One Visionary Priest: The Rev. Anne Kelsey 



I'm here to testify today that my rector, the Rev. Anne Kelsey, is a visionary priest. I'll tell you the story.

Today, Sunday, June 25, 2006, for the fourth year in a row, Trinity Episcopal Church St. Louis, under the leadership of Anne Kelsey, held another "Mass in the Grass" at the corner of Tower Grove Park in the midst of St. Louis Pridefest, a celebration of gay, lesbian and transgendered pride. It really was a lovely celebration of the eucharist. We met under the spreading branches of the same huge old tree. Harry, Alex, Rip and Matt were there mass producing helium-filled white balloons when we arrived. It was nice to see and be welcomed by familiar faces from my parish, and equally appreciated that straight couples would come help us celebrate our pride activities. We were also joined by quite a few folks not from our parish, including a couple of gay dads with their young children and a few people from Dignity who meet at Trinity.

Earlier, as we walked to the mass around 10:30 this morning, in addition to the hundreds and hundreds of gay and lesbian celebrators, we encountered two who were opposed to these festivities. One white man in a bright red tee shirt proclaiming the love of Jesus walked past us on the sidewalk. As he moved on, he deliberately glanced back at us and said, "Jesus loves you. Jesus, I didn't see that." We then crossed the street to hear a slim, spare black man in collar and black priest's clothes loudly proclaiming to the park (since none were gathered around him), that women who love women and men who love men can still turn away from their sinful ways and find Jesus. Stephen was a bit annoyed, and said something like, "Love is no sin." But I replied to Stephen, "They're dinosaurs. They will just have to become extinct."

It wasn't a long sermon, but it was right on target. Rev. Kelsey spoke of our joy in looking forward to (actually 9 years under) the leadership of ECUSA's Presiding Bishop-Elect, Katherine Jefferts Schori. Many of you will be aware of the now 3 years long controversy over the ordination of openly-gay bishop, Gene Robertson. I have written extensively about this elsewhere in this blog. The core of Kelsey's message can be summed up as follows. She told us that some people say that the Church is dying. but she believes that the Church is being resurrected, and we are starting by bringing women and gays and lesbians into our fold, just as in the beatitudes, Jesus Christ was concerned to bless those others considered to be social outcasts.

I've used a strong word, visionary, to describe these activities. But visionary it is. When you can see so clearly and so far ahead into the necessary coming of Christ's Reign that you act as if it were already here, that is visionary. Without the visionaries, the rest of us would just stand around waiting for Christ to come without realizing that we ourselves could take an easy step in that direction. Every time we see God's face in another human being, and indeed, women, gays, lesbians and transgendered people are in that list, we are taking a step towards the promised future. And, I would add, that I see Christ's face in the black priest and the man in the red tee shirt. I do. This is where their dialog with God has taken them. I need to see that and have compassion. Otherwise, God can have no part in my human heart.

So, thank you Rev. Kelsey for going where no man has ever gone before, in other words, to Tower Grove Park for the 4th Annual Mass on the Grass. May your actions pave the way for other men and women, gays and straights, blacks and whites. And everything in between. Let's resurrect this church in the name of of the God who loves us all equally. 

Posted: Sun - June 25, 2006 at 02:27 PM          

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