Drag at church?!
As a part of our mission of supporting and embracing all communities in Christ, we are hosting our first ever Drag Bingo Brunch!
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Why Drag Bingo you may ask?
We at CLC understand that our mission of loving our neighbors is ensuring that all feel welcome.
We believe that there is a place for everyone here at CLC.
Loving our neighbors includes curating places to learn and engage with others with diverse perspectives.
The art of Drag is a fun and informative way to learn.
One way we have experience with this is through children plays in school
and churches where the goal is to cover the characters with a wide range
of students. Here at CLC, we have also had a fun tradition of a Drag
Pageant with the men (including Pastor John) in our church as part of the
Celebration of Women event which was incredibly well received!
Today Drag is an important form of expression in parts of the LGBTQ+ community. Sadly, that association now includes divisive language and perspectives that draws us away from the command to love our neighbors. Supporting and caring for
our LGBTQ+ siblings is one of the ways we believe we are called to live out
this command. Offering a Drag Bingo is one of the ways we can care for
our LGBTQ+ siblings. And it is a fun, non-threatening way to learn and be
in community together.
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We have four goals for this event.
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1. Create a fun and actively welcoming space for LGBTQ+ people to feel comfortable inside of a church building. Many queer folk have suffered abuse ranging from being made to feel uncomfortable to being actively targeted with violence and hate in churches and from people who claim to be Christians. We hope this can be a first step in healing that incredibly painful and damaging history. It is important to acknowledge the difference between tolerance and acceptance. By actively engaging with the LGBTQ+ community and meeting them where they are, we can serve as a facilitator of Christ’s healing message and commission.
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2. Welcome new people into our church who may not have considered stepping foot inside otherwise. Not only do LGBTQ+ people often resent the reputation of homophobia in churches, but other allies and people in general, would feel more comfortable engaging with a church that is actively welcoming to people they may have assumed we would have rejected. If we are supportive and loving to a community that has been traditionally attacked by the church at large, maybe we just may be a welcoming place to all!
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3. Most importantly, we have a duty to protect our LGBTQ+ siblings in Christ who are actively being attacked with unjust and hateful laws being passed with the express purpose of taking away freedom and harming this community. For this reason, we are donating a portion of our profits from this event to the ALCU Drag Defense Fund that is actively working to protect and uphold the rights of our LGBTQ+ neighbors. You can read more about this specific initiative with the link below.
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4. Lastly, this is an opportunity to get together, have fun, experience something new, support local Drag Artists, raise money for the general maintenance and ministry of our church, and create lasting memories!
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It is our responsibility to educate ourselves on the many perspectives of our
diverse siblings in Christ. We can do this through experience, education, or
the good ‘ole google search. We also learn through community and
guidance. Below you will find links to some helpful information on how we
as a denomination (ELCA) encourage caring for our LGBTQ+ siblings and
the art form of drag.
We hope that you will support, attend, and encourage others to attend this
event. We believe that everyone who attends will have a great time! We
are also aware that this event will not be everyone’s cup of tea. Therefore,
we encourage you to find other ways that allow you to live out the
command to love our neighbors through creating a place for our LGBTQ+
siblings.
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Please reach out to any member of council with any further questions or
concerns you may have!
We hope to see you there!
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Helpful Links:
If you are unaware of the ELCA’s stand on the LGBTQ+ community, you can read all about it here: https://www.elca.org/lgbtq
ACLU Drag Defense Fund
https://action.aclu.org/give/support-drag-defense-fund
Understanding Drag:
https://transequality.org/issues/resources/understanding-drag
Debunking Drag Myths: