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.
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