Rudy Schleussner--Sharing God's Acceptance

TLC/PoG Story Project

We are collecting stories of how members of the TLC/PoG community have recognized what God is doing to meet the deep needs of the world and discovered and assumed their unique roles in partnership with God.

Personal experience of God’s unconditional love and acceptance has inspired Rudy Schleusner’s commitment and courage to offer that same grace to others.

Rudy took to heart the message, learned early in Sunday School, that “Jesus loves me, this I know” and felt a close personal connection to God in childhood and adolescence.  He enjoyed singing to God as he walked through the rural fields or sat on an isolated beach.  The first time he performed a solo, he chose to sing “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” an expression of what he deeply felt about his relationship with God.  Tall and skinny in adolescence and into music instead of sports, like most other kids, Rudy felt somewhat outside of the “mainstream” but he found consistent comfort in a deep sense of being accepted by God.

Rudy and his family had firsthand experience of churches where acceptance of people as they are is not the norm.  As a result, Rudy is committed to creating oases of acceptance where all people can experience the grace and love of God. 

Rudy and Judy’s son, Joel, is gay.  He left home as a teenager preparing to come out because he did not want his family to suffer the community rejection that he expected would arise as a consequence of others discovering this aspect of his identity.  His parents accepted Joel as he is and he returned home where the family became involved in sharing their experience with others.  Some folks were supportive.  Others rejected them for their position.  Some even made anonymous, abusive phone calls to their home condemning them in the name of God.  Through this Rudy remained consistently convinced of God’s loving acceptance and committed to share that acceptance.

When Rudy and Judy moved to Lynnwood from Wisconsin, they brought this passion with them.  They were instrumental in helping to form the Harmony Life Group which extends loving Christian welcome and support to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons and their families and friends.  Many such persons have only negative perceptions of churches that have excluded them, mocked them and condemned them to eternal punishment.  This certainly does not help them believe in God’s love for them!  Rudy, Judy and others who are a part of Harmony are acting as a manifestation of God’s love and acceptance, providing a welcoming entry point to the TLC/PoG community. 

In a widely inclusive community, there are people who share differing perspectives on this issue.  One interesting tension that Rudy experiences in this work is the challenge of maintaining his commitment to accepting others as they are, even when their position might exclude him or those for whom he is concerned.

Harmony has successfully embodied God’s love to those who have felt excluded.  Parents whose gay child was rejected by their own church found a listening ear in the Harmony group.  A woman cut off from family relationships found a supportive and caring community.  Several people looking to see if any church might be a spiritual home for them have connected to the website.  Others have shared with Harmony members that simply being able to share about the existence of this group at TLC/PoG, with co-workers or friends has opened them to the possibility of considering a church connection again.

Harmony group are helping us manifest God’s dream for a world where all know themselves loved and accepted by God.

Rudy and others in the Harmony Group are helping us manifest God's dream for a world where all people know themselves as loved and accepted by God.

Harmony group are helping us manifest God’s dream for a world where all know themselves loved and accepted by God. Harmony group are helping us manifest God’s dream for a world where all know themselves loved and accepted by God.

Judy Stone--Caring for humanity by caring for all of creation

TLC/PoG Story Project

We are collecting stories of how members of the TLC/PoG community have recognized what God is doing to meet the deep needs of the world and discovered and assumed their unique roles in partnership with God.

Judy was raised in a Montana family with parents who had experienced the Depression.  As a consequence, she has always been inclined to use and re-use the resources at hand and waste as little as possible.  A somewhat private person, she spent her career looking for ways that she could be of service to humanity, utilizing her expertise as a microbiologist.  Out of college, as a microbiologist, she applied to work at the FDA because she believed that she could help people by keeping their food and drugs safe.

Judy tends to experience God’s presence most deeply in the presence of the natural world because that connects her more directly to its creator.  This connection with creation sparks contrasting emotions for her:  deep gratitude for the gift given to us to enjoy and deep sadness about the damage and destruction that humanity has caused to that gift.

