another. The music was so lively and uplifting. I love hearing Reverend Chris and Reverend Meg’s messages acceptance, inclusion and love. I enjoyed the services very much.
What means so much to me was that I ALWAYS feel like I belong here. I joined the People of Color group, Alphabet Soup, and I got involved with Service Saturdays, Sack-Lunch making and Religious Education. Im just so thrilled to be a part of such a wonderful community. I have everything I used to love about my old church, minus all the judgement. I feel like I am welcome and accepted. I feel like I am home.
Tomas Medina
When I was growing up, my father used to tell me, “Gay people should be lined up and shot.” When I was growing up, the worst thing you could be called in school was faggot. In junior high and high school, I was called faggot, a lot. In fact, I had such a miserable time in high school, that I skipped my senior year altogether, opting to test out and start college at age 17.
The church I was brought up in was also not a place of refuge for me. I was taught that I should love the homosexual sinner, but that a homosexual act was a mortal sin, which not only prevented me from taking communion but would also condemn me to hell, if I was unlucky enough to die before having the chance to confess my sin.
As you might imagine, as a young man wondering about my own sexual orientation, I never felt particularly safe at home, or at school or at church. When I came out at 17 to my parents, I was seriously worried that they would react negatively and throw me out. They didn’t throw me out, but they did send me to a psychologist whose advice to me was to not look at the men on my college campus who were wearing shorts. Fortunately, at my college, I was part of support group for LGBTQIA students, and I quickly decided that I didn’t need to see a psychologist to help me get over my gay feelings. What I decided instead was that it was my parents who needed help to get over their homophobia.
Coming out to my parents was not the only time I felt like coming out might be risky. As a gay man, deciding whether to come out is something that I have to weigh on an almost daily basis. With every new situation and every new person that I encounter, I do a quick calculus as to whether it is safe for me to be explicit about being gay. And I don’t think I’m being paranoid about this calculus. Even in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood, a very gay neighborhood, I’ve recently been called faggot by men who I not only had no romantic interest in but was downright frightened of. And I remember that when I was being interviewed for a job by a judge in a NYC court, he asked me how I could live in downtown NY where there were so many homosexuals and wasn’t I afraid that I’d get AIDS. There are only two places, where I don’t feel the need to do the mental calculus as to whether to come out. One is when I’m somewhere that is predominantly gay and caters to the gay community, like a gay club, gym, or beach. The other exception is here at First UU Austin. I think it’s remarkable that there is a community that is majority non LGBTQIA where I don’t have to wonder what the consequence will be if explicitly acknowledge my gay identity.
Here at First UU being lesbian gay bisexual transgendered, intersexual, questioning, asexual or straight is not something that is used to define us. But, at the same time, our struggles with the world outside of this First UU community are acknowledged, and our triumphs are celebrated.
Being part of a community that is majority non LGBTQIA , in which I feel both safe and acknowledged, has had transformative benefits for me. For one thing, it has allowed me to find a spiritual home. I couldn’t explore my spirituality anywhere where being gay somehow made me lesser than anyone else.
Something else I appreciate about First UU is that it supports our Alphabet Soup group. A group exclusively for those who identify as part of both the LGBTQIA and UU community. It’s a wonderful treat to be able to meet with other First UU’s who share similar experiences and to be able to relate to each other without the need to explain ourselves. And, not all members of the LGBTQIA community at large are interested in exploring spirituality, so it’s great t be able to form relationships with other member of this community who share similar spiritual yearnings.
I also love that at First UU I have formed relationships and friendships with many people outside of the LGBTQIA community. Being supported and loved by so many people in this congregation, has given me the confidence to be more myself in the outside world. As I find myself taking leadership positions in the church, I also find myself less willing to keep my opinions and beliefs to myself in my relationships outside of the church, whether I’m with family, friends, or at work.
Perhaps the most transformative aspect of being part of the First UU community is the optimism it has given me. I am confident that if we can build a loving and supportive community in here, it can happen in the outside world too. Being part of this community has given me more confidence to take the risk when I do the calculus as to whether to come out, yet again. And I know that every time I and others in the LGBTQIA community comes out, yet again, the world takes a small step towards becoming the world we know it can be.
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Most sermons delivered at the First UU Church of Austin during the past 18 years are available online through this website. You will find links to them in the right sidebar menu labeled Sermons. The Indexes link leads to tables of all sermons for each year listed by date (newest to oldest) with topic and speaker. Click on the topic to go to a sermon.