Caring for the earth is an expression of Judy’s faith and of her concern for humanity.  She notes that the growing amount of land mass under water because of climate change will mean that people who live there will lose their homes; pollution of water sources means that people have a harder time getting water to sustain themselves and their crops.  She links loving one’s neighbor inextricably with loving the earth.  If we say we love our neighbors but destroy the earth, loving our neighbor won’t matter because the neighbors won’t even survive without the earth to sustain them.  As the earth’s resources are consumed by humanity, it is the poorest of the world who will suffer first and most.  When asked what breaks her heart the most about the decline of the environment, Judy acknowledged that she is most distressed when people of faith claim to care for people but do not seem to take seriously the charge to be caretakers of the earth that sustains our existence.

Recycling is one tangible way that Judy has chosen to act to make a difference where she can.  Since the early 1970’s when recycling first became a possibility in the Illinois suburb where she lived, she has been a dedicated recycler because she wants to interrupt the cycle of throwing away things that we must then use up limited resources to manufacture again.

In 2004, when Judy came to Trinity Lutheran Church, she noticed that, in spite of the vast amount of paper and other recyclable materials that Trinity consumed, there was no organized effort to recycle.  Seeing this need, she initiated an effort here that now recycles six to eight cartons of paper per week, plus cardboard, food containers and other materials.  She has created a collection system and spends 1 ½-2 hours weekly at the church hauling the materials out.  She had been advocating for a long time for the church to add a recycling bin to our waste service and, with that recent addition, it is easier for our community to join in this way of preserving the earth.  Judy’s commitment to join with God in meeting the deep needs of the world has increased the integrity of our community, calling us all to faithfulness in caring for the earth.

Editors Note:

Judy will be moving to Illinois in 2013 and wonders if there will be anyone with a similar passion who will spearhead the TLC recycling effort in the future or if it will fall by the wayside when she goes.  Now is a great time for anyone who might want to test out this ministry area for themselves to talk with Judy and shadow her for a week or two to explore if it might be part of your vocation to join with God in meeting the deep needs of the world.

Developing Group Leadership Structures

“After Action Reviews” are a group learning tool which originated in the US military.  After an exercise, participants gather to reflect on what happened and why, in order to improve their practice.  Organizational expert, Peter Senge, described this as “arguably one of the most successful organizational learning methods yet devised.”

Neighbors in Need leaders met recently to conduct an “After Action Review,” reflecting on how teams are working together to achieve their goals. One conclusion of the meeting was a desire to develop a clear leadership structure, including agreements about things like decision-making procedures, conflict resolution, communication, and other basic operating principles.  We hope that new leadership structures will help these ministries become less reliant on one or a few individuals for inspiration and direction.

Recognizing that each entity has unique needs, a strategy emerged where key leaders of each interested group will work through a process of clarifying and reaching agreements on their own leadership structures.  Leader groups will work simultaneously, in the same room, receiving guidance and discussing key considerations but each entity will reach its own conclusions about how to operate.

NiN leaders observed that this step might also benefit the whole TLC/PoG community.  As multiple lay-initiated, lay-led ministries continue to emerge, it may be timely for others to articulate agreements about effective working relationships as well.  So, they elected to extend an invitation to leader-teams of other interested groups to participate in this development process with them.

One of the priorities identified through our recent Re-Visioning process is to provide leadership development opportunities.  This group’s learning and creative exploration has generated one opportunity to address that need.

Participants in this process can expect:

• Involvement of several people from each participating entity who are authorized by their groups to act as representatives.
•  Multiple working sessions discussing and working through an organizational “template” to help them formulate their own group agreements.
•  “Homework” between sessions which may involve things such as brainstorming ideas, gathering input from your group members, and drafting or documenting your work.
•  Development of clear agreements about how you will work together effectively as you manifest God’s dream by joining with God to meet the deep needs of the world.

A first working session will be held in November or early December, with ensuing sessions to be scheduled by those participating.  Group size will be limited in order to maximize opportunity for discussion and coaching for each entity involved.  If your group is interested in participating in this development process, along with NiN leaders, or if you have questions, contact Larry Pennings at larry@towardintegrity.com.